Morning Brief: 184 GW of renewables were installed globally in 2019, Alabama Power to add gas units
Also in the brief: Geronimo Energy has started construction activities for two Michigan solar projects, a New Hampshire Senator is asking the Defense Department’s progress toward meeting its renewable energy goals, Nelnet launches a renewables spinoff and more.
90% clean power by 2035 is ‘challenging but feasible’
“90% by 2035 is the sweet spot” for a pathway that uses existing technology, allows “judicious use” of existing generation assets, and “achieves near-complete decarbonization in a realistic timeframe,” said study co-author Nikit Abhyankar of UC Berkeley. The resulting lower wholesale cost of electricity by 2035 “was a surprise for us.”
US solar has the chance to recover in 2020 after a record 3.6 GW first quarter
Utility-scale solar strength will cover for residential and rooftop weakness in 2020, according to SEIA and WoodMac.
The United States of utility territories: energy art appreciation corner with Colin Murchie
“Sometimes you get to make some beautiful s**t at work.”
Morning Brief: Renewables continue to break records despite Covid-19, beyond net metering
Also in the brief: net metering under attack, Clir Renewables’ new asset optimization platform, Roll-A-Rack is seeking beta testers and more.
SMART program could make 90% of Massachusetts off-limits to large-scale solar, force more job loss
While the program’s expansion is intended to bring more than 3 GW of solar to the state, new land-use restrictions have made the majority of the state off-limits to large-scale development.
First Tesla solar tile roof V3 installed in Massachusetts
It’s the first Tesla V3 solar tile roof in the state and the second on the East Coast. The 7.5 kW system includes two Powerwall batteries — although there is no time-of-use pricing and there hasn’t been a local power failure in a few years.
First Solar backs carbon pricing for wholesale electricity
First Solar has backed carbon pricing in comments submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The firm also co-founded a global policy institute that supports carbon pricing as a “cost-effective, equitable and politically viable climate solution.”
Morning Brief: California sets example for community solar, transparent graphene electrodes for PV cells
Also in the brief: The never ending saga of Arkansas utilities battling their 2,320 net metering customers, Atom Power raises $17.8 million for a solid-state circuit breaker for commercial and industrial buildings.
Arcadia embarks on Colorado community solar push
Arcadia has partnered with Pivot Energy to develop community solar projects for homeowners and renters across Colorado, including in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and Grand Junction
