Renewable Energy Focus
Los Angeles Times - Dec 7 Donald Trump picked Oklahoma Atty. Gen. Scott Pruitt to run the Environmental Protection Agency, signaling the president-elect will deliver on his vow to disassemble President Obama’s landmark effort to fight climate change. Pruitt, 48, a staunch ally of the fossil fuel industry, has taken a lead nationally in resisting Obama’s environmental agenda. He is an architect of the multi-state legal effort to block the administration’s sweeping national mandates for cleaner-burning power plants, a linchpin of its program to combat global warming. The impact of an EPA under his direction would vary considerably from state to state. In places like California that enthusiastically embrace the fight against climate change and have clean air and water rules that exceed federal standards, the impact may be marginal. Such states will probably resume the role they held during the last Republican administration in Washington, as defiant laboratories for cleaner energy that push other states to follow their lead by reshaping regional energy markets.
Tech Crunch - Dec 6 Green energy projects for data centers and other facilities are goals for a lot of tech companies, but one of the largest, Google, now says it’s going to tip the scale at 100% renewable energy powering its entire global operations by 2017. Google notes this will include both its data centers and its corporate offices. Google kicked off its large-scale direct investments in renewable energy beginning in 2010, with the acquisition of the entirety of the power generated by a 114-megawatt Iowa wind farm. Google says it will cross the 100% mark next year due to its commitments to purchase enough direct wind and solar-sourced power to match its annual consumption for the year.
Greentech Media - Dec 6 According to a new report from GTM Research, corporate investment in energy storage reached an all-time high in terms of quarterly investments in Q3. Disclosed venture funding and project finance totaled $660 million in the third quarter of the year, bringing the annual total to $812 million. The largest announced deal during the quarter was $300 million in project financing from the Electric Gas & Industries Association for Tabuchi Electric. The report notes that Advanced Microgrid Solutions also closed a large project financing deal worth $200 million with Macquarie.
University of California - Dec 7 University of California, Irvine engineers have successfully implemented the first power-to-gas (P2G) hydrogen pipeline injection project in the U.S., demonstrating the use of excess clean electricity that would otherwise go to waste. P2G is a technique for converting surplus sustainable energy from solar panels or wind farms into hydrogen, which can be blended with natural gas and utilized in everything from home appliances to power plants. The renewable fuel can also be stored in containment vessels for later use, such as in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Researchers are closely monitoring the process to determine whether P2G is feasible on statewide or regional power grids. Such systems are currently in place in Germany and Canada.
Solar Industry Magazine - Dec 8 As of November 30, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has connected more than 100,000 private rooftop solar systems to its power grid. In addition, the utility says more than 75% of new private solar customers are taking advantage of SDG&E’s Fast Track application process. By selecting Fast Track, customers are able to interconnect their private solar panels the same day the city or county approves their facility.
Utility Dive - Dec 5 The controversy over utility ownership of electric vehicle charging infrastructure could come to a head in California. Two of the state’s three dominant investor-owned utilities are already acting on plans to build networks of EV chargers approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. In one, the utility will own all the chargers; in the other, all will be owned by independent charger providers. The third pilot, PG&E’s closely-watched hybrid proposal, will involve both utility- and third party-owned EV chargers. Set to be decided this month, it could be especially important in helping regulators decide how to structure the large-scale charger buildout in the nation’s largest electric vehicle market.
Las Vegas Review-Journal - Dec 2 A small leak in a tank filled with molten salt has shut down a $1 billion solar plant in Central Nevada touted for its ability to generate electricity day or night. The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant outside Tonopah, 225 miles northwest of Las Vegas, has been offline since late October and is expected to remain so until January.
North American Windpower - Dec 6 Salt Lake City-based independent power producer sPower has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Silicon Valley Power, the municipal electric utility of Santa Clara, for 49.5 megawatts of wind. The power will come from sPower’s Sand Hill Wind facilities, which will be constructed within California’s Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area. sPower anticipates erecting up to 25 wind turbines for the project, which is expected to enter commercial operations before the end of 2020.
PV-Tech - Dec 8 MCE, a ‘community choice aggregation’ program launched in 2010 to serve two counties, Napa and Marin, and six cities, Benicia, El Cerrito, Lafayette, Richmond, San Pablo, and Walnut Creek, has signed a 105-megawatt power purchase agreement (PPA) with independent power producer sPower. MCE allows residents to collectively purchase cleaner power. Under the terms of the latest 20-year PPA, sPower will generate PV electricity from over 300,000 panels at the still-to-be-built Antelope Expansion 2 in Lancaster. The facility will begin operating in late 2018.
