Solar

According to data compiled and reported by Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE—a German-based solar energy research institute—from July 1 through August 5, solar and wind energy produced 6.24 TWh and 7.09 TWh of electricity respectively, compared to 5.94 TWh of nuclear power generation in Germany. Although it’s not the first time wind production has exceeded […]

Renewables giant SunEdison will acquire emerging distributed energy firm Vivint Solar’s 523-MW rooftop solar portfolio in a $2.2 billion acquisition deal that signals momentum for the business model that has challenged the bottom lines of traditional utilities. SunEdison and Vivint Solar signed a definitive merger agreement on July 20. It will involve the acquisition of Vivint […]

Interstate Power and Light (IPL) will be forced to spend $620 million to retire 10 coal-fired units and retire, refuel, or install pollution controls at several others in Iowa under a settlement reached with the federal government.  The Alliant Energy subsidiary has long anticipated the settlement announced on July 15 by the Environmental Protection Agency […]

Many of the dangers existing at conventional power plants also threaten personnel in the wind and solar energy sectors. All workers can benefit by reviewing lessons learned and implementing corrective actions to improve health and safety performance. The expanding wind and solar energy sectors are not immune to industrial hazards affecting all energy generation markets. […]

A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals surprising aspects about how federal subsidies for electricity have been distributed, how the power generation mix has shifted, and how consumption has transformed since 2001.  The June 29–released report, “Generation Mix has Shifted, and Growth in Consumption has Slowed, Affecting System Operations and Prices,” responds […]

Concentrating solar power has found a partner in thermal storage, but costs remain high. Solar photovoltaic generation may have a partner in rapidly expanding battery options, but the economics are uncertain. Is there room for both approaches, or will one be crowded out? Battery storage is officially hip. Once a subject of concern largely only […]

The Department of Interior (DOI) has approved the first three solar energy projects from its Western Solar Plan. The projects total 440 MW and will be built on public lands in Clark County, Nev.  Under the Western Solar Plan, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has designated 19 solar energy zones covering roughly 298,000 acres […]

In order to achieve its goals for the future, the power sector in Turkey will need to leave the past behind. Download a pdf of this sponsored report by Global Business Reports. Power in Turkey (Global Business Reports, 2015)

The installation of more than one million solar photovoltaic (PV) modules at Sempra U.S. Gas and Power’s and Consolidated Edison Development’s 250-MW AC Copper Mountain Solar 3 project in Boulder City, Nev., was completed in early April. Cupertino Electric and Amec Foster Wheeler said on April 6 that the last module was put in place […]

Duke Energy announced on May 19 that it will construct a new 650-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle power plant (CCPP) and retire its 375-MW Asheville coal power plant by early 2020. The plan also includes the addition of solar generation at the site as well as construction of a new substation and 40-mile transmission line […]

At Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), repeated generation transitions have marked the giant public power utility’s long history, from hydro, to coal, to nuclear. The latest resource plan points to natural gas, along with renewables and energy efficiency, as the basis for the agency’s generating future. At the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), generation transitions are nothing […]

An interdisciplinary study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Energy Initiative concludes, among other things, that “state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirements should be replaced by a uniform nationwide program.” The report—released on May 5—focuses on the future of solar energy, suggesting that a massive expansion in solar capacity to “multi-terawatt scale” is […]

How to give electricity customers who can’t take advantage of rooftop solar access to the sun? Community solar—a shared resource—is a fast-growing segment of the renewable energy market, making solar photovoltaic power more accessible while offering another approach to distributed generation. Mention “solar energy” and the image that probably comes to mind is an array […]

 While fuel switching may be the easiest option for hitting the 2020 and 2030 goals set by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed Clean Power Plan, it may impede reaching longer-term climate targets said experts at an April 8 symposium hosted by the Central Texas Association for Energy Economics and the Energy Institute at the […]

A Gallup poll completed last month found that only 32% of adults in the U.S. worry a “great deal” about global warming or climate change, while 45% worry “only a little” or “not at all.” The survey was taken via telephone interviews conducted during the first week of March using a random sample of 1,025 […]

Everyone loves efficiencies. Combining generation technologies can create a plant that’s more than the sum of its parts, but engineering challenges mean these projects are not for the faint of heart. When you think of “hybrids” these days, your first thought is probably of automobiles. But hybrids—hybrid power plants, that is—are starting to emerge in […]

Stacking perovskites, a crystalline material, onto a conventional silicon solar cell may dramatically improve the overall efficiency of the cell, scientists from Stanford University concluded in a new study. “Right now, silicon solar cells dominate the world market, but the power conversion efficiency of silicon photovoltaics has been stuck at 25% for 15 years,” explained […]

Several gigawatts of solar energy faded from European grids during the two-hour solar eclipse that shadowed the continent, as well as parts of Northern Africa and Asia, on Friday morning. But according to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)—an organization representing 41 transmission system operators (TSOs) from 34 European countries—grid operators […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released 2015 scheduled capacity additions and retirements on Mar. 10, and the news was not good for the coal industry. As has been the trend for several years, coal-fired generation accounts for the majority of expected retirements (12.9 GW of the nearly 16 GW total). However, most of the […]

Rooftop solar company SolarCity on Mar. 2 filed suit in federal court in Arizona seeking to overturn a new rate structure approved by the Salt River Project (SRP) that levies additional charges on customers with rooftop solar panels. On Feb. 26, the SRP board voted to approve a change in how it bills customers who […]

The Utah Red Hills Renewable Energy Park, a 104-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant under development by Norwegian firm Scatec Solar at Parowan in southwest Utah, closed financing on Jan. 7 thanks to an

Google and rooftop solar company SolarCity announced on Feb. 26 that Google is contributing $300 million to an investment fund that is expected to finance $750 million in rooftop solar installations, the two companies said in a statement. The investment is structured as a tax equity deal that will allow Google to reduce its tax […]

Speaking to a sparsely filled room as the last of four presenters during the keynote plenary session at the Energy, Utility & Environment Conference in San Diego, Calif., Feb. 16, Len Hering, executive director of the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), made it clear that he doesn’t think natural gas is the answer to […]

The first class of Marine trainees at Camp Pendleton graduated from the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) solar job training pilot program last Friday. The program is aimed at preparing service members for careers in the solar industry such as solar photovoltaic system installers, sales representatives, and system inspectors. Camp Pendleton is one of three military […]

Two developments yesterday, one quiet, one rather loud, suggest the long-predicted existential threat to the traditional utility model may be at hand. The quiet news came from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which reported that utility-scale solar generation crossed the 5-GW mark for the first time yesterday. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PST, […]

The sixth annual ARPA-E Summit wrapped up on Wednesday, and though there were too many sessions to cover in depth, here is a mini-summary by way of selected interesting comments. Speaker photos (where available) follow the comment. “Any disruptive technology will not fit an existing market.” —Brian Janous, Director of Energy Strategy, Microsoft “[The energy […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the availability of more than $59 million in funding to support solar energy innovation. Of that total, $45 million is intended “to quickly move innovative solar manufacturing technologies to market” and more than $14 million is designated for 15 new projects to help communities develop multi-year solar deployment […]

President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday night held no surprises about energy issues. The word “energy” only appeared twice in the president’s speech—once in mention of the nation’s “booming energy production” and once with regard to how we produce and use energy. The word “power” came up twice with respect to […]

The 550-MW Desert Sunlight solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near Riverside, Calif., which matches MidAmerican’s Topaz Solar project for the largest solar plant in the world, began commercial operations in December, according to the California Independent System Operator. Developed and built by First Solar, and owned by NextEra, GE Energy Financial Services, and Sumitomo, Desert Sunlight […]

“When pigs fly” is a figure of speech used to express disbelief that a particular situation will ever come to pass. For the power industry, several recent and emerging developments are the equivalent of