This is one of the first efforts by a major oil & gas company to build a net exporting, behind-the-meter solar PV plant.

Solar project powers an oil and gas field with California sunshine

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The Lost Hills oil field in California’s San Joaquin Valley has been producing oil since 1910, with significant reserves yet to be extracted. The operators plan to continue to produce oil for many years to come, with the goal of providing reliable, affordable, and ever-cleaner energy to customers in California.

Before the solar project, Lost Hills, which operates as a waterflood, imported all its power from the local utility. The electrical energy load, which is generally stable throughout the day and over the year, is driven mainly by artificial-lift systems, fluid-processing facilities, and waterflood injection pumps. Faced with higher utility energy rates and increasingly stringent greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission regulations, the operator embarked on a project to identify alternatives to reduce its energy costs and lower its carbon footprint.

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Source: JPT

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UCLA researchers has developed a way to use perovskite in solar cells while protecting it from the conditions that cause it to deteriorate.

UCLA breakthrough could lead to more durable, less expensive solar cells

Using enhanced halide perovskite in place of silicon could produce less expensive devices that stand up better to light, heat.

Amid all of the efforts to convert the nation’s energy supply to renewable sources, solar power still accounts for a little less than 3% of electricity generated in the U.S. In part, that’s because of the relatively high cost to produce solar cells.

One way to lower the cost of production would be to develop solar cells that use less-expensive materials than today’s silicon-based models. To achieve that, some engineers have zeroed in on halide perovskite, a type of human-made material with repeating crystals shaped like cubes.

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Source: Sci Tech Daily

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An eco-friendly Irish pub powered by solar panels is reaping the rewards of renewable energy amid the inflation crisis.

Solar-powered pub uses renewable energy to beat cost-of-living crisis

An eco-friendly Irish pub powered by solar panels is reaping the rewards of renewable energy amid the inflation crisis.

While other hospitality businesses are being hit with soaring electricity bills, the Old Oak in Cork has managed to limit the impact through its adoption of solar power.

The bar has installed almost 100 solar panels on its roof and is now self-generating a significant proportion of its energy needs.

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Source: yahoo! sport

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The industry has seen US manufacturing expansion and groundbreaking announcements directly triggered by the IRA at the end of 2022.

2022 paves way for massive growth for solar + storage industry

Robust federal clean energy policy has laid the groundwork for a decade of explosive growth for the solar and storage industries. A 10-year extension of the investment tax credit, new incentives for domestic solar product manufacturing and many other provisions will help solar and storage meet the increasing demand for home-grown, clean energy.

The industry has already seen U.S. manufacturing expansion and groundbreaking announcements directly triggered by the Inflation Reduction Act at the end of 2022, with developers eager to collect the 10% ITC adder for sourcing domestic content. From mounting companies like Nextracker, with an expanding manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, to panel makers like Heliene, with expansion plans at a Minnesota facility, the legislation is delivering more solar manufacturing to U.S. soil.

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Source: Solar Power World

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California’s new solar policy leaves low-income families behind. Community energy providers, nonprofits and vendors have come up with some creative workarounds.

These California programs steer solar+batteries to low-income households

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Rooftop solar and home batteries are already too expensive for most low-income California residents. Last week’s decision by the California Public Utilities Commission to radically alter the state’s net-metering policy will put them even further out of reach.

Last week Canary Media explained how California’s new rooftop-solar policy will dramatically reduce the moneymaking potential of stand-alone rooftop solar and incentivize customers to install batteries that can store and shift their output to the grid when it’s most needed. We also explored how solar and battery vendors, utilities, community energy providers and state agencies are looking for ways to expand access to these technologies for low-income and disadvantaged communities.

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Source: Canary Media

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SMUD and Swell Energy have signed an agreement for Swell to act as the aggregator for the new My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program

Sacramento, Swell aggregate residential solar + battery storage

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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 have signed an agreement for Swell to act as the aggregator for the new My Energy Optimizer Partner+ program – a residential customer-driven virtual power plant initiative.

The initial effort will bring 20 MWh and 10 MW of renewable capacity to SMUD by recruiting, installing and aggregating capacity from customers’ battery storage systems located in the utility’s service area. The program has the opportunity to scale to 54 MWh and 27 MW over the term of the partnership. Contract capability is based on a 2-hour deliverable capacity, inclusive of exports with day-ahead notification for up to 240 events per year.

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Source: Solar Industry

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Solar power in Europe has soared by almost 50 percent in 2022. Germany installed more solar than any other country, adding almost 8 GW.

EU solar power soars by almost 50% in 2022: Which country installed the most?

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Solar power in Europe has soared by almost 50 per cent in 2022, according to a new report from industry group SolarPower Europe.

It reveals that the EU installed a record-breaking 41.4 GW of solar this year – enough to power the equivalent of 12.4 million homes. That is a 47 per cent increase from the 28.1 GW installed in 2021.

In one year, the bloc’s capacity to generate power from this renewable source has increased by 25 per cent.

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Source: Euro News

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Uzbekistan has set an ambitious goal - to generate 30% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.

Uzbekistan makes strides towards a greener future through solar energy

Uzbekistan has set an ambitious goal – to generate 30% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. Harnessing the sun’s energy is one factor in making this plan a reality. Uzbekistan has an average of 330 sunny days a year and the potential for solar energy is huge.

Today, large-scale solar projects are attracting international private investors to the country.

For instance, French company Total Eren developed one of the first solar station plants in Uzbekistan. Launched in July 2022, the Tutly solar farm is located around a hundred kilometres west of the city of Samarkand. Working at a capacity of 131MWt (megawatt thermals), it generates about 270,000 kWh per year, enough to supply the needs of 140,000 households.

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Source: Euro News

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CAISO has approved three reliability improvements for storage management that are set to take effect this summer.

CAISO adopts energy storage, imbalance market rules to improve grid reliability

The Energy Storage Enhancements proposal adopted by the board and WEIM governing body are intended to improve accounting of a battery’s state of charge, certifying resources are available when needed and providing better tools for exceptional dispatch.

With more than 4,700 MW of storage connected to the grid, CAISO said the real-time market requires that a resource with an ancillary service award be capable of delivering energy to the full amount for at least 30 minutes. For storage resources, they must have energy stored to meet an ancillary service schedule.

In addition, proposed co-located model improvements include an option to only charge storage from on-site renewables to avoid “grid charging” that CAISO said could have federal tax implications for solar projects.

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Source: Utility Dive

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Within three years, a surge of large-scale battery projects is expected to come online on Texas and California power grids.

Utilities rush to install storage batteries in Texas, California

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Within three years, a surge of large-scale battery projects is expected to come online on Texas and California power grids as developers seek to store electricity produced by those state’s sprawling wind and solar farms.

The Energy Department has estimated that 21 gigawatts of storage capacity will plug into U.S. power grids before 2026, more than 2½ times the amount now in operation. Almost 8 gigawatts are expected in Texas.

The boom in battery development comes as weather-dependent wind and solar energy becomes an increasingly large part of the U.S. power grid, requiring an alternate power source when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.