Tag Archive for: windandsolar

CA regulators say the state is unlikely to run out of electricity this summer because of a big increase in power storage and a wet winter.

California unlikely to run short of electricity this summer thanks to storms, new power sources

California regulators say the state is unlikely to run out of electricity this summer because of a big increase in power storage and a wet winter that filled the state’s reservoirs enough to restart hydroelectric power plants that were dormant during the drought.

The nation’s most populous state normally has more than enough electricity to power the homes and businesses of more than 39 million people. But the electrical grid has trouble when it gets really hot and everyone turns on their air conditioners at the same time.

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Source: AP News

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The US government is greenlighting a proposed multibillion-dollar transmission line that would send primarily wind-generated electricity from the rural plains of New Mexico to big cities in the West.

US greenlights major transmission line for renewable energy in Western states

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The U.S. government is greenlighting a proposed multibillion-dollar transmission line that would send primarily wind-generated electricity from the rural plains of New Mexico to big cities in the West.

The Interior Department announced its record of decision for the SunZia project Thursday. It comes about a year after an environmental review was completed as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to clear the way for major transmission projects as it looks to meet climate goals and shore up the nation’s power grid.

The SunZia transmission project in New Mexico has been more than a decade in the making. The U.S. Defense Department and others initially raised concerns about the path of the high-voltage lines, prompting the developer to submit a new application in 2021 to modify the route.

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Source: AP News

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Wind & solar combined now produce more electricity than coal in the US, according to new data from the EIA and the FERC.

Wind and solar are now beating coal in the US

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Wind and solar combined now provide more generating capacity and produce more electricity than coal in the US, according to new data from the EIA and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which was reviewed by the nonprofit SUN DAY Campaign.

In the first two months of 2023, electrical generation by solar (including small-scale solar PV such as rooftop) grew by 6.7%, compared to the same two-month period in 2022 – faster than any other energy source, according to the latest issue of the US Energy Information Administration’s “Electric Power Monthly” report, which contains data through February 28. This was driven in large part by growth in “estimated” small-scale solar PV whose output increased by 23.6% and accounted for 32.5% of total solar production.

The mix of utility-scale and small-scale solar PV plus utility-scale solar thermal provided 3.9% of the US’s electrical output.

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Source: electrek

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Today, the United States is running a natural experiment in electricity generation, with a patchwork of policies and power grids.

America needs clean electricity. These states show how to do it.

If humans escape climate scientists’ gloomiest projections, if we buy ourselves time to adapt to higher seas and fiercer heat waves, we will likely use more electricity than we do now, and we will make it without emitting greenhouse gases.

Today, the United States is running a natural experiment in electricity generation, with a patchwork of policies and power grids. To eliminate electricity’s greenhouse gas emissions, it makes sense to ask: What can we learn from the states that make cleanest power?

The chart below shows how the United States has made electricity for the past twenty years, represented as the percentage of power generated from each fuel source. To show how their relative usage has shifted, the fuels are stacked each year from top to bottom in order of percentage.

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Source: The Washington Post

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An analysis by independent climate think tank Ember found that 12% of the world’s power came from solar and wind in 2022.

‘Entering the clean power era’: Wind and solar generated a record amount of global power in 2022

Record growth in wind and solar last year pushed worldwide electricity generation to its cleanest-ever level, a report found, reflecting a renewable energy boom that researchers say could herald the “beginning of the end of the fossil age.”

The analysis published Wednesday by independent climate think tank Ember found that 12% of the world’s power came from solar and wind in 2022, up from 10% of global electricity generation in 2021.

Solar was the fastest-growing source of electricity for the 18th consecutive year, the report said, rising by 24% year-on-year and adding enough power to meet the annual electricity demand of South Africa.

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Source: CNBC

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California produced 26% of the national utility-scale solar electricity followed by Texas with 16% and North Carolina with 8%.

California produces 26% of US solar power

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Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Monday.

Renewables also surpassed nuclear generation in 2022 after first doing so last year.

Growth in wind and solar significantly drove the increase in renewable energy and contributed 14% of the electricity produced domestically in 2022. Hydropower contributed 6%, and biomass and geothermal sources generated less than 1%.

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Source: Patch

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While Texas and California lead the country in wind and solar, several others leap ahead once we take into account each state’s land area.

These small states punch above their weight on clean energy

It’s not surprising that gigantic states like Texas and California are among the heaviest hitters in generating electricity from wind and solar. But what if we look at generation per square mile of land?

Then, the leader is Iowa.

Iowa generated 807 megawatt-hours per square mile in 2022 from wind and solar, most of which was from wind, based on data from the Energy Information Administration.

Rhode Island was next with 627 mwh per square mile, most of which was from solar.

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Source: Mother Jones

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Wood Mackenzie found that reaching 100% renewable electricity would require adding 200,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines

How states are reimagining power grids to take advantage of wind and solar

For years, many states have set ambitious goals and incentives to promote renewable electricity projects. Now, more of those states are turning their attention to the transmission lines, substations, and transformers needed to get that electricity from wind farms and solar plants into homes and businesses.

Congress has invested billions in boosting clean energy. But the money won’t lower emissions as much as predicted without “more than doubling” the last decade’s rate of grid expansion, Princeton University researchers noted last year. That expansion is needed to support the new renewable energy projects coming online, as well as the growing number of electric vehicles, heat pumps, and other technologies requiring electricity.

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Source: Fast Company

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