In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
- Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm is now connected and producing clean energy.
- Arizona may get its very first electricity provider that offers 100% clean energy.
- UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.
Saudi Arabia’s wind farm
Saudi Arabia’s first wind farm is now connected to the grid and producing clean energy. It’s the largest wind farm in the Middle East.
The 400MW Dumat al-Jandal wind farm is 557 miles (896 km) north of Riyadh, in the Al Jouf region of Saudi Arabia. It was developed by French clean energy firm EDF Renewables and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, and its 99 wind turbines can power up to 70,000 households.
But not so fast on thinking that the oil-dependent country is embracing a clean energy future: It wants to boost its renewable projects in order to free up oil in order to export it.
As Al Jazeera notes, “The farm is part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030, a reform project intended to diversify the economy and move Saudi Arabia away from its dependency on oil.”
Saudi Arabia did ratify the Paris Agreement, but it’s clinging to carbon capture and, like nearly half of the 200 nations who signed, has yet to provide details on how it will get to net zero by 2050.
New clean energy opportunity for Arizonans
Texas-based Green Mountain Energy (not to be confused with Green Mountain Power, although it’s actually an offshoot of the Vermont utility), which offers electricity sourced from 100% clean energy, has applied to enter Arizona’s electricity market.
Green Mountain Energy would become the first and only electricity provider to exclusively offer clean energy in Arizona if it’s approved.
It would compete with Arizona Public Service Co. and Tucson Electric Power, which currently has monopolies in their territories.
Arizona does not have an operating competitive market, but Green Mountain Energy wrote in its application:
Approval of this application is in the public interest because it will result in more options for customers and expand the availability of renewable energy in Arizona. Indeed, by approving this application the commission can enable Arizonans to not only choose their electricity provider, but also choose the type of generation they would like to receive. Green Mountain is uniquely qualified to provide these new options to Arizonans.
The clean energy provider would literally be a breath of fresh air for Arizona: Natural gas, nuclear power, and coal provided 88% of Arizona’s utility-scale electricity net generation in 2020, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Green Mountain Energy currently offers clean energy to residential and commercial consumers in Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. It also offers residential-only programs in Maryland and Massachusetts. What’s on offer varies depending on each state utility that Green Mountain Energy collaborates with.
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