Renewable Energy Focus
Sacramento Bee - Jul 15 California’s booming solar industry had a record day last week when the state’s largest utilities generated more power than ever from the sun. The state’s largest power grid, the California Independent System Operator, or ISO, last Tuesday managed enough solar energy to power 2 million homes. Its 8,030 megawatts recorded at 1:06 p.m. from solar sources stood out as double the network’s best day in 2014. It also was 2,000 megawatts more than its solar peak from last year. It also doesn’t include solar power generated by some of the state’s smaller utilities that don’t belong to the ISO.
KPCC - Jul 19 As California slogs through its fifth year of drought, many water agencies are increasingly turning to alternative water sources, such as seawater, brackish groundwater, and recycled wastewater, to boost supplies. Now a local state senator wants to use California's growing renewable energy supply to help meet that demand. Earlier this year Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) introduced Senate Bill 919. The idea behind the bill is to incentivize water production at times of peak renewable power, which often coincide with peak consumer demand for energy overall. Given current pricing structures, industrial customers like water facilities are often charged more during times of peak demand. Hertzberg hopes to see his bill go before the state Assembly before the end of August.
Utility Dive - Jul 14 Nevada voters will be able to decide on energy deregulation and rooftop solar issues in the November general election after the secretary of state announced questions regarding those issues have been cleared to appear on this year's ballot. The Energy Choice Initiative proposes to amend the state constitution to give consumers the ability to choose their electricity supplier. The second proposal, put forward by a rooftop solar coalition, gives voters the option of restoring more favorable net metering policies for solar power. The net metering proposal must withstand a legal challenge now pending before the state’s Supreme Court over whether the proposal qualifies as a referendum or is, as a lower court ruled, an initiative that would have to go to the legislature before it could be put on the ballot.
PV-Tech - Jul 19 President Obama has launched a new program that will aim to provide low-income households with access to solar. The Clean Energy Savings for All Initiative is targeting 1 gigawatt of installations by 2020. This marks an increase on the 100-megawatt goal for federally-assisted houses in Obama’s Climate Action Plan. The new program includes $288 million of commitments from housing associations, energy co-ops, and power companies for solar deployment.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Jul 18 Under a $5.9 million grant awarded by the California Energy Commission, the San Diego Port Tenants Association announced this Monday that seven of its partner tenants will receive all-electric forklifts and heavy-duty trucks that emit zero greenhouse gas emissions and run almost as quietly as golf carts. By replacing the diesel-powered trucks with zero-emissions vehicles, the port’s environmental specialists estimate 950 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions will be eliminated over the lifetime of the machinery, which is the equivalent of taking 200 passenger vehicles off the road.
Bloomberg - Jul 19 Three months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $16.1 billion in liabilities, SunEdison Inc. has yet to field any bids to take over the entire business, according to two people familiar with the sales process. Instead, it’s received more than 100 indications of interest for specific assets, Rothschild Inc., which is managing the sales process, said last week. That includes bids for individual projects, for bundles of wind and solar farms, and for its entire commercial and industrial unit.
PV Magazine - Jul 21 The recent stock swap takeover bid by Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors of SolarCity, a company he co-founded with his cousins, was a step towards the billionaire entrepreneur’s “master plan” to deliver accessible solar power for all, Musk wrote Wednesday on his Tesla blog. Titled “Master Plan Part Deux”, the blog post outlines how Musk intends to fold SolarCity and Tesla Motors into one entity, the latter becoming a bonafide renewable energy company that just so happens to do it all: solar panels on rooftops, Powerwall battery packs in the garage, and a sleek electric vehicle in the driveway.
Solar Industry Magazine - Jul 17 D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments LLC (DESRI) has acquired the Portal Ridge solar project from First Solar Inc. Located in Lancaster, Portal Ridge is a 31-megawatt solar facility with 20-year power purchase agreements with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Edison. The project, which was developed by First Solar, was acquired by an affiliate of DESRI in partnership with Bright Plain Renewable Energy.
Oakdale Leader - Jul 20 Abandoned wastewater ponds near the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant could soon be lined with solar panels, providing the City of Oakdale in the San Joaquin Valley with substantial savings in its energy costs. The city council approved an action on July 18 to explore a deal with Borrego Solar Systems of Oakland. Since the beginning of the year, the city has been working with solar companies in an effort to install a photovoltaic solar panel array to save money on its future electrical bills. Borrego’s program allows public entities like the City of Oakdale to generate electricity in a remote location, which can then be converted to credits that can be used to offset energy charges at other locations within city boundaries.
