Tag Archive for: california

If California acts to create a new community solar market, the Fresno area has the potential to develop over 150 renewable energy projects.

California regulators must approve community solar to benefit San Joaquin Valley residents

Last September, California’s Legislature and Gov. Newsom made a decision to invest in a program that would simultaneously lower our utility bills, create jobs, improve reliability to our grid on hot summer days, and do all of these things without poisoning the air in our most vulnerable communities.
Community solar, combined with energy storage, can bring San Joaquin Valley residents renewable energy to our rooftops and ensure our community’s resilience. Despite California’s reputation as the clean energy capital of the United States, most Californians have never even heard of Assembly Bill 2316 (AB2316), which allows the state’s renters to choose to have their energy generated from a solar project in their community. The community solar and storage proposal is supported by a coalition of solar, ratepayer advocates, organized labor, environmental justice, and environmental groups.

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Source: The Fresno Bee

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Thanks to funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and IRA, DOE has made available more than $861M to CA’s state and local governments to invest in energy efficiency & grid resilience.

Energy Facts: Impact of the investing in America agenda on California

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visits California

  • On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm will travel to San Jose for an announcement on DOE’s first-of-its-kind Renew America’s Nonprofits program, funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. On Thursday, October 26, 2023, Secretary Granholm will tour SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park and attend a “first light” celebration of the lab’s upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source, the world’s most powerful X-ray laser.

Strengthening California’s Economy

ENERGY JOBS

  • In 2022, there were already 911,345 California workers employed in the energy sector.
  • Across the state, more than 76% of the electric power generation workforce was in wind, solar, and hydroelectric, and more than 294,000 workers were employed in energy efficiency.
  • The Inflation Reduction Act is expanding these opportunities, bringing an estimated $21.2 billion of investment in large-scale clean power generation and storage to California between now and 2030.

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Source: Department of Energy

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The Daggett Solar + Storage project in San Bernardino County features 482MW of solar power generation capacity with 280MW of energy storage.

Major solar-plus-storage project online at retired gas-fired power plant

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A California-headquartered energy company announced the start of commercial operation of one of the nation’s largest solar-plus-storage hybrid power plants.

Officials with Clearway Energy Group, along with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, on Oct. 18 said the Daggett Solar + Storage project in San Bernardino County is now online. The installation features 482 MW of solar power generation capacity, along with 280 MW of energy storage. The Daggett facility is located adjacent to the decommissioned Coolwater Generating Station, a former 636-MW natural gas-fired plant in Daggett that was retired in 2015.

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Source: POWER

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In 2022, around 10% of all new residential solar installations included paired storage — up from virtually zero in 2015.

Rooftop solar system median size up 200%, with storage pairings rising: DOE lab

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Across the U.S. market, California “dominates” in sheer numbers of residential solar installations, according to LBNL. And 11% of those systems have attached storage, a trend Barbose said is driven in part by rebates for storage and by the California Public Utilities Commission’s Self-Generation Incentive Program.

However, system sizes in California only average 7.1 kW – “near the low end of the spectrum,” LBNL said, which pulls the U.S. median downward. While median system sizes in most states are “well above 8 kW, and in many states above 9 kW,” California’s overall share of the market means national median size is 7.2kW.

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Source: Utility Dive

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The CPUC is expected to release an amended proposed decision regulating how solar is used and credited on multimeter properties.

California regulators expected to release amended “Virtual Net Metering” proposal next week

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is expected to release an amended proposed decision regulating how solar is used and credited on multimeter properties. The CPUC’s previous proposal would have made solar unaffordable for California schools, farms, apartment renters and small businesses.

The amended proposal is anticipated on Monday or Tuesday of next week. A vote by the CPUC on the proposal, originally slated for late September, is currently scheduled for Thursday, October 12.

At issue are proposed changes to the Virtual Net Energy Metering (VNEM) and Net Energy Metering Aggregation (NEMA) programs. The programs let properties with multiple electric meters install a single solar system for the entire property, sharing one solar system’s electricity and net-metering credits with all customers and meters on that property. This brings the benefits of going solar to many types of consumers who otherwise would not benefit from Net Energy Metering (NEM), the program that makes solar more affordable by crediting consumers with solar systems for the excess energy they produce and share back with the energy grid.

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Source: Solar Power World

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California can break its addiction to natural gas and replace fossil fuels with cleaner energy. We need Governor Newsom to sign SB 619.

No more delays or excuses: California must build clean energy now to replace fossil fuels

2023 has seen its share of clean energy setbacks. Southern California communities were aghast when three polluting gas plants promised for closure were extended again for another three years because state agencies didn’t feel they had enough clean energy resources to shut them down. More promises were broken when the state increased gas storage to full capacity at SoCalGas’ notorious Aliso Canyon facility, again because of professed fears about the lack of clean energy replacements on the part of the state.

But 2023 should be the last year for excuses and delays to follow through on commitments to shutter old gas power plants and leaky storage. Governor Newsom has laid out ambitious goals for California’s clean energy generation and a road map to zero emissions. But with tens of thousands of megawatts of clean energy resources from solar, offshore wind, geothermal development and battery storage needing to come online quickly, California can’t afford a transmission bottleneck. To follow through on his clean energy goals and make them a reality, we need Governor Newsom to sign SB 619.

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Source: Utility Dive

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Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, CA is retiring its diesel generators in favour of a solar microgrid with long-duration energy storage.

California Children’s Hospital replaces diesel plant with solar+storage microgrid

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Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, California is retiring its diesel generators in favour of a solar microgrid with long-duration energy storage, in a bid to clean up its electricity supply while ensuring a reliable, uninterrupted flow of power.

The Children’s Hospital Resilient Grid with Energy Storage (CHARGES) project will feature a 34.4-megawatt-hour, long-duration storage system using zinc-bromine flow batteries supplied by Brisbane, Australia-based Redflow Ltd., Power Engineering reports. “The microgrid system is designed to safeguard critical hospital operations during utility outages, ensuring at least 18 hours of continued functionality following earthquakes or other natural disasters.”

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Source: The Energy Mix

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Agrivoltaics are still rare in CA, but experts say the shade they provide could be a game-changer in a state where many farms are struggling to plan for a future with limited groundwater.

As California gets drier, solar panels could help farms save water

Satellite imagery of Topaz Solar Farm, a massive solar installation inland from San Luis Obispo in Central California, depicts an oasis of blue panels surrounded by sun-scorched earth. The images do not capture, however, the thousands of sheep hard at work under the panels, eating the non-native grasses and reducing the threat of wildfire.

The operation benefits everyone involved: Sheep farmer Frankie Iturriria gets paid for his time, the collaborating rangeland researchers are breaking ground, and the landowner BHE Renewables can maintain the property with sheep, which have less impact and are more cost-effective than mowers or other livestock. But the farm is one of relatively few examples of agrivoltaics—or combined agriculture and photovoltaic array systems—on private land in California, where the technology has been surprisingly slow to gain visibility and traction.

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Source: Civil Eats

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After a fruitful 2023 state legislative session, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed every major climate and clean energy bill that came to his desk.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signs slate of clean energy bills into law

After a fruitful 2023 state legislative session, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 7 signed every major climate and clean energy bill that came to his desk. They included bills that will speed our way to powering California with 100% clean energy, clear the path for offshore wind power, open up highways to solar infrastructure, renew clean transportation funding, and hold oil companies accountable for their messes. Environment California had sponsored five of those bills, led campaigns on several more and organized public and legislative support for all of them.

“With today’s action, Gov. Newsom cements California’s climate leadership. As one of the biggest economies in the world, what we do here matters beyond our borders,” said Laura Deehan, Environment California’s state director. “California has set ambitious climate goals but getting there requires innovative thinking, willingness to take risks and action to jump-start clean energy in the face of staunch opposition from entrenched interests. Our Legislature and governor have come through on all those counts. Now, it’s time to put these important initiatives into action.”

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Source: Solar Power World

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The BLM has started accepting public comments related to the environmental assessment of an up to 400-MW solar project to be partly located on public lands in California.

BLM seeks public input on 400-MW solar project in California

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The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has started accepting public comments related to the environmental assessment of an up to 400-MW solar project to be partly located on public lands in California.
Feedback for the Easley Solar scheme will be gathered for 30 days, until October 15, BLM said on Friday.
The project was put forward by IP Easley, a subsidiary of Intersect Power LLC, which intends to build, operate and maintain a photovoltaic (PV) farm in Riverside County. The complex will cover around 2,700 acres (1,093 ha) of BLM-administered public lands and 990 acres of private lands north of Desert Centre. The area will be developed in line with the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which covers 10.8 million acres of public lands in the desert regions of seven California counties and aims to streamline renewable energy development while preserving desert ecosystems.

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Source: Renewables Now

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