Tag Archive for: solarenergy

The US power landscape is about to be shaken up to the tune of 4.5GW worth of new solar energy generation & storage projects over the next 5yrs

The solar energy gloves finally come flying off

The solar revolution has stalled out in some parts of the US, much to the delight of fossil energy stakeholders. However, anything can happen at any time, and it just has. The US power landscape is about to be shaken up to the tune of 4.5 gigawatts’ worth of new solar energy generation and storage projects over the next five years, and three of the most asleep-at-the-solar-wheel states in the nation stand stand to get jarred awake by the sudden influx of investments in clean power.

3 US States In Need Of A Solar Energy Makeover

The leading energy firms Entergy and NextEra Energy Resources announced the new 4.5-gigawatt collaboration last week, to cover solar energy and storage projects in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, where Entergy is the electricity provider for a total of 3 million customers.

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Source: Clean Technica

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The US DOE unveiled a $71 million investment today, with $16 million allocated from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

US Department of Energy invests $71M in solar energy manufacturing projects

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In line with President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled a $71 million investment today, with $16 million allocated from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This investment aims to bolster research, development, and demonstration projects across the U.S. solar energy supply chain, addressing critical gaps in domestic manufacturing capacity.

Selected projects will focus on enhancing various aspects of the solar supply chain, including equipment, silicon ingots and wafers, and both silicon and thin-film solar cell manufacturing. Additionally, efforts will be made to explore new markets for solar technologies, such as dual-use photovoltaic applications, which encompass building-integrated PV and agrivoltaics.

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Source: Solar Quarter

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Swiss researchers have developed a solar energy method using synthetic quartz to achieve temperatures above 1,000°C for industrial processes

Smelting steel without fossil fuels: Solar power shatters the 1,000°C barrier for industrial heating

Instead of burning fossil fuels to reach the temperatures needed to smelt steel and cook cement, scientists in Switzerland want to use heat from the sun. The proof-of-concept study uses synthetic quartz to trap solar energy at temperatures over 1,000°C (1,832°F), demonstrating the method’s potential role in providing clean energy for carbon-intensive industries. A paper on the research was published on May 15 in the journal Device.

The Need for Decarbonization

“To tackle climate change, we need to decarbonize energy in general,” says corresponding author Emiliano Casati of ETH Zurich, Switzerland. “People tend to only think about electricity as energy, but in fact, about half of the energy is used in the form of heat.”

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Source: Sci Tech Daily

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Solar energy installation will decarbonize the city’s wastewater treatment plant and meet all its power needs

City of Arvin, California & Veolia North America break ground on innovative solar energy installation

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The City of Arvin, California and Veolia North America broke ground today on a new solar energy installation that will meet all the power needs of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. Since energy can account for as much as 30% of water treatment costs, this project provides an economic and environmental benefit.

Veolia has operated and maintained the City of Arvin’s wastewater treatment plant for more than a decade. Last year the city and Veolia began discussions about using renewable energy to reduce the cost and improve the reliability of the plant’s operation as part of Veolia’s GreenUp strategy, which aims to position Veolia as a driver of technological innovations. The project will generate one megawatt of electricity, or enough to power about 205 homes. The project is financed through a combination of low interest municipal financing and the Federal Inflation Reduction Act.

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Source: Clean Technica

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The Israeli authorities have proposed a plan to deploy 250 MW of floating solar & agrivoltaics through 4 PV plants in the Negev Desert.

Israel to deploy 250 MW of floating solar, agrivoltaics

The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said in a recent statement that the authorities have given initial approval for four solar energy plants in the southern part of the country. The program, which will supply at least 250 MW of energy, will now be submitted for comments from various regional committees.

The projects will be constructed in the Arava region of the Negev Desert, between the Ramon Airport and the Timna copper mine, on a total area spanning 4.09 km2. The first plant will include floating PV panels installed over purified waste reservoirs, as well as a ground-mounted PV and storage solutions.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Space-based solar panels are lighter and multi-junction that extracts more energy in the same amount of exposed surface area.

Space, the new frontier of photovoltaics

This isn’t science fiction: producing photovoltaic energy directly in space and then beaming it down for use on Earth is the focus of the European Space Agency’s SOLARIS project, which we’re also involved in. The first major goal: to place a one-megawatt power plant in orbit by 2030. The results of the project will also be useful for “terrestrial” photovoltaic applications.

Space-based solar power has been around for more than 60 years: in fact, in 1958, the U.S. satellite Vanguard 1 was the first spacecraft to use a sub-one-watt power panel to operate a radio transmitter. The satellite stopped working a few years later, but it’s still in orbit: not only did it pave the way for the use of solar energy in space, it’s also the oldest human-made object orbiting the Earth. In the meantime, technology has advanced: today the International Space Station is equipped with more than 400 square meters of panels, which provide it with more than 240,000 times the energy of that first small installation on Vanguard 1.

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Source: Enel Green Power

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Solar developer Nexamp has raised an impressive $520 million to build community solar projects across the US.

$500M+ raised to build clean power plants for low income communities

In a major win for affordable clean energy access, solar developer Nexamp has raised an impressive $520 million to build community solar projects across the United States.

This funding is “one of the largest capital raises to date for this growing sector,” according to Canary Media.

Community solar allows renters, small businesses, and other organizations to benefit from solar energy even if they can’t install panels on their own property. Participants pay a monthly fee to subscribe to a local solar farm and then receive credits on their utility bills for the clean power generated. Those credits are typically larger than the subscription fee — meaning savings for subscribers.

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Source: The Cool Down

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New regulations made new solar installations financially unviable for school districts. Senate Bill 1374 could help restore the incentives.

California schools can’t keep pace with utility bills. Solar energy offers a needed lifeline

Serving as a school board president requires a deep dedication to ensuring districts have the resources needed to provide every student with a high-quality education. Sadly, that core mission has been challenged by runaway utility costs draining resources from already cash-strapped budgets.

School districts such as Oakland and Clovis Unified, for example, are separated by more than a hundred miles, yet the upward trajectory of utility costs is maddeningly similar. For Oakland, these energy expenses spiked $1.3 million just this year. Clovis has endured $2.2 million in electricity hikes since 2019 – increases that would have ballooned to more than $5 million without the district’s existing solar panels.

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Source: CAL MATTERS

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Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a method to make high-quality perovskite films at room temperature.

UCSB pioneers a low-energy process for high-performance solar cells

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Finding reliable, eco-friendly power sources is crucial as our world grapples with increasing energy needs and the urgent call to combat climate change. Solar energy offers one solution, with scientists devising ever more efficient materials for capturing sunlight.

Perovskite solar cells have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional, silicon solar cells, boasting a number of advantages. But processing the material has been a complicated affair. Now, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a method to make high-quality perovskite films at room temperature. The team’s innovation not only simplified the production process but also increased the material’s efficiency from under 20% to 24.4%. The details appear in the journal Joule.

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Source: UC Santa Barbara

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The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has been at the forefront of the solar revolution for the last 50 years.

The solar century: Landmark moments in the history of solar energy

The history of solar energy is an American success story.

Since the creation of the first silicon solar cell 70 years ago, solar leaders have been innovating, improving efficiency, lowering costs, and growing this American-born technology into an essential part of our nation’s energy system.

In 2023, solar accounted for over 50% of new electricity generating capacity added to the grid and employs over 260,000 Americans. With over 179 GW of installed capacity and growing, the solar and storage industry has become an American energy powerhouse.

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Source: SEIA

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