Portugal generated an ‘historic’ 95 per cent of its electricity from renewables in April, according to the network operator REN.

Renewables are meeting 95% of Portugal’s electricity needs

Portugal has made huge progress in renewable power, up from 27 per cent in 2005 and 54 per cent in 2017.

Portugal generated an ‘historic’ 95 per cent of its electricity from renewables in April, according to the network operator REN.

Renewable energy generation averaged just below that for the first four months of the year, covering 91 per cent of the nation’s power needs.

It’s one national good news story within a great continental shift: fossil fuels provided less than a quarter of the EU’s energy for the first time ever last month.

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Source: Euro News

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The off-grid solar tracker EV charger is quicker and less expensive to install than traditional grid-connected stations and avoids costly utility demand charges since there’s no need for infrastructure.

An off-grid solar tracker powers this EV charging station

Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, has installed an off-grid solar tracker EV charging station for its employees.

“This solar electric vehicle charger is a part of the college’s efforts to make our [transportation systems] more sustainable”, said Marcus Welker, assistant director of sustainability at Dartmouth College [via Vermont Biz].

Solaflect Energy, based in Norwich, Vermont, designs and manufactures the Solar EV Charger. The four Level 2 charging points are powered by a 6.2-kilowatt solar array mounted on a dual-axis tracker that generates 40% more power than comparable fixed panel arrays.

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Source: electrek

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The FERC approved the biggest changes in more than a decade to the way U.S. power lines are planned and funded.

New rules to overhaul electric grids could boost wind and solar power

ederal regulators on Monday approved sweeping changes to how America’s electric grids are planned and funded, in a move that supporters hope could spur thousands of miles of new high-voltage power lines and make it easier to add more wind and solar energy.

The new rule by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees interstate electricity transmission, is the most significant attempt in years to upgrade and expand the country’s creaking electricity network. Experts have warned that there aren’t nearly enough high-voltage power lines being built today, putting the country at greater risk of blackouts from extreme weather while making it harder to shift to renewable sources of energy and cope with rising electricity demand.

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Source: The New York Times

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The US has officially exceeded 5M solar installations, marking another milestone just 8yrs after the nation reached 1M installations in 2016.

US surpasses 5 million solar installations

The United States has officially exceeded 5 million solar installations, marking another milestone just eight years after the nation reached one million installations in 2016 — a milestone that took 40 years to achieve following the first grid-connected solar installation in 1973.

According to data released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie today, over half of all U.S. solar installations have come online since the start of 2020 and over 25% have come online since the Inflation Reduction Act became law just 20 months ago. These systems are installed on homes, businesses and in large ground-mounted arrays across the country.

“Solar is scaling by the millions because it consistently delivers on its promise to lower electricity costs, boost community resilience and create economic opportunities,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “Today 7% of homes in America have solar, and this number will grow to over 15% of U.S. homes by 2030. Solar is quickly becoming the dominant source of electricity on the grid, allowing communities to breathe cleaner air and lead healthier lives.”

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Source: Solar Power World

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Let’s make it easier and cheaper for farmers with dwindling water supplies to convert their lands to solar energy generation.

California farmers are low on water. Why not help them go solar?

It sounds like a climate solution everyone should be able to support: Let’s make it easier and cheaper for farmers with dwindling water supplies to convert their lands from crop production to solar energy generation, if that’s what those farmers want.

So what’s stopping such a bill from sailing through the California Legislature?

“Change can be difficult,” said Shannon Eddy, executive director of the Large-scale Solar Assn.

Tell me about it.

Even as coal, oil and gas combustion fuel an ever-deadlier rise in global temperatures, finding a spot to build a solar or wind farm where no one will object is damn near impossible. Some concerns are legitimate, such as safeguarding wildlife habitat and sacred Indigenous sites. Others, not so much. Take, for example, false claims that living near renewable energy projects can cause health problems — claims that have been spread by groups with ties to the fossil fuel industry, and by former President Trump.

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Source: Los Angeles Times

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PG&E is using remote microgrids to eliminate overhead distribution lines in high fire threat areas, reducing wildfire risks.

PG&E announces 6 new remote microgrids coming in 2024

Northern California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) announced Tuesday that it will expand its remote grid program, adding six new installations in 2024.

Remote grids, also known as remote microgrids, operate independently from the larger electric grid. They provide stand-alone local energy resources to defined areas, allowing the utility to remove long overhead electric distribution lines, reducing wildfire risk and service interruptions for remote customers.

Remote grids often use low-carbon energy sources, such as solar, to provide reliable electricity to customers while also minimizing emissions.

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Source: MICROGRID KNOWLEDGE

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Sunreef shared a new sustainability strategy and is now integrating recycled PET bottles into its solar electric yacht production process.

Sustainability at sea: Sunreef is integrating recycled plastic bottles into solar electric yachts

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Sunreef Yachts is already a solar electric boatbuilder recognized for its sustainability efforts in the maritime industry but is now taking things a step greener. The company is now integrating recycled PET bottles into its solar electric yacht production process.

Sunreef Yachts has been operating out of Gdansk, Poland, for over 20 years alongside a newer footprint established in the United Arab Emirates. From day one in 2002, Sunreef has been pushing the boundaries of sustainable marine travel, launching the world’s first 74-foot luxury oceangoing catamaran with a flybridge.

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Source: electrek

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A solar project come to Napa County — floating panels on 56 acres of Napa Sanitation District ponds and two miles of new transmission lines.

Napa to consider floating solar panels at NapaSan plant

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A solar project with a difference could come to Napa County — floating panels on 56 acres of Napa Sanitation District ponds and two miles of new transmission lines passing near Soscol Junction.

The Napa County Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the proposal on Wednesday. It meets at 9 a.m. in the county administration building, 1195 Third St. in Napa.

Laketricity would lease space on the NapaSan ponds along the Napa River south of the Butler Bridge, which carries Highways 12 and 29. The project’s 56-acre expanse would be about the size of the Vintage High School campus in north Napa.

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Source: Napa Valley Register

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Sunrun has networked more than 16,200 customers’ solar+storage systems to support California’s electrical grid during the hot summer months.

Largest VPP in USA supports California’s grid with 16,200 home solar-plus-storage systems

Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN), the nation’s leading provider of clean energy as a subscription service, has networked more than 16,200 customers’ solar-plus-storage systems to support California’s electrical grid during the hot summer months. Sunrun’s CalReady power plant will reduce strain on the grid by supplying critical energy to communities that need it throughout California in order to reduce costs and help prevent power emergencies.

For the second year in a row, Sunrun is demonstrating how uniquely capable, reliable and readily available its solar-plus-storage systems are as an essential grid solution. In the summer of 2023, Sunrun’s Peak Power Rewards program supplied Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) up to 32 megawatts of power during evening peak hours from 8,500 customers’ batteries. This summer, Sunrun is expected to roughly double that capacity and participant number for the statewide Demand Side Grid Support program.

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Source: Clean Technica

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Solar developer Nexamp has raised an impressive $520 million to build community solar projects across the US.

$500M+ raised to build clean power plants for low income communities

In a major win for affordable clean energy access, solar developer Nexamp has raised an impressive $520 million to build community solar projects across the United States.

This funding is “one of the largest capital raises to date for this growing sector,” according to Canary Media.

Community solar allows renters, small businesses, and other organizations to benefit from solar energy even if they can’t install panels on their own property. Participants pay a monthly fee to subscribe to a local solar farm and then receive credits on their utility bills for the clean power generated. Those credits are typically larger than the subscription fee — meaning savings for subscribers.

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Source: The Cool Down

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