Focus
GREENTECH MEDIA - Aug 21 Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule, a rework of President Obama’s signature Clean Power Plan (CPP) announced last Tuesday, states will have autonomy to decide how to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants on a plant-by-plant basis through heat-rate efficiency improvements rather than working to achieve overall emissions cuts. There is no base requirement for states to reduce emissions. Since the Obama administration introduced the CPP in 2015, it has faced significant challenges. Twenty-seven states sued over its implementation, and the Supreme Court eventually placed a stay on the rule. Despite the objections, experts suggest the majority of states are on track to meet the targeted emissions cuts, 32 percent below 2005 levels, by 2030. Even many of the states behind the legal challenge, at least 9 of the 27 according to 2017 data from the Rhodium Group, will meet their stated CPP goals, helped along by investments in clean energy and natural gas. John Larsen, a director at Rhodium, said changes in power markets since the October analysis mean some states are even closer to meeting targets than they were at that time.
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE - Aug 27 The bill that would revise how California regulates the state power grid was amended late last week, prompting a fresh round of debate over the fate of the legislation. The new language posted online Saturday gives lawmakers nine months to consider how specifically the California Energy Commission would expand the electric grid to as many as 14 western states. The amendments also do away with a requirement that additional renewable-energy sources be constructed in California, a section that was added early this year to win support from organized labor. The bill faces a Friday deadline to pass or fail.
AZCENTRAL - Aug 27 A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Monday allowed a clean-energy initiative to go on the November ballot despite a challenge from opponents who argued the initiative did not gather enough legal signatures. An opposition group backed by the parent company of Arizona Public Service Co. vowed to appeal the ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court. The Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona measure, now called Proposition 127, would require electric companies such as APS and Tucson Electric Power Co. to get half their power from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2030.
SFGATE - Aug 22 New Mexico's largest electric utility is asking state regulators for approval to join a wholesale trading market that allows participants in several western states to buy and sell energy to better balance supply and demand. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is among those expected to join the energy imbalance market by 2020 while large utilities in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah already are on board. Public Service Co. of New Mexico wants to join by 2021, saying the move could save an estimated $17 million annually for its customers and ensure more efficient use of the electricity generated by solar, wind, and other renewable resources throughout the region.
DESERT SUN - Aug 21 With only a few days left for California lawmakers to pass bills this year, renewable energy companies are rallying around legislation that could jump-start geothermal energy development by the Salton Sea — and also give a boost to solar, wind, and bioenergy. The bill from Assembly member Eduardo Garcia, a Coachella Democrat, is opposed by the state's major investor-owned utilities and the California Chamber of Commerce, which are worried about the costs to homes and businesses. AB 893 would require California utility companies to buy more energy from geothermal power plants.
PV MAGAZINE - Aug 22 Capital Dynamics‘ Clean Energy Infrastructure team has announced the final close of its Clean Energy and Infrastructure VII JV LLC fund. The fund will purchase utility-scale renewable energy projects in the United States, with capital commitments of $1.2 billion. The group manages $4.8 billion in its clean energy infrastructure fund, and it is now the second largest owner of solar projects in the country. The prior fund, CEI VII, deployed $1.2 billion to secure over 1.5 gigawatts of solar power projects. In all of its portfolios, the Clean Energy Infrastructure team manages 2.3 gigawatts of solar power – including five of the nation's 15 largest solar farms.
Projects
NBC7 SAN DIEGO - Aug 15 A proposed wind project is up against a squall of opposition in Boulevard where county planners are processing the first large-scale wind renewable energy project to be built on private land in San Diego. The San Diego County Planning Commission denied last Friday a strongly-worded appeal from the Boulevard Community Planning Group, which opposed construction of temporary meteorological towers to measure wind, ahead of the project. New York-based Terra-Gen wants to build a 126-megawatt project on a 2,000-acre private ranch in northern Boulevard. If approved, the project would erect 30 wind turbines on a private property formerly known as Big Country Ranch.
KTAR - Aug 25 A solar facility in Navajo Nation is expected to double the number of homes it can provide renewable energy to over the next year. Navajo Nation broke ground on the second phase of an expansion project that will provide a 28-megawatt addition to the Kayenta Solar generation facility in northeastern Arizona. Under the guidance of the Native American nation, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, and the Salt River Project, the facility is expected to serve 36,000 homes once upgrades are complete in June 2019.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY EXECUTIVE - Aug 22 The Los Angeles Lakers have partnered with LG Electronics and Vaha Energy to power UCLA Health Training Center with renewable energy. The 120,000-square-foot LEED Platinum certified facility, serving as the team’s training grounds and as the home court of the South Bay Lakers, was equipped with a 375-watt LG NeON 2, comprising 456 solar panels installed by Vaha Energy. The solar installation is anticipated to save about $38,000 annually and is expected to pay for itself in less than four years.
UTILITY DIVE - Aug 22 Viking Cold Solutions installed its "Thermal Energy Storage" technology in a 93,000-square-foot frozen food distribution center in Richmond, California, where peak period consumption and demand charges accounted for nearly 50 percent of annual energy costs. The system lowered peak refrigeration load by 29 percent for 13 hours each day. While batteries get the most attention when it comes to energy storage, there is a growing interest in thermal energy storage, particularly in use cases that require large amounts of cooling.
