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.
Apple agrees to purchase solar energy from 200MW Warren Buffet farm – Apple & NV Energy, owned by Warren Buffett, have agreed to build a 200MW solar power farm whose power will be sold to Apple for purpose of powering an Apple data center. A 200MW solar farm in Nevada, at retail rates, will cost approximately $200-300M and will produce 350GWh a year – an average American home uses 0.01GWh/year. Interesting to see – Apple researched 5MW of solar power to be sold to commercial and residential customers. I’d like to learn more about it.
$1/W goal has been hit, $.70/W by 2021 – how did this happen? – Sunshot is a Department of Energy program that sought to lower the cost of utility scale solar power to $1/W installed+ by investing in strategic solar energy technologies: solar cells, power electronics, manufacturing techniques and soft costs. What I think caught everyone off guard was the Chinese ability to scale their manufacturing. The solar panel that I bought in 2006-7 cost between $2.50-3/W – now the entire installation costs 1/3 that price.
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?
EPA told to halt research grants – Yesterday, I provided you with data from a respected source – the US Energy Information Agency. The information was the amount of CO2 released when we make a single kWh from natural gas or coal, or burn a gallon of gasoline. That research and the online tools used to distribute it was provided via your and my tax dollars. That research creates value for companies across much of the US business world. The EPA and the EIA are eventually going to be forced to remove knowledge from the public domain. Limiting public domain knowledge will limit our species ability to evolve on this planet.
Pew shows 2x as many Americans support alternative energy over fossil, including two thirds of moderate Republicans – It’s interesting to see solar power cover such broad political bases, cleaner energy almost as much as solar. In Georgia – the politics of the Tea Party and the Green Party came together to push solar power. President George W. Bush first signed off on the Federal Investment Tax Credit for solar power. Annually, and a bipartisan Congress pushed it to be re-signed every year (it expired annually in those days). Now, we see a small group of energy-focused lobbyists in control of Trump’s cabinet we ought expect to see this happening on many levels in the country.
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New Secretary of Defense James Mattis supports microgrids – US Military officials have made strong statements concerning climate change, strategic safety and fuel transport. In the US they’ve stated inter-connected microgrids based upon solar power, wind, batteries and fuel cells are most intelligent. In the field, General Mattis has expressed multiple times that solar power microgrids are exactly what is needed to ‘power up batteries’ in the field. And on a global scale – we know the thought is that ‘climate change poses a significant risk.’ The reason I post General Mattis is because we need every pathway forward to better our energy position and military investment in technology always seems to pull things quickly.
$220/ton is proper cost of carbon tax – If we’re going to have an adult conversation about what that means: adding $.13/kWh gas, $.22/kWh coal & $2/gallon for gasoline. These numbers are based upon the $220/ton number multiplied against the values on these two pages (A and B). In my mind we have two choices – either accept this ultra aggressive $/ton of CO2 number or make our carbon tax a LOT LOWER however, force the money into energy, transportation, manufacturing and agriculture upgrades. We cannot have everything – we live in reality folks.
97% efficient solar thermal technology developed in Australia – The goal of the designers is to get the technology to 12¢/kWh – and with such high amount of energy efficiency when considering land space, even at that ‘higher’ price, I would expect it to get some sales. Being able to use nearly 100% of the sun’s energy to spin turbines will mean energy density 4 times greater (or 1.5x if you’re an ME), from a land use standpoint, that standard photovoltaic based solar power. Additionally, this being in the form of heat energy means there is the possibility of extending the use of energy beyond standard sunlight hours. Of course, moving parts will make it more complex to deal with and at 2100 suns compressed to boil the water at 500°C, your technician better know their stuff.
10 straight years of global growth for solar, including 32% and 34% in 2015-2016 – We’ve been seeing a doubling of cumulative installed solar power every 2-4 years since sometime around 2000. For us to have such massive global growth in year 15 and 16 is really amazing – the two year growth rate is almost 77%. Do not expect this same growth (and possibly no growth) in 2017 though – all the predictions I’ve read say we might be minus a percent, about the same or possibly up 5% growth. If the low pricing of 2016 can hold though, then this FoxBusiness report that solar is escaping the boom bust cycle of subsidized industries will be true – and the above article’s expectation of strong growth returning by later 2018 and into 2019 will hold strong.
Residential solar doesn’t affect electricity rates – Actually, the report says that at current average penetration levels – the cost to the grid is plus or minus $0.0003/kWh (that’s 3/100ths of a penny). Additionally, at penetration levels lower than 10% there is a cost of plus or minus $0.005/kWh (that’s 1/2 of a cent). This report only considers the direct cost to managing a power grid – it does not account for societal benefits like pollution, health or climate change – so it really is undercutting the true value of solar power…if you believe in pollution that is.
Politicians tell Trump that winds farms affect radar, NAVY disagrees – Reality is that politicians are sometimes controlled by those who fund their campaigns. If someone is making up stories in order to pull on the heart-strings of voters (FEAR! NATIONAL DEFENSE!) – then you’ve got to question their motives. When the locals don’t even want to consult with their national groups – that’s when you start to realize that anti-clean energy political efforts by groups like ALEC, the Koch Brothers and Exxon are far-reaching. Deep pockets mean you have the ability to build a group that can strategically attack the political structure all the way down. And now that we have a President that said global warming is a Chinese hoax to steal money – expert more false nationalism to enter the political discussion and make it all the way to the top.
$200B in global green bonds – Hundreds of billions of dollars will move into green technologies via the form of long term, safe and stable investments. If you install a solar power system that has minimal O&M and it then runs for 30+ years – someone is going to make money. I field calls all the time from investment groups looking to add a bunch of solar to their portfolios. We’re not going to stop using electricity.
California vote on ‘Time of Use’ rates coming up – If we’re going to live by a true supply and demand market, then electricity use during the daytime and early evening is going to be the most expensive. And the solar industry in California is pushing that we recognize Time of Use more so, since solar power is producing during the most expensive time of the day. This push out west is being called Netmetering 2.0 because the legislators hope to better capture the nuances and economic benefits of solar power – electricity generation is just one benefit brought to the table (lesser stress on grid, adding voltage to areas far from the power plant, etc).
Global solar panel production capacity estimated at 117GW/year – The topic of this article is about the growth of PERC solar cells, but the image inside of it is one I’ve been searching for. Last year we installed about 75GW of solar power, 50% growth from 2015 – this year we expect total volume of a similar amount, that means there will be pressure on manufacturers to make use of their capacity – and that pressure will push downward on solar panel pricing. One solution to lower pricing is to sell higher margin product – and PERC cells, higher efficiency than today’s common product, get that higher margin per solar panel because there are more watts in a solar panel.
850MW(?) Chinese plant is world’s largest solar plant right now – And the plant is under constant construction. Western China has open land, dry air, great sunlight and a seemingly determined China. The size of the plant I am not 100% on as they don’t seem to give a nameplate size – but instead they give the total energy produced. Other headlines will push that India currently has the largest plant – either way, I’m happy that this competition is occurring.
Battery storage + solar finding niche in beer/wine industry – Hawaii just installed a solar + battery peaker plant. Peaker plants run during short durations – 1-5% annually, hours at a time – when high demand is needed. Power companies charge a high rate for these high demand moments. A battery system in a beer brewery would turn specifically when the brewery does high very high energy usage things – heating water, for instance, is very energy intensive. In essence, the brewery is building its own peaker plant to attack high Demand Charges. As Massachusetts (a state whose electricity utility just asked for a 7% to 10% rate increase) ramps up its energy storage mandate – I expect to make this technology pitch to my customers.
800MW solar power plant in Dubai with 2.99¢/kWh breaks ground at end of month – Its cool for me to write big shiny headlines saying things like RECORD BREAKING!?!?! – what’s much more emotionally satisfying is seeing the headline turn into reality. 800MW of solar panels will keep multiple large factories up the supply chain moving hard for a year. And then we’ll have emission free electricity – minus cleaning and operations – for decades. Good job Dubai.
The world’s longest High Voltage DC line in India and America’s first – Energy storage and HVDC will be two key technologies that allow the power grid to significantly increase its use of intermittent energy sources. California has already gotten to almost 30% renewables without any storage. A German grid operator thinks HVDC lines can get their grid to 70% renewables before storage is needed. Being able to move the electricity from the places it can most easily be produced to the population center will be worth hundreds of thousands of lives a year around the world.
Giant wind farms in western China not running – The above links talked about building HVDC power lines. This link talks about what happens when you don’t have enough. China has been building because they have no choice – the Communist Party is facing thousands of protests a year around the country regarding pollution. Cars, power plants and manufacturing facilities are pumping huge volumes of gunk in the air – so China must build clean sources of energy, however, much like Germany – we figured out how to build huge amounts of renewables before we build the infrastructure to transport it or the hardware to store it. Now, in China, it sits idle – waiting for the expansion to occur.
Coal country Wyoming senators want to charge 1¢/kWh to use solar/wind power – A few senators have signed on from a state that would be hurt by less coal, and just maybe we’ll see a charge to use the sun and wind. The law is says utilities cannot pass the penny charge onto end users – seems a smart design to limit end user activism through one cent up charges but obviously a nightmare for the environment and the green energy sector, and the environment.
AES’ New Kauai Solar-Storage ‘Peaker’ Shows How Fast Battery Costs Are Falling – We brought up this power plant last week, but I like this article because it goes into detail about the project. A little over a year ago the CEO of NextERA, Jim Robo, said that by 2020 there may not be another natural gas peaker plant built because of batteries. Natural Gas peaker plants run 1-3% of the time – and only when the power company needs a little extra electricity for a short time, filling in a gap so to say. This plant – in expensive Hawaii – is a forerunner of that evolution from natural gas to battery occurring. Expect to see 20MWh battery peaker (replacing 200MW gas plants) plants popping up all over the country . This is how batteries get their foothold and scale from a manufacturing standpoint – attacking the low capacity factor (1-5%) natural gas peaker plant market.
Solar industry employs 373,000 American, 2.8 million globally – Solar power will continue to gain political strength across the nation as we see serious installation volumes spread to all 50 states. Already solar power lobbyists are able to wield great influence – see the 2015 tax credit extension. The energy industry, in 2016, represented 14% of all new jobs in the USA – a large amount of those coming from renewable and efficiency.
Autonomous solar powered research ship being designed – We’ve got an airplane that circled the world on solar, islands that live off of solar and now an autonomous ocean research vessels to be powered by solar. Scientists are real good at designing instruments that work off of light amounts of energy – a lot of times those restrictions have to do with large amounts of fuel needing to be on the same vessels. If the fuel was coming from the sky – and the infrastructure of the machine held the energy generation – the game changes.
New Study Shows How Solar Can Enhance Grid Reliability – Solar power is much more than extra energy during the day: “Advanced power controls can leverage PV’s value from being simply an intermittent energy resource to providing services that range from spinning reserves, load following, voltage support, ramping, frequency response, variability smoothing and frequency regulation to power quality.” Solar power, along with the proper tools, can be the entirety of your electricity grid.
Clean energy investment down 18%, Solar & Wind deployments up 19% – Seeing the total amount of money invested slow down is challenging – but knowing that the total amount of green energy built went up feels great. Solar power itself saw a price drop of around 10% in a single year. For instance, in the USA total spending fell 10% – but solar power doubled from about 7GW to about 14GW.
PERC cells at 20% efficiency leading towards 330W 72 cell modules from Suntech that are 5% more efficient – If you get 5% more energy out of a solar panel and everything else costs exactly the same – then your solar power system just got ~5% cheaper. These ‘small’ technological moves have significant pricing effects when you consider the broader supply chain and construction requirements.
Solar power and batteries being installed in New York City to defend against natural disasters – Strategically distributing solar panels and batteries in an ultra dense city can defend against large scale grid collapses. And New York City, after realizing that climate change can affect it so significantly when Hurricane Sandy hit, has decided to deploy. Certain projects that I’ve worked on in the city get an extra payment from the power company for installing areas that need the distributed energy. Cool to see a city planning on levels like this.
LowCarbonUSA.org – “We, the undersigned members in the business and investor community of the United States, re-affirm our deep commitment to addressing climate change through the implementation of the historic Paris Climate Agreement.”
There is a lot of money in the energy industry. There are a lot of costs associated with combating the pollution and health effects of burning fossil fuels (climate change not even considered). These costs are mitigated in courts and industries forced to pay for these costs via political back and forth that lead toward laws. The Paris Agreement will drives significant investment, globally, in cleaner energy sources. Corporate America has interests in both sides of the argument.
Next Friday, game on…
Obama: The irreversible momentum of clean energy: President Barack Obama has submitted a document on the probability of the growth of clean energy. The document peer-reviewed and speaks of the many clear technological and economic benefits of clean energy relative to its peers, the fossil fuels. This isn’t PR. This is from a guy who has no more elections to win.
Utility-scale solar + storage = $92/MWh – So many strong pieces of data regarding costs of renewables have come out of this Lazard report. What I’m seeing a lot of analysts say is that all of these headlines touting costs of renewables and storage means its time for renewables to put up some serious installation volumes. If these prices are real – then the economics of them will drive massive uptake, irrelevant of government jostling.
Utility Scale solar forecasting tool from government labs – One challenge of managing intermittent energy sources is that our electricity grid (and all of our stuff) is designed to enjoy peaceful, consistent amounts of voltage and current. Sunlight intensity and clouds vary. Software being deployed here can give the utility managers a 72-hour solar production estimations and 15-minute values to integrate into the modern energy trading markets. The sun going down is not the problem – the problem is that our hardware was built on different technology.
Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, “We can see 100 euros per kilowatt-hour on the horizon” plus Thomas Sedran of VW, “The capacity is not there. Nobody has the capacity” – The first comment from Daimler is on price, and we here on Electrek follow battery pricing closely – we expect this price. The second comment – by VW on capacity – is interesting specifically because in yesterday’s morning brief we saw a headline purporting a battery bubble. With tens of gigafactories to be built in the next decades I suspect VW’s needs will be soothed and Daimler optimism seen as realism.
Crack in Antarctic ice as wide as a football field, 1/3 mile deep – Ice shelves are connected to land but float in the water, meaning when they melt they won’t affect sea levels. However, they’re a good canary in a coal mine – and when they do break off they leave land ice to melt faster. And that will increase levels.
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Trump surprising on Renewables? – I’ll file this in the category of ‘believe it when I see it’, but I can see the man bending to the will of the highly popular, and heavy employment numbers of the green industries. Do remember though – “Climate change is a Chinese hoax!” – so the logic you are pitched will be on the $$$ of solar and renewables, and not on the environmental/climate side.
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The states where residential solar power beats the S&P 500 – If you need that last push, your solar system should be looked at as a small piece of your investment portfolio as it will be one of the safest investments you make and give a great return. Unfortunately, the investment size is limited to you electricity bill – but a little piece here and there adds up.
France second country to offer green bonds – Big Oil is Big Oil because of $$$. We, the People, want to be healthy and wealthy and we use money as a tool to guide us toward ways to meet those goals. There will be a time soon that renewable energy is where the cash is on the grandest of scales and green bonds are a way to achieve that.
Sun Tax doubled on Spanish islands – If I build a thing to take advantage of the environment and I gain economic benefit from it, does the state deserve a piece? Yes – society has a hand in the creation of the stability that allows so much to exist in our civilized reality. The question is though – is it appropriate to tax this subset of the broader electric industry when we know clearly that the broader electric industry is not paying its fair share of externalities? What price ought it be? Coal/oil extraction leases are at amazingly low prices per kWh – article shows a tax of $0.04/kWh). Additionally, as we know, solar is a growing industry – states support growth industries.
Costa Rica goes renewable for 98% in 2016 – I’ll write about the details and further pans on this soon, but thought it was impressive enough t give it top billing. Yes, Costa Rica is a small country blessed with hydroelectric dams – however – their lessons learned with advanced energy sources are starting to seep out to the rest of the world. Looking forward to telling the world 100% renewable for Costa Rica in 2017.
Bloomberg sees solar power becoming cheapest global source in less than 10 years – We know, on this website, that in the sunnier climates of the world solar is already the cheapest. This report thinks that for the whole of the planet – when all locations, sunny or not – the average price of solar will be lowest. The nay sayers are leaving the building.
The top 5 solar power policy trends of 2016 – As solar penetration is increasing, we’re starting to see the electricity utilities get more aggressive at using “political jujitsu” to manipulate the legal system. Many laws – such as Nevada cancelling long term net metering agreements – attacked consumers with the false logic that solar powers users were stealing from non-solar users. The utility stacked Arizona public utilities commission agreed – the people of Florida did not. Expect 2017 to be a battle ground yet again – with the victories of 2016 as guidance.
Solar Panels now so cheap, manufacturers probably selling at a loss – I personally have seen the price of solar panels fall from $.55/W to $.35/W starting in about June of 2016 through today. That’s a 36% fall in price for the formerly most expensive component of a solar panel. The Chinese believe in Swanson’s Law and see this as a sound investment still – so don’t expect it to stop just yet.
Russian malware found on laptop of Vermont power company – The details are still fuzzy (and as I read about it this morning it seems a lot less interesting), so I’ll stay away from international intrigue just yet. However, let us be honest to ourselves and recognize that with digitization (making the grid smarter) we are going to open the machine to broader systemic risks. We need to be smarter than how we let our desktop computers be abused.
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