Renewable Energy Focus
Los Angeles Times - Mar 13 A Boeing 737 jet that took off from Los Angeles International Airport last week looked like most other planes launching into the partly cloudy skies. But this San Francisco-bound United Airlines flight was preceded by speeches and fanfare because the plane’s engines were powered by a blend of petroleum-based fuel and sustainable biofuel, brewed at a Southern California refinery from natural oils and agricultural waste. Other airlines have tested biofuel, but the Chicago-based carrier says no other airline has committed to using the fuel on a regular route.
PV-Tech - Mar 16 The global surge in renewable energy deployment has been credited for greenhouse gas emissions remaining flat for the second year running, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to IEA data, global emissions of carbon dioxide stood at 32.1 billion tonnes in 2015, having remained essentially flat since 2013. The agency said that electricity generated by renewables played a “critical” role, having accounted for around 90 percent of new electricity generation in 2015. Alongside the stalled rise in greenhouse gas emissions, the global economy continued to grow by more than 3 percent, offering further evidence that the link between economic growth and emissions growth is weakening, the IEA claimed.
SeeNews Renewables - Mar 11 Outdoor clothing and gear maker Patagonia Inc. and four partners will create a $35-million tax equity fund to finance residential solar installations across the country. The new fund will use state and federal tax credits and direct Patagonia’s tax dollars to buy over 1,500 rooftop solar systems from Sungevity for homeowners in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. There will be no upfront cost for these homeowners, but they will need to sign solar power purchase agreements.
UtilityDive
- Mar 14 Lawmakers in the Utah House have signed off on the Sustainable Transportation and Energy Plan Act, a measure supported by Rocky Mountain Power to simplify recouping costs and put in place a sustainable transportation and energy pilot program. But the measure was altered from a previous version, giving the Public Service Commission more oversight, though it still allows for 100 percent recovery of utility costs. Lawmakers initially rejected the measure by a vote of 33-40, but then reconsidered the legislation and voted to pass it 46-26.
ABC News - Mar 14 Toyota Motor Corp. is responding to the main criticism of fuel cell cars, that making the hydrogen for the fuel is not clean, with plans to help make the hydrogen using wind power. Fuel cells are zero-emission, running on the power created when hydrogen combines with oxygen in the air to make water. But to have a totally clean supply chain, the hydrogen must also be cleanly made. Right now, most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. However in a project announced this week, hydrogen from the wind-power plant Hama Wing in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo, will be compressed and transported by truck to power fuel-cell forklifts at four sites in the area: a factory, a vegetable-and-fruit market, and two warehouses.
PV Magazine - Mar 16 Construction has begun on the Springbok 2 Solar Farm, a 191-megawatt solar project north of Los Angeles in Kern County. Minnesota’s Swinerton Renewable Energy is constructing Springbok 2 on behalf of developer 8minutenergy and majority investor D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments LLC. Swinerton will install over 600,000 PV modules on Array Technologies trackers, covering an area of over 3 square kilometers.
Reuters - Mar 16 Troubled solar company SunEdison Inc. has again delayed filing its annual report after identifying "material weaknesses" in its financial reporting, primarily related to problems with a newly implemented IT system. SunEdison, struggling under a huge debt load, said on February 29 that it had delayed filing its annual report by the original deadline while it conducted an internal investigation into its financial position. That investigation is still underway, SunEdison said this week.
