Focus

California greenlights more than 800 MW of storage and solar to bolster power grid reliability

Utility Dive – January 17

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved three energy project contracts proposed by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), as well as four contracts proposed by Southern California Edison (SCE), that will collectively provide more than 800 MW of new solar and storage capacity to help ensure the reliability of the state’s electric grid this decade. SDG&E’s proposal included one hybrid solar and storage project, expected to come online in June, as well as two battery storage projects scheduled to come online in mid-2024. SCE’s proposal, meanwhile, comprised four front-of-the-meter energy storage projects. The projects are the result of solicitations conducted after the CPUC approved an 11.5 GW procurement package in 2021.

News

BLM revisits sage grouse regulations

E&E News – January 11

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is working on a federal blueprint designed to save the greater sage grouse and its dwindling sagebrush habitat. BLM is revising the management plan for the nearly 70 million acres of habitat the agency oversees across the West, first adopted in 2015 and amended in 2019 by the Interior Department. BLM is considering major changes, including possibly redesignating some core sage grouse territory into “areas of critical environmental concern,” which would add new restrictions on everything from energy development to recreational activities across potentially hundreds of thousands of acres.

‘Green banks,’ poised for billions in climate funds, draw states’ attention

Pew Charitable Trusts – January 9

In recent years, several states have created or helped fund specialized banks that lend money to homeowners and businesses for energy-saving and climate projects. Now, states have billions more reasons to establish such institutions, known as green banks. Congress last year approved a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund of $27 billion, largely to fund green banks and similar financial institutions. Newly established green banks from Nevada to Illinois are readying for federal support that could supercharge their efforts, while bipartisan leaders in places such as New Mexico and Alaska are pushing to create their own state green banks.

How recycled batteries play a dual role for microgrids

Microgrid Knowledge – January 16

Microgrids can benefit from the increase in battery recycling and repurposing, either by providing electricity for recycling operations or by using less expensive and more sustainably produced repurposed batteries or recycled materials. Various factors are moving the battery recycling and repurposing markets in ways that could benefit the microgrid industry. The move to electric vehicles and electrification are boosting demand, while low supplies of the raw materials are increasing battery prices.

Projects

First offtake deal signed for 500 MW/4,000 MWh advanced compressed air energy storage project in California

Energy Storage News – January 13

Advanced compressed air energy storage company Hydrostor has signed a power purchase agreement for one of its flagship large-scale projects in California. Central Coast Community Energy, one of the state’s several dozen community choice aggregators, has signed a 200 MW/1,600 MWh energy storage power purchase agreement with a 25-year term with Hydrostor for its Willow Rock Energy Storage Center.

Intersect Power begins operations at solar project in California

Power Technology – January 12

Intersect Power has started commercial operations at Athos III, its 224 MW/310 MW solar project in Riverside County. Athos III features 448 MWh of co-located battery storage and has the capacity to meet the power needs of around 94,000 homes.

Ørsted to develop 471 MW Texas PV project paired with biodiversity initiative

PV-Tech – January 16

Ørsted has unveiled plans to build a 471 MW solar project in Lamar County, Texas, which the company says will be the largest solar PV installation in its portfolio to date. As part of the project’s construction and development, Ørsted has established a collaboration with The Nature Conservancy to protect almost 1,000 acres of endangered prairie land adjacent to the Mockingbird solar project.

Burning Man sues Biden administration over geothermal project

CNBC – January 11

Organizers of the art and cultural festival Burning Man and several environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management over the agency’s approval of a geothermal exploration project in northwestern Nevada. The suit, filed in Nevada federal court, alleged that BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws in 2022 when it failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of an exploration plan by the developer Ormat.

San Pedro’s AltaSea unveils wave-energy pilot program, new campus tenant

Los Angeles Daily News – January 13

A pilot program that harnesses energy from ocean waves was hailed during a San Pedro event last week as a potential game-changer in the race to find renewable energy technology. Under the umbrella of AltaSea, San Pedro’s marine research campus, Eco Wave Power will set up a pilot program that involves an onshore conversion unit — already in place at AltaSea — that will connect to floaters attached to a water structure, such as the outside of the channel breakwater. AltaSea and Eco Wave officials have described the effort as the first U.S. pilot program trying to capture the power of waves using the latter entity’s onshore power station.

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