Morning Brief: SolAmerica and Safari Energy commission 43 MW of solar in Georgia, HVDC solicitation

SolAmerica Energy and Safari Energy have successfully completed development, construction, and commissioning of thirteen solar projects in Georgia totaling 43 MW of generation capacity. SolAmerica developed, engineered, and constructed the projects, and Safari Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Corporation, will be their long-term owner and operator. The thirteen solar projects in this portfolio will provide energy directly to Georgia Power through long-term power purchase agreements under Georgia Power’s Renewable Energy Development Initiative. Source: SolAmerica

How Connecticut’s cautious first step on shared solar turned into a false start: More than three years after the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection selected three shared solar projects for a small pilot program, only one of those projects is operational. The other two haven’t even started construction. The pilot program, as established by the state General Assembly in 2015, was very limited — just 6 megawatts in total — and was intended to ease the state into the concept. Many clean energy advocates objected to lawmakers’ toe-in-the-water approach, however, and argued that it was a waste of time, as states with existing robust shared solar programs offered successful templates to work from. The pilot has been slow to yield any benefits. Source: Energy News Network

SOO Green HVDC Link Project launched an innovative Open Solicitation process to allocate transmission capacity rights on a first-of-its-kind project co-locating electric transmission line underground within an existing railroad corridor. The 2,100 MW, HVDC transmission line will link energy markets in the Midwest and Eastern U.S., relieve Midwestern transmission constraints, and provide buyers direct access to a diverse portfolio of Midwestern generation. The project will run 350 miles from Mason City, IA to Plano, IL, and will follow an existing railroad corridor. The $2.5 billion interregional “backbone” transmission project is well-suited for renewable generators in MISO in need of transmission paths to market, and for renewable energy buyers in PJM seeking direct access to large-scale, diverse and affordable renewable energy. The project is financially backed by Jingoli Power, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Siemens Energy. See pv magazine’s recent article on HVDC. Register here

Which states are making the most progress on emissions? Not the ones you think. For over a decade, the U.S. federal government has failed to pursue major action on climate change, leaving most of the hard work of cutting carbon emissions to individual states. But even without national leadership, many states are succeeding at slashing emissions — and fast. According to a new report from the World Resources Institute, an international research organization, 41 states managed to cut their carbon emissions between 2005 and 2017, even as their economies grew. The states leading the charge might not be the ones you expect. Source: Grist