California

A coalition of companies working in the U.S. clean energy sector has released its latest report on the nation’s offshore wind market, noting projects totaling more than 51 GW of capacity are in a growing pipeline of expected installations. The Washington, D.C.-based American Clean Power Association (ACP) on May 4 said it is tracking projects […]

An agreement to pull the plug on the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in San Luis Obispo County was settled in 2016. But plans to close it in 2025 were delayed last year when California was hit in the mouth with an extreme heat wave that threatened the power grid. The realists, or rather near-realists, felt […]

REDWOOD CITY, CA – April 18, 2023 –  As one of the first public agencies nationwide to utilize newly expanded federal renewable energy incentives, Peninsula Clean Energy has reached innovative agreements with nine cities and the County of San Mateo to install solar and future battery storage on public buildings. Peninsula Clean Energy is executing […]

SAN FRANCISCO — April 17, 2023 — Renewable Properties, a developer and investor in small-scale utility and community solar projects, and Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), a community choice aggregator (CCA), have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for two solar projects. One of the projects, located in Ukiah, will include energy storage. Both projects will contribute to SCP’s local resource plan […]

Hybrid generation and storage is key to rapid low-carbon transition. COMMENTARY When asked why he robbed banks, the infamous Willie Sutton is said to have replied, “Because that’s where the money is!” So, when trying to decarbonize California’s electric power sector, we should follow Sutton’s Law and focus on where the carbon is. To decarbonize, […]

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), a real-time energy market operated by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), has gained three new participants, including its first generation-only entity. CAISO on April 5 announced the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Desert Southwest region, El Paso Electric (EPE), and AVANGRID have formally begun participation in the WEIM. […]

The Biden administration has pledged another $1.2 billion to help extend the operating life of older or distressed nuclear power plants, with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm saying nuclear power is needed to support the nation’s clean energy goals. The funding, announced by the Dept. of Energy (DOE) on March 2, is the second tranche of […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — March 1, 2023 — Renewable Properties, a developer and investor in small-scale utility and community solar projects, has closed its Fund 8 portfolio with two financing partners, Nelnet Renewable Energy and AB CarVal. Fund 8 consists of nearly 30 MW of community solar projects in California and New York. The closing of Fund 8 reflects the company’s strong ties to […]

The market for energy storage projects continues to grow as utilities recognize the benefits of storage for demand response, along with the integration of renewable energy resources to the power grid. Incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for standalone storage provide even more support for the sector. Storage companies are growing, and more deals […]

California has been driving America’s clean energy transition for years, but the road to net-zero is still paved with fossil fuels. Frequent extreme weather events and surging electricity demand are catalyzing the buildout of more reliable and secure clean energy. The state’s shift has largely been focused on renewable sources like solar and wind, which […]

Construction of a major solar-plus-storage installation in California has been approved by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Desert Quartzite project, sited on about 3,000 acres near Blythe in eastern Riverside County, will feature a 300-MW solar array along with 600 MWh of energy storage. Desert Quartzite, being developed by EDF Renewables North […]

San Francisco, January 31, 2023 — Renewable Properties, a developer and investor in small-scale utility and community solar projects based in San Francisco, has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for five projects with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), California’s largest investor-owned utility. The projects will bring the benefits of clean solar energy to households that can’t […]

Cynics might argue that it’s impossible to operate the power grid economically with 100% renewable energy on an hourly basis, but a model developed by Peninsula Clean Energy, a community choice aggregation agency that serves San Mateo County and the City of Los Banos, California, suggests it’s possible—at least in its little slice of the […]

SAN RAFAEL and CONCORD, Calif. (Jan. 25, 2023) — Local clean energy provider, MCE, is taking the first step toward pursuing full or part ownership in turnkey clean energy projects providing 95-100% carbon-free energy. The agency is using a Request for Information process to solicit these projects. If any projects are selected through this process, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied a request from California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to renew a review of an operating license application for the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. The move at least temporarily puts on hold plans to extend the operation of two reactors at Diablo Canyon, the last operating […]

REDWOOD CITY, CA – Jan. 24, 2023 – Peninsula Clean Energy is moving forward with energy storage, geothermal, wind and small hydropower projects that will assist the agency’s industry leading effort to provide customers with renewable power on an hourly basis. Nova III will be Peninsula Clean Energy’s first stand-alone storage project and will provide […]

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (January 24, 2023) — Antora Energy, a leader in zero-carbon heat and power for the industrial sector, has built the world’s first dedicated manufacturing line for thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells, achieving a major milestone in the production and scalability of TPV technology. The company has also demonstrated an efficiency rate greater than 40% for […]

San Ramon, Calif. (Jan. 17, 2023) – San Ramon is now home to the world’s largest multicampus solar and energy storage installation, equating to nearly 25 megawatts (MW), as Sunset Development Company and DSD Renewables (DSD) again partner for phase two of its renewable energy solution and solar installation at Bishop Ranch, the thriving 600-acre, […]

A North Carolina-based group that provides battery energy storage and software technology is set to co-locate 420 MWh of storage at four natural gas-fired facilities in California. Durham-headquartered FlexGen Power Systems on Jan. 17 said it would provide energy storage to Middle River Power (MRP), a Chicago, Illinois-based independent power company. MRP was created in […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—December 22, 2022—To help deliver on its 2030 Zero Carbon Plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from its power supply, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and Swell Energy (Swell) today announced an agreement for Swell to act as the aggregator for the new My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program – a residential customer-driven virtual power […]

The first nuclear fusion reaction to result in a net energy gain has been successfully completed by scientists at a laboratory in California, a milestone in the decades-long pursuit of a way to produce unlimited energy with no carbon emissions or nuclear waste. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made the official announcement Dec. 13 during […]

GE Gas Power announced on Dec. 6 that it has deployed an “innovative technical solution” on four TM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines at the California Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) sites in Yuba City and Roseville, California (Figure 1). The solution reportedly reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by more than 90%, surpassing […]

SAN RAFAEL and CONCORD, Calif. (Oct. 18, 2022) — Renewable Properties, a developer and investor in small-scale utility and community solar projects, is adding two new projects to its growing portfolio with MCE, California’s first community choice aggregator (CCA). The two new Renewable Properties projects are the first major solar projects in the Byron area, […]

The U.S. government has announced the first-ever sale of offshore wind development rights off the California coast. The Dept. of Interior (DOI) on Oct. 18 said it would hold the event on Dec. 6, in an effort to spur industry growth in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The agency said the sale will include […]

Four large solar power projects, including two that will feature battery energy storage systems (BESS), are moving forward after the closing of financing commitments for the installations. Intersect Power, an Oregon-headquartered development and engineering group for renewable energy, on Sept. 29 announced it has closed $3.1 billion in financing to complete a near-term portfolio of […]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Sept. 19, 2022) — As the U.S. solar and storage industry gathers for the first time in three years at RE+ 2022, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is laying out a renewed vision for the next decade of clean energy advocacy after a chain of policy successes, from President Biden’s solar tariff […]

California’s grid operator issued a Stage 3 energy emergency alert (EEA) at 5:17 p.m. PST on Sept. 6, warning it would order rotating power outages to lower soaring power demand and stabilize its grid, if necessary. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) cautiously raised the emergency alert from Stage 2, which it had declared earlier […]

The first geothermal power plant built in more than three decades within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authority has come online. Mammoth Pacific Geothermal, an Ormat Co. subsidiary, declared the 30-MW Casa Diablo IV (CD4) commercially operational on July 20. CD4 is located on public land two miles east of the Town of […]

Chair of House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Observes Fusion Experiment and Speaks with Early Career Scientists San Diego, August 18th – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, visited General Atomics (GA) and toured the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. While at DIII-D, Rep. Kaptur met […]

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a plan that would keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open into 2035, a decade beyond the facility’s current closure date. The proposal, which in part includes giving plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) a forgivable $1.4-billion loan, was included in a draft legislative package sent to […]