Tag Archive for: solarpower

Once only accessible to the well-off, solar power is making inroads to low-income households thanks to federal and state programs

California program brings clean energy to Oakland

Joseph Wang and his wife have figured out a way to stay warm and efficient during northern California’s winter nights: layering.

“We bundle up during the day, and at night. We use two blankets,” said Wang, 87, in Mandarin, explaining how he and his wife, Meng Rou Lan, 84, dealt with trying to save money on their electricity bill last winter. When he and his wife were hit with a $130 electricity bill, they decided to use their heater sparingly. But soon, due to a publicly funded statewide solar program in California, their bill may go down as much as $40 a month.

Wang is a resident of St Mary’s Gardens, an affordable housing complex with 100 units for low-income seniors in Oakland, California.

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Source: The Guardian

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B2U Storage Solutions just announced it has made SEPV Cuyama, a solar power & energy storage installation using second-life EV batteries.

New solar power & energy storage system uses former electric vehicle batteries

One of the common myths about electric vehicle batteries is that they are hard to recycle when they are no longer being used or can’t be used in a vehicle. This notion is not true, and to the contrary, some former electric vehicle batteries are being used for stationary energy storage projects. Having a second life after EV use extends the utility of such batteries, meaning they can serve two purposes and not just one.

California-based B2U Storage Solutions just announced it has made SEPV Cuyama, a solar power and energy storage installation using second-life EV batteries, operational in New Cuyama, Santa Barbara County, CA. Freeman Hall, co-founder and CEO of B2U Storage Solutions, answered some questions about the project for CleanTechnica.

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Source: Clean Technica

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The Diocese of San Joaquin and its 21 faith communities in Central Valley & Sierra Nevada are close to achieving their renewable energy goal.
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Diocese of San Joaquin nears its renewable energy goal

The Diocese of San Joaquin and its 21 faith communities in California’s Central Valley and Sierra Nevada are close to achieving a key renewable energy goal: In the next month or two, the diocese’s final solar panel installations are expected to go online. With that flip of a switch, an estimated 95% of diocesan energy use will be independent of fossil fuels.

“This is certainly about economics,” Bishop David Rice told Episcopal News Service. Beyond saving money, the diocese also sees its mission as being good stewards of God’s creation, and it is “endeavoring to help the rest of The Episcopal Church come to a similar place.”

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Source: Episcopal News Service

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Opinion: The CPUC needs to embrace the full potential of rooftop solar and energy storage to bolster the entire grid.

Opinion: The future of rooftop solar in California is more important than ever

The shift towards renewable energy sources is more crucial than ever. Climate change is no longer an abstract concept but a pressing reality that demands immediate and innovative solutions. As a solar and energy storage contractor here in San Diego, I believe the future of solar power needs to be re-imagined from a broader perspective.

Last year, the California Public Utilities Commission in its infinite lack of wisdom changed incentives for homeowners purchasing a new solar rooftop. The updated rules went into effect in April.  The rule changes how systems need to be designed and some consider it a backward decision in a time when increased incentives are needed to encourage clean energy adoption.

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Source: TIMES of San Diego

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Community centers are turning to solar & storage to provide power and are exploring new solar savings and benefit-sharing models along the way

Solar energy powers America’s hospitals, churches & rec centers

In many communities, hospitals, places of worship, and recreation centers play a vital role in bringing people together and helping in times of need.

Now, community centers are turning to solar and storage to provide power and are exploring new solar savings and benefit-sharing models along the way.

Here’s what this looks like across the country.

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Source: Clean Technica

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A Surrey brewery has set up a subsidiary which produces beer using nothing but solar power.

Solar-powered brewery pulls first pints

A Surrey brewery has set up a subsidiary which produces beer using nothing but solar power.

The One Planet Brewing Co has been set up in Tongham, near Farnham, by the Hogs Back Brewery.

Rooftop panels provide the energy for the brewery’s equipment.

Hogs Back said it hopes to reach net zero in 2030 – a decade ahead of the rest of the industry.

One Planet’s first beer was a 5.5% brew called Hazy IPA.

“The whole beer industry is committing to get to net zero by by 2040” said Rupert Thompson, managing director of Hogs Back Brewery.

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Source: BBC

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Officials from the city of Brisbane and their power provider cut the ribbon on the first of twelve government buildings across San Mateo County converting to solar power.

Clean energy goes local as government buildings go solar

Squinting against the afternoon sun, officials from the city of Brisbane and their power provider, Peninsula Clean Energy, cut the ribbon on the first of twelve government buildings across San Mateo County converting to solar power.

Photos were taken under photovoltaic solar panels at the city-owned event space, the Mission Blue Center, to celebrate California’s Clean Air Day.

Solar and Storage on Public Buildings is a local program endorsed by the Coalition for Clean Air, a nonprofit environmental group. It is administered by Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE), the official energy service provider for San Mateo County.

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Source: SF Gate

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Elected officials and school leaders in Alameda County are calling on the state to block a controversial proposal that could prevent California schools from embracing solar power.

Leaders call on California to block controversial solar power proposal

Elected officials and school leaders in Alameda County are calling on the state to block a controversial proposal that could prevent California schools from embracing solar power.

School board officials in Oakland and state leaders want the state to reject the proposal that they say would spike solar costs on rooftops and parking lots and ultimately take money away from Oakland classrooms.

“It’s baffling that anyone would make solar projects more difficult rather than easier at this very urgent time,” Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) board member Sam Davis said.

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Source: NBC

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The report found that solar power capacity increased nearly 50% in the last two years and electric car sales increased by 240%.

Boost in solar energy and electric vehicle sales gives hope for climate goals, report says

The window to limit human-caused warming to a globally agreed goal is narrowing but still open because of the huge growth of solar energy and electric vehicles sales worldwide, a report said Tuesday.

For the last two years, the rate of the build up of solar energy and electric vehicle sales were in line with achieving emissions reductions targets that will help cap warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said.

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Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

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The Ockendon solar farm, the third largest in the UK, includes more than 100,000 solar modules covering 70 hectares (173 acres) of land.
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Former rubbish dump in Essex becomes UK’s third largest solar farm

The largest solar farm in Europe to be built on a closed landfill site has begun generating renewable electricity from a former rubbish dump in Essex.

The Ockendon solar farm, the third largest in the UK, includes more than 100,000 solar modules covering 70 hectares (173 acres) of land.

Its owner, the waste company Veolia, expects the solar array to generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of 15,000 homes.

The company said it hoped to give “new life” to the former rubbish dump, which would otherwise have had limited options for redevelopment.

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Source: The Guardian

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