Solar opportunities ‘ignored’ across 100 million acres in the Southwest
The Bureau of Land Management “has ignored most possibilities” for utility-scale solar “on its vast land holdings across the solar-rich Southwest,” says a paper. Renewable energy development accounts for less than 1% of economic activity on BLM lands, while oil and gas account for 70%, according to BLM data.
Los Angeles to explore solar partnership with the Navajo Nation
The partnership would pursue cost-effective solar projects that benefit ratepayers and provide “environmental justice and economic equity to the Navajo Nation,” after the city received power from the coal-burning Navajo Generating Station for decades—and paid less than fair value for coal, land leasing, and water, say advocates.
Navajo Power CEO sees 10 GW renewable potential across the Navajo Nation
While an Arizona utility solicits bids for a 200 MW solar project within the Navajo Nation, the near-term potential is 10 GW, says Navajo Power CEO Brett Isaac.
Amid layoffs, some residential solar firms are outsourcing solar design
Outsourcing makes sense for startups and medium-sized companies, according to the CEO of Three Line Design
Morning Brief: Rare Utah earthquake knocks out power to 55,000
Rocky Mountain Power must respond to a natural disaster while social distancing. Plus, New York is good, but NIMBY about solar.
Hydrogen is the first viable option for seasonal storage
Compressed hydrogen is “the first viable option” to help meet wintertime electricity demand in a high-renewables grid, says DNV GL, a global consulting firm.
Morning Brief: Molten aluminum energy storage, Tesla looking for PV and storage project managers based in China
Also in the brief: Virginia Clean Economy Act, Utah’s residential solar future in the hands of its PSC and solar-powered irrigation in India
Rocky Mountain Power, a Warren Buffett-owned utility, is again seeking to kill off residential solar power
Rocky Mountain Power has proposed an almost 80 percent cut to the rate paid to net metered solar electricity, dropping it from the current 9.2¢/kWh to a rough average of about 2.0¢/kWh.
Ten sunniest US states added 1.8 GW of small-scale solar in 2019, as solar advocates press for more
Solar contractors added another 1.8 gigawatts of small-scale solar in the ten sunniest states last year. In Hawaii and California, solar groups described their ambitious policy goals to keep the momentum going.
Morning Brief: 200 MW proposed in Utah and ‘God likes solar’
Also in the brief: 150 MW coming to Pennsylvania, Sunnova to bundle roof replacements with solar+storage under one loan, a solar-powered big rig in Arkansas and more!
