Utility Scale PV

The tariff is around $0.0021 lower than the $0.0156/kWh French oil giant Total and Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corp offered in Qatar’s 800 MW tender in late January. French energy company EDF and Chinese solar company JinkoPower reportedly submitted the record bid in the UAE exercise.

The number of large solar projects (say, 100 MW and bigger) is rapidly increasing in the U.S. — and pv magazine is keeping track. We’ve rounded up this week’s big news in big solar.

Also in the brief: Ohio regulators have approved an 80 MW array, Sierra Club responds to Duke’s climate report, Rhode Island funds brownfield projects and more.

With an all-source procurement, a utility solicits bids to identify the costs of solar, wind and storage, which can be “significantly less expensive than new gas,” as an Indiana utility found. A clean energy group calls for state regulators to require all-source procurements, for the vertically integrated utilities that serve half the country.

The utility giant now owns or purchases 8,000 MW of renewable generation, with plans to double that mark by 2025. However, while the company eyes zero-carbon electricity by 2050, it maintains that natural gas will remain a crucial source to achieve this goal.

Renewable energy development can be the catalyst for restoring our economic strength post-Covid-19. Founders of Navajo Power along with Kevin De Leon, Los Angeles City Council candidate, make their case.

The list of essential workers during the pandemic includes reporters, liquor store employees, and workers supporting cannabis retail.

Also in the brief: California regulators will include avoided transmission costs to the valuation of distributed energy resources, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has signed two power contracts, Philadelphia has reopened its Solarize Philly program and more.

The credit rating of the Topaz project has been at “C” since 2019 because of the liability of having a bankrupt offtaker — PG&E. In the meantime, the ratings document affords some insight into mega-project finance and power generation performance.

Building on stretches of 100% renewable generation in late 2019, the island met 56% of its electrical demand with renewables over the year, easily surpassing state and local goals.