Solar + storage for the first time in Arkansas
A 100 MW project featuring the state’s first large-scale battery storage system has been announced in Arkansas. The project will be developed by a subsidiary of NextEra, and the power bought by Entergy Arkansas.
Monopolies in Michigan fear solar, deliver some of nation’s most expensive electricity
An analysis by Michigan Technological University shows how Michigan utilities use political influence to push back against distributed solar generation, leading to some of the nation’s highest electricity rates in the Upper Peninsula.
pvMB 3/18/19: Musk dubs 2019 the “Year of the Solar Roof,” Vote Solar’s 2019 Equinox party… and more!
Happy Monday to you and welcome to the pvMB. Today we’ll be looking at TEP using sheep for brush control, Hawaiian energy leaders calling on Washington to go 100% solar, a 149 MW project planned in Michigan and everything else you need to start you week in solar.
Big cheese gets big solar+storage proposal
Invenergy has proposed a solar project up to 200 MWac / 300 MWdc in capacity with a 50 MW / 200 MWh battery in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
Solar power brings in the big (lease) money for Washington State
Avangrid Renewables has signed a solar energy power contract with Puget Sound Energy for a 150 MWac solar power plant, the first solar power project over 30 MW in the state to reach this milestone. The land lease rate of $300/acre/year is 150x the prior $2/acre/year grazing rights the state land was paid.
pvmb 3/15/19 – Tesla gets a new car and CFO, FERC deletes its phone directory, and more!
pv magazine USA sees spring is around the corner, so here’s a fresh Morning Brief, including Fitch downgrading more California Solar and Toyota buying power from solar projects planned in Kentucky.
Despite 2018 gas build-out, U.S. fossil fleet is still at 2006 levels
Per U.S. Department of Energy figures, the United States has retired just over 147 GWac of coal and gas, while building 143 GW of the same sources (almost all gas) during the last 12 years.
Industry first: Flow battery gets 10-year performance insurance
Munich Re, a global insurance company, is offering a 10 year “Project Cover” plan for ESS’s two flow battery models – 50 kW / 400 kWh and 100 kW / 400 kWh. ESS suggests a 25+ year lifetime on its product with zero degradation.
After a tough 2018, solar is getting ready for a major boom
Definitive solar market data by Wood Mackenzie and SEIA show tariffs taking a bite out of the U.S. market, but also a near-record number of new projects under contract.
PG&E and the future of U.S. utilities
California utility Pacific Gas & Electric’s bankruptcy points to a crisis not only at the company, but in the business model for utilities in the United States. And it is far from clear what will come next.
