Electrek Green Energy Brief

Electric utility FirstEnergy Corp., which serves most of northern West Virginia, is going to repurpose a former coal ash landfill for a utility-scale solar farm.

US President Joe Biden today signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, and that’s going to give the transition of the United States to clean energy a big boost. According to the American Clean Power Association, the new law could add up to an additional 550 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from wind, solar, and other clean energy sources. Electrek spoke with Enrico Viale, head of renewable energy company Enel North America, about the challenges that states face as they move away from fossil fuels and how Enel is working with states to help them deploy clean energy, distributed energy resources, and energy storage.

Clean energy accounted for more than two-thirds of the new US electrical generating capacity added during the first six months of 2022, according to data recently released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Scientists have come up with a way to make wind farms more energy efficient, and it doesn’t require new investment.

Despite pushback from residents, the Supreme Court of Ohio yesterday approved a permit for the construction of North America’s first freshwater offshore wind farm, which will be sited in Lake Erie, around eight miles north of Cleveland.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) today set a goal to deploy 25 gigawatts (GW) of offshore floating wind power generation by 2045 after adopting a report that establishes offshore wind goals.

The Democrats passed the big climate bill – the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – in the US Senate on Sunday, 51-50. It’s expected to pass in the House of Representatives this week, and President Joe Biden says he’ll sign it as soon as it lands on his desk. Here’s how the IRA helps homeowners achieve energy efficiency and lower their energy bills.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a now fully supported Democratic bill that addresses climate change and contains wind and solar spending, is expected to be introduced tomorrow in the US Senate. Here’s what its potential impact is, should it become law.

There are currently 4.9 gigawatts (GW) of community solar installed in the US through the second quarter of 2022, and at least 7 gigawatts of community solar are expected to come online in the US in the next five years, according to new research released by Wood Mackenzie in collaboration with the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA).

The 900 megawatt (MW) Nant de Drance pumped storage power plant in Valais, Switzerland, came online in July after 14 years of challenging construction and testing. The gigantic “water battery” is capable of storing enough hydroelectric energy to power as many as 900,000 homes.

Siemens Gamesa’s first recyclable blades are spinning on a wind turbine at the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in Germany. It’s the first commercial installation of recyclable wind turbine technology.

Birmingham, UK-headquartered housing developer St. Modwen plans to build up to 350 fully electric homes in Birmingham – on the MG Rover site that was once home to the MINI – and the development will pioneer smart grid technology.

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has called for California to bump up its offshore wind target to at least 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2045, accelerating its 20 GW target by five years.

Solar energy jobs were up in 47 states and increased 9% percent across the United States from 2020 to 2021, reaching a total of 255,037 solar workers, reports the independent nonprofit Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

US President Joe Biden today announced that his administration will pursue the development of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico, which is already a hub for oil and gas production.

New Jersey recently surpassed 4 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power, enough to provide electricity to over 500,000 households annually, according to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

GAF Energy, the sister company of GAF, the largest roofing and waterproofing company in North America, will build a 450,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Georgetown, Texas, to meet growing demand for its “world’s first” nailable solar shingle, the Timberline Solar Energy Shingle, which launched in January.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $56 million in funding to boost US solar manufacturing and recycling.

In 2021, 163 gigawatts (GW) – nearly two-thirds – of new renewable power added was cheaper than the cheapest coal-fired power plants in G20 countries, according to a new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

In 2020, 26% of US households – that’s 32.25 million out of 123.53 million homes – used electricity as their only source of energy, according to the US Energy Information Administration. But what the EIA doesn’t note is what fuels that “electricity as the only source of energy.”

Plans in Europe to place a small number of coal plants on temporary standby would only add 1.3% to EU emissions annually, even in the worst-case scenario where they run at the highest levels, according to London-based energy think tank Ember.