Tag Archive for: solarfarms

The US DOE announced the availability of $450M through the 2021 BIL for clean energy projects — like solar farms — on mining sites.

DOE offers $450 Million for green energy projects at coal mining sites

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the availability of $450 million through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) for clean energy projects — like solar farms — on current and former mining sites, a White House press release said.

There are about 17,750 mine land sites in the U.S. covering 1.5 million acres. These sites contaminate land, water and air quality, as well as expose local communities to toxic pollutants.

The repurposing of the sites for renewable energy projects would generate up to an estimated 90 gigawatts of green energy — enough power for almost 30 million homes.

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Source: Eco Watch

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New study finds that an optimal arrangement of solar panels on farms can cool the panels down by 10 degrees—crucial for their efficiency.

Solar panels handle heat better when they’re combined with crops

It’s an ironic fact that sun-harvesting solar panels function better when they’re not too hot. But luckily researchers have now discovered precisely how to cool them down. Building solar panels at a specific height above crops can reduce surface temperatures by up to 10 °C, compared to traditional panels constructed over bare ground, they’ve found.

The results, published in the journal Applied Energy, are the latest contribution to a growing body of research on agrivoltaics: a farming method that aims to maximize land use by pairing solar panels with cropland, thus minimizing competition between energy production and food. We already know that agrivoltaics can increase land-use efficiency, produce plenty of electricity on minimal land, and may also improve crop yields by shielding plants from heat and wind.

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Source: Anthropocene

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Lightsource bp has built a pair of solar farms in CO that double as carbon sinks and help to preserve 3,000 acres of shortgrass prairie, too.

New solar farm is a carbon sink & prairie preserver, too

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A movement is afoot to quash utility-scale solar development on farmland in the US, but the case for rural solar keeps expanding in new and different directions. In the latest example, Lightsource bp has built a pair of solar farms in Colorado that double as carbon sinks and help to preserve 3,000 acres of shortgrass prairie, too.

Solar developers like farmland because it is relatively flat, treeless, and exposed to sun. Roads and transmission infrastructure are pluses, too.

As for local opposition, that is a matter of local concern. However, if the objections come down to aesthetics and appropriate use of land, that is a matter of historical perspective. Farms look bucolic enough on the outside, but beneath those amber waves of grain is formerly virgin land that has been stripped of its natural state, robbed of its biodiversity, commercialized, and industrialized for generations with machines, herbicides and pesticides.

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Source: Clean Technica

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Amazon, the US e-commerce group will also install 23 rooftop systems totaling 4.09 MW across 14 cities in India.

Amazon announces 420 MW of utility-scale solar projects in India

U.S. e-commerce group Amazon has announced its first utility-scale renewable energy projects in India – three solar farms located in Rajasthan. These include a 210 MW project to be developed by Indian developer ReNew Power, a 100 MW project to be built by Amp Energy India, and a 110 MW project to be developed by Brookfield Renewable. 

“Combined, these solar farms can generate 1,076,000 MWh of renewable energy per year, enough to power over 360,000 average-sized households in New Delhi annually,” stated the company.

Amazon will also deploy 23 rooftop solar arrays totaling 4.09 MW across 14 cities in India. This brings the total number of its solar rooftop projects in India to 41, with a combined capacity of 19.7 MW.

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Source: PV Magazine

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