BLM issued a Notice to Proceed authorizing Avangrid to begin construction of the Camino Solar Project, a 44MW solar photovoltaic facility.

BLM approves Camino Solar Project in Kern County

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Today, the Bureau of Land Management issued a Notice to Proceed authorizing Avangrid to begin construction of the Camino Solar Project, a 44-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility that will be located on 233 acres of public lands and 150 acres of adjoining private land in Kern County.

“The Camino Solar Project will expand access to clean energy for Californians and increase reliability for the state’s power grid,” said BLM California Desert District Manager Shelly Lynch. “Projects like this one support the nation’s transition to a clean energy economy by adding more carbon-free electricity to the grid, creating jobs, and boosting local economies.”

The project is expected to employ 150 people during peak construction, include a 34.5-kV underground electrical collector line, and connect to the existing Southern California Edison Whirlwind Substation through the Manzana Wind Substation and associated 220 kV generation-tie line.

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Source: BLM.gov

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CVS Health is going solar at nearly 1,000 locations through a new agreement with Constellation Energy Corporation.

CVS continues sustainable energy efforts at East Coast, California stores

CVS Health is going solar at nearly 1,000 locations through a new agreement with Constellation Energy Corporation.

The pharmacy chain has announced two agreements that total 264,000-megawatt hours with Constellation to purchase zero-emission, renewable energy equivalent to the annual electricity use of nearly 1,000 CVS Health locations in California, Washington D.C., Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.

CVS Health’s deals are made possible by Constellation’s long-term agreements with solar projects located in California and Maryland. CVS will receive approximately 264,000 megawatt hours of energy per year through its retail agreement with Constellation, with that energy matched by Green-e Energy Certified RECs sourced from other renewable facilities throughout the U.S.

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Source: CSA

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If you want to take advantage of solar energy but you can’t (or don’t want to) put solar panels on your roof, you do have other options.

Everywhere else you can install solar panels

If you want to take advantage of solar energy but you can’t (or don’t want to) put solar panels on your roof, you do have other options. As solar panels become more advanced and the technology develops, gathering energy from the sun is growing ever easier and more unobtrusive than ever. Here are some great options for installing solar panels in places other than your roof.

Solar siding

If you have a south-facing wall on your home with about eight feet by eight feet of space, you can install solar panel siding. These solar cells will work best in unshaded areas, of course, but they can still collect energy even in they are in southeast or southwest facing areas. The advantage of this installation method is that you can choose the color of your panels to match your home’s exterior and blend in with the architecture. The disadvantage is that the solar panels won’t be at an optimal angle to absorb sunlight, as they will be perfectly vertical.

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Source: Life Hacker

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Enel North America completed a 2.7-MW solar and 1-MW/2-MWh energy storage system at Bayer’s research and development site in Woodland, CA.

Bayer builds 2.7-MW solar + storage project at research site in California

Enel North America completed a 2.7-MW solar and 1-MW/2-MWh energy storage system at Bayer’s vegetable research and development site in Woodland, California. Located in a region historically prone to rolling blackouts and grid disruptions, the solar + storage system will help increase Bayer’s energy and operational resilience, while also reducing its carbon footprint and demand on local energy infrastructure.

The solar system is expected to generate approximately 5,100 MWh of renewable energy each year, enough to cover about 70% of the Woodland site’s energy needs. Any excess electricity generated during the day can be stored in the accompanying energy storage system for later use, like during peak demand hours when utility rates are highest, or shared back onto the local electrical grid. Stored electricity from the battery can be used during times of peak demand to minimize the amount of power drawn from the grid when energy rates are highest.

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Source: Solar Power World

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Between US$7 and US$9 billion in transferable tax credit transactions were made last year in the US, according to a report from Crux.

Up to $9 billion in transferable tax credit transactions made in 2023 in the US

Between US$7 and US$9 billion in transferable tax credit transactions were made last year in the US, according to a report from Crux, an ecosystem for entities to transact and manage transferable tax credits.

The domestic clean energy infrastructure market is expected to grow even further in 2024 as transactions last year only started after the US Department of Treasury released the guidance on transferability in June, which already grew to a third of the traditional tax equity market, estimated at US$23 billion in 2023.

Tax credits for clean energy were made transferable by the Inflation Reduction Act. The move was aimed at making it easier for companies without specialist tax credit or tax equity experience to invest in clean energy.

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Source: PV Tech

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Utility-scale solar generation is set to grow by 75% in just two years, pushed by the anticipated addition of 79 GW of new capacity.

US energy transition to speed forward through 2025

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Over the next two years, the United States will experience a remarkable acceleration in the energy transition in the electricity sector, according to new figures released the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Utility-scale solar generation is set to grow by 75% in just two years, pushed by the anticipated addition of 79 GW of new capacity. The EIA described the increase as the “major driver” behind its electric sector power forecast, which expects generation from renewables — utility-scale solar, wind and hydro — to be almost twice the amount generated by coal in 2025.

Wind and solar are expected to account for 18.5% of all the electricity generated in the U.S., and hydro is anticipated to add another 6.5%. Wind and utility-scale solar by themselves will generate more power than coal in 2024.

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Source: Solar Builder

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The project generates 875 MWDC of solar energy and has 3,287 MWh of energy storage with a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 MW.

The largest US solar + storage project is complete

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Terra-Gen and Mortenson have substantially completed the Edwards & Sanborn Solar + Energy Storage project, the largest solar + storage project in the United States. Mortenson was the full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor on both the solar and energy storage scopes.

This project stretches over 4,600 acres and includes more than 1.9 million First Solar modules. In total, the project generates 875 MWDC of solar energy and has 3,287 MWh of energy storage with a total interconnection capacity of 1,300 MW.

The project supplies power to the city of San Jose, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and the Clean Power Alliance and Starbucks, among others. A portion of the project is situated on the Edwards Air Force Base and was the largest public-private collaboration in U.S. Department of Defense history. The project uses LG Chem, Samsung, and BYD batteries.

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Source: Solar Power World

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The Biden administration has updated the roadmap for solar development to 22 million acres of federal lands in the US West.

The US government opens 22 million acres of federal lands to solar

The Biden administration has updated the roadmap for solar development to 22 million acres of federal lands in the US West.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have determined that 700,000 acres of federal lands will be needed for solar farms over the next 20 years, so BLM recommended 22 million acres to give “maximum flexibility” to help the US reach its net zero by 2035 power sector goal.

The plan is an update of the Bureau of Land Management’s  2012 Western Solar Plan, which originally identified areas for solar development in six states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

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Source: electrek

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If successful, Sweetwater could be the first drinking water reservoir in the United States to host renewable energy of this kind.

San Diego could be first to float solar on drinking water

A south San Diego water district is thinking about powering itself with energy from the sun.

Leaders at Sweetwater Authority, which serves National City, western Chula Vista and Bonita, hired a contractor to study how floating solar panels on its namesake reservoir could reduce its budget. If successful, Sweetwater could be the first drinking water reservoir in the United States to host renewable energy of this kind.

Sweetwater’s board hired Noria Energy on June 28 to design a 3.75 megawatt solar array atop 10 acres of the reservoir. Noria has built floating solar arrays on top of a hydroelectric reservoir in Urra, Colombia and on wastewater treatment ponds in Healdsburg, California, both smaller than the solar panel array proposed at Sweetwater.

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Source: Voice of San Diego

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DOE recently released clean energy performance standards that encourage federal buildings under construction to incorporate solar.

The promise and challenge of solar on government-owned property

State and federal agencies have recently embraced the economic and environmental benefits that come with siting solar power on government-owned property. The Dept. of the Interior (DOI) recently proposed new rules to responsibly boost renewable energy deployment on public lands, showing the federal government can be a leader in combating climate change and contributing to greening and growing the nation’s economy.

“Our public lands are playing a critical role in the clean energy transition,” said Tracy Stone-Manning, Bureau of Land Management director, a sentiment increasingly shaping the actions taken by our nation’s policymakers. But just as quickly as government leadership can start a green movement, inconsistent policies can slow progress already in motion.

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Source: Solar Power World

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