Welcome to the Electrek Green Energy Brief. Put together by our Electrek authors, the Energy Brief is a daily technical, financial, and political review of important green energy news.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
From spectacular vistas to the pits: A decades-long public land battle continues in the California desert – They want to build a pumped-storage facility in the desert – ‘extra’ solar energy pumps water uphill in the daytime, when the electricity is needed later the water spins turbines on the way back down. The Joshua Tree National Park’s water supply is at risk – an environmentally challenging area. I’m going with the park over the business folks – even if they’re saving some CO2 with pumped storage. We’ve got so few healthy, relatively intact habitats left – build this somewhere else.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy Earnings Up on Solar Rebound – BHE Renewables saw net income increase $39 million due primarily to higher generation at the Solar Star projects, which were hobbled by transformer-related forced outages in 2016. It also benefited from earnings from tax equity investments reaching commercial operation and additional wind and solar capacity placed in service. If Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hatheway are improving their investment numbers due to solar power, expect plenty of others to follow close behind. Headlines like this bring regular people into the fold.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
LONGi Solar pushes mainstream mono-PERC module to 325.6W – Entry level solar panels are 1/5th more efficient (moving from 16 to 20%) – meaning you get 20% was watts in the same roofspace. “Mono-PERC” 60 cell solar panels in the real world at 19.91%. That’s freaking awesome. The mono-PERC bifacial product LONGi launched in 72 cell is 21% efficient front side and ~25(!!)% backside IF the conditions are solid (white roofs/high angle/proper spacing/proper open space racking structure). Trina set a 22.6% record recently with this product – so it already has upside to grow.
Header image is the second image released of the solar roof by Tesla, showed off the first yesterday. Aligns with customer solar articles later in the post.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Solar is now the most popular form of new electricity generation worldwide – Worldwide, some 73 gigawatts of net new solar PV capacity was installed in 2016. Wind energy came in second place (55GW), with coal relegated to third (52GW), followed by gas (37GW) and hydro (28GW). – “Popular” is used different than I’d use it for this first article – but this second article that focuses on the opinion of Americans and ‘solar farms’ uses the term properly without a doubt – Fully 89% of Americans favor more solar panel farms, just 9% oppose. Is popular the reason we should be building certain technology? No – of course not! What if the most popular is the cheapest form of electricity on the planet? And it can scale? And it is one of the cleanest? Yeah, those are good reasons.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Will County is first in Illinois to be named ‘solar smart’ – SolSmart, Will County has simplified the language in its zoning ordinances and made “alternative energy” an option on its building permit application. It also has enhanced training for permitting and inspection staff and increased public resources regarding solar energy systems and consumer protection. As a developer of solar power – someone who is in as deep as possible – I often get some very strange questions from people about solar power. Its at those moments where I have to remind myself that it is me who is the weird one with the amount of knowledge I have in this field. For local institutions to make solar power accessible in ways like this goes a LONG way.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Why Court Victories for New York, Illinois Nuclear Subsidies Are a Big Win for Renewables – In times when we have a Department of Energy head hiring an individual that declares renewables are more dangerous than terrorist attacks, two rulings in New York and Illinois supporting subsidies for nuclear power are a win for solar and wind support on a state level. The basic is – the courts have ruled that states have a right to prescribe their own incentives without certain federal interference. The article goes a lot deeper into the legaleeze – give it a read.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Utility Helps Wean Vermonters From the Electric Grid – Vermont and Tesla have been working with the Powerwall since late 2015. Green Mountain Power – the utility in question – is really blazing a trail on a state level. One goal of the power company is to build demand response, energy storage and solar power into the grid – starting on a house by house level – to limit transmission costs (moving electricity over long distances) – Recently, Green Mountain used this method to take the low-income development here off the grid’s electricity supply for two hours, saving an estimated $275 in transmission costs while the homes were powered by solar panels or battery storage. This is one reason why Net Metering should be at 100% of the value of the cost of electricity – transmission/distribution and other costs are saved – not just electricity generation costs. This utility gets it.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
It’s Not Your Imagination. Summers Are Getting Hotter. – To create the bell curves, Dr. Hansen and two colleagues compared actual summer temperatures for each decade since the 1980s to a fixed baseline average. During the base period, 1951 to 1980, about a third of summers across the Northern Hemisphere were in what they called a “near average” or normal range. A third were considered cold; a third were hot. – There is no longer an honest, intelligent argument about whether or not the globe is warming. This argument is dead. We are now going to move onto a new argument – whether this warming is good for the humans living on this planet. This is how the politicians will shift it. Irrelevant of that spin though – the pain will start in the south (of the USA at least).
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Solar scientists rough up silicon panels to boost light capture – “To avoid using these extra (expensive and complex anti-reflective) coatings we fabricated a submicron structure using a simple wet treatment directly into the silicon surfaces to give the cell its own antireflective coating.” Tiny little bits of scientific benefit. First, they get rid of an expensive, complex process that is part of standard solar cell production. Then they add in a new process that is cheap and fast. They get the same result. In the end – we win.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Utilities Knew: Documenting Electric Utilities’ Early Knowledge and Ongoing Deception on Climate Change From 1968-2017 – “If this turns out to be of major concern, then fossil fuel combustion will be essentially unacceptable, an important justification for expanding the nuclear and solar energy options,” Dr. Cyril Comar…yet…In 1991, Edison Electric Industry and Southern Company spearheaded the Information Council on the Environment listed as its top strategy an effor to “reposition global warming as theory (not fact).” The electricity utilities and the fossil fuel majors both knew. They knew back in the 1960s explicitly – yet they paid front groups to lie to the general public, and lobbied politicians to ignore science in exchange for campaign donations. Per the example set against the tobacco companies – Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. People have died – and many more will because of these lies.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
The Energy Trade Action Coalition made its debut on Friday of last week – “Tariffs meant to protect one industry can, and often do, have significant damaging effects on other domestic industries,” said Tori Whiting, research associate at The Heritage Foundation. “Imposing tariffs under Section 201, as Suniva and SolarWorld request, would be a step backward by adding another layer of federal subsidies, which is something the Heritage Foundation opposes in all instances.” – Free trade is the name of their game.
Concurrently, at the American Enterprise Institute – a historically conservative business lobby – we’ve got an upcoming presentation – ‘Carbon taxes: A problem or a solution?‘ Cookies will be served. For some decent depth of this issue – check out Prospect of Trump tariff casts pall over U.S. solar industry. A steep rise in panel prices “could be huge and disastrous for large-scale solar,” said Tom Werner – it’d affect them more than any other sector of industry.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Research offers new hope for gender equity in Green STEM fields – In a study of nine million degree recipients in the United States between 2009 and 2014, Dafna Gelbgiser and Kyle Albert, M.A. ’11, Ph.D. ’16, found that the student population of green fields of study is systematically more gender-equal than other fields of study, both in STEM and non-STEM disciplines. – In my sales meeting though, its still all men. Time may fix that as experts rise through the ranks in this young field.
Middle East’s renewable energy boom to require $200bn investment – 67 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy projects are currently at the design and study stage within the region – These countries have the money to pay for it, the sunlight to make the investment sound, and the driver – saving oil to sell globally – to really do it.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Microsoft gets OK to buy renewable power directly, bypassing the fossil utility – “WA utility commission approved Microsoft’s long awaited exit from PSE and now lets it directly procure renewable energy from wholesale market. As previously negotiated, Microsoft would pay a $23.6m exit fee for moving out of PSE’s load base. This agreement opens up doors for corporates in the state (AMZN, REI, SBUX, etc.) who wish to have a higher renewable mix. PSE procures two-thirds of its electricity from fossil fuels.” – Thank you long time reader Mr Will Driscoll – source Credit Suisse, ‘Renewables Roundup.’ This interests me on a few levels – and it should concern utilities on fundamental levels. First off – large users of electricity are now able to take a hands on approach. As a commercial/industrial developer myself – I see it every single day. I’ve brought many companies to buying zero kWh from the utility. Secondly – an exit fee of tens of millions – this is a lot of money, but Microsoft is no fool and they ran the numbers.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
South Miami Approves Solar Roof Rules, Inspired by a Teenager – Reynolds had already devoted years to raising awareness about climate change and sea level rise before starting her campaign for solar ordinances. She founded a nonprofit called The Sink or Swim Project, which highlights the climate challenges facing South Florida. Show this to your kids – motivate them. They’re the ones who inherit our world.
Related: Miami Mayor Wants To Spend $192 Million On Sea Rise & Flood Prevention
Analysis: Ratepayers foot the bill for utilities’ push against rooftop solar – We’ve talked about it here before, but I just wanted to remind you – when the electricity utilities pay politicians to change legislation in their favor – they’re using your money. You fund the war against you.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
New homes will now require solar panels in South Miami, a first in Florida – [UPDATE – Prior EGEB referenced an almost one month old vote]. Under the rules, new residential construction would require 175 square feet of solar panel to be installed per 1,000 square feet of sunlit roof area, or 2.75 kw per 1,000 square feet of living space, whichever is less. If the house is built under existing trees, the shade may exempt it. For a region that is predicted to be flooded by the year 2050, this is a good step. Local politics were able to overcome robo-calls paid for the local electric utility that were communicating lies about solar. South Miami joins cities in California and other places globally requiring solar power at time of construction. This should lower the cost as well. Good job folks.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, China, U.S., Lead 2Q Surge in Renewables Investments – Solar was the star sector in 2Q, notching up investment of $35.6 billion, up 19% year-on-year and 20% quarter-on-quarter. Wind had a weaker three months, seeing investment slip 29% year-on-year to $26.2 billion, although it was 43% higher than in the first quarter of this year. Volume is going to grow in 2017 over the major growth year of 2016 – and its starting to show.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
How China floated to the top in solar – “The coalmine was very hot and the air was bad,” says Sang. “But here I feel safe. The new energy is safe.” That’s it. End of discussion.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
House Approves Defense Policy Bill Declaring Climate Change A National Security Threat – The Republican-led House decisively approved a defense policy bill on Friday that declares climate change a national security threat, demands rigorous oversight of the Pentagon’s cyber operations and rejects the Trump administration’s bid to close military bases. Like all things political, this language’s path is complex and the bill it is in might not pass. I’d guess this language was allowed to stay in order to make Democrats want to increase the size of the military budget by $30 billion (or more). Bill has a lot of challenges – including having to remove laws put in place by Republicans to limit the Obama government’s ability to increase the budget. Such irony – having to change laws you made just seven years to limit government size, so you can increase government size…I wonder if it had to do with who was POTUS at the time.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Rooftop Solar Dims Under Pressure From Utility Lobbyists – “Edison Electric Institute is happy to come to any state at any time,” Thomas R. Kuhn, the group’s president, “We have two dozen states we are working on…Years, ago, I think a lot of people said, ‘That’s not going to come to our area. And now we see it in each and every state.” – also – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, concluded that for the vast majority of states and utilities, the effects of rooftop solar credits on electricity rates for nonsolar customers would be negligible for the foreseeable future. The Edison Institute disputes that study’s findings. Your money pays for your electrical company to stick it to you. #democracy #capitalism #merica
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Energy Department Announces $46.2 Million for 48 Projects to Advance Solar Power Technologies – Happy to see the Department of Energy not cut these programs. Three goals, 1. Small exploratory projects to determine the potential of an innovative idea in PV hardware research, 2. Significant improvements in the performance, energy yield, manufacturability, and reliability of completed PV modules, 3. Hardware and software solutions to facilitate the rapid, safe, and cost-effective deployment and commissioning of PV systems. The money went to all universities – and in this link you get to see each individual project. Lots of solar cell research. Exciting stuff for a group who has shown much talent in advancing solar technology.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Swinerton puts solar workers at forefront of new website as threat of job losses in US mounts – SRE said that the SwinertonRenewable.com website was intended to highlight the many human faces of the US solar energy, including profiles for each member of the SRE team – We want to talk about job losses in coal? Let’s be blunt – coal job losses peaked in 1920, now they’re doing what old industry does – slowly dying off. Solar panel manufacturing jobs have NEVER been anywhere near the number of installation jobs we have today. Could they have grown without China – maybe, but then many other commodity product manufacturing positions in this country has fallen off as well in the last few decades. Call your politicians folks – remember – you employ them. Also remember why this started.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Renewable energy is becoming so cheap the US will meet Paris commitments even if Trump withdraws – “By our forecasts, in most cases favorable renewables economics rather than government policy will be the primary driver of changes to utilities’ carbon emissions levels,” they wrote. “For example, notwithstanding president Trump’s stated intention to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord, we expect the US to exceed the Paris commitment of a 26-28% reduction in its 2005-level carbon emissions by 2020.” However, unfavorable political actions like a rigged energy study by the Department of Energy headed by a Power Utilities hack could limit growth. This headline doesn’t mean we stop the political fight – it means the economic argument coming from the naysayers will be bunk.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Explainer: What the Tesla big battery can and cannot do – Of the 100MW/129MWh, around 70MW of capacity is contracted to the South Australian government to provide grid stability and system security. It will likely mostly provide frequency and ancillary services (FCAS) when needed (such as a major system fault, generator trip or transmission failure). The other 30MW of capacity will have three hours storage, and will be used as load shifting by Neoen for the Hornsdale wind farm, where it will be located. The first 70% will do what gas peaker plants used to do – something energy executives think will never be built again after 2020 in the USA. The second chunk will absorb wind generation when the grid can’t use it, and spend it when the wind slow down. Remember when they said this would never happen?
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Climate Change in the American Mind: May 2017 – Four in ten Americans (39%) think the odds that global warming will cause humans to become extinct are 50% or higher. Most Americans (58%) think the odds of human extinction from global warming are less than 50%. – I don’t believe the species will go extinct, however, we might fall back from being a globally dominating species to multi regional species. And we’d probably lose our ability to get into space due to supply chain destruction…which in the long game (1 million years) might mean species (along with all other living things on this rock) extinction. Either way – 39% is a large group of people who will hopefully vote.
Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.
Researchers found they could hack entire wind farms – Staggs typed into his laptop’s command line and soon saw a list of IP addresses representing every networked turbine in the field. A few minutes later he typed another command, and the hackers watched as the single turbine above them emitted a muted screech like the brakes of an aging 18-wheel truck, slowed, and came to a stop – We know that the times we live in times when hacking power plants is real. We know that hackers have learned how to create ‘botnets’ that can infect millions of machines at once, and then those machines can all turn on at once to begin their pre-determined illicit activities. If we’re going to distribute energy management computers that are connected to the internet – every individual solar panel will have a computer internal soon – we’re going to have to step up our security game.
