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.

Clean energy investments soared in a recent three-month period, totaling $40 billion and equaling the entire amount invested in 2021.

New clean energy investments have topped $40B since the IRA passed, report says

Clean energy investments soared in a recent three-month period, totaling $40 billion and equaling the entire amount invested in 2021, according to an industry group.

The report by American Clean Power, a trade group, covers a period of growth the clean energy sector saw between Aug. 16, the day the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, and Nov. 30, including the announcement of 20 new clean energy manufacturing facilities or facility expansions.

Twelve are solar manufacturing facilities, representing more than a 300% increase in solar module manufacturing capacity in the U.S. and a potential new 22 GW. Overall, 13 GW of clean energy project capacity have been announced.

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Source: Utility Dive

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Nine wealthy, developed nations will help Vietnam accelerate its transition from coal to renewable energy under a $15.5 billion agreement

Vietnam, G7 nations reach $15.5B agreement to quit coal, expand renewable energy

Nine wealthy, developed nations will help Vietnam accelerate its transition from coal to renewable energy under a $15.5 billion agreement announced Wednesday.

The Just Energy Transition Partnership deal between the G7 nations, Norway, and Denmark follows a similar deal with Indonesia reached during COP27. The funding, mostly in the form of loans from both public and private sources, seeks to help Vietnam peak its greenhouse gas pollution in 2030 instead of 2035.

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Source: Eco Watch

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A decommissioned nuclear power plant from the 1980s is repurposed for agrivoltaics and prairie restoration.

Agrivoltaics goes nuclear on California prairie

Interest in the emerging field of agrivoltaics has been exploding as researchers and farmers keep adding on to the list of  ways to combine solar panels with agricultural activity. In the latest twist, an agrivoltaic project in California is aimed at restoring native prairie at the site of a decommissioned nuclear power plant.

Agrivoltaics refers to the conduct of agricultural activity within a solar array. A relatively new field, agrivoltaics is a departure from the common practice of not really attempting to grow anything at all under a ground-mounted solar panel, except perhaps for some grass that needs to be mowed down at regular intervals.

Initial versions of agrivoltaics were confined mainly to cultivating pollinator habitats and grazing lands in and around the arrays. More recently, researchers and farmers have been exploring more sophisticated applications that involve growing consumables and preserving whole industries.

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Source: Clean Technica

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McDonald's and five logistics partners signed agreements to buy about 190 megawatts of power from the Blue Jay Solar farm.

McDonald’s strikes solar deal to power US supply chain

McDonald’s Corp. and its suppliers signed a deal to buy enough solar energy to power all the warehouses, distribution centers and other elements of the logistical supply chain that serves its US restaurants.

The Chicago-based fast-food chain and five logistics partners signed agreements to buy about 190 megawatts of power from the Blue Jay Solar farm that the Italian power giant Enel SPA is building about 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Houston, Enel and McDonald’s told Bloomberg News. That’s enough to run about 38,000 Texas homes.

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Source: Bloomberg

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