The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is reviewing 20 major renewable energy projects — mostly solar — across the West that would cover as much as 193,000 acres of federal land, and generate 13,845 MW of electricity, or enough to power more than 4 million homes. BLM is working to site projects where natural resource conflicts are low, last month unveiling a proposed update to its Western Solar Plan, first adopted in 2012, to identify 22 million acres in 11 states that have been deemed suitable for commercial-scale solar project applications. The updated plan would require that companies design solar projects in a way that minimizes impacts to plants, soils, and wildlife habitat.
Governor Gavin Newsom has limited the timeframe for opponents to appeal a controversial solar energy project in Riverside County. He granted a request by Intersect Power to limit appeals of its Easley Renewable Energy Project under the California Environmental Quality Act to 270 days, or less than a year, if the project is approved by county officials. Newsom has made tightening up permitting processes a high priority for housing and infrastructure projects. The Easley project, which would sit on federal and private land, is currently being weighed by both the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Riverside County planners. A public comment period on the state-required environmental impact report is open until March 11, and local residents continue to raise a host of concerns.
The Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday launched a solicitation for up to $1.2 billion in capacity contracts for shovel-ready transmission projects that may need a financial boost to get built. The RFP is the second round of potential funding from the DOE’s Transmission Facilitation Program, a $2.5 billion revolving fund. Under the program, DOE can serve as an “anchor customer” by buying up to half of a planned line’s capacity for up to 40 years, and it can sell the contract to replenish the fund.
Environmental justice groups filed a petition with the California Energy Commission (CEC) on Monday asking the commission to comply with state law and consider the environment and public health when it makes decisions about the state’s clean energy policies. The coalition of public health and environmental groups take aim in their petition at Senate Bill 100, which mandates that renewable energy and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of electric retail sales to end-use customers by 2045. The petitioners urged CEC to initiate a rulemaking process to integrate non-energy benefits and social costs into the cost-effectiveness determination that drives California’s energy planning.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is continuing its collaboration with regional grid operator PJM Interconnection for State Agreement Approach 2.0 (SAA), aimed at advancing offshore wind transmission. PJM filed the SAA 2.0 study agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which allows New Jersey to initiate a PJM study to assess transmission options that could help its expanded offshore wind goals. In 2021, New Jersey’s offshore wind target was increased from 7.5 GW by 2035 to 11 GW by 2040.
Power market analysts LevelTen Energy has published its latest report into the European and North American renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) sectors. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the average price of a solar PPA signed in North America reached $52.69/MWh, the highest on record, and it was the second consecutive quarter in which the average value exceeded $50/MWh. However, this figure remains lower than the average price of wind PPAs signed in this quarter – $60.11/MWh – and hybrid PPAs – $56.40/MWh – both of which saw their average prices increase from the third quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter.
The Clean Power Alliance (CPA) has approved a multi-site PPA with Coast Energy to install renewable backup power systems in 11 public buildings within CPA communities. In total, Power Ready’s backup energy systems are expected to have a collective 1.15 MW of PV systems paired with 1.17 MW of BESS capacity.
Heliogen last year won the exclusive right to lease more than 3,300 acres of desert in western Arizona’s La Paz County for solar energy development. Rather than selling the solar power directly to the grid, Heliogen proposes to use its planned solar array to coax liquid hydrogen from the water underground. The company calls it a “clear path toward a carbon-free future,” but La Paz County residents fear it could dry up their drinking water wells.
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