The war in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for Europe’s energy needs. They're now on track to have significantly more solar power by 2030.

Solar power is the fastest way to reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas

The war in Ukraine has been a wake-up call for Europe’s energy needs, to say the least. Even though Europe has been aggressive in its expansion of solar power due to increased renewable energy ambitions and lower cost, much more can be done. The need to reduce dependence on Russian gas for energy has become more prominent since the war began in Ukraine. According to the Low Emissions Scenario 2022 by Statkraft, Europe is now on track to have significantly more solar power by 2030 than expected as a result of this.

This Low Emissions Scenario by Statkraft is in its seventh year and is a comprehensive analysis of the global energy market towards 2050. According to the report, wind power and solar power are slated to be the most crucial renewable technologies for reducing the European Union’s dependence on Russian gas and cut emissions.

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Source: Clean Technica

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Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar & Storage Association business group, will moderate a talk on abuse of monopoly positions by utilities at the Empower 2022 virtual summit.

It’s time to combat utility opposition to solar

There are plenty of examples of big utilities using their monopoly status and wealth – the latter derived from profits guaranteed by state governments around the US – to try to block customer access to self-generation technology.

For starters, in 2020 PG&E [Pacific Gas and Electric Company], SDG&E [San Diego Gas & Electric], and Southern California Edison between them pushed through an average $900 per year tax on consumers of solar and on energy storage systems. In making this proposal, the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) explicitly contemplated the need to tax self-consumption, including non-exporting battery systems, simply because the consumer would purchase less of the IOUs’ product.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Solar and wind energy reduced wholesale energy costs in Texas by $7.4 billion in the first eight months of this year.

Texas solar and wind resources saved consumers nearly $28 billion over 12 years

Solar and wind energy reduced wholesale energy costs in Texas by $7.4 billion in the first eight months of this year, creating average monthly savings of $925 million, according to a study IdeaSmiths released last week. In total, solar and wind resources have saved Texas residents nearly $28 billion over the past 12 years, according to the study.

With natural gas and coal prices at 10-year highs, Texas residences and businesses are on track to save an estimated $11 billion this year because of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ renewable energy fleet, the report states.

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Source: Utility Dive

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Santa Barbara, CA will establish its own virtual power plant through residential solar microgrids using Electriq Power's PowerPod 2 energy storage system.

City of Santa Barbara to establish residential solar microgrids

The City of Santa Barbara, California, will establish its own virtual power plant through residential solar microgrids using the PowerPod 2 energy storage system from Electriq Power.

Santa Barbara County homeowners, regardless of means, will have access to Electriq’s smart home energy storage system, which is recharged by an included solar power system. The system will help achieve the Santa Barbara Home Power Program’s key goal of offsetting 100% of each home’s electricity consumption, providing immediate savings over annual utility costs.

“At Santa Barbara Clean Energy, we are looking to improve local resilience by building local energy generation and storage. The Santa Barbara Home Power Program allows local residents to do just that, while also gaining peace of mind against potential grid outages and rising prices,” said Alelia Parenteau, Acting Sustainability & Resilience Director for the City of Santa Barbara, Sustainability & Resilience.

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Source: Solar Power World

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Mission Solar will increase capacity at its existing site situated on 86 acres and expects to reach its 1-GW goal by 2024.

Texas company to increase module manufacturing capacity to 1 GW

Starting immediately, solar panel assembly company Mission Solar Energy will expand its manufacturing capacity in Texas to 1 GW. The company currently operates a 200-MW annual capacity plant in San Antonio at a mixed-use community located on the former Brooks Air Force Base. Mission Solar will increase capacity at its existing site situated on 86 acres and expects to reach its 1-GW goal by 2024.

“By 2035, solar installations are expected to quadruple from current levels. At present, 4% of the electricity fed to American energy grids is generated by solar. The U.S. aims to have 40% of its electricity generated by solar technology by 2035. These are exciting opportunities for us as a company. Additional motivated team members will be needed to help us build a greener future,” said Jae Yang, President and CEO of Mission Solar Energy.

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Source: Solar Power World

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Students have developed a policy proposal and urging government officials in Puerto Rico and Washington DC to promote rooftop solar power.

Students propose solar solution to Puerto Rico’s electricity woes

Students in a hands-on infrastructure class in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy are urging government officials in Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. to promote rooftop solar power, and have developed a policy proposal that promotes the deployment of solar power in the most vulnerable communities.

Puerto Ricans have endured persistent and protracted power outages since Hurricane Maria devastated the Island in 2017. Hurricane Fiona last month was another reminder that the electricity problems continue. Students participating in the course concluded that rooftop solar must be a key part of the electricity infrastructure. The question is how.

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Source: Cornell Chronicle

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A new Credit Suisse report suggests that from 2025 - 2032, the US could see solar & wind power purchase agreements signed for under $0.01/kWh

Could US solar electricity reach $0/kWh?

The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) could become a transformative document, enabling a grand experiment in energy generation at a national level, according to a new report by Credit Suisse. It believes that the United States has an opportunity to become a global leader in clean energy, much like it is already in the fossil industry.

Among the many ideas discussed in the document is a striking prediction – there may be solar power projects whose levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) drops below a penny per kilowatt hour, bottoming around $0.004/kWh ($4/MWh) in 2029. We could see these prices as soon as 2025, and they could persist beyond 2030.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Residential solar power installations rose by 34% from 2.9 gigawatts in 2020 to 3.9 gigawatts in 2021, according to data from the US EIA.

Home solar panel adoption continues to rise in the US

President Joe Biden recently signed into law new legislation that includes larger investments in renewable energy and measures to address climate change. Among its provisions is a 30% solar tax credit that could spur more Americans to “go solar” over the next decade.

While residential solar power currently generates just a fraction of the country’s overall electricity, it has continued to grow rapidly in recent years, despite COVID-19-related supply chain issues, import restrictions and other obstacles.

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Source: Pew Research Center

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The green electricity source faces obstacles in Puerto Rico and Florida, where sun power largely held up during Hurricanes Fiona and Ian.

Hurricanes Fiona and Ian gave solar power its time to shine

Solar power withstood the hurricanes that struck Puerto Rico and Florida last month — a fact that could aid the technology’s supporters in lobbying battles around the country.

Hurricanes Fiona and Ian caused catastrophic flooding, knocked out power lines and washed away roads and bridges. But people who could afford solar panels and batteries say those systems kept the lights on during the storms, and even allowed them to share electricity with neighbors left in the dark.

Now, that performance during natural disasters offers ammunition to the solar industry in its lobbying fights with lawmakers, regulators and traditional power companies as renewable energy seeks to accelerate its growing role in the U.S. electricity supply. Such fights have held up solar’s expansion in jurisdictions across the U.S., including in Puerto Rico and Florida.

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Source: POLITICO

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The San Vicente reservoir in San Diego County stores water from as far away as the Colorado River. Pumping water into a smaller reservoir in the surrounding mountains could store excess solar power until it's needed, when the sun sets.

‘Water batteries’ could store solar and wind power for when it’s needed

The San Diego County Water Authority has an unusual plan to use the city’s scenic San Vicente Reservoir to store solar power so it’s available after sunset. The project, and others like it, could help unlock America’s clean energy future.

Perhaps a decade from now, if all goes smoothly, large underground pipes will connect this lake to a new reservoir, a much smaller one, built in a nearby canyon about 1100 feet higher in elevation. When the sun is high in the sky, California’s abundant solar power will pump water into that upper reservoir.

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Source: NPR

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