Tag Archive for: solar

A new study shows rooftop solar will save California $2.3B this year, countering claims that it burdens the grid and stifles solar growth.

California’s rooftop solar is a benefit, not a cost, to the state

For years, California utilities, regulators, and consumer advocates have argued that residents with solar panels on their rooftops are making electricity more expensive for everyone else in the state.

In August, a state agency released the latest report detailing this so-called cost shift caused by the rooftop solar industry. The report claimed that in 2024 alone rooftop solar will impose $8.5 billion in extra costs onto customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, the state’s three major utilities.

But a new analysis commissioned by a distributed solar and storage trade group finds just the opposite — that California’s nation-leading 17 gigawatts of rooftop solar have actually saved customers about $2.3 billion on their utility bills this year.

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Source: Canary Media

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The IEA says renewables are on course to meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030, with solar driving 80% of capacity growth.

IEA forecasts over 4,000 GW of new solar by 2030

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) is predicting over 4,000 GW of new solar will be added worldwide by the end of the decade.

The agency’s flagship report, “Renewables 2024,” says the world is set to add more than 5,500 GW of new renewables capacity between 2024 and 2030, to reach a cumulative capacity of almost 11,000 GW.

The prediction indicates solar will account for 80% of renewables growth over the 6-year period. Utility-scale solar will account for the majority of the solar expansion, but distributed applications, encompassing residential, commercial, industrial and off-grid projects, are expected to make up almost 40% of new solar.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Smart Solar Billing is set to begin in IL on Jan. 1, 2025. Solar advocates have launched a website to teach consumers about the new system.

Illinois moving to “Smart Solar Billing” in 2025

Smart Solar Billing is set to begin in Illinois on January 1, 2025, and solar industry partners have launched a new webpage for consumers and companies to learn everything they need to know about the new billing system. Solar customers and businesses can visit the Solar Powers Illinois website to learn more about the changes to net metering and the new Smart Solar Billing system that will change the way residential solar and storage owners are reimbursed for the energy they sell back to their utilities.

Current residential solar and storage customers will be considered “legacy” customers and will continue to receive the same net metering benefits throughout the lifetime of their systems. Current Ameren customers are also able to expand their system by 100% and retain the “legacy” Net Metering benefit for the lifetime of the system expansion.

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Source: Solar Power World

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An IRA program meant to expand climate investment in underserved markets has its first target — a $31M commercial solar effort in Arkansas.

The $20B US ​‘green bank’ program just funded its first project

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the national green bank program created by the Inflation Reduction Act, has gotten off to a slow start — but the money has started to flow.

In April, a handful of nonprofit consortiums were selected to administer the $20 billion program. These groups face a hefty mandate: to use that federal funding to spur $150 billion or more of private-sector investment in climate and clean-energy projects, mostly for underserved communities.

But it isn’t simple to put that money to work. The projects they back must comply with the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative mandates, meet federal domestic-content and buy-American provisions, and follow complicated data-reporting requirements. Their loans and investments must also simultaneously reach hard-to-serve markets and earn returns that can be reinvested into future projects — while tempting private-sector investors to join in.

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Source: Canary Media

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First Solar has inaugurated a new $1.1 billion fully vertically integrated thin-film solar manufacturing facility in Lawrence County, Alabama

First Solar inaugurates new $1.1 billion Alabama solar manufacturing facility

The new facility, along with the company’s three operating factories in Ohio, brings First Solar’s domestic nameplate manufacturing capacity to almost 11 GW and its global capacity to over 21 GW, once the facility is in full production. The company is also constructing a $1.1 billion, 3.5 GW facility in Louisiana, which is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2025.

The company expects to have over 14 GW of annual nameplate capacity in the United States and 25 GW globally by the end of 2026.

“This represents a great day for First Solar and for Lawrence County because this production facility is destined to become a major player in the US renewable energy market” said Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. “Moreover, the Alabama workers at this facility will help break the nation’s dependence on foreign-made solar panels and contribute to our energy independence.”

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Source: Renewable Energy Magazine

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US electricity generation is expected to increase by 3% – 121B kilowatthours – this year compared to 2023, largely driven by solar power

US generation projected to rise 3% this year, mostly driven by solar

U.S. electricity generation is expected to increase by 3% – 121 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) – this year compared to 2023, largely driven by solar power, and natural gas to a lesser extent, according to Short-Term Energy Outlook analysis from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

“Significant” capacity expansions are driving the increase in solar generation, EIA said, with solar accounting for 59% of U.S. generating capacity additions in the first half of 2024. The increase in solar capacity was also supported by the development of new battery storage capacity, EIA said.

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Source: Renewables Energy World

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The new technology could revolutionize desalination by offering a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods.

Solar device makes 20L drinking water a day from seawater with 93% efficiency

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed an energy-efficient desalination device that uses the sun’s power to produce clean drinking water from seawater.

This innovative approach could provide a sustainable solution to the global water crisis, especially for coastal and island nations where fresh water is scarce.

The new technology, which mimics nature’s water cycle, could revolutionize desalination by offering a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods.

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Source: Interesting Engineering

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Warehouses, commercial areas, shopping centers and factories are perfect for solar and battery power stations.

How warehouses and shopping centers could produce 25% of Australia’s power

Imagine if Australian cities became major producers of clean energy, rather than relying on far-flung solar and wind farms.

Far fetched? Hardly. Our cities and towns are full of warehouses, commercial areas, shopping centers and factories. These types of buildings have one very important underutilized resource—large expanses of unoccupied rooftops, perfect for solar and battery power stations.

If our commercial and industrial areas took up solar and storage, it would be revolutionary. Electricity could be produced in cities and used in cities, reducing transmission losses. Commercial businesses could generate solar power during the day, store it in batteries on site and sell it back to the grid during the evening peak.

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Source: Tech Xplore

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The Energy Information Administration expects power plant developers and owners will add 62.8 GW this year in the United States

EIA expects 62.8 GW to come online in 2024, led by solar, energy storage

The Energy Information Administration expects power plant developers and owners will add 62.8 GW this year in the United States, up 55% from 2023 when 40.4 GW came online, the agency said Monday.

Developers and power plant owners brought 20.2 GW online in the first six months this year, adding 3.6 GW, or 21%, more than in the same period last year, the EIA said. The agency expects another 42.6 GW will be added in the second half this year.

About 12 GW of utility-scale solar came online in the first half, accounting for 59% of all new capacity, according to the EIA. Texas and Florida made up 38% of U.S. solar additions, the agency said.

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Source: Utility Dive

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Agrivoltaics help preserve & improve prime agricultural land while providing farmers with additional income.

Smart agrivoltaics policy allows us to harvest the sun while preserving American farmland

American farmland can play a critical role in the clean energy transition, evolving to thrive alongside renewable energy development like solar, wind and energy storage. With respect to solar generation, in order to meet a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2035, the Biden Administration has set a goal of having 40% of our nation’s electricity coming from solar by that same date, up from the current 4%. Brownfields, closed capped landfills, rooftops and other preferred sites will provide important sources for hosting solar arrays. However, American farmland also has a significant role to play, and it is estimated that farmers and other landowners will lease more than 2 million acres of agricultural land in the United States for community and utility-scale solar projects by 2030 (a small fraction of the 880 million of farmlands reported by the USDA in 2023).

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Source: Solar Power World

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