Renewable Energy Focus
Santa Cruz Sentinel - Mar 29 The operator of a massive U.S. government-backed solar project in California that fell short of production targets says the facility more than doubled its output last month, putting it on pace to meet its obligations to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, the world's biggest solar-thermal power plant, generated 67,300 megawatt-hours of electricity in February, up from about 30,300 a year earlier, according to NRG Energy, which operates the facility, located in the Mojave Desert, and co-owns it with BrightSource Energy and Alphabet's Google. The release of the February output data comes 12 days after California regulators gave NRG and its partners more time to avoid defaulting on a contract with PG&E for failing to supply power they had guaranteed.
PV Magazine - Mar 31 A major new study has significantly lifted the potential of rooftop solar PV in the U.S., saying rooftop solar alone could provide 40 percent of all the nation's electricity needs and around half if module efficiencies continued to improve. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory study says the estimated potential from rooftop solar has been revised upwards by more than 80 percent since the last study in 2008, mostly because of improvements in module efficiencies, building availability, and solar modeling.
Greentech Media - Mar 30 Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has struggled to put together an electric-vehicle (EV) charging plan that can get approval. Its last plan was rejected by California state regulators in September, largely because it asked for far more money, and more utility ownership of EV charging assets, than did its fellow investor-owned utilities in Southern California. Last week, PG&E took a step toward closing the EV charging deal, with its Charge Smart and Save plan. The Northern California utility has scaled down its new plan, asking for $160 million for 7,500 charging stations, compared to last year’s request for $654 million to build 25,000 chargers. The new plan has won the support of various environmental and consumer groups in the form of a settlement agreement similar to those obtained by SDG&E and SCE. That agreement could give PG&E’s new plan additional weight with the California PUC.
PennEnergy - Mar 30 More than 2.5 million Americans work in the clean energy industry across all 50 states, according to a new report unveiled today by the national nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs. The report is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information and new data from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as a comprehensive survey of tens of thousands of businesses across the country.
San Jose Mercury News - Mar 31 Palo Alto is paying developers double the market value for locally generated renewable solar energy, and this week’s vote by the City Council will keep it that way. The city program, Palo Alto CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now), allows customers to sell solar energy to the city at 16.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The council's four-member Finance Committee suggested reducing the price the city pays to 8.9 cents for a 20-year contract period because of recent drops in wholesale prices for solar energy. The council declined to, however, despite some members' argument that solar prices are dropping.
Solar Industry Magazine - Mar 30 Technology company HP Inc. says it is bolstering its longtime commitment to sustainability by pledging to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity usage in its global operations. As part of this goal, HP is joining RE100, a worldwide initiative of big-name businesses committed to 100 percent renewables. As a first step to achieving this goal, HP plans to reach the 40 percent renewables mark by 2020 in its global operations.
Bloomberg - Mar 25 Last week, the U.S. Energy Department (DOE) used a decade-old statute to clear Clean Line Energy Partners LLC’s $2.5 billion, 705-mile power line for construction over any objections from the states involved. The Energy Department’s approval of the line, proposed to carry 4,000 megawatts of power from the wind-rich Oklahoma panhandle through Arkansas and into Tennessee, marks the first time the 2005 statute has been used to bypass state approval and push through an interstate transmission project.
PV-Tech - Mar 30 A Nevada hybrid power plant, which combines geothermal, PV, and solar thermal power, has been inaugurated and become the first of its kind to combine the three generation types. The geothermal element of the project, the first phase, was completed in 2009. In 2012, Enel Green Power, the Italian firm behind the project, added a 26.4-megawatt PV system, before installing the 2-megawatt solar thermal facility last year.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Mar 29 San Diego’s Figtree Financing, which offers Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) funding for property upgrades, has raised $30 million in its first round of institutional capital. The money will be used to launch Figtree’s residential PACE financing program and expand its commercial PACE platform both inside and outside California.
