Renewable Energy Focus
Solar Industry Magazine - Oct 4
After months of intensive testing, Phoenix-based Arizona Public Service (APS) and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) of Washington state successfully began full participation in the western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) on Saturday, Oct. 1. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which launched the EIM in 2014 and manages it, says the real-time wholesale power market enables participating utilities to buy low-cost energy available across eight western states. CAISO says the EIM uses the grid operator’s state-of-the-art software to automatically analyze western grid needs and find the lowest-cost generation to meet demand every five minutes. The EIM also helps with renewables integration, and participating utilities can access low-cost renewable energy in other western states in real time to offset power generated from local energy plants.
PV Magazine - Oct 5
The U.S. utility-scale market has long been set for a breakout year in 2016, due to the formerly pending expiration of the U.S. Investment Tax Credit. But figures on exactly how much solar will get installed have been hard to pin down. According to new GTM Research, there is currently 10.1 GW-DC of utility-scale solar PV under construction nationwide, including 8.6 GW of solar projects being built in the top 10 state markets, more PV than was put online in the entire year 2015 across all market segments. Eight states have more than 400 MW-DC of solar currently under construction, including California and Texas, which each have over 1 GW under construction.
Renewable Energy World - Oct 5
House and Senate Republican leaders are at odds over whether to renew expiring alternative-energy tax breaks during Congress’ lame-duck session after the November 8 election. Congress last year made permanent many of the tax breaks that carried annual expiration dates, but a number were omitted from that law, including some related to renewable energy. Some lawmakers contend that one energy-related credit was left out accidentally and have been pushing for a fix. Now, a few House Republicans are joining Democrats in starting to call for lame-duck action on favored tax breaks.
SeeNews Renewables - Oct 6
sPower has completed financing totaling $786 million to fund 339.4 megawatts of solar projects in Lancaster. The nine-strong portfolio consists mostly of projects under construction, as well as two that have recently become operational.
Stanford University - Oct 6
Work is nearing completion on a new solar plant in Southern California’s Kern County that will provide 50 percent of Stanford’s electricity. The Stanford Solar Generating Station, announced last year, is expected to be functional by the end of November. In addition, more rooftop solar panels are being installed on campus. Sixteen additional campus buildings are being outfitted with solar panels. In total, once Stanford’s solar projects are complete later this year, the university will be getting 65 percent of its power from renewable sources – and that proportion will continue increasing in coming years. Disclosure: Allen Matkins represents SunPower in developing the Rosamond Solar Project discussed in this article.
Press-Enterprise - Sep 29
A solar project slated for the Norco Navy base in Southern California will be delayed by at least a year as defense officials complete other projects and research updated technology for the site. The Navy had planned to announce its final decision by mid-September regarding a solar array, between 10-19 acres in size, that would have saved the Norco base $65,000 per year. Instead, Norco’s project has been tabled until at least mid-2018 while the Navy considers alternatives that could reduce the size of the solar array, spokesman Gregg Smith said. One such technology, called an accumulator, allows for energy to be stored and used at a later date. It appears that the Navy's delay may also be due to environmental concerns expressed by the local community.
