Renewable Energy Focus
North American Windpower
- Dec 4 U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Doris Matsui, D-Calif., have introduced the Clean Energy Victory Bonds Act of 2015, legislation that would direct the U.S. Department of the Treasury to issue small-denomination treasury bonds to fund and extend existing tax incentives and credits that encourage renewable energy growth. According to the representatives, the bill is modeled after the Victory Bonds of World War II and allows Americans to participate in the clean energy economy through safe investments that improve public health, boost economic growth, and protect the environment. The bonds would be available for purchase by individuals in denominations as low as $25, and up to $7.5 billion in bonds would be issued per issuance, up to a possible $50 billion total.
CP Executive
- Dec 8 The Environment California Research & Policy Center released a new report centered on wind energy. According to the report, wind power has grown exponentially over the last dozen years in California, currently supplying sufficient energy to power 1,188,483 homes. Moreover, during the past year alone, California’s turbines averted over 9 million tons of carbon dioxide pollution: the equivalent of taking more than 1.9 million cars off the roads.
Utility Dive
- Dec 4 Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) procured the first 75 megawatts of energy storage toward the 580-megawatt mandate imposed on it by California’s AB 2514. The seven projects will start coming online in May 2017. The California Public Utilities Commission Energy Storage Decision requires the state’s three dominant investor-owned utilities to bring a cumulative 1,325 megawatts of energy storage online by 2020.
PV-Tech
- Dec 9 A new report from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association forecasts 2015 as the biggest year ever for U.S. solar with record-breaking estimates for the fourth quarter. According to the report, the U.S. installed 1,361 megawatts of PV capacity in the third quarter of 2015 — standing as the eighth consecutive quarter in which the U.S. has installed over 1 gigawatt of capacity. GTM Research expects this upcoming fourth quarter to be the largest in history for U.S. solar, with more than 3 gigawatts of capacity installed.
Las Vegas Sun
- Dec 8 A year after Tesla chose Northern Nevada for the site of its $5 billion gigafactory, Hyperloop Technologies Inc. will be opening up shop at Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas. Equipment is expected to begin shipping this month, and tests could begin as early as the first quarter of 2016. Los Angeles-based Hyperloop Technologies is one of two startups racing to bring Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s conceptual design for high-speed, solar-powered travel in aluminum pods through an almost frictionless tube.
SolarServer
- Dec 7 SunPower Corp. has started construction on Boulder Solar, a 100-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant located in the Eldorado Valley of Boulder City, Nevada. NV Energy has contracted to buy the solar power generated at the plant under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Anticipated to be operational in 2016, the project may generate enough solar power to serve the needs of more than 60,000 homes during daylight hours, based on estimates provided by NV Energy.
Denver Business Journal
- Dec 7 Denmark-based Vestas Wind Systems has acquired UpWind Solutions Inc. and its subsidiaries in a $60 million all-cash deal. UpWind Solutions, a San Diego-based provider of wind power plants in nine states with a total capacity of 3 gigawatts, has 310 employees and turbines from dozens of manufacturers. The acquisition of UpWind will add to Vestas' 50 gigawatts of wind power under service worldwide, and together the companies will service approximately 17 gigawatts of Vestas and non-Vestas turbines in the U.S. and Canada with "ambitions for further growth."
Greentech Media
- Dec 8 Duke Energy, the giant U.S. utility that’s been moving into renewables and distributed energy through its unregulated business arms, has just made a move into the behind-the-meter energy storage business with startup Green Charge Networks. Under a partnership announced Tuesday, Duke Energy Renewables, a group that includes California solar installer REC Solar and energy management company Phoenix Energy Technologies, will work with Green Charge to install batteries at commercial, industrial, and government sites. The partners will initially target Hawaii and Southern California for solar firming and demand-charge management business cases, respectively.
Solar Novus Today
- Dec 9 Younicos, a Berlin, Germany-based-independent energy storage provider, raised $50 million in growth capital to further scale its deployment of intelligent energy storage solutions. The funding comes from a consortium that includes First Solar, Inc., a global provider of solar energy solutions, and Grupo ECOS, a sustainable investment-focused private equity firm. They join an undisclosed strategic lead investor. According to GTM Research, this is the largest investment in a technology independent energy storage provider in 2015.
