Tag Archive for: energy

Spain is betting that greater solar generation will ease its dependence on volatile commodity markets while helping to clean up energy mix

Sun-drenched Spain turns on Europe’s biggest solar power plant

Iberdrola SA turned on Europe’s largest solar plant in western Spain as the country drives up output of renewable energy to cut reliance on fossil fuels.

Spanish power is trading almost three times higher than the five-year seasonal average as Russian gas cuts push up fuel costs. As one of Europe’s sunniest nations, Spain is betting that greater solar generation will ease its dependence on volatile commodity markets while helping to clean up the energy mix.

The plant in the Extremadura region, comprising about 1.5 million solar panels, will produce enough electricity to supply more than 334,000 homes, Iberdrola said in a statement. It’s already connected to the grid and will gradually ramp up production until it’s fully operational within the next four weeks.

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Source: Bloomberg

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The 48-level building features a “solar skin” facade, from which it will generate energy for 20 percent of its base electrical requirements.

‘Solar skinned’ Melbourne tower approved

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A $1 billion development at 435 Bourke Street has been approved by the Victoria’s planning department.

Designed by Bates Smart, the 48-level building will feature a “solar skin” facade, from which it will generate energy for 20 percent of its base electrical requirements.

To be made from vertical glass photovoltaic panels, the solar skin is designed to capture sunlight and convert the energy into electricity. The innovative skin can also let natural light in, providing the same thermal and insulation capacities as architectural glass.

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Source: Architecture AU

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Judge asked for input on how to ease shock and got thousands of pages' worth of advice.

Californians’ energy costs could rise and fall with judge’s solar call

So the tortured, lawyerly tomes on whether and how to revamp electricity rates for California’s solar panel owners are in — hundreds upon hundreds of pages of them in a steamy soup of “NBCs on BTM consumption” and ” ACC Plus adder” and “SGIP storage incentive” and “upfront MTC” — and an administrative law judge is wading through them, weighing the future of your electric bill.

This proceeding before California’s all-powerful utility regulator will impact every person who flips a light switch or presses an “on” button in the Golden State.

If you’re one of the vast majority of Californians who do not have solar panels on your roof, it might save you money.

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Source: Los Angeles Daily News

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The project will support the development of utility-scale solar resources & will boost the reliability of the bulk power system in AZ and CA.

US greenlights key solar line project to power California

The Ten West Link project is set to run 125 miles between the Delaney substation near Tonopah, Arizona, and the Colorado River substation in Blythe, California. It will be built next to an existing transmission line.

When CAISO evaluated the project, the grid operator found it would reduce costs for California ratepayers by gaining access to less expensive electricity in Arizona, the California Public Utilities Commission said in its November 2021 decision approving the project.

Among the project’s benefits, Delaney Colorado River Transmission expects it will reduce CAISO’s need to curtail renewable energy output on its system, according to the PUC.

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Source: Utility Dive

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The new decision from the CPUC is one of the most significant changes to the interconnection process in decades.

Groundbreaking California rule transforms how renewables connect to the grid

A new decision from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) marks a significant milestone by dramatically simplifying the interconnection process for distributed energy resources (DERs), like solar and batteries, and providing valuable transparency for project developers.

This is one of the most significant changes to the interconnection process in decades and offers a model for other states, at a time when interconnection has increasingly become a bottleneck to renewable energy development around the country.

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Source: Clean Technica

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The researchers found that by using bifacial solar modules, snow losses could be cut from double digits to just 2% on an annual basis.

Bifacial solar modules shine in snowy environments

As solar costs have dropped, it now makes economic sense to implement them even in the deep north, yet there is concern about the effects of snow on energy generation. While solar panels operate best in colder temperatures, panels covered in snow will generate less energy, known as snow loss.  A study conducted at Western University in Ontario, Canada, shows how to beat snow losses using solar energy systems.

The difference between bifacial and monofacial modules is that bifacial modules absorb light from the front and back, while monofacial only collect sunlight on the front. The study analyzed snow losses on these two types of systems using hourly data including energy, solar irradiation and albedo, the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation.

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Source: PV Magazine

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In addition to offering energy resiliency and reliability, many of these solar power innovative applications provide secondary benefits.

The secondary benefits resulting from innovative solar power deployment

One of the chief benefits of renewable energy is its decentralized nature, allowing for energy resiliency and innovative deployments in places where power otherwise couldn’t be produced. By being creative and relying on the private sectors’ R&D, governments and businesses alike can weave solar energy seamlessly and cost-effectively throughout urban and rural settings – a feat that’s already been accomplished in a multitude of innovative projects.

Below, we’ll outline six of these – and cover why they represent such marked innovations.

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Source: PV Buzz

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Solar growth is spreading into new U.S. markets as developers tackle grid challenges and new demand pockets open up in central states.Panel The Planet

US Army executes lease with Bright Canyon Energy for microgrid energy resilience project

The Army executed a 30-year lease with Bright Canyon Energy (BCE) for a privately funded, owned and operated energy resilience project on approximately 100 acres at Joint Forces Training Base – Los Alamitos (JFTB-LA), CA. Construction is expected to begin this summer.

The project will provide power to JFTB-LA critical missions for at least 14 days in the event of a grid emergency and also benefit the local community. The project is a collaboration among the U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives, JFTB-LA, California National Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and BCE, and will generate 26 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics, and include a 20MW/40 MWh battery energy storage system, and 3 MW of backup generators.

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Source: OC Breeze

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New solar-powered system produces energy and drinking water

A new solar-powered system out of Saudi Arabia is capable of producing two vital resources: energy and clean water.

Peng Wang, an environmental scientist at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), was working alongside a team of biologists and engineers to improve solar panels’ efficiency when he thought of the idea for the system. Wang grew up in a Western China village without running water, requiring his family to fetch water from a communal well. If scalable, his team’s invention could supplement or fulfill similar communities’ water and energy needs.

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Source: Extreme Tech

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Construction begins on largest floating solar project in the US

NJR Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) has started construction on an 8.9-MW floating solar installation in Millburn, New Jersey, that will be the largest floating array in the United States.

Using a floating racking system, 16,510 solar panels will be installed on a reservoir located at the New Jersey American Water Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant. The clean power generated by the array will provide approximately 95% of the facility’s annual power needs through a power purchase agreement with CEV.

“Floating solar technology creates new opportunities for bodies of water to be a home for large-scale renewable energy generation and bring the benefits of clean energy to even more customers,” said Steve Westhoven, president and CEO of New Jersey Resources. “As a leader in New Jersey’s solar marketplace, we look forward to working with New Jersey American Water to support their power needs and advance the state’s clean energy and climate goals.”

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Source: Solar Power World

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