Skip to main content

Electrek green energy brief: Trump’s renewable infrastructure, 80% solar before big upgrades, 4,000 years of solar and more!

Trump releases infrastructure possibilities, 4 (actually 5) renewable grid projects included – The renewable projects are, 1. an HVDC transmission line to move wind power from Oklahoma to Tennessee Valley Authority customer, 2. an HVDC line moving wind power from Wyoming to the southwest USA, 3. support of a 3GW, largest in the country, wind farm in Wyoming, and 4. Energy Storage and Grid Modernization in California. Interestingly, all of these projects are partially underway, some with permits and partial construction complete. I wonder exactly what the federal support would be – helping paperwork move? At a minimum, federal support for shovel ready projects can move thing along quicker when financiers see backers that cannot go bankrupt. Edit – a 5th project – an HVDC powerline moving 1,000MW of renewable energy from upstate New York down the Hudson to New York City.

Magic number to affect car buying $3/gallon – At what price did you begin to change your driving habits during our last gas price bubble? I’m actually interested in knowing. Right now, Tesla is able to sell like it does because of brand name – and being a great damn car. Its sales don’t seem to be affected by gas prices. Other manufacturers are doing ok with electric in the US – but what price of gas will make them do great?

Treasury nominee backs wind incentive support – Trump’s nomination for Treasury has stated they support the current shape and size of the wind investment tax credit. Does that mean this individual feels the same for the solar ITC? Additionally, the article notes unnamed senators and representatives that have stated the solar power investment tax credit is off the table in future negotiations. Jobs and money is what will clean our environment.

5GW of monocrystalline silicon ingot pulling production coming online – 5GW is a healthy chunk of volume compared to the global capacity of 117GW’ish. There are a whole chain of factories that have to mirror this one though – panel assembly, aluminum framing, wiring, glass, solar cell manufacturing, etc etc – either way, another big chunk added.

Chinese Five Year plan includes 110GW+ solar and a push toward 23% efficiency – The 110GW we knew, the push toward 23% is very interesting to me. If manufacturers are forced to spend big money on more expensive technologies, those technologies will come down – and moving from an average efficiency of 17% to 23% would mean an increase in energy density of 35%. While the $/W price won’t fall exactly in line with 35% – that’s a damn good motivator.

Solar panel manufacturing shifting globally from China – Though China does have a lion’s share still, future growth will be in other countries. Some of the companies setting up shop in other countries are of Chinese origin – trying to escape US and European taxes or increasing Chinese costs. A degree of energy independence will be gained if you manufacture your own solar panels within your country – the knowledge to do these things filtering to your people will be invaluable.

Advanced Studies in Electric Power says mostly current grid can handle 80% of daytime peak solar – I’ll let the image and the researchers talk: “The amount of a photovoltaic capacity that can be added to a distribution circuit without violating its operating constraints depends on the specific nature of the system. The minimum hosting capacity, shown as Circuit C, is 15 percent. The maximum hosting capacity with no changes to the distribution circuit, Circuit B, is 104 percent of median daytime peak load.” In one circuit analysis, as few as 1/3 of the solar panels having optimizers would allow the penetration to increase from 47% to 80%.

 

I’m gonna go with it – I’ve got no choice. Do your job well Elon – you’ve got the access.

This thing was used to add electricity to the grid – beautiful:

Infographic of the Day: The 6,000 Year History Of Solar Power:

Considering residential solar?  will connect you with local contractors. Full disclosure: I get a commission. Tweet me for feedback on pricing.

For more electric vehicle, autonomous transport and clean technology news, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Newsletter, RSS or Facebook to get our latest ar

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Stay up to date with the latest content by subscribing to Electrek on Google News. You’re reading Electrek— experts who break news about Tesla, electric vehicles, and green energy, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow Electrek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our YouTube channel for the latest reviews.