California’s utilities regulator on May 30 adopted new rules for community solar projects, despite warnings from clean energy advocates that the move will undercut efforts to expand solar power options for lower-income customers. The California Public Utilities Commission’s 3-1 ruling expands certain existing programs and creates a new one subject to future rules yet-to-be adopted. Solar providers are concerned that future compensation will be insufficient to drive new projects in this space.
The Turlock Irrigation District (TID) has launched a request for proposals for renewable power projects, as part of an effort to meet the clean power goals set out in the California Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS). The RPS requires utilities operating in the state to generate at least half of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, and while TID’s primary business is in the development of irrigation projects, it has branched out to power generation.
Much of the vast fleet of U.S. military bases, coal plants, and industrial facilities sits atop a prime resource for clean energy: layers of hot rock deep within the earth. According to data released by GeoMap, virtually every military base in the West and most of those in Texas sit atop geothermal resources suitable to generate electric power — a fact that has not been lost on the Department of Defense, which is funding pilot projects at six military bases across the West.
NV Energy plans to join the Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) being developed by the California Independent System Operator, David Rubin, the Las Vegas-based utility company’s federal energy policy director, said. The initiative is developing an independent governance framework for regional power markets developed by CAISO.
Equinor has executed a purchase and sale agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for the power generated by the planned Empire Wind 1 offshore wind project. This will be the first U.S. offshore wind development to plug directly into the New York City grid with first power planned in late 2026.
Qcells USA, part of South Korean solar company Hanwha Qcells, has completed the Ocotillo Wells hybrid plant in Borrego Springs, bringing a 50 MW solar farm with a battery energy storage system (BESS) of 200 MWh to commercial operation. Ocotillo Wells is reportedly the largest utility-scale renewables project in San Diego County at present.
Orinda City Manager David Biggs and City Council Member Brandyn Iverson attended a public event marking the completion of the largest solar array ever built by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) last week. The 4.6 MW installation will generate 10 million KWh of clean, renewable energy annually and save EBMUD ratepayers $26 million in electricity costs over the next 25 years.
Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE) has signed a 15-year resource adequacy agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for LRE’s 112.5 MW Sierra Pinta Energy Storage project, located in Yuma County, Arizona. The project is a standalone BESS facility, adjacent to the company’s 179 MW White Wing Ranch Solar project, currently under construction.
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