Investor-owned utility SDG&E and the City of San Diego are launching a dozen microgrid projects with energy storage across San Diego, CA.

Storage-enabled microgrid projects proliferate in California

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Investor-owned utility SDG&E and the City of San Diego are launching a dozen microgrid projects with energy storage across San Diego, California, following similar announcements elsewhere in the state.

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) received approval on June 24 from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to build four microgrid projects at existing substations in the San Diego region, with a combined 39MW/180MWh of energy storage capacity.

The units will help the state of California meet high energy demand, particularly on hot summer days and during peak demand evening hours when solar generation is low. They will be able to operate independently or in parallel with the larger regional grid ensuring critical community facilities remain powered during grid-level outages.

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Source: Energy Storage News

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The Bay Area city is partnering with BlocPower to install thousands of heat pumps, solar panels and batteries by 2030.

Silicon Valley’s Menlo Park plans to electrify 10,000 buildings

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Facebook’s hometown of Menlo Park, California, has struck a deal to decarbonize 95% of its buildings by 2030, replacing the city’s fossil-fuel infrastructure with climate-friendly heat pumps, solar panels and electric car chargers.

The wealthy Silicon Valley enclave on Wednesday announced a partnership with BlocPower, a New York-based company that, in founder Donnel Baird’s words, “turns buildings into Teslas.” In New York City, the startup coordinates and finances retrofits of apartment buildings, replacing natural-gas and oil boilers with high-efficiency heat pumps and solar panels. BlocPower has focused on low-income communities and last year the city of Ithaca, New York, chose the company to lead an initiative to decarbonize its building stock.

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Source: Bloomberg

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According to the development permit request, more than 1,800 people are expected to be employed when the warehouse is operational.

Desert Hot Springs to house one of largest rooftop solar arrays in California

Desert Hot Springs will soon be home to a warehouse with one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in California, officials announced today.

The Viento logistics center will be located by Interstate 10 near Little Morongo Road. A sortable multi-story e-commerce warehouse and distribution center for consumer products, it will encompass about 3.5 million square feet and stand approximately 105 feet high.

Two environmental groups, Oswit Land Trust and the Tahquitz group of the Sierra Club, had filed an appeal against the project, asking the City Council to require a new initial study to determine if the project requires a mitigated negative declaration or an environmental impact report, but the two groups settled with the city recently.

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Source: NBC Palm Springs

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Researchers at Xidian University ran a successful test of the “world’s first full-link and full-system solar power plant” on June 5

New tower in China brings us a step closer to space-based solar power

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Researchers at China’s Xidian University are claiming to have completed testing and inspection of a ground array that could pave the way to space-based solar power—a concept long heralded as a potential solution to our energy woes.

Researchers at Xidian University ran a successful test of the “world’s first full-link and full-system solar power plant” on June 5, according to a translated statement published today by the university. The plant is a 246-foot-tall (75-meter) steel structure located on Xidian University’s southern campus, and it’s equipped with with five different subsystems meant to foster the eventual development of space-based solar power arrays.

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Source: Gizmodo

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The installation is the largest floating solar power plant in the US Southeast located in Fort Bragg, North Carolina

US Army deploys its first floating solar array

Floating solar had a moment in the spotlight over the weekend when the US Army unveiled a new solar plant sitting atop the Big Muddy Lake at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It’s the first floating solar array deployed by the Department of Defense, and it’s part of a growing current of support in the US for “floatovoltaics.”

The army says its goal is to boost clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and give the nearby training facility a source of backup energy during power outages. The panels will be able to generate about one megawatt of electricity, which can typically power about 190 homes.

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Source: The Verge

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The Department of the Interior has issued final approval for construction of the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects near Desert Center in eastern Riverside County.

US DOI approves construction of two solar projects in California

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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The Department of the Interior has issued final approval for construction of the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects near Desert Center in eastern Riverside County, a significant milestone in the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to modernize America’s power infrastructure in the West and permit at least 25 gigawatts of solar, wind and geothermal production on public lands by 2025.

“The efficient deployment of renewable energy projects is crucial to lower costs for families, support good paying jobs, and achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035,” said Laura Daniel-Davis, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. “Combined with the historic investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will continue to work in partnership with states, cities and Tribes to boost climate resiliency, advance clean energy projects, and replace aging infrastructure.”

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Source: US Department of the Interior

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The vehicle, which Lightyear describes as production-ready, has 388 miles of range, 44 miles of which are derived from solar power alone.

Lightyear’s solar-powered car will go into production later this year

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EV startup Lightyear revealed its first solar-powered electric vehicle, dubbed Lightyear 0, at an event this week in the Netherlands. The vehicle, which Lightyear describes as production-ready, has 388 miles of range, 44 miles of which are derived from solar power alone.

The Lightyear 0 is the product of six years of research and development from its engineering team. That said, it doesn’t look too dissimilar from the sleek sedan prototype first revealed by the company in 2019. The specs are a little more down to earth: 388 miles versus the prototype’s 450 miles — but the overall shape and design of the vehicle appear mostly unchanged.

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Source: The Verge

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This facility will be the largest industrial solar steam plant in the world and the first deployed in both Saudi Arabia and in the aluminum supply chain.

The world’s largest solar-powered steam plant will be built in Saudi Arabia

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MA’ADEN, a Saudi Arabian mining company, and GlassPoint, a U.S.-based solar energy solutions provider, have inked an initial deal to build the world’s largest solar-powered steam plant at the former’s refinery.

To aid in the decarbonization of the energy-intensive, coal-dependent process of producing aluminum, which ends up in our cell phones, computers, automobiles, and other products.

The new facility will help the mining company reduce its carbon emissions by approximately 600,000 tons per year, according to Arab News.

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Source: Interesting Engineering

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The smart combination of solar with battery storage with intelligent controls can solve the very complex challenge of creating a community’s entire energy network.

India’s first 24/7 solar-powered town enabled with battery storage and smart controls

Modhera in the Indian state of Gujarat is the country’s first fully solar powered town, demonstrating that battery storage can enable 24/7 clean energy and rural access to electricity.

GreenPowerMonitor, which supplied the project with power plant controller and energy management system (EMS) said the smart combination of solar with battery storage with intelligent controls can solve the very complex challenge of creating a community’s entire energy network.

Modhera has only 1,400 inhabitants and is home to the Sun Temple dedicated to Hindu solar deity Surya.

It was picked out as the ideal place to demonstrate that access to electricity can be made fair, universal and completely renewable, in a project supported by the national government Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

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Source: Energy Storage News

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Growing crops beneath solar panels is an innovative way to use farmland to generate renewable energy in countries with limited space.

Electric farms are using solar power to grow profits and crops

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In many respects, Takeshi Magami’s farm is like any other in Japan, growing everything from potatoes to ginger and eggplants. But one major difference sets it apart from its neighbors: the 2,826 solar panels perched above the crops.

The panels, covering much of the one hectare (2.5 acres) of land in the tranquil countryside east of Tokyo, serve a dual purpose. They supply nearly all the power needed to run the farm, and are a source of extra income by selling surplus renewable energy to the grid.

For Magami that can mean 24 million yen ($187,000) of additional revenue a year, eight times more than the maximum 3 million yen generated from his produce. While he benefits from generous tariffs that have since been reduced, it’s an indication of the added value available to farms in Japan and globally.

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Source: Bloomberg

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