Focus

BP and McKinsey agree that renewables will be the dominant power source by 2040

■Greentech Media - February 15

McKinsey & Company and British Petroleum both recently released 2019 outlooks for the global energy sector, and, although both forecast that renewables will grow markedly in the coming years, the results present sharply divergent visions of just how much. McKinsey projects that renewables will account for more than 50 percent of global power generation by 2035, while BP’s forecast puts renewables at just about 30 percent of power in 2040.

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News

Solar Bill of Rights introduced in California

■PV Magazine - February 20

This week, Senators Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) and Jim Nielsen (R-Fresno) introduced the Solar Bill of Rights (S-228), which would open up the bulk power system to the participation of behind-the-meter resources. The bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission to collaborate with the Independent System Operator to modify existing tariffs to remove barriers to the participation of customer-sited energy resources in programs intended to provide energy, capacity, and ancillary services for the bulk power system. The bill would also ensure that the owners of distributed solar and storage “are not subject to discriminatory fees or charges” and require regulators to establish a streamlined and standardized process for utilities. If the bill does become law, it could be the first such piece of legislation in the nation to explicitly enshrine the right to participate in the grid using rooftop PV, and could be a model for other states.

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Report: California could run on offshore wind

■OffshoreWind.biz - February 20

With 112 gigawatts of technical resource potential, floating offshore wind in California could produce 1.5 times as much electricity as the state uses in one year, according to a new report from the American Jobs Project in partnership with the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University, Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, and BVG Associates. Offshore wind could be leveraged to achieve the state’s 100 percent carbon-free energy goal, improve grid reliability, and support over 17,500 California jobs in 2045, the report said. The full utilization of California’s offshore generation potential could exceed New York and New Jersey, two states that have already made significant investments in the technology, due to California having the eighth-highest net technical energy resource potential in the United States.

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Oregon's carbon emission cap bill gets first hearing

■Statesman Journal - February 15

Oregon’s proposed cap-and-invest program got its first public hearing last Friday, and legislators got an earful. More than 50 people signed up to testify on House Bill 2020, which would make Oregon the second state after California to set a limit on climate pollution across all economic sectors. The proposal puts a progressively declining cap on greenhouse gas emissions statewide, then auctions off allowances to emit those gases. Proceeds would be returned to communities to help build resilience to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Governor Kate Brown and legislative leaders say passing a bill this session is among their top priorities.

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Amazon aims for carbon neutrality by 2030 with more renewable energy

■Electric Light & Power - February 20

Amazon announced plans Monday to make half of all its shipments carbon neutral by 2030. To reach that goal, the online retail giant says it will use more renewable energy like solar power; have more packages delivered in electric vans; and push suppliers to remake their packaging. Amazon is calling its program "Shipment Zero," and plans to publicly publish its carbon footprint for the first time later this year.

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Projects

Sunpin Solar signs 75-MW PPA with Direct Energy Business

■Solar Power World - February 15

Sunpin Solar and Direct Energy Business announced a renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) for the full output of the recently completed ColGreen North Shore Power Plant. The renewable energy PPA covers the full 96.75-megawatt capacity of the solar project and will serve Direct Energy Business’ retail energy customers in California. The ColGreen North Shore Solar Power Plant, which has been operational since January 2019, is situated on 485 acres of land in the city of Mecca, near the Salton Sea.

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World's biggest battery to boost solar in Texas oil country

■Bloomberg - February 13

Renewable energy developer Intersect Power has floated plans to construct 495 megawatts of energy storage next to 495 megawatts of solar in Borden County, Texas, according to the January generation interconnection status report from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. If completed, the project would be the world's largest battery system when it comes online in 2021. The project would increase the state's installed solar capacity to over 6.8 gigawatts and the energy storage capacity to 584 megawatts.

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