Renewable Energy Focus
Courthouse News Service - Oct 4
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning more incentives for developing solar and wind energy on federal land. A new BLM proposal lays out a competitive bidding process for leasing wind turbines and solar panels to encourage alternative energy projects, especially in Western states. Under the proposal, the government would charge $15 per acre for rights-of-way outside designated leasing areas, as a way to encourage solar and wind development in the government's designated areas. The proposal also includes financial incentives for leases in those designated areas, such as 30 year fixed-term leases and standard bonding requirements that would include $10,000 per acre for solar energy development and $20,000 for each wind turbine.
San Jose Mercury News - Sep 30
BrightSource Energy's massive Ivanpah project in the Mojave Desert was supposed to be its first solar thermal power plant in California, with at least three other solar thermal power plants envisioned in Southern California: Rio Mesa in Riverside, Hidden Hills in Inyo County, and Palen, also in Riverside. But getting large, land-intensive projects built in the Golden State is easier said than done and, project-by-project failed to come to fruition. Late Friday, BrightSource and its partner, Abengoa Solar, withdrew their application for Palen with the California Energy Commission, effectively ending BrightSource's pipeline of California projects.
Bloomberg - Oct 2
World clean energy investment in the first three quarters of this year was 16 percent ahead of the same period of 2013, at $175.1 billion, making it almost certain that 2014 will produce a bounce-back in dollars invested after two years of decline. Authoritative figures published today by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, based on its real-time data transactions and projects, show that clean energy investment in the July-to-September quarter was $55 billion, up 12 percent from the $48.9 billion achieved in Q3 2013.
Renewable Energy World - Oct 7
Biomass appears poised for big things in coming decades. According to a recent report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), biomass could account for as much as 60 percent of the global renewable energy mix by the year 2030, providing up to 20 percent of the world’s electricity needs. IRENA is an organization located in the United Arab Emirates that was launched in 2011 and soon after established REmap 2030. The intent of REmap 2030 is to plot the course for a doubling of global renewable energy share by the year 2030.
Notable Renewable Energy Projects and Deals
The Desert Sun - Oct 3
The Rice solar project has been all but abandoned due to insufficient financing, the latest in a series of blows for large-scale solar development in Riverside County. Pacific Gas & Electric spokesperson Lynsey Paulo confirmed that the utility's power purchase agreement with Rice's developer, Santa Monica-based SolarReserve, had been canceled. Rancho Mirage resident Mark Jabin, one of the owners of the former Rice Army Airfield near Blythe, where the 150-megawatt solar project would have been built, said SolarReserve officials told him several months ago they wouldn't be able to build the project.
PV Magazine - Oct 7
Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company and Coronal Group LLC have completed nine solar projects in Tulare and Kings Counties in Central California. With a combined capacity of 16.2 megawatts, the projects will provide power to some 14,500 homes on the Southern California Edison grid. Coronal's total joint project development with Panasonic is now more than 100 megawatts.
