World:
¶ US firm First Solar Inc has installed the first PV panels at AGL Energy Ltd’s 53-MW Broken Hill solar park in New South Wales, Australia. Upon completion in late 2015, the 650,000 solar panels at the site are expected to generate enough electricity to power some 17,000 local households. [SeeNews Renewables]
Australian Solar Farm. Author: Michael Mees meesphotography.com License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic
¶ Yesterday pv magazine reported that both inverter specialist Fronius and residential solar provider Sunrun have announced collaborations with the Tesla Powerwall, and today comes news that more leading solar firms have confirmed partnerships to bundle the battery with their own service or product. [pv magazine]
¶ Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has signed seven binding Memoranda of Understanding worth $500 million under the government’s Feed-in-Tariff program. There were five agreements signed for solar projects totaling 220 MW and two wind projects totaling 100 MW. [Utilities-ME.com]
¶ Net metering has begun in Delhi, with six locations already operating in the city. Four sites are residential, one is a commercial building in south Delhi, and one is a school in the east. As of now they have received 50 applications and around 500 queries for net-metering, but the city has a potential for 2 GW. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Power companies are bracing for a hit in the UK no matter who wins the general election on May 7. The election will merely determine the biggest losers. Shares and bonds of utility companies have fallen at the prospect of a new administration undoing energy rules that have taken years to put together. [Bloomberg]
¶ Turbine maker Nordex SE has received an order from Northern Irish utility Energia Renewables. Per the contract, Nordex will supply and install 38 of its N90/2500 turbines at an extension of the Meenadreen wind farm, located in Donegal, Ireland. Nordex will begin installing the turbines in March 2016. [North American Windpower]
¶ Dissatisfied with government-orchestrated compensation, the number of local residents and others affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis who have sued TEPCO is expected to soon top 10,000 plaintiffs. A total of 9,992 people, including evacuees, have joined 25 lawsuits filed with 20 district courts. [Asahi Shimbun]
US:
¶ Mississippi Power is partnering with Origis Energy to develop a 52-MW solar project on 196 hectares in the state. If approved by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, the projects could be in service near the end of 2016. Mississippi Power just finished two installations with a total of 53 MW. [PV-Tech]
¶ Washington-based Solar Electric Power Association has released a report on the US solar power industry and utility rankings for 2014. The report says the US added 5.3 GW (182,000 new systems) of PV capacity last year, taking the total installed solar capacity nationwide to 16.3 GW (675,500 locations). [Greentech Lead]
Solar carport at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Photo from energy.gov.
¶ Solar energy is fast becoming a “least cost” option for US utilities. Declining technology costs, policy support and retail rate levels are cited as contributing factors. Issues, including rate restructuring and grid integration, need to be addressed; meanwhile community solar programs are getting strong interest. [pv magazine]
¶ In a bid to put New Jersey back into a leadership role in clean energy, a Senate committee yesterday approved a bill that would require 80% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources such as solar and wind by 2050. Even proponents say approval is unlikely under the Governor Christie. [NJ Spotlight]
¶ Kansas would no longer require utilities to get a portion of their electricity from renewable resources, but the state also would not impose a new tax on the power under a proposal announced by the governor. It embodies an agreement between the wind energy industry and critics of the green energy mandate. [Greenfield Daily Reporter]
¶ A new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change today, says that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan will save over 3500 lives every year. The study by researchers at Harvard, Syracuse and Boston Universities and Resources for the Future finds a strategy to meet the plan. [News Every day]
¶ In 2015, a record 9.1 GW of solar and 8.9 GW of wind will be installed in the US, forecasts Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Wind has 13.6 GW under construction in 100 projects, says American Wind Energy Association. In Iowa, two projects by MidAmerican Energy costing $1.5 billion will add 922 MW. [SustainableBusiness.com]
¶ With all the attention being paid to Panasonic and its partnership with Tesla in the GigaFactory under construction in Nevada, people sometimes forget that there are other battery companies in the world. But Toshiba grid storage batteries will be used at a new energy storage installation near Hamilton, Ohio. [CleanTechnica]
geoharvey 