The UK believes that beaming electricity from space using the sun could help the country meet its target of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

A solar power plant in space? The UK wants to build one by 2035

The United Kingdom is getting serious about beaming solar power from space and thinks it could have a demonstrator in orbit by 2035.

Over 50 British technology organizations, including heavyweights such as aerospace manufacturer Airbus, Cambridge University and satellite maker SSTL, have joined the U.K. Space Energy Initiative, which launched last year in a quest to explore options for developing a space-based solar power plant.

The initiative believes that beaming electricity from space using the sun could help the U.K. meet its target of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 more cost-effectively than many existing technologies. The requirement to stop carbon emissions entirely by mid-century is part of global efforts to halt progressing climate change outlined at the United Nations’ COP 26 summit that took place in Glasgow in November 2021.

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Source: SPACE.com

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Solar growth is spreading into new U.S. markets as developers tackle grid challenges and new demand pockets open up in central states.Panel The Planet

Gov. Newsom’s clean air regulators prioritize rooftop solar expansion in California climate action plan

SAN FRANCISCO – California’s top clean air regulators this week released a proposed plan to fight the climate crisis by cutting carbon dioxide emissions, with policy priorities including an effort to expand rooftop solar throughout the state.

The 11-point “Strategies for Achieving Success” draft plan responds to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, to identify strategies for eventually making the state carbon neutral. On page 164 of the plan, CARB says:

  • Target programs and incentives to support and improve access to renewable and zero-carbon energy projects (e.g., rooftop solar, community solar, battery storage, and microgrids) for communities most at need, including frontline, low-income, rural, and indigenous communities.

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Source: EWG

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To stand apart from the competition, one popular strategy of many craft breweries is to invest in onsite renewable energy.

6 craft breweries pairing solar power with suds

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As the number of craft breweries in the U.S. continues to grow, with more than 9,000 counted in 2021 by the Brewers Association, companies are looking for ways to stand apart from the competition. One strategy gaining popularity is investing in onsite renewable energy. Many breweries use “solar-powered beer” as a marketing tool and sometimes even name certain brews after solar power, like Minnesota brewery Invictus Brewing Company’s new “1.7 Million Megawatts Summer Ale.”

Here are six breweries that have added solar power in the last few years:

  • Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Vermont
  • Ithaca Beer company in New York
  • Ferus Artisan Ales in Alabama
  • Rock Art Brewery in Vermont
  • Lagunitas Brewing Company in California
  • Firestone Walker Brewing Company in California

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Source: Solar Power World

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Digital Realty unveiled two power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 158 MW of solar energy in California and Georgia.

Digital Realty to source 158 MW of solar in California, Georgia

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US data centres outfit Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) today unveiled two power purchase agreements (PPAs) for 158 MW of solar energy in California and Georgia as a step toward 100% renewable electricity.

One of the deals is a 12-year contract that will support a new 130-MW solar project in Kern County, California being developed by US renewables developer Terra-Gen as part of its Edwards Sanborn Solar Storage energy project. The solar-plus-storage facility is expected to be completed late this year.

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Source: Renewables Now

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California’s solar potential remains huge

California leads the nation with more than 1.3 million solar rooftops installed on homes, but the state also has potential for a lot more.

The state ranks second in the nation when measuring the percentage of solar panels on rooftops capable of installing photovoltaic systems.

Consumer comparison research firm InMyArea.com used data from Google’s Project Sunroof, which estimates the suitability of solar installations on the nation’s buildings, to calculate energy costs from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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Source: KPBS

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Solar growth is spreading into new U.S. markets as developers tackle grid challenges and new demand pockets open up in central states.Panel The Planet

US Army executes lease with Bright Canyon Energy for microgrid energy resilience project

The Army executed a 30-year lease with Bright Canyon Energy (BCE) for a privately funded, owned and operated energy resilience project on approximately 100 acres at Joint Forces Training Base – Los Alamitos (JFTB-LA), CA. Construction is expected to begin this summer.

The project will provide power to JFTB-LA critical missions for at least 14 days in the event of a grid emergency and also benefit the local community. The project is a collaboration among the U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives, JFTB-LA, California National Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and BCE, and will generate 26 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics, and include a 20MW/40 MWh battery energy storage system, and 3 MW of backup generators.

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Source: OC Breeze

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Amazon agrees to 450 MW solar purchase in California with AES

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has committed to buying electricity from 450 MW of solar parks to power its data centers in California under a deal with power distributor AES Corp (NYSE:AES).

The US e-commerce giant has sealed two power purchase agreements (PPAs) that will see it get renewable energy in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) market. The power will be sourced from solar photovoltaic (PV) plants and 225 MW of battery storage projects with a four-hour duration.

The off-take deals were announced by AES on Thursday.

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Source: Renewables Now

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Sheep and solar panels: using solar sites for pastureland

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A solar power boom generated by new renewable energy mandates is unfurling in the Chesapeake Bay region. Virginia, for example, was ninth in the nation for new solar capacity in 2021.

With many solar arrays ending up on farmland, a movement is fast taking hold to make sure that they will benefit the environment, agriculture and wildlife, and not just create a sea of silicon.

Allowing sheep to graze among solar panels has become one attractive antidote.

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Source: Bay Journal

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Microsoft signs 110MW PPA with AES to power California data centers

Microsoft has signed a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with AES to procure renewable energy for its Californian facilities.

AES Corporation this week announced a 20-year agreement with Microsoft to provide renewable energy to its data centers in California.

In what AES called a “highly customized agreement,” Microsoft will partially match its load at their California-based data centers. AES will source the energy from a portfolio of 110MWAC solar and 55MW, 4-hour storage projects in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) region.

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Source: Data Center Dynamics

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Solar growth is spreading into new U.S. markets as developers tackle grid challenges and new demand pockets open up in central states.Panel The Planet

US Senators urge Biden administration to expedite solar tariff investigation decision

Washington–Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and a bipartisan group of their colleagues to urge President Joe Biden to expedite and bring to a swift conclusion the administration’s investigation into solar panels and cells imported from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailanda and Cambodia. This investigation could expand harmful, job-killing tariffs on solar imports, raising costs on consumers, and has already caused widespread cancellations and delays in the U.S. solar industry.

The solar industry employs over 230,000 American workers. According to a new report issued by the Solar Energy Industries Association, 70 percent of U.S. companies say at least half of their solar workforce is at risk as a result of this investigation.

This bipartisan letter was also signed by Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mark Warner (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), John W. Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Angus King (I-Maine).

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Source: Feinstein

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