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.
Energy storage, EV jobs boom in the United States
A new report by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) shows energy storage jobs growing 14% and EV jobs growing 16%, despite China’s dominance in lithium-ion battery technology.
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.
Financial software integrates distributed storage software
Financial modeling software provider Energy Toolbase will integrate Stem’s energy storage modeling software to help communicate the economic benefits of storage at customer sites.
U.S. energy storage deployed grows 80% despite shortages
Wood Mackenzie reports that the United States deployed 311 MW / 777 MWh of grid connected energy storage in 2018, growing 44% and 80%, respectively. The company also noted industry headwinds as market shortages clipped demand, and slowed pricing decreases.
The next big thing: grid-tied batteries. How to maximize value
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Mike Mendelsohn & Dr. Allison Weis of Ascend Analytics break down the value of battery storage and the profitability of this tech.
Solar Bill of Rights introduced in California
The legislation would enshrine a customer’s right to generate and store electricity on their own property as well as connecting to the grid without undue burden and freedom from discriminatory fees, as well as setting compensation for battery exports.
Big wind + solar gets together for a voice with grid operators
First Solar, Cypress Creek, Coronal Energy, Juwi Americas and other developers have joined AWEA’s RTO Advisory Council to have a say in the decisions of grid operators.
