Tag Archives: Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

5 Major US Utilities That Haven’t Promised to Fully Decarbonize: Some of the holdouts will surprise you.

By Julian Specter, Greentech Media

Electric utilities all over the place are promising to eliminate or net out their carbon emissions — here’s GTM’s look at the top five. Such promises were unthinkable for utilities just a few years ago. But the trend took off when Xcel Energy figured out it could retire coal plants, build clean power plants, and make more profits while keeping electricity costs down. The combination of positive public perception, a bigger rate-base and greater appeal to sustainability-minded investors turned the carbon-free commitments into the rule, not the exception, for the utility sector.

“They’re really trying to appease a nascent but quite powerful movement of [environmental, social and governance focused] shareholders and institutional investors,” said David Pomerantz, executive director of utility watchdog group Energy and Policy Institute, which tracks carbon targets. “Once it started taking off…it became awkward if a company didn’t have a goal.” A few exceptions do remain, though — holdouts that have not promised to eliminate their greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading here.

Photo: NextEra Energy constructed Nebraska’s 35-acre, 5-megawatt solar array east of Fort Calhoun, which became operational in late December of 2019. NextEra contracted with OPPD to sell the power it produces to the utility for at least 20 years.

Previously Posted

  • NextEra is also pursuing a 423-megawatt solar project in Nebraska. It has acquired land rights and now is waiting to find a buyer and to hear what the Southwest Power Pool would charge for a connection to the grid. That figure is critical in developing renewable projects. [Phil Clement, who directs projects in Nebraska for NextEra] said that although it’s not now in the plan, storage could become a part of a Nebraska solar array as well. NextEra always builds solar projects “with storage in mind,” he said. Source: Solar-storage project would be ‘game-changer’ for Kansas City region, by Karen Uhlenhuth, Energy News Network
  • NextEra, Nebraska farmers aim to build largest solar farm in the Midwest, by Karen Uhlenhuth, Energy News Network

NEBRASKA-BASED VALMONT INDUSTRIES IN THE NEWS

Convert launches new PV tracker control system, contributed by Convert, PV Magazine

Solar PV tracking manufacturer, Convert, is launching its TRJ-AI Tracker Control System. The company says its new TRJ-AI innovation provides the industry the opportunity to easily control, manage, and monitor tracking systems from digital devices reliably and remotely to optimize the energy production of solar plants.

“Technology is ever-evolving and our commitment is to guarantee a better solution and a higher performance than the current standards, every time. Today with the innovative TRJ-AI Tracker Control System, the customers are able to take control when and where they want,” says Yury Reznikov, vice president and general manager of global solar for Valmont Industries, Inc, the Nebraska-based company that acquired Convert in 2018. “This means having complete control of your solar photovoltaic plant while increasing yield, minimizing risks, and optimizing O&M costs at the same time.”

Valmont Industries Website
Valmont Careers

MORE ON NEW SOLAR SCHOOLS STUDY & SOLAR POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS

Virginia jumps to head of the class on school solar installations, report shows, by Elizabeth McGowan, Energy News Network

California is still the runaway valedictorian of solar-powered K-12 schools nationwide, but a recent renewable energy policy evolution in Virginia has propelled the state to head-of-the-class status. Since 2017, Virginia schools leapfrogged an impressive 12 spots — from 20th place to eighth place — in solar capacity installed, according to a report released Tuesday by a Charlottesville nonprofit.

Generation 180 collaborated with the Solar Foundation and the Solar Energy Industries Association to compile Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools. The organization was founded in 2016 to equip individuals and communities across the country to play a role in the transition to 100% clean energy. Report co-author Tish Tablan is the program director for Solar for All Schools, a Generation 180 initiative.

 About Power Purchase Agreements

Solar Power Purchase Agreements, Solar Energy Industries Association 
A solar power purchase agreement (PPA) is a financial agreement where a developer arranges for the design, permitting, financing and installation of a solar energy system on a customer’s property at little to no cost. Schools all across the country are using Solar Power Purchase Agreements to solar power their buildings for free or at minimal cost.

Solar Projects In Southern Indiana To Boost Economies, Double Solar Capacity

By Rebecca Thiele, WFYI Indianapolis, NPR 

Three large solar farms proposed for southern Indiana are expected to double the state’s solar capacity. Capital Dynamics and Tenaska hope to build projects in Pike, Gibson, and Knox counties adding 500 megawatts of solar. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Indiana has installed just more than 450 megawatts of solar to date. Read more here.

Photo Credit: Thomas Machnitzki / Wikimedia Commons

Indiana Wind Energy News 

Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, Inc. Awarded 302 MW EPC Wind Contract in Indiana, IEA News Release, GlobeNewswire. “There continues to be a strong demand for wind construction, and we are very pleased to be able to support the efforts to bring increased renewable energy sources to our home state of Indiana,” said JP Roehm, IEA’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Wind installations in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2020 were the highest second quarter of installations on record.” 

IN NEBRASKA

Previously Posted: Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, Inc. Announces $98 Million Wind Construction Project in Nebraska, Globe Newswire

About Milligan One Wind Farm 
Ninety–nine (99) turbines are under construction for the Milligan One Wind Farm Project owned by EDF Renewables located south and east of Milligan in Saline County. Maximum capacity would be 300,000 kilowatts (or 300 megawatts). The average annual output could power about 10,000 homes. This facility is planned to be operational by the end of 2020. Source: Wind Energy Generation in Nebraska, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE)

Milligan One Wind Project Website

FACEBOOK’S NET-ZERO EMISSIONS COMMITMENTS

Facebook Targets Net-Zero Across Its Global Supply Chain by 2030, Greentech Media
With wildfires burning north, south and east of its Menlo Park, California headquarters, Facebook on Monday announced it will expand its emissions-reductions goals, encompassing not only emissions from its own operations but also those produced by its suppliers. The social networking corporation expects to eliminate or offset all of its own emissions this year, while completely decarbonizing its supply chain by 2030.

CRAYOLA’S SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS 

Crayola products now being made by 100% renewable energy, company says, Lehigh Valley Live
“Crayola is committed to responsibly making its products and working to get better every day to ensure that children have a healthy environment for their creative tomorrows,” said Rich Wuerthele, Crayola’s president and CEO.

BP’S ROI GOALS FROM CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS

How BP Plans to Make Oil-Like Returns From Renewables, Greentech Media
The oil major wants to make returns of 8 to 10 percent from renewables projects as it chases a 50-gigawatt target for 2030.

How Much Power is 1 Gigawatt?, U.S. Department of Energy

HYDROGEN & FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES

How to build the foundation for a hydrogen economy in the US, GreenBiz
The US Department of Energy’s H2@Scale program, described as a “multi-year initiative to fully realize hydrogen’s benefits across the economy,” is a 4-year old initiative that is beginning to show results. It sees hydrogen as an integration technology that enhances the performance of diverse energy sources and plays a key role in facilitating a low carbon energy system.

During the past year, DOE channeled more than $100 million in grants to some 50 projects to further the H2@Scale initiative. They are funded through US Department of Energy’s H2@Scale program through its Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) in cooperation with other EERE offices. Just last month, EERE announced about $64 million for 18 projects in fiscal year 2020.

NATIONAL SOLAR TOUR

Deadline Extended: Sign Up for the National Solar Tour, American Solar Energy Society News Release, PR Newswire

The Deadline to submit your Local Solar Tour has been Extended to September 23, 2020. The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and Solar United Neighbors (SUN) have converted the 2020 edition of the National Solar Tour to be fully virtual. From September 28 – October 4, the largest annual grassroots solar event will take place online at nationalsolartour.org. The National Solar Tour will help empower tour-goers to learn about solar technology, sustainability, and the process of going solar from tour hosts nationwide; all from the safety of their home.

New Report Shows Steep Increase in School Solar Power Drives Savings on Energy Bills, Frees Up Resources during Pandemic

Generation180 News Release, PR Newswire

As school districts struggle to adapt to a nationwide budget crisis brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak, many K-12 schools are shoring up budgets with a switch to solar power, often with minimal to no upfront capital costs. Since 2014, K-12 schools saw a 139 percent increase in the amount of solar installed, according to a new report from clean energy nonprofit Generation180, in partnership with The Solar Foundation and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The report finds that 7,332 schools nationwide utilize solar power, making up 5.5 percent of all K-12 public and private schools in the United States. Over the last 5 years, the number of schools with solar increased by 81 percent, and now 5.3 million students attend a school with solar.  The top five states for solar on schools—California, New Jersey, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Indiana—helped drive this growth. Continue reading here.

Download the report: Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools, 3rd Edition

Generation 180 Resources

  • The How-To Guide for Schools Going Solar offers step-by-step advice for going solar and includes an introduction to solar finance.
  • The Solar Schools Campaign Toolkit is an organizing guide for students, parents, teachers and community members who want to catalyze solar energy at their schools.
  • The Virtual Help Desk provides a library of resources, answers frequently asked questions and offers personalized support.

Learn More Here
Generation180.org
SolarforAllSchools.org

The Solar Foundation Initiatives 

Solar Energy Industries Association Website 

The Best Electricity Plan: Overbuild Solar & Wind Power Plants

By Zachary Shahan, CleanTechnica

More than 8 years ago, researchers from the University of Delaware (UD) and Delaware Technical College (DTCC) put forward a rather “radical” idea — to deal with wind and solar power’s intermittency while also acknowledging wind and solar power’s falling costs, why not just overbuild wind and solar power plants in the future?

What seemed like a radical idea back in 2012 is gaining increasing support today. More and more people see that, indeed, solar power, wind power, and batteries have become cheap enough that you don’t need “baseload power” or other filler power plants in many places. Read more here.

Previously Posted

Also by Zachary Shahan

CHICAGO’S 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY LEADERSHIP

Chicago launches $200M RFP to power city facilities by renewable energy, Utility Dive
The City of Chicago has released a $200 million request for proposals (RFP) for a contract to procure renewable energy for all city-owned buildings. Under the contract, all city-owned buildings, streetlights and other facilities would run on renewable energy starting in 2022 and lasting at least five years. Supplier applications are due Nov. 6, and the city intends to choose a vendor in January.  This RFP supports Chicago’s stated goal of running all city-owned buildings on 100% renewable energy by 2025 and transitioning the entire city to renewable energy by 2035.

NEW TRADE GROUP

AWEA Introduces New Trade Group, the American Clean Power Association, Greentech Media
The largest wind trade group in the U.S. announced Friday it will officially broaden its mission beyond wind as part of a newly-formed industry group. The American Wind Energy Association, which advocated for that industry and its member companies for over 40 years, will merge with a new organization called the American Clean Power Association. More than 30 member companies from utilities, wind, solar and other new energy industries coalesced to make a trade group “that better represents the renewables industry of today,” the group said Friday.

Previously Posted: Solar, Wind, Storage Link Arms in Push for ‘Majority Renewables’ by 2030
With the 2020 election drawing closer, the solar and wind sectors announced a joint push to quadruple their combined share of the U.S. power mix by 2030.

PV MAGAZINE POSTS

BLACKROCK’S DIVESTMENT PLEDGES – AN UPDATE

Winners and Losers of BlackRock’s Climate Pushback (So Far), Greentech Media
In January, the world’s largest asset manager issued a warning shot that the status quo on climate change was no longer going to cut it. With more than $6 trillion of investments under management and influence in boardrooms of nearly 1,800 companies, what BlackRock says carries big weight across the corporate and political world. But that weight only hits home if BlackRock follows through and presses for a response to climate change in boardrooms.

FOSSIL-FREE CLEANING PRODUCTS

Carbon ‘rainbow’: Unilever pledges $1.2B to scrub fossil fuels from cleaning products, BusinessGreen story republished by GreenBiz

Unilever last week revealed plans to funnel close to $1.2 billion over the next 10 years into initiatives that will allow it to replace chemicals in its cleaning products made from fossil fuel feedstocks with greener alternatives — an investment it described as critical to meeting its aim of achieving net-zero emissions from its products by 2039. 

Solarize Chicagoland group-buy program bears fruit even in rough times

By Kari Lydersen, Energy News Network

As Dan Orum grilled dinner one night in early June, through an earbud in one ear he learned the ins and outs of how to get a solar installation on his home in the Chicago suburbs and collect state and federal incentives before they expire. A few days later, he had signed a contract to be part of Solarize Chicagoland, a group-buy program that has been popular in its second year, despite the pandemic’s chilling effect on the economy and the larger solar industry. 

Orum had long been interested in solar because of the environmental benefits, but had never found the time or motivation to wade through all the options and requirements. The webinar he listened to while cooking that night made it clear that the group-buy program would offer him a good price for solar with support at every step of the process, working with a developer vetted and chosen by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association and other partners. Continue reading here.

Photo by Solarize Chicagoland group-buy participant Andre Pavkovic of his home’s PV system installed by GRNE Solar, based in Lincoln, Nebraska. GRNE also has offices in Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. “Last year, the program included 124 installations for a total of 870 kW, with GRNE Solar doing the installations.”

Additional Information
Solar Group Buy Resources, Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA)

MIDWEST SOLAR SCHOOLS & POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS

Why America’s Schools Are Turning Into Solar Power Stations, Huff Post


Primergy, an Oakland, California, solar company nstalled the photovoltaic arrays at Galesburg, Illinois and 32 other schools in the state, including a college. The schools have power purchase agreements (PPA) with the company, meaning Primergy owns, operates and maintains the arrays. They then sell the electricity they generate exclusively to the schools, at a lower rate than they were paying for conventional electricity from the local utility company. Primergy leases the space required for the installations, too, which is extra revenue for the schools on top of their energy cost savings. Over the last few years, the vast majority of U.S. schools getting into solar have gone the PPA route.

Photo: An acre of solar panels in an old soccer practice field will power Galesburg High School.

Additional Information About PPAs
What is a solar power purchase agreement?, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) Resource

Pilot project tests potential of solar energy for Grand Island, Neb.

By Taelor Bentley, American Public Power Association

A solar panel array built in 2018 is a part of a pilot project in Grand Island, Neb., which is testing the potential of solar as a source of energy for Grand Island. The intent is to get operational data on projects and give the City of Grand Island Utilities Department hands-on information on how it might interact with their system.

The project represents a 25-year commitment by the city at no cost. The solar farm is owned by private investors who sell the city the power it produces. The solar panels generate 1-MW, producing about 1% of the city’s load when it’s at full operation.

Read more here.

Photo by project installer GenPro Energy Solutions. Founded in Rapid City, South Dakota in 2003, GenPro has a Nebraska office and warehouse located in Central City. Jeff Berggren is GenPro’s Nebraska Program Manager.

Grand Island’s Renewable Energy

SEIA Resources

 

 

 

Power Purchase Agreements: What is a solar power purchase agreement?
A solar power purchase agreement (PPA) is a financial agreement where a developer arranges for the design, permitting, financing and installation of a solar energy system on a customer’s property at little to no cost.

See Also: SEIA Fact Sheets

Discriminatory rooftop solar charges may violate antitrust law

By William Driscoll, PV Magazine

When his electric bill went up by about 65% because he has solar panels on his roof, William Ellis joined three others to file an antitrust lawsuit against their Arizona utility, Salt River Project (SRP), in federal district court. They alleged that SRP aimed “to stifle and eliminate all competition from the growing solar energy market.”

When the federal district court dismissed the case, the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where they gained support last week from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Department’s Antitrust Division pursues antitrust cases for the federal government, and occasionally offers legal analysis in private antitrust cases. Read more here.

KANSAS ENERGY REPORT 

Secrecy in Kansas energy report irks clean energy, consumer stakeholders, by Karen Uhlenhuth, Energy News Network. A report commissioned by the Kansas Legislature to help guide future energy policy decisions leaves the public in the dark on the rationale behind key recommendations, critics say.  “Most of the solar information has been redacted,” said Dorothy Barnett, executive director of the Kansas Climate & Energy Project. The only way she can see the entire unredacted report is to formally intervene in the matter, which she said she is now doing.

MOODY’S ANALYSIS – MISSOURI UTILITIES

Feeling the heat: Missouri utilities sit in bull’s-eye for heat stress, analysts say, by Bryce Gray, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In the next 10 to 20 years, rising temperatures are projected to stress Missouri’s power system more than any other state’s, driving up days at peak demand, increasing the frequency of rolling blackouts and making it harder for utilities to cool power plants, according to a report from a top U.S. credit rating agency. Days before the Moody’s report came out, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, used an annual address to highlight climate change as “a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects,” and a catalyst for “a fundamental reshaping of finance.”

CLIMATE RISK

A CFO’s take on climate and risk management, GreenBiz article contributed by Vincent Manier, Chief Financial Officer of ENGIE Impact. While climate risk remains an often overlooked or undervalued factor in risk management programs, there is an urgent need to integrate resiliency into core business strategy if businesses want to continue to thrive — or even remain operational.

ESG

An unexpected breakout year for the social side of ESG, by Mike Hower, GreenBiz
The great thing about ESG is that it isn’t a zero-sum game. A renewed focus on the S actually might help companies do a better job of addressing environmental challenges because the two are linked. People of color or low-income socioeconomic status, for example, are suffering and will continue to suffer first and worst from the negative effects of the climate crisis, says Union of Concerned Scientists.

SOLAR ENERGY INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION REPORT

US installed more solar in Q1 2020 than ever before, by Tim Sylvia, PV Magazine
According to SEIA, the U.S. solar market will install 113 GW of solar from 2020-25, which is actually down 3.6 GW from the projections the company made in 2019, due to the ongoing pandemic.

ENERGY STORAGE

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ANNOUNCEMENT

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $21 Million for Research in EPSCoR States, EIN Presswire
The award teams are led by universities in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming.  The proposed teams include partner institutions in Louisiana and Nevada.

BIDEN-SANDERS UNITY TASK FORCE REPORT

Biden-Sanders task force calls for installing 500 million solar modules in next five years, PV Magazine. A report from the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force calls for the installation of 500 million solar modules in the next five years. Solar module sizes vary widely these days — but that’s hundreds of gigawatts of solar and several times the current U.S. appetite for PV.

GRAIN BELT EXPRESS TRANSMISSION LINE

Whoosh! Wind Power Wins, Pipelines Implode In Fossil Fuel Week From Hell, by Tina Casey, CleanTechnica. “The project will benefit many Missourians who receive their electricity from community-owned, non-profit local municipal utilities,” the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) explained in a statement dated May 15, 2020. For those of you keeping score at home, that covers 350,000 Missourians served by 39 community-owned utilities. According to MPUA, the Grain Belt Express is expected to save its members $12.8 million annually while 1,500 jobs and $500 million in infrastructure investment into Missouri.

100% GREEN MICROGRIDS

Hydrogen May Be The Crucial ‘Jigsaw’ Piece For Green Microgrids, by Ken Silverstein, Senior Contributor, Forbes. “In the last decade, renewable energy sources have been transforming the microgrid landscape, consequently reducing or even eliminating the need for costly fossil fuels. This has been made possible through the use of hydrogen,” says Thomas Chrometzka, a strategist with Enapter, which makes electrolyzers — a device used to split apart the hydrogen and oxygen from water. “Introducing hydrogen to microgrids solves the problem of seasonal or long-term storage that batteries cannot provide. It is the crucial jigsaw piece for 100% green microgrids.”

COMMUNITY ORCHARD WITH SOLAR-POWERED CLASSROOM

South Sioux City Community Orchard continues to grow, KTIV
Along with fruit trees, the orchard features a home for honey bees, and in 2018 a classroom was added to allow for educational classes. To help power the classroom, solar panels were added.

IEA REPORTING

Has the International Energy Agency finally improved at forecasting solar growth?, PV Magazine Something strange has happened at the IEA — the agency has finally begun to take solar and other renewables seriously.

SEIA Statement on House Climate Plan and Environmental Justice Priorities

News Release, Solar Energy Industries Association

“We strongly support the environmental justice priorities in this plan and the provisions that will lead to greater solar adoption in communities that are often left behind. The report outlines science-based policy recommendations that if enacted, will provide every American with access to the broad opportunities that our industry creates including access to clean, reliable and affordable energy. This is an important starting point and would build on the jobs and economic opportunity that solar energy provides, priorities for both sides of the aisle. We look forward to working with all members of Congress and the Executive Branch to move the substance of this report into bipartisan legislative action.” – Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA President & CEO

Read more here.

Download the Report
Solving The Climate Crisis: The Congressional Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and Just America

Additional Recommended Reading

MORE ON BERKELEY LAB’S NEW SURVEY

US Solar Plants Now Expected to Run for More Than 30 Years: Berkeley Lab, Greentech Media article contributed by Justin Gerdes. The assumed useful life of projects now averages 32.5 years, up from 21.5 years in 2007, according to a canvass of solar project developers, sponsors, asset owners and consultants conducted by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. At the same time, the industry has managed to slash the costs to operate projects by half, with levelized lifetime operational expenditures falling from an average of $35 per kilowatt-year for projects built in 2007 to $17/kW-year for projects built in 2019 (all kW values shown are direct current, or DC).

BRIDGING AMERICA’S DIGITAL POWER & INFORMATION DIVIDES

Building bridges across the digital power and information divides, GreenBiz article contributed by Tom Baruch. Part 2 in a series. Part 1 is here. The COVID-19 pandemic offers the opportunity to build a positive, equitable future by bridging the digital divide. Improving global connectivity by digitizing and democratizing the information cloud and power grid (bits and watts) will intensify environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and increase gross domestic product across all industries.

COMPANIES WITH HIGH ESG SCORES

Can Trump trump the ESG juggernaut?, by Joel Makower, Chairman & Executive Director, GreenBiz Group

One constant throughout 2020’s parade of pandemonium is that investing in companies with high environmental, social and governance scores has been relentlessly gaining momentum. The pandemic, the recession, the social strife, the political hyperpartisanship, the growing climate crisis — none of this vertiginousness has knocked ESG funds and investment strategies off their remarkable growth trajectory. This is big. Historically, ESG investing has been sidelined during trying economic times, largely for fear that it would tamp down returns. But recent data has shown quite the opposite: ESG funds are outperforming the overall market.

INSPIRING STORY ABOUT COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Feeding Families in Need: Renewable Energy Companies Enter the Mix, Food Tank
As U.S. food assistance programs grapple with overwhelming demand during the coronavirus pandemic, some in New England are finding support from unusual partners—renewable energy companies.

Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin on learning from community development

By Sarah Golden, Senior Energy Analyst &
VERGE Energy Chair, GreenBiz Group

Sarah Golden interviews Shirley Franklin, Executive Board Chair for Purpose Built Communities. Seventy Five North Revitalization Corporation in Omaha is a member of the Purpose Built Communities network.

Purpose Built Communities, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, works with struggling neighborhoods that have suffered from decades of disinvestment. Its model focuses on housing, education and wellness simultaneously with the help of a “community quarterback” — an organization that works to align strategies and services so the benefits of local initiatives compound. The results are astounding. The success caught the eye of investor Warren Buffet, who became a co-founder of Purpose Built Communities to take the model to more neighborhoods. Read more here.


Nebraskans for Solar and Seventy Five North Revitalization Corporation partnered last year on the installation of a demonstration 4-kilowatt solar system on a home in the Highlander neighborhood, a mixed-income Purpose Built Community in North Omaha. (See Solar Examples).


NEBRASKA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARD

Gov. Ricketts Announces Nebraska’s Second Consecutive Silver Shovel Award for Economic Development, Office of Governor News Release

NEWS FROM OTHER STATES

DER MARKET TRENDS

5 Major Trends Driving the $80B US Distributed Energy Resources Market Through 2025, Greentech Media. A new Wood Mackenzie forecast describes the emerging U.S. markets for distributed solar, batteries, flexible loads and electric vehicles as grid assets.

SEIA NEWS RELEASE

Congressional Leaders Call for Solar Specific Solutions in Economic Recovery Plans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the House Ways and Means Committee introduced the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act as a part of the $1.5 trillion House infrastructure package released earlier this week. Notably, the bill includes direct pay and outlines a 5-year extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) at 30% through 2025, followed by a two-year stepdown period. The stepdown would begin in 2026 at 26%, move to 22% in 2027 and then drop to 10% for commercial and utility-scale solar projects and 0% for residential solar in 2028.

PV MODULES

PV module prices are falling faster than all predictions, PV Magazine
New research from Wood Mackenzie shows that overall system costs for installations using mono PERC modules are set to fall by as much as 20% by 2025.

TRANSITION IN COAL COUNTRY: PART TWO

Coal country faces a healthcare crisis, Energy News Network
“Transition in Coal Country” is a collaboration of the Energy News Network and WyoFile, made possible by a grant from the Just Transition Fund. The series, reported by Mason Adams and Dustin Bleizeffer, examines how the declining coal industry presents immediate and long-term changes for coal communities in Wyoming and Appalachia, how those communities are coping with change, and what they might learn from each other in charting a path to a sustainable future beyond coal. 

Part one: What’s next for coal country? / Part three: Coming June 30

CORPORATE NEWS

EV NEWS

NEWS FROM UNL’S SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Midlands Voices: Acting on key goals can give cities a needed boost, Norfolk mayor says

By Josh Moenning, Omaha World-Herald

“The best way out is through.” As Robert Frost penned these words many years ago, he likely couldn’t have envisioned an environment quite like the one we find ourselves in now.

Nevertheless, the lesson applies today just as it did then. As we navigate periods of hardship and uncertainty, the most effective approach to coping is not paralysis or dithering, it’s perseverance and unrelenting focus on pushing forward.

Continue reading here.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED OP-ED

Republicans must lead on clean energy jobs, by John Ruckelshaus, Republican State Senator from Indianapolis, The Indianapolis Star

Job creation is a bipartisan concern. Conservatives at all levels of government increasingly recognize that commonsense, market-based clean energy policies can put Americans to work while reducing carbon emissions. This was certainly the belief of my uncle, William Ruckelshaus, who was the first administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Nixon and later returned under President Reagan. The trend among conservative voters, especially the next generation, has never been more clearly in favor of clean energy. A Pew Research Center study showed that 78% of young Republicans say the U.S. should prioritize advanced energy sources over expanding fossil fuels.

 MORE ON ACORE’S NEW MACRO GRID INITIATIVE

A national US power grid would make electricity cheaper and cleaner, Vox
The areas of the US with the most renewable energy potential are not necessarily the ones that need the most energy. A report from the Wind Energy Association found that the 15 states between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River — Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana — account for 87 of the nation’s total wind energy potential and 56 percent of its utility-scale solar potential, but are only projected to account for 30 percent of the nation’s energy demand in 2050.

Macro Grid Initiative

MACRO VERSUS MICRO GRIDS

Macrogrids Or Microgrids: Which Is The Key To The Renewable Energy Revolution?, CleanTechnica. Arguing about macro versus micro is like arguing whether battery storage is better than pumped hydro. The truth is that both have a role to play in the renewable energy future. There are instances where gravity storage may be the best answer. The factor that is driving all these debates is that renewable energy facilities cost less to construct and can become operational in far less time than coal, gas, or nuclear generating installations. As costs continue to fall, there will be more money available to provide the resiliency we need to complete the renewable energy revolution while lowering the cost of electricity consumers pay.

SOLAR SCHOOLS

Salt Lake school board vows to create ‘more environmentally sustainable schools’, Deseret News
With the objective of establishing “healthier, more environmentally sustainable schools,” the Salt Lake City Board of Education has adopted a resolution that calls on the school district to meet all of its energy needs with carbon-neutral energy no later than 2040. The resolution includes incremental goals that build on ongoing efforts by district staff to reduce energy consumption and lessen the school distribution footprint.

GROUP SOLAR INSTALLATION PROGRAM

Virginia solar program on track to maintain momentum despite pandemic, Energy News Network. Every spring since 2015, the Local Energy Alliance Program has helped dozens of northern Virginians navigate the intricacies of powering their homes with solar panels. Contractors have installed more than 3 megawatts of capacity on 372 houses and businesses.

RENEWABLE ENERGY OUTLEASING

Federal courthouses might be prime spots for new solar panels, Federal News Network
The Green Building Advisory Committee drafted a recommendation letter to the General Services Administration for piloting renewable energy outleasing on federal properties. Outleasing is the practice of renting vacant or unused space on agency buildings, such as rooftops and parking lots, to utility companies which then install their equipment. According to the committee, GSA uses outleasing for renting roof space for antenna placement by telecommunications companies. And members suggested more could be done in a public-private partnership model.

CORPORATE RENEWABLES BUYERS

Wind deals are becoming even more popular with corporate renewables buyers, GreenBiz
According to “Wind Powers American Business,” a report from the wind advocacy group American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the private sector has been a significant demand driver for wind energy, purchasing more 20 percent of all new wind installations in the United States for five years running. Of course, corporations’ appetite for renewables is increasing across the board. Corporations are a similar driver behind solar, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). They collectively accounted for 22 percent of 2018 power purchase agreements (PPAs) for solar and wind in the United States. Still, the increase in wind projects, I wondered: What trends are driving corporations to pick more wind deals?

TESLA HOME SOLAR SYSTEMS

The Lowest Price for Home Solar, Tesla News Release
Today we are introducing the lowest-ever cost to go solar in the United States. Our average system size is now one-third less expensive than the industry average and we have recently introduced a lowest-price guarantee. If you change your mind after purchasing or are unhappy with the system, we will uninstall it and issue a full refund within seven days from system turn on.

GEOTHERMAL INNOVATION

In Minnesota, a geothermal innovation revives interest in systems’ potential, by Frank Jossi, Energy News Network. A heat exchange technology developed at the University of Minnesota could help shrink the cost and footprint of geothermal heating and cooling systems. Unlike conventional geothermal, which circulates ground heat found far below the surface, the approach taps into aquifers using fewer, shallower wells. A startup company, Darcy Solutions, has begun pitching the product to commercial and industrial businesses in the Twin Cities.

ORPHANED OIL & GAS WELLS

Special Report: Millions of abandoned oil wells are leaking methane, a climate menace, Reuters
The U.S. figures are sobering: More than 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells together emitted 281 kilotons of methane in 2018, according to the data, which was included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent report on April 14 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. That’s the climate-damage equivalent of consuming about 16 million barrels of crude oil, according to an EPA calculation, or about as much as the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer, uses in a typical day.

Related news from Canada: Collapsed Alberta energy company leaves behind 401 ‘orphan’ wells in B.C., more than doubling total, CBC News

CLIMATE STATEMENTS FROM WORLD RELIGIOUS LEADERS