Renewable Energy Focus
OC Register - Jun 29 California State Lands Commission officials dropped their longstanding environmental objections to the state’s last nuclear power plant and signed off this Tuesday on a deal to close the Central Coast facility many years earlier than its operators had previously sought. The Commission approved a lease allowing Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to continue operating the Diablo Canyon twin-reactor plant through August 2025, a date the company and environmental groups agreed to last week. Members turned down a proposed environmental impact assessment, which can take years, in part to meet the earlier termination date. PG&E President Tony Earley told reporters last week the utility will save more money closing Diablo Canyon than running it through 2044 as planned.
Solar Industry Magazine - Jun 29 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Barack Obama, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto have come together for the “North American Climate, Clean Energy, and Environment Partnership,” which puts forth a goal of achieving 50 percent clean power generation in North America by 2025. The agreement was signed during the North American Leaders’ Summit in Ottawa, Ontario, this week. The Obama administration says the 50 percent by 2025 goal will be reached through a combination of clean energy development and deployment, clean energy innovation, and energy efficiency.
Sacramento Business Journal - Jun 29 California is getting cleaner while also growing its economy dramatically, according to findings in the eighth annual California Green Innovation Index. The study shows that the state has grown its economy, as measured by gross domestic product, while being less carbon intensive. California installed 3,266 megawatts of new photovoltaic solar arrays in 2015, more than any other state. That brings California’s photovoltaic total to 13,243 megawatts, also the highest of any state. Since 1990, California has seen a 36 percent drop in emissions per GDP while growing the state’s economy, said Adam Fowler, research fellow at Beacon Economics, which conducted the study for Next 10.
SolarServer - Jun 29 Kicking off the year with record growth across all solar sectors, Texas is on track to become the fastest-growing utility-scale solar photovoltaic market in the U.S. within the next five years, according to a new GTM Research and Solar Energy Industries Association report. Over the next five years, Texas is expected to install more than 4,600 megawatts of solar electric capacity, second only to California during that time span. Of the 4.6 gigawatts projected to come online in Texas by 2020, 4 gigawatts will be utility-scale.
The Guardian - Jun 29 Patagonia and a small circle of U.S. companies are making a foray into the electricity delivery service industry, which has traditionally been controlled by utilities and power plant owners. Most businesses put solar panels on their roofs to show support for a cleaner source of electricity, cut carbon emissions, and perhaps even lower their energy bills. But these new entrants are treating solar energy as a profit maker, and their investments will help to expand its use in the broader energy market.
The Desert Sun - Jun 29 Conservationists and Native American groups are gearing up for a new fight against the Palen solar farm. The project has gone through four ownership transfers, three technology changes, and two corporate bankruptcies since it was first proposed in 2008. Its latest owner, San Diego-based EDF Renewable Energy, wants to build a 500-megawatt, 4,200-acre field of solar panels at the project site between Interstate 10 and Joshua Tree National Park, about 10 miles east of Desert Center. The latest Palen proposal doesn't include the 750-foot towers envisioned by previous developers, which critics said would incinerate birds and ruin views from the national park.
Commercial Property Executive - Jun 29 SunPower Corp. announced that construction is underway on a four-megawatt SunPower solar power system at three California State University, Fullerton university parking areas. The university will acquire the emission-free solar power generated by the system under a power purchase agreement that enables it to offset more than one-third of their peak electrical load, potentially saving millions in electricity costs over almost 20 years, according to CSUF. The energy generated by the system will be equivalent to the energy used by 501 average American households in one year, enough to power more than 2,000 electric cars for 30 years.
