Three new types of solar power plants emerge in 2019
2019 was a year of change for the solar and energy storage industry, as we shifted from deploying pure wattage to making projects a lot smarter with oversized DC-AC ratios, up to 60% capacity factors, and solar plants that shine only at night.
Here’s how utilities use their resource plans to block solar power
At least seven utilities chose to bias their resource modeling against solar in 2019. The good news is that transparent utility modeling could fix the problem.
Utility scale solar power as cheap as 70¢ per watt and still falling
Government researchers find that Florida has dethroned California as the largest market, trackers dominate, solar+storage compensation diversity, and a lot more in Berkeley Labs annual utility-scale solar power report.
5 stories that sparked conversation in 2019
Certain articles at pv magazine strike a chord with readers and spark greater discussion among the community. Here are the most discussed articles of 2019 at pv magazine USA.
Nebraska utility approves plan to up state’s solar profile 2,000%
A 7-1 vote by the Omaha Public Power District has paved the way for up to 600 MW of utility scale solar to come to the state that boasts just under 30 MW to its name so far.
Dominion chooses 50 electric Thomas Built Buses powered by Proterra
The new electric school buses are part of a pilot program with a goal to integrate 13,000 Virginia buses into the state’s power grid as an energy storage resource.
New York is a 2 GW solar state
With the opening of the Mechanicville Community Solar Project, New York has become the 9th state to install 2 GW of solar. There is, however, no time to celebrate as the state has 5 years to add another 4 GW.
Morning Brief: Florida munis ask for a second serving of solar, New York bets on batteries
Welcome to the Tuesday morning brief. Today we’ve got ACORE’s assurance that losing the ITC won’t be catastrophic, Origis’ new operations center, an EDF-Array partnership, and more.
Arizona regulators mock utility, set solar power standard contract at 18 years long – is a PURPA solar boom coming?
For the first time, the state’s public utility commission has created a standard contract length for PURPA solar projects — in stark contrast to utility APS requesting a two-year term.
Can New York build renewables fast enough to comply with renewable targets? Not without reform.
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Skylar Drennen of Energy Ventures Analysis assess the neccessary steps for New York to reach its renewable energy goals, as well as what Article 10 of laws of 2011 means for development.
