Lithium beneath the Salton Sea
The geothermal field beneath California’s Salton Sea contains brine that may hold from one to six million metric tons of lithium, an essential element for producing batteries. A Berkeley Lab study aims to evaluate the resource.
Build back later
After multiple rounds of slashing the total cost of the Build Back Better bill, US senators remain locked in negotiations. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (West Virginia) voted against an earlier proposal, shocking many, and has now said he will reopen negotiations “starting from scratch.”
SolarJuice to ramp up solar manufacturing capacity to 1.1GW
SPI Solar plans to begin manufacturing solar panels in California using the existing production lines at the former Sunergy PV solar plant, boosting capacity to 1.1GW in Q3.
Sunrise brief: LA could soon be home to the nation’s largest green hydrogen infrastructure system
Also on the rise: Soltage invests in new community solar projects. Appalachian Power seeks 150MW of solar in West Virginia. Breaking research reveals solar cells can be used as lens-free, high-speed optical detectors in underwater environments. Duke looking for 1.1GW of renewables in Indiana. Community solar project in Virginia launches 25% renewable energy option for a small premium. Convergent’s battery storage facility is up and running in the LA Basin.
Convergent’s battery storage facility is up and running in the LA Basin
Two energy storage systems financed and developed by Convergent Energy + Power are operational and expected to increase grid reliability for Southern California Edison customers.
LA could soon be home to the nation’s largest green hydrogen infrastructure system
Southern California Gas Company is submitting an application to build a 10 to 20GW electrolyzer and 25 to 35GW of new and curtailed wind and solar, along with 2GW of energy storage, to deliver green hydrogen to the Los Angeles Basin.
Sunrise brief: Crossing EV barriers with microgrids and managed charging
Also on the rise: Fire alarms shut down Moss Landing Energy Storage facility. SolarEdge reports record revenue. Mosaic custs costs of solar loans. Policies are working in Illinois, where solar is surging. Wave energy isn’t expected to rival solar or wind power, but NREL sees use cases for the technology. Canada-US-Mexico panel says Section 201 tariffs violate agreement.
The world’s largest lithium ion battery is down, again
The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility Phase II set off fire alarms that activated a fault water suppression system, which – again – set off a cascading set of events that resulted in roughly ten battery packs melting down.
MCE approves 100MW solar-plus-storage project in California
Golden Fields Solar will be constructed with union labor using a Project Labor Agreement and will include pollinator-friendly habitats throughout the project site.
Enphase batteries to participate in Swell Energy virtual power plants
Microinverter provider Enphase entered an agreement with Swell Energy to participate in distributed virtual power plants in California, New York, and Hawaii.
