Focus
California NEM 3.0: Regulators propose 1-year delay to net metering decision
Renewable Energy World – August 16
California regulators want to take another year to evaluate potential changes to the state's net energy metering policy— a controversial reform process with broad implications for the residential solar and storage industries. A draft decision first reported by Bloomberg on August 15 calls for the statutory deadline for completion of the so-called NEM 3.0 to be extended to Aug. 27, 2023. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is required by law to reassess how rooftop solar customers are compensated for surplus energy that they send to the grid. This proceeding, commonly referred to as NEM 3.0, is the third generation of net energy metering reform in the state.
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News
Protection sought for rare butterflies at Nevada site
Associated Press – August 16
Conservationists who are already suing to block a geothermal power plant where an endangered toad lives in western Nevada are now seeking U.S. protection for a rare butterfly at another geothermal project the developer plans near the Oregon line. The plaintiff is now petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the bleached sandhill skipper under the Endangered Species Act at the only place the species is known to exist. The petition alleges that the project the Bureau of Land Management approved last year could lead to the extinction of the 2-inch-long butterfly.
EIA finds nearly 20% of planned PV delayed in first half of 2022
Solar Industry Magazine – August 11
Power plant developers plan to install 17.8 GW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic generating capacity in 2022, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Over the first six months of 2022, 4.2 GW of that capacity came online – less than half of what the industry had planned to install in those months. From January through June 2022, about 20% of planned solar photovoltaic capacity was delayed.
$675M federal program expands domestic critical materials supply chain
North American Windpower – August 10
The Biden-Harris administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy, has issued a Request for Information on the development and implementation of a $675 million Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization Program. Critical materials, which include rare-earth elements, lithium, nickel, and cobalt, are required for manufacturing many clean energy technologies, including batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels. The program will advance domestic sourcing and production.
Solar + storage breaks out in 2021 with installed hybrid systems surpassing standalone storage
Utility Dive – August 11
Driven by falling battery prices and the growth of variable renewable generation, hybrid and co-located energy projects — mainly solar combined with battery storage — are surging across the United States, according to a new report from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. There were 298 hybrid projects in the United States totaling 35.9 GW of generating capacity with 3.2 GW/8.1 GWh of storage by the end of last year, according to the report. Nearly half the projects were solar with storage with the rest a mixture of wind, fossil-fuel generation, nuclear generation, and other resources in various configurations.
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Projects
SDG&E picks Mitsubishi Power battery storage for microgrid projects
Power Engineering – August 12
San Diego Gas & Electric Company has ordered Mitsubishi Power’s battery storage and equipment for four of the utility’s planned microgrid projects, totaling 39 MW/180 MWh in capacity. The Elliot, Clairemont, Paradise, and Boulevard microgrid projects were approved by the California Public Utilities Commission on June 23 and are slated to be online in mid-2023.
Energy Vault to build 220 MWh of battery storage projects for Jupiter Power in Texas and California
Energy Storage News – August 16
Energy Vault will deliver battery energy storage systems (BESS) totaling 220 MWh for developer Jupiter Power in Texas and California. The company will supply a 100 MW/200 MWh BESS at a Jupiter Power Facility near Fort Stockton, Texas, and it will construct and commission a smaller 10 MW/20 MWh BESS unit for Jupiter in Carpinteria, California.
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