Facebook invests in 120 MW of solar for Utah data center
The social media company increased its in-state solar portfolio to 814 MW, and said it runs its operations on 100% renewable energy.
Two projects feeding 180 MW of solar to Facebook enter service
D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments announced commercial operation of the Cove Mountain and Cove Mountain II solar projects, both part of a PPA frenzy that Facebook undertook beginning last fall.
First Solar signals interest in new U.S. supply of tellurium for its solar panel production
Mining group Rio Tinto said it will spend nearly $3 million on a facility in Utah to recover tellurium, a critical mineral used in solar panels.
Morning Brief: Six Midwest utilities to spend $15B to deploy 4 GW of solar, 3.6 GW of wind and 1 GW of battery storage
Also in the brief: A rural Virginia county grapples with the pros and cons of a proposed $200 million, 149 MW solar farm, Utah’s solar advocates plan to fight decision by state regulators.
Utah PSC decides to lower export rate, impacting a recovering rooftop solar industry
In a long-fought battle, Utah’s PSC just decided to lower the rooftop solar export credit rate from 9.2¢/kWh to about 5.8¢/kWh. Both solar advocates and the utility are expected to be unhappy with the decision.
Utah utility Rocky Mountain Power and solar advocates aren’t even close on the value of rooftop PV sent to the grid
Solar from customer roofs in Utah is worth somewhere between 1.5 cents/kWh and 22.6 cents/kWh, depending on your calculations and who you ask — a ridiculously wide range.
Morning Brief: Net metering still under attack by utilities and institutional corruption
Also in the brief: Solar in schools
Facebook doubles down on renewable commitment in Utah with 235 MW in solar contracts
Facebook now has contracts for 694 MW of solar power in Utah (63% of the state’s solar generation capacity) in its pursuit of becoming entirely renewably-powered by the end of this year.
Morning Brief: Avoiding coal-fired carbon capture projects and the costs of small modular nuclear reactors
Also in the brief: San José Clean Energy and Peninsula Clean Energy have launched a joint request for offers for the purchase of 1 million MWh annually of new, long-term renewable energy.
Pacificorp looks to add 4.3 GW of renewables and storage by 2023
The utility giant is making this procurement in accordance with its 2019 integrated resource plan, under which Pacificorp intends to add 11 GW of wind and solar by 2038, with an additional 2.8 GW of battery storage.
