Focus
House lawmakers introduce energy storage tax credit
■Utility Dive - April 5
Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., last Thursday introduced legislation long awaited by clean energy advocates: a tax credit for energy storage technologies. H.R. 2096 aims to make energy storage technologies fully eligible for the investment tax credit (ITC) that is currently available to solar and some solar-plus-storage projects. The solar ITC is set to phase down from 30 percent in 2019 to 26 percent for projects that start in 2020, 22 percent in 2021, and 10 percent for all commercial and utility projects that start thereafter.
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News
Solar installations gain ground in U.S. cities
■Greentech Media - April 9
Solar capacity is gaining in urban areas across the U.S., according to a report released this week by Environment America Research & Policy Center and the Frontier Group. The number of U.S. cities with more than 50 megawatts of solar installed jumped from eight in 2013 to 23 in 2018. During that same period, 79 percent of the 57 cities the organizations followed through six editions of the report more than doubled their installed solar capacity. Of the 69 cities surveyed in this year's report, Los Angeles claimed the top spot for total capacity installed, at 420 megawatts. Two other California cities, San Diego and San Jose, joined L.A. in the top 10 cities for total capacity.
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New record low solar power price? 2.175¢/kWh in Idaho
■Pv Magazine - March 27
Idaho Power has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Jackpot Holdings for a price of $21.75/MWh. The agreement allows for Idaho Power to purchase the solar plant at a later date, as well as to obtain electricity from a proposed expansion of the facility at a later date. The electricity is described as being a replacement for a soon-to-retire coal plant in Nevada. The current publicly known lowest prices for solar PPAs are 2.375¢/kWh by 8minutenergy in Nevada and 2.49¢/kWh for a project in Arizona, as well as a project in Austin that is stated as being below 2.5¢/kWh — but without publicly releasing all the details of the contract.
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Projects
Kern County to consider solar power plant plan
■Antelope Valley Press - April 9
The Kern County Board of Supervisors is considering a 500-megawatt solar power plant on 2,652 acres north of California City and southeast of the unincorporated community of Cantil. The Kern County Planning Commission approved the project at its March 14 hearing. The Eland 1 Solar Project is spread over five sites on privately-owned, undeveloped land, east of Highway 14.
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Amazon to purchase clean energy from three new wind farms
■CP Executive - April 12
Amazon has announced three new wind power projects currently under development in Ireland, Sweden, and the U.S., as part of the company’s goal to power the entire Amazon Web Services (AWS) global infrastructure with renewable energy. The projects, combined with AWS’ nine existing facilities, are estimated to generate more than 2.7-gigawatt hours of renewable energy annually. The U.S. wind project is located in California’s Tehachapi Mountains, home to some of the largest wind farms in the country. This project is expected to produce up to 47 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity by the end of 2020.
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Renewable Properties installs 3-MW solar project for Marin Clean Energy
■Solar Power World - April 9
Renewable Properties has begun building the American Canyon Solar Project in Napa County. The small-scale utility solar project will supply Marin Clean Energy (MCE), California’s first community choice aggregation program, with 3 megawatts of in-service-area solar electricity. The project is expected to begin delivery of clean, locally-produced electricity to MCE by July of this year through a 20-year power purchase agreement.
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First individually owned community solar project opens in Oakland
■Clean Technica - April 8
The People Power Solar Cooperative has completed its first solar project in Oakland, piloting a new model for community-owned energy in California. The residential-sized 7-kilowatt project is financed entirely by investments up to $1,000 each from more than 50 local community members and leaders among the cooperative’s members, the group says. The project is the first residential energy project in California to be owned by members of the broader community, as far as the cooperative knows.
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