KB Home, SunPower and UCI joined forces to reimagine what a new home community could look like if built to reduce carbon emissions

200 all-electric homes in California will be solar-powered and have battery backup

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SunPower, the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Schneider Electric and Southern California Edison (SCE) announced their partnership with KB Home as the strategy, research, technology and energy providers for the homebuilder’s newly launched Energy-Smart Connected Communities in Menifee, California. More than 200 all-electric homes will be solar-powered, equipped with individual energy storage systems and connected to a microgrid powered by a large, shared community battery. These power-outage resistant communities are designed to offer a blueprint for sustainable and resilient new home development of the future.

KB Home, SunPower and UCI joined forces to reimagine what a new home community could look like if built to reduce carbon emissions, cut energy costs and provide new ways of producing reliable and resilient energy. With a $6.65 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant, microgrid design and engineering support from Schneider Electric, and strong collaboration with SCE to ensure a smooth transition between grid and off-grid electricity, these innovative homes are now available to the public.

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Source: Solar Power World

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Heliogen announced the $4.1M award from DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office for accelerating large-scale development of its technology

Solar thermal energy company receives $4.1M federal grant

Pasadena-based solar thermal energy company Heliogen Inc. on Oct. 24 announced that it is to receive a $4.1 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office to accelerate the large-scale development and deployment of its technology.

Heliogen has been developing technology to harness the sun’s energy to heat industrial materials used in manufacturing processes, providing an alternative to carbon-based fuels. Specifically, Heliogen’s apparatus starts with an array of mirrors that align to track the sun, then concentrate the solar energy to a nearby thermal tower, where it’s used to heat industrial materials.

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Source: LA Business Journal

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The US and UAE announced the signing of a strategic partnership that will see $100B mobilized to develop 100 gigawatts of clean energy by 2035

US and UAE sign strategic partnership deal to spur $100B in clean energy investment

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The United States and United Arab Emirates on Tuesday announced the signing of a strategic partnership that will see $100 billion mobilized to develop 100 gigawatts of clean energy by 2035.

The deal, signed during the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi, is entitled the “Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy” (PACE) and encompasses four main pillars: the development of clean energy innovation and supply chains, managing carbon and methane emissions, nuclear energy, and industrial and transport decarbonization.

“The cooperation comes within the framework of the close friendship between the UAE and the United States of America” and “affirms the commitment of both sides to work to enhance energy security and advance progress in climate action,” according to a UAE government statement published by state news agency WAM.

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Source: CNBC

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Solar development can provide work opportunities in San Joaquin Valley while keeping fallowed land productive & curbing environmental risks.

How California can expand solar development and support San Joaquin Valley farmers

California’s largest farming region faces a daunting challenge.

As farmers reduce their groundwater use under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the footprint of irrigated agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley will have to shrink. The Public Policy Institute of California estimates that at least 500,000 acres of farmland will likely need to come out of production over the next two decades.

Fallowing land can lead to a host of problems, including employment losses for the valley’s agricultural workers and revenue losses for landowners and local governments. It could also exacerbate issues with airborne dust in a region already suffering from some of the worst air quality in the nation. And pests and weeds could cause a nuisance for lands still in production.

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Source: The Sentinel

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The San Jose City council approved four contracts worth an estimated $530 million to build out the city's battery storage.

San Jose invests in solar power to reach climate goals

San Jose plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars over the next two decades to meet its carbon neutral goals, including utilizing solar power.

On Tuesday, the city council approved four contracts worth an estimated $530 million to build out the city’s battery storage to access and store more solar energy through its San Jose Clean Energy utility. It’s the start of a significant series of renewable energy contracts coming before councilmembers in the next few months. This massive investment in renewable energy is expected to keep the city on track to meet its carbon neutral goal by 2030.

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Source: Patch

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Beam Global announced a continued stream of solar powered charging infrastructure orders from California State Agencies for 2022 year-to-date.

California state agencies place solar charging infrastructure orders

Beam Global, (Nasdaq: BEEM, BEEMW), the leading provider of innovative sustainable products and technologies for electric vehicle (EV) charging, energy storage, energy security and outdoor media, announced a continued stream of orders from California State Agencies for 2022 year-to-date, with EV ARC™ systems ordered for the Department of General Services (DGS), California Highway Patrol (CHP), Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of State Hospitals, California Military Department (CMD), Department of Public Health (CDPH) and Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). The systems were purchased using the California Department of General Services (DGS) contract #1-22-61-16 which simplifies the state procurement process and ensures best negotiated pricing.

The solar-powered EV ARC™ EV charging infrastructure products are off-grid, generate and store their own electricity, and are deployed with no electrical work, no construction, and no utility bill, reducing California’s costs through avoided construction, electrical upgrades, operational disruptions and ongoing utility bills. Over 75% of the EV ARC™ systems ordered by the State are multi-unit orders, and 100% of the systems include the optional Emergency Power Panel that can provide vital electricity to first responders in disasters, emergencies and power outages.

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Source: yahoo

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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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