Renewable Energy Focus
Bloomberg - Dec 2
The 280-megawatt Mojave solar farm, owned by Abengoa SA’s energy holding company, has begun generating power for almost 90,000 homes in California. The power plant, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, will sell electricity under a 25-year contract to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The solar farm is expected to displace 350,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
Reuters - Nov 4
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to renew a package of temporary tax breaks, known as the "extenders," including a wind production tax credit (PTC) crucial for turbine makers. The PTC will be extended for one year retroactively for 2014 if the Senate and President Barack Obama concur.
Renewable Energy World - Nov 26
The cost of solar panels has plummeted more than 70 percent since 2010, and the number of new installations is more than doubling every year for exponential growth in the solar industry. Research and analysis firm IHS Technology released a report last week comparing the current energy storage market to the solar photovoltaic environment in 2010. Just as solar took off at a rapid pace from that point, experts predict energy storage is set to catapult in coming years. As the amount of installed solar generation grew 10-fold between 2010 and today, the experts at IHS predict a 10-fold increase in the amount of energy storage from 90 megawatts now to 900 megawatts by 2018.
Sacramento Business Journal - Nov 19
California’s capital region expanded its residential solar capacity by six-fold over six years and eclipsed the rest of California in energy efficiency during the same time period, according to a new report by the nonprofit Next10 and consultancy firm Collaborative Economics. Per capita energy efficiency for Sacramento-area residential homes improved six percent between 2006 and 2012. Meanwhile, statewide California improved only three percent over the same time period.
Clean Technica - Dec 4
Palo Alto (pop. 66,000), the heart of Silicon Valley, is aiming to become the first carbon-neutral city in the U.S. As part of the city’s update to its Sustainability & Climate Action Plan, several community-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction scenarios are being analyzed. One possible scenario is carbon neutrality for the entire Palo Alto community.
Notable Renewable Energy Projects and Deals
Los Angeles Times - Nov 20
The Bureau of Land Management on Thursday denied Iberdrola Renewables’ application to build a renewable energy facility in the Mojave Desert's remote Silurian Valley, deciding the project, “would not be in the public interest.” The closely watched decision is considered a bellwether that may hint at how the federal agency will handle future requests to develop renewable energy projects. The company had planned a side-by-side wind and solar facility. Thursday's decision applies only to the solar portion of the project. The wind energy aspect is still in the planning stages.
PV Tech - Nov 27
Panasonic Enterprise Solutions plans to add to California’s Kern County solar complex with the development of a 26-megawatt project near Lost Hills. Under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Southern California Edison (SCE), the 200-acre project is expected to generate clean energy to power the equivalent of 5,000 homes for SCE customers. The plant is scheduled to be operational by May 2015.
PV Tech - Nov 26
North American utility company Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp intends to add a 10-megawatt solar project to its 20-megawatt Bakersfield Solar I project in Kern County, currently under construction. The 10-megawatt Bakersfield II Solar project will be built on 64 acres of land adjacent to Bakersfield I Solar, which is nearing completion and expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2015. The 10-megawatt project secured a 20-year power purchase agreement in September 2014.
