Solar project back on track at Waukegan schools

After falling into months of limbo, an effort to install solar panels on the roofs of Waukegan School District 60 buildings has made “substantial progress in the last few weeks” and construction could start this June, a spokesman for the energy company said.

A year after New Jersey-based NRG originally approached the Waukegan school board, company spokesman David Gaier said NRG has chosen seven to nine school buildings where they plan on installing solar panels, which will be donated to the district and used to offset the district’s energy costs.

While current plans have installations planned at nine schools, final engineering assessments could whittle that number down to seven, he said.

The schools being looked at include Andrew Cooke and Lyon magnet schools; Daniel Webster, Jack Benny and Miguel Juarez middle schools; and Greenwood, Hyde Park, Washington and Whittier elementary schools.

In picking the sites, NRG and the district looked at roofs that would be best situated structurally and in terms of the amount of sunlight they receive, district spokesman Nick Alajakis said. They also did take into account any future roof repairs that may be needed.

“We’ve chosen schools with building conditions that help ensure the longest life possible for these systems,” Gaier said in an email.

The entire cost of the project, including system design, equipment purchases and installation, is estimated at $3 million and being covered at no cost to the district by NRG, which also owns the coal-fired power plant on Greenwood Avenue in Waukegan, Gaier said.

The company plans on submitting a construction permit application within the next two weeks with construction to begin in June, Gaier said.

The process involves installing racking systems to hold the solar panels as well as micro-inverters that convert the energy to the AC current from DC, then installing the panels themselves and connecting the system to the school’s electrical system, Gaier said. A local utility will have to inspect the system, and then it will be tested.

Discussions have also included having a website where students can track how much energy is being produced and the accompanying savings, a feature that particularly appealed to the district, Alajakis said.

The goal is for the installation to be complete by the end of August with energy being delivered to the schools by the end of 2016, he said.

NRG did not have an updated estimate on how much the schools would be saving, though the company is looking to offset the energy consumption at the schools where panels will be installed by 20 percent, Gaier said.

During its original presentation to the school board a year ago, the company cited $70,000 in annual energy savings with 800 kilowatts generated through installations at 11 facilities, a higher number than what is now being contemplated.

Another solar project being contemplated by the district is still in the feasibility study phase, Alajakis said.

The district, the city of Waukegan and the Waukegan Park District have been talking about teaming with ComEd to allow construction of a 50-acre solar field capable of generating up to 7 megawatts of power at the Yeoman Creek landfill on Waukegan’s north side.

The site — surrounded by Lewis Avenue to the west, Western Avenue to the east, Glen Flora Avenue to the south and Sunset Avenue and North Road to the north — was used as a municipal dump for residential and industrial waste from 1958 to 1969. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, potentially explosive landfill gas and polluted liquids that included “chemicals, elevated concentrations of metals and ammonia” leaked from the site over the years, requiring a Superfund cleanup that was initiated in the late 1980s.

Plans to reuse the property as parkland have failed to materialize amid ongoing environmental concerns, and an EPA report from November 2013 explored the possibility of establishing a solar field that would be constructed and operated by a private entity under a land-lease arrangement with the owners.

emcoleman@tribpub.com

Twitter @mekcoleman

Solar project back on track at Waukegan schools

Officials mark unique hybrid renewable energy project

STILLWATER — A unique hybrid renewable energy project in Northern Nevada 80 miles east of Carson City was celebrated Tuesday by a host of dignitaries, including Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi.

Enel Green Power North America, a major developer of alternative energy in Nevada and nationally, offered state elected officials and the media a tour of the Stillwater Hybrid Plant, the world’s first and only hybrid energy plant to combine geothermal, solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies. The solar thermal piece of the plant, which cost $15 million to construct, was the focus of the event.

The inauguration was also attended by Enel CEO Francesco Starace, Enel Green Power CEO Francesco Venturini and Gov. Brian Sandoval. Numerous Nevada state lawmakers and elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei, also attended the event 17 miles east of Fallon.

“Stillwater showcases the pioneering technology innovation of Enel Green Power that is making us so successful in working with governments and business partners around the world to tackle environmental issues and climate change through renewable energy,” Starace said.

By combining generation technologies of different profiles at one production site, energy availability is increased and energy intermittency is reduced, the company said in an announcement.

Research in 2015 confirmed that the use of a solar thermal facility at the plant increased overall output of geothermal energy by 3.6 percent, the company said.

“We are very, very pleased with your investment here,” Sandoval said.

Renzi said: “The future of energy is technology. If we invest in technology we can create a different world, a new world.”

The geothermal plant has a capacity of 33.1 megawatts, the photovoltaic plant has a capacity of 26.4 megawatts and the solar thermal plant has a capacity of 2 megawatts.

“The lessons we are learning at this advanced geothermal-solar facility will be key to the development of other hybrid plants throughout the world,” Starace said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Sean Whaley at @seanw801

Officials mark unique hybrid renewable energy project

Huge wind project moves forward despite states' objections

The Department of Energy announced Friday it will permit a major expansion of the nation’s wind energy lines.

The power line project, which will move 4,000 megawatts of power from Texas and Oklahoma through Arkansas and into the Southeast, has faced opposition from landowners and state leaders, but the DOE used a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to bypass state approval of the project. It is projected to cost $2.5 billion and bring power to 1.5 million homes.

While clean energy advocates may be celebrating, not everyone is as pleased.

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“Basically this decision says that Washington, D.C., knows more than the people of Arkansas do about whether to build across the state giant, unsightly transmission towers to carry a comparatively expensive, unreliable source of electricity to the Southeast where utilities may not need the electricity,” said Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. “This is the first time federal law has been used to override a state’s objections to using eminent domain for sitting electric transmission lines. It is absolutely the wrong policy.” The Republican senator has received a 20 percent lifetime score on his environmental voting record by the League of Conservation Voters, which is admittedly better than most of his peers.

The DOE, however, says the project will do much to modernize the nation’s energy grid, as well as help address climate change from carbon emissions.

“Moving remote and plentiful power to areas where electricity is in high demand is essential for building the grid of the future,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in a statement. “Building modern transmission that delivers renewable energy to more homes and businesses will create jobs, cut carbon emissions, and enhance the reliability of our grid.”

The effort to modernize the grid has largely stalled since the ’80s, as the New York Times reports, despite increasing urgency from the threat of climate change. While the company building the line, Clean Line Energy Partners, will be required to acquire the land the lines are built across, the developers will be able to use eminent domain if negotiations fail by invoking the Energy Policy Act.

Construction is projected to begin in 2017.

Huge wind project moves forward despite states" objections

NALCO to expand Suzlon-built wind power project to 27000 households capacity

National Aluminium Company or NALCO has awarded to Suzlon a contract to double its wind energy production capacity to 100.80 MW, the wind energy company said.

The project will be capable of providing power to around 27,000 households and reducing “0.10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.

NALCO which is a public sector enterprise of the Government of India is also Asia’s largest integrated aluminum company.

The corporate forayed into the renewable energy space in the year 2011 by entering into a partnership with Suzion for setting up its maiden 50.40MW wind power project in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Suzlon will be responsible for the entire project lifecycle, from development to construction and commissioning including operations, maintenance and services of the project for an initial period of 10 years.

The project comprises of 24 units of S97-90 m tubular towers with rated capacity of 2.1Mw each and is scheduled for completion in FY2017.

The S97-90 m hub height wind turbine generator features Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) technology.

NALCO to expand Suzlon-built wind power project to 27000 households capacity

SoftBank, Bharti & Foxconn JV bags first major solar power project in India

December 15, 2015:  

SBG Cleantech Ltd, a joint venture between SoftBank Group Corp., India’s Bharti Enterprises Ltd and Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, has bagged a 350-megawatt (MW) solar power project in Andhra Pradesh after it matched the record low bid seen in the previous round.

SBG Cleantech won the project, under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (NSM), at a bid of Rs.4.63 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to people familiar with the bids.

India’s solar power tariff touched a record-low of Rs.4.63 last month when US-based SunEdison Inc. won a 500MW tender put out by state-run NTPC Ltd in Andhra Pradesh under NSM. SBG Cleantech lost the project as it bid higher at Rs.4.80 per kWh.

This is the first renewable energy project that SBG Cleantech Ltd has won in India. The venture was set up in June after SoftBank Corp.’s Masayoshi Son pledged to invest least $20 billion in solar energy projects in India.

An email sent to SBG Cleantech was not immediately answered.

The entire 350MW capacity is meant for a single project inside the solar park developed by NTPC, which will also be the buyer of the power produced from the plant.

The auction which concluded late on Monday night also saw Yarrow Infrastructure Ltd, a part of IndiaBulls group, bid at Rs.4.64, while Azure Power India Pvt. Ltd bid at Rs.4.76 and Reliance CleanGen Ltd bid at Rs.4.88.

Other bidders, who quoted a tariff above Rs.5 per kWh included Goldman Sachs-backed ReNew Solar Power Pvt. Ltd, China’s Trina Solar’s unit Mira Zavas Pvt. Ltd, and Marikal Solar Parks Pvt. Ltd, a unit of American photovoltaic module maker First Solar Inc.

“SoftBank is surely establishing itself as a serious and competitive player in the market. The company is likely to be a strong contender in the upcoming national bids as well,” said Jasmeet Khurana, associate director—consulting at Bridge to India, a boutique consulting firm.

Recent bids show that there are only about 10 to 12 developers who have the appetite to continuously try and take up large projects at current tariff levels, Khurana said.

Some expect the upcoming auction at Rajasthan—to be held later this year for a capacity of 420MW—to see more aggressive bids.

Some industry experts, however, have raised concerns over the viability of projects won at aggressive tariffs.

“This raises questions on the long-term viability. The advantages these companies (SunEdison and SoftBank) had in these two bids is that the plants would be at solar parks so they do not have to worry about setting up everything on their own. Also, NTPC is more bankable than any other state distribution companies,” said Bharat Bhushan Agrawal, senior analyst—India solar at Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy company, is also increasing focus on India, its second largest market after the US. China’s Trina Solar and Russia’s OAO Rosneft, Italy’s Enel Green Power are among other global companies looking to invest in the Indian solar market.

India has raised its 2022 solar energy target to 100 gigawatts (GW) from 20GW as part of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s efforts to lower dependence on coal-fuelled electricity.

India has a $250 billion investment opportunity in the renewable energy sector, Piyush Goyal, minister for power, coal and renewable energy, said at Mint’s fifth energy conclave in New Delhi in September.

Also Read: India: SunEdison calls off deal to acquire Singapore-based Continuum Wind

 India: SunEdison to sell 400 MW of solar power capacity for $350m

Aboitiz Power, SunEdison ink contract for $75.6m solar power project in PH

This article was first published on Livemint.com

SoftBank, Bharti & Foxconn JV bags first major solar power project in India

Braddock Locks and Dam hydropower plant project off to slow start

A Dallas-based startup is moving ahead with a plan to become the first company to operate a hydropower plant in Allegheny County, but don’t expect a heavy flow of followers just yet.

Despite a federal push to generate more electricity from water, especially at existing structures such as the Braddock Locks and Dam on the Monongahela River, expansion has been slow.

“It is more economically feasible right now to build generators that burn off natural gas … than to build hydro,” said Penn State University mechanical engineering professor John M. Cimbala, who was the principal investigator on a $3 million project between the school and the Department of Energy to train graduate students in hydropower research and development.

Eight proposed Pennsylvania hydropower projects pending before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which grants licenses, would total about 120 megawatts of capacity — less than 5 percent of the power of the state’s largest coal and nuclear plants. Nationally, hydropower supplies about 7 percent of electricity.

“Hydropower plants pay themselves off eventually, but it’s a big up-front investment. It’s hard to justify right now with the cost of natural gas,” Cimbala said.

Licensing delays can make the decision to invest even tougher, said LeRoy Coleman, spokesman for the National Hydropower Association in Washington.

Dallas-based Hydro Green Energy got its license in July to build a 5.25-megawatt, low-impact hydroelectric plant on the Braddock dam, for which it applied in 2011. The company expects the $15.7 million construction project to last a year starting next July.

“(In) Pennsylvania, with its rivers and hills, there’s tremendous opportunity, not just in Braddock but in other locations around Pittsburgh,” said Mike Maley, Hydro Green’s president and CEO.

The plant, running on technology patented by Hydro Green, will generate enough electricity to power about 5,250 homes, but the power might not be used for that purpose, Maley said. He has an agreement with an entity to buy the power but won’t disclose the buyer until a contract is signed.

Adding hydropower to non-powered dams such as Braddock could generate up to 12 gigawatts of power, according to the Energy Department, which gave Hydro Green a $1.8 million grant to develop its technology. The company received a $4 million grant from the state Alternative and Clean Energy Program and a $500,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, through the Department of Environmental Protection.

The Department of Energy is promoting development of small hydropower at existing, unpowered dams, especially those owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, because it is cheaper and has less impact on wildlife and the environment than new dams.

In June 2014, Congress passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which is supposed to expedite the corps’ review of permit applications for hydropower plants at its dams. Developers are waiting for the corps to issue guidance for its permits, the National Hydropower Association said.

A 2012 department report listed 597 non-powered dams in the United States where hydropower facilities could be developed. Forty-five of those sites were in Pennsylvania.

Since the report was issued, two hydropower plants, including Braddock, have received FERC licenses.

The corps, the largest hydropower producer in the country, has 75 federally run hydro plants on its 700 dams, producing about 21,000 megawatts of power, said Kamau Sadiki, national hydropower business line manager. There are another 59 nonfederal hydropower plants, owned by counties, municipal governments and private companies, at the corps dams, he said.

About one-third of the agency’s remaining dams are feasible sites for hydropower development, he said.

“We want to see more renewable energy online. We want to reduce the carbon footprint, and so it’s a good thing for the corps,” Sadiki said.

But the low price of natural gas has put a damper on many hydropower plans, and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon, Cimbala said.

Santa Monica, Calif.-based U.S. Renewables Group’s Boston company, Rye Development, has FERC permits to study building small hydropower facilities at existing dams in the corps’ Pittsburgh District, but it needs licenses before any work could begin, said Don Lauzon, vice president of regulatory affairs for the company.

It applied for the licenses under the name Free Flow Power in February and March 2014, but the regulatory requirements make the process long, Lauzon said.

“That causes an additional time because it’s additional coordination for us as developers, which makes the process a little bit more … complicated for a coordination perspective,” Lauzon said.

Tory N. Parrish is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-5662 or tparrish@tribweb.com.

Braddock Locks and Dam hydropower plant project off to slow start

UK Green-Lights 2.4 GW Offshore Wind Project

“Today’s announcement shows the confidence the market has in the future of the sector, with developers committing to invest in the planning and consenting of projects that will help form the backbone of UK offshore wind development beyond 2020″, he said in a statement.

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has given planning consent to Forewind consortium for construction of the 2.4GW Teesside A and B offshore wind farms along England’s north-east coast.

The Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, approved the application for Dogger Bank Teesside A&B, submitted to the Planning Inspectorate by Forewind in March 2014.

When constructed, Dogger Bank Teesside A&B will be one of UK’s largest power generators, equal to Dogger Bank Creyke Beck and second only to the 3.9GW Drax coal-fired station in North Yorkshire.

The project is being taken forward by Forewind – a consortium comprising SSE, RWE, Statkraft and Statoil. Combined with the positive seabed survey results and strong wind measurements, the consent confirms Dogger Bank’s suitability for large-scale offshore wind development.

Designed to meet electricity requirement of up to 1.8 million homes in the UK, the Teesside A and B wind farms represent the second phase of the larger Dogger Bank Zone development which involves construction four additional wind farms of 1.2GW each.

RenewableUK’s chief executive Maria McCaffery said: “This awe-inspiring offshore wind project has taken another significant step forward”. This is especially the case, considering recent figures from the global Monetary Fund which highlight the absurd discrepancy between subsidies being doled out to the fossil fuel energy industry in the UK (and globally), compared to the renewable energy industry, which is forever being forced to suffer cutbacks of Government aid.

Officials told The Northern Echo the farm is due to be built by August 2022, with its turbines expected to be taller than those used on EDF Energy Renewables’ Teesside Wind Farm, at Redcar, which is capable of powering about 40,000 homes.

Ministers recently confirmed the next round of price support contracts for clean energy projects will not go ahead in the autumn as planned and a review of renewable energy policy is underway in response to concerns the government is on track to exceed its clean energy subsidy budget for 2020 by around £1.5bn.

“However, the ambition of the industry needs to be matched by a vision from Government which is backed up by firm commitments on the levels of financial provision which will be available”.

Ms McCaffery said: “The industry is set to play its part – but it needs a fair wind from Westminster in order to do so”.

The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations said Dogger Bank was an important site for fishing. “The scale of the Dogger Bank projects offers a significant opportunity to continue to drive down costs, create high value jobs, and support the UK’s transition to a low carbon energy supply”.

Forewind and the Crown Estate will announce the two remaining phases of the Dogger Bank project have progressed to the next stage of development with the two parties signing a “project specific agreement” for the relevant area of seabed.

UK Green-Lights 2.4 GW Offshore Wind Project

Mexico state: Indians approve embattled wind power project

Updated 5:40 pm, Friday, July 31, 2015

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Residents of a heavily Indian area have approved the installation of a huge wind power project in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico, the Oaxaca state government said Friday.

The proposed construction of 132 giant wind turbines is meant to generate 396 megawatts of power, but the project has raised concerns over vibrations, bird deaths and invasion of Indian lands.

The company behind the project and the Oaxaca government teamed up to offer residents an average 45 percent reduction in power costs.

State officials said Friday that the project was approved during eight months of community consultations and public hearings.

But opponents contend the consultations violated their rights as Indians. They say that supporters were transported to consultative hearings and that opponents were effectively excluded.

Rodrigo Penalosa, one of the opponents, said the government “manipulated the consultation process from the start” to assure approval.

Hundreds of wind power turbines already dot the area around the isthmus, the narrow waist of Mexico lying between the Pacific ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Its location ensures a flow of winds.

The government says the wind farms provide cheap, clean electricity.

But opponents complain that the privately owned wind farms have ill effects on fishing and agriculture.

The newest farm, known as “Eolica del Sur,” would take up 5,332 hectares (13,175 acres) in the township of Juchitan.

Residents had blocked a previous project, arguing it did not comply with Mexico’s obligation under international law to consult Indian groups over projects in their territories.

The state government said the Eolica del Sur project was the first of 20 wind farms installed in Oaxaca to carry out such consultations, and officials pledged that any future projects would be required to do so.

Mexico state: Indians approve embattled wind power project

BRIEF-Baywa sells US wind energy project to NorthWestern Energy for $143 mln

… the most Earth-like planet yet. Baywa Ag. * Says sells u.s. Wind energy project to northwestern energy for $143 million Further company coverage:.

BRIEF-Baywa sells US wind energy project to NorthWestern Energy for $143 mln

Fall Mountain students design solar project for local animal hospital

Fall Mountain Regional High School students turned a class project into a real-world experience.

This spring, Jay Fisher’s environmental studies class worked with local businesses to learn about renewable energy. The project culminated in a plan to install solar panels at the Claremont Animal Hospital.

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Fall Mountain students design solar project for local animal hospital

Tesla Battery Being Used In Duke Energy Florida & University of South Florida Solar Project

Batteries

Published on May 29th, 2015 | by Cynthia Shahan

May 29th, 2015 by Cynthia Shahan 

Florida has been far behind in the solar power revolution. Finding better direction, Duke Energy news shares that the company’s efforts towards pursuing clean energy solutions through university research will also involve storing energy from the sun. A solar battery project is bringing together Duke Energy Florida and the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg (USFSP).

The USFSP research project is seeking to learn more about renewable solutions and how to store and use energy from the sun. The project comes from a $1 million grant from Duke Energy.

Take a look at the top of USF, St. Petersburg’s 5th Avenue South parking garage. Installed on the roof is a 100-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system. A freestanding canopy of solar panels of this size with space beneath for parking can produce enough energy to power an electric car for half a million miles. The 100-kW solar array at USF, St. Petersburg, measures approximately 7,100 square feet. It has 318 individual panels.

Duke Energy’s press release continues with Alex Glenn, state president of Duke Energy Florida, stating: “This partnership gives Duke Energy and the University of South Florida additional firsthand experience in solar battery storage systems. The innovative and cutting-edge research also provides students a real-world learning environment as we develop alternative energy solutions for our customers.”

The 5th Avenue site system uses solar energy in the garage for lights, elevators, and electric-vehicle charging stations, and the rest is stored in battery systems or put on the electric grid for immediate use. Displayed on the USFSP campus is the high-resolution data collected on the PV installation. Thus, students can follow and learn from the energy storage system. The data are displayed on an online dashboard and several kiosks on the St. Petersburg campus.

As noted in the headline, the batteries used for the Duke Energy & USF project are reportedly coming from Tesla Energy. The press release doesn’t mention that, but Mark Shreiner of WUSF actually has a pic of Tesla Energy mechanical engineer Chad Conway explaining the battery system to Duke Energy Florida President Alex Glenn.

Being at the “utility-scale” level, Tesla “Powerblocks,” as we’re calling them for now, will be the battery systems used in this pilot project — rather than the more widely discussed Powerwalls. According to Tesla CEO and Product Architect Elon Musk, these utility-scale batteries come at a super-low price of $250/kWh and are competitive with any other battery storage systems on the market. Some much larger flow batteries come very close in the lifetime per-kWh price if you estimate a 30-year life and unlimited cycling for them. But note that the warranty period for the Imergy batteries is just 5–10 years, despite claims of unlimited cycling and long life. Another top competitor is the Eos Aurora 1000 | 6000 from Eos Energy Storage. It’s actually much cheaper according to company specs, but it’s not actually on the market yet. All in all, this makes Tesla’s batteries, based on widely used lithium-ion chemistry that has proven itself in many industries, an attractive option for those looking to inch their way into the use of energy storage. I’m curious to see what results we get from the Duke Energy and USF pilot project.

 

The funding for the new, larger energy storage system generates an opportunity to build upon existing battery technology. At the same time, operating in conjunction with two smaller, existing USF energy storage systems, a growing system evolves.

The Duke Energy Press release continues: “This is an opportunity to manage energy costs while promoting sustainability on campus,” said USFSP Regional Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska. “We are pleased and proud to have been awarded this grant, and to provide faculty and students with a chance to help build something of lasting impact. USFSP has long enjoyed a strong partnership with Duke Energy and we look forward to future collaborations.”

A few more details from the press release:

“USFSP has an existing 2.0-kW solar energy system located at its Central Facilities Plant constructed in partnership with Duke Energy and the USF Tampa School of Engineering. Additionally, a series of solar panels provides power for decorative lights on campus.”

In other efforts, Duke Energy has a number of battery storage projects underway:

• Duke Energy Florida’s SEEDS (Sustainable Electrical Energy Delivery Systems) program, which includes two battery storage projects at the University of South Florida at St. Petersburg and the Albert Whitted Park, also in St. Petersburg. The two units combine energy storage systems with small solar arrays.


• Twenty-four K-12 schools in the Duke Energy Florida service territory have received 25-kilowatt-hour battery backup systems funded by the company that are integrated with their solar PV installations. As with other battery storage projects at Duke Energy, there is performance monitoring of these systems to learn more about combining intermittent energy resources with storage. The installations also help foster educational opportunities for students at the schools.


• The company’s Notrees Battery Storage Project in West Texas is North American’s largest battery storage installation project at a wind farm. Duke Energy matched a $22 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to install 36-megawatt (MW) large-scale batteries capable of storing electricity produced by its 153-MW Notrees wind farm.

In other hopeful news, CleanTechnica reports that a fair number of workers will have work from by Duke Energy via solar energy construction projects in North Carolina in the next few months: Duke Energy 900 Workers In North Carolina During Peak Solar Construction This Summer. The largest is at the Warsaw Solar Facility being constructed in Duplin County — a 65 MW project, but there’s also “the 40 MW Elm City Solar Facility being built in Wilson County and the 23 MW Fayetteville Solar project being constructed in Bladen County.”

It has not been so long since Florida’s Duke Energy announced plans to expand the company’s solar footprint. Its plan is to add up to 500 MW of utility-scale solar in Florida by 2024.

Related Stories:

NC Suspects Duke Energy Coal Ash In Water Well Poisoning

Insane Solar Jobs Boom About To Get $32 Million More Insane

Duke Energy Acquiring Majority Stake In REC Solar — Investing $225 Million Into Commercial Solar Projects

Duke Energy Attacks Rooftop Solar Energy (VIDEOS)

500 MW of Utility-Scale Solar in Florida by 2024 — 10 Year Plan from Duke Energy

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

Tags: Duke Energy, Duke Energy energy storage, Florida, Florida energy storage, St. Petersburg, Tesla, Tesla batteries, Tesla Energy, Tesla Powerblocks, University of South Florida

About the Author

Cynthia Shahan is an Organic Farmer, Licensed Acupuncturist, Anthropologist, and mother of four unconditionally loving spirits, teachers, and environmentally conscious beings who have lit the way for me for decades.

Tesla Battery Being Used In Duke Energy Florida & University of South Florida Solar Project

Westar moves ahead with Pratt County wind project

Westar Energy Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to expand its use of wind-powered energy.

The company said in a news release that the addition will grow Westar’s renewable energy commitment to nearly 1,300 megawatts.

Westar will purchase energy from a 200-megawatt wind farm to be constructed on its behalf in Pratt County by an affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources.

“Kansas wind provides the best economic fit to make renewable energy available and affordable for all our customers,” Mark Ruelle, Westar Energy president and chief executive officer said in a statement. “Westar is the state’s largest supporter of renewables, and we are excited to add more clean Kansas wind energy to our energy supply.”

The Ninnescah wind farm in Pratt County will be built beginning late this year or early 2016 and will begin providing energy by the end of 2016.

Westar said the project is expected to bring to nearby communities about $300 million in capital investment and about 200 temporary, construction jobs.

Westar moves ahead with Pratt County wind project

PSC approves Gulf Power's wind project

Gulf Power on Tuesday received unanimous approval from the Florida Public Service Commission on an agreement that will make the utility a leading purchaser of wind generation among Florida utilities.

The project, called Kingfisher Wind, will be built in central Oklahoma, where conditions are favorable for wind energy. The agreement is the first of its kind in the state.

“Kingfisher Wind will help Gulf Power add renewable energy that makes environmental and economic sense,” said Jeff Rogers, external communications manager for Gulf Power. “Smart renewables, like Kingfisher Wind, are cost effective for customers.”

The Kingfisher Wind project is expected to begin commercial operation by the end of the year. A total of 89 of the project’s wind turbines will supply 178 megawatts to Gulf Power, which is enough energy to power approximately 50,700 homes per year.

“The power we get from Kingfisher Wind will represent approximately 5 percent of our projected energy mix,” Rogers said. “Wind power helps diversify the power supply and Kingfisher Wind is projected to provide lower overall energy costs.”

This wind project will be Gulf Power’s fifth renewable energy project following the Perdido Landfill Gas-to-Energy Facility, which has produced more than 100 million kilowatt hours of electricity since 2010, and three solar energy projects that are scheduled to begin construction in February 2016.

Gulf Power announced in January that the utility is partnering with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force to build solar energy farms at three different facilities across Northwest Florida.

The solar energy farms have already been approved by the FPSC and will be constructed at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach (30 megawatts), Holley Field in Navarre (40 megawatts) and Saufley Field in Pensacola (50 megawatts) and are expected to be in service by December 2016.

“Adding alternative energy to our portfolio takes careful planning to ensure we provide our customers with what they want and what they need — cost-effective energy that diversifies our power supply,” said Rogers.

PSC approves Gulf Power"s wind project

Nellis AFB undertaking massive solar conversion project

A solar panel similar to what will be used to power Nellis Air Force Base. (FOX5)

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NV (FOX5) -

Nellis Air Force Base will soon run entirely on solar power during the day. On Tuesday, an NV Energy crew began constructing infrastructure needed for an enormous solar panel field on the base.

The solar panels are being installed on what is now a landfill. When complete, it will generate a lot of power, and the base uses plenty of it.

“You have some functions that utilize energy like flight simulators and data labs and things like that,” Lt. Col. Brian Hartless said.

The field will contain about 40,000 panels and is the size of between 70 and 80 football fields.

It would take about eight of the panels to run a typical Las Vegas home. The field will contain enough to supply energy to 5,000 homes.

Power will be transmitted across the base from an NV Energy substation, which will also be located on the base.

Unfortunately, the move likely won’t save the base money. NV Energy said solar energy costs about the same as natural gas. However, money isn’t the point. This is the base’s second solar panel project.

“It gives us a chance to continue that leadership role that we play and essentially provide energy security for the base,” Hartless said.

NV Energy is investing $50 million in the project, which is slated to be complete by the end of this year.

SunPower, which is constructing the field, built the largest solar panel field in the world, located in Southern California.

Copyright 2015 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.

Nellis AFB undertaking massive solar conversion project

Planned project would nearly double Michigan's solar capacity

This former GM plant site in Lansing, shown here in 2006, is among the locations being considered for a 20 MW solar array by the city’s utility. (Photo by Keith Kris via Creative Commons)

Developers and Michigan’s largest municipally owned utility could nearly double the state’s solar energy portfolio by partnering in what would decidedly be the largest single solar project here.

An official with the Lansing Board of Water and Light confirmed with Midwest Energy News Wednesday that the utility has selected a developer for a 20 MW solar project.

The original request for proposals, which was under development are less than 1.5 MW, while roughly 23 MW of commercial-scale solar statewide is tracked by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

Solar currently makes up roughly 1 percent of Michigan’s 2,300 MW renewable energy portfolio, according to the PSC.

One of the sites in the running is a vacant industrial property formerly owned by General Motors less than two miles from the state Capitol building.

A power purchase agreement is yet to be finalized and the original proposed location — GM’s former Verlinden plant that was demolished nearly 10 years ago — still needs to be secured, but the BWL is intent on increasing the scale of its original proposal.

“We got a whole lot of bids, there was a lot of interest,” said George Stojic, the BWL’s executive director of planning and development. “It just made sense to scale this thing up.”

The utility selected Vermont-based groSolar to develop a 20 MW project. Stojic said it’s up to the developer to ultimately secure a location.

Steve Remen, groSolar’s executive vice president of business development, said the former GM site is one of several the company is considering in the Lansing area and the project could need more than one property.

“Oftentimes, those sites make very good sites for solar projects,” Remen said, referring to vacant industrial parcels that likely have legacy contamination. “It’s an excellent re-use of the property.”

Stojic said the cost of solar would be roughly $60 per MWh at the former GM site, but that could vary depending on the location.

The property is owned by RACER Trust, which was created to manage, clean up and market former GM properties after the company’s bankruptcy in 2009. RACER oversees more than 250 acres of vacant industrial land in the Lansing area. The proposed site is on 57 acres west of downtown Lansing where Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets used to be assembled.

Stojic said it made sense economically to scale up the project based on data taken from the BWL’s smaller, 150 kW solar array. Also, the BWL has limited, point-to-point transmission, he said.

“We are a summer-peaking utility. Solar fits well into that very well for two reasons: It’s there in the summertime if we need it and it helps offset transmission costs,” he said.

Stojic said he hopes details will be finalized and made public within the next couple of months.

“I wanted a fairly significantly sized project,” Stojic said. “I’m very excited about it.”

Planned project would nearly double Michigan"s solar capacity

Rolling Hills solar panel project is just the beginning for district

By Judy Peterson

Jpeterson@community-newspapers.com

Click photo to enlarge

Photograph by George Sakkestad Rolling Hills Middle School in Los Gatos had solar panels installed in 2011, with more solar installations planned for the future. Marshall Lane Elementary School in Saratoga is also going solar.

When the Campbell Union School District installed solar panels at Rolling Hills Middle School in Los Gatos in 2011, it was the beginning of a now-celebrated energy conservation program.

The district received the Energy Leadership Award at the Green Schools & Colleges Summit held recently in Pasadena, and is also in line for special funding through the California Energy Conservations Assistance Act.

The Energy Leadership Award was for the net-zero energy multipurpose building at Blackford Elementary School. The building features rooftop solar panels, a full-glass front and skylights, daylight occupancy sensors to control lights, automated windows, thick insulation and a white roof. Energy is produced year-round by the solar panels and surplus energy is stored in a grid for later use. It’s expected to produce more than or equal to its energy consumption each year.

The Blackford multipurpose building is the first of eight energy efficient buildings the district plans to construct as part of its overall energy-saving strategy.

“Rolling Hills was the first school to have solar panels and we’ll be adding to that,” district spokeswoman Marla Sanchez said. “Marshall Lane will get solar, too.”

The district was also awarded a $7.5 million zero-interest loan for solar installation projects and energy efficiency measures that will be implemented at 11 schools. The loan was one of three awarded to school districts by the California Energy Commission. The projects are expected to save more than $480,000 a year.

Allison Williams contributed to this story.

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Rolling Hills solar panel project is just the beginning for district

Duke Expands Texas Wind Farm Arsenal With 110-MW Project

Share us on: By Keith Goldberg

Law360, New York (September 03, 2014, 2:55 PM ET) — Duke Energy Corp.’s renewable energy arm said Wednesday that it will build a fifth wind farm in southern Texas that will generate 110 megawatts of electricity, the utility giant’s 10th clean energy project in the Lone Star State.

Duke Energy Renewables said it will build, own and operate the Los Vientos V Windpower Project, sited approximately 100 miles west of Brownsville, Texas. The company said it’s inked 25-year power purchase agreements with Texas municipal utilities Garland Power & Light, Greenville Electric Utility System and Bryan Texas…

Duke Expands Texas Wind Farm Arsenal With 110-MW Project

Groups urge Mikulski to support Shore wind energy project

EASTON — A group of state and national environmental groups are pushing U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., to remove language she introduced in a Senate report on a defense appropriations bill that could kill a wind energy project in Somerset County.

“Any further delay will, in fact, terminate the development of that wind farm and much more will be lost economically and environmentally in the process,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network — one of the 21 groups that signed a letter sent to Mikulski calling her to withdraw the language.

The language, if included in the appropriations bill, would bar the U.S. Navy from striking a deal with developer Pioneer Green Energy LLC, or any wind project, until a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study is completed.

The proposed 150-megawatt wind energy farm, being called the Great Bay Wind project, has the potential to interfere with Navy’s radar testing across the Chesapeake Bay at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s County.

Paul Harris, lead developer on the Great Bay Wind Project at Pioneer Green Energy, said the language, which is currently non-binding, will send a “chilling effect” to the Navy and the Department of Defense and “really can impact our negotiations with them” and further slow down the process of getting the project built.

Harris said a previous MIT study deemed that turning off the wind turbines when the Navy is conducting radar testing would alleviate the problem. However, another MIT study is underway to look at the effects of the turbines and what could be done to mitigate them.

But, deadlines loom.

Harris said there’s a timeline in which the project must hook up to the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland power grid connection, and a further delay of the project would stress that timeline.

Also, he said the project is relying on production tax credits to make the energy cheaper per kilowatt produced, and that tax credit’s expiration is approaching.

“If the project is not under construction and completed construction by the end of 2015, we would not qualify for those tax credits,” Harris said, adding the project might not be able to continue if those tax credits are lost.

The project was under fire in the Maryland General Assembly earlier this year.

A bill was passed that would have delayed the project until the MIT study was complete. U.S. House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.-5th, testified in favor of the bill before it was passed by state lawmakers.

But the Maryland bill was vetoed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, who said that environmental and climate change concerns were of a greater importance.

Harris said Pioneer Green Energy has already spent between $3 million and $4 million in private funds on this project, which plans to bring 25 wind turbines in the first stage to Somerset County — the poorest county in the state.

With a total cost of $200 million, Harris referred to a 2012 study that suggested the project would bring 500 construction jobs to the Eastern Shore’s three lower counties of Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties.

But, the real long term benefit is in tax revenues, Harris said.

“Property taxes would accumulate to about $44 million in revenues for the life of the project,” he said, adding it would bring just more than $2 million on a yearly basis to Somerset County and account for about 10 percent of the county’s property tax revenues.

There’s even benefits for those whose land on which the project would be built, like Mary Ann Peterman’s farm in Somerset County.

“I’m very disappointed in Sen. Mikulski’s decision to support the special interest of the defense industry over the protection of our environment, family farming and a once in a lifetime chance for significant development in Somerset County,” Peterman said.

Peterman said the potential earnings from the project would help her family, and other farms in the county, “and the tax revenue for this project would be an enormous benefit for our county.”

Sen. Jim Mathais, D-38-Lower Shore, is on board in urging Mikulski to remove the language from the Senate report.

He said he’s working with Mikulski and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., to find a way to remedy the production tax credit situation.

“We’re looking to find ways to make certain that Great Bay Wind and Pioneer Green can go forward,” Mathais said.

Mathais said it’s important to make sure Pioneer Green Energy is confident to move forward with the project and that the money already spent, and that will be spent on it in the future, isn’t wasted.

He said it’s also important to show to possible future companies looking to capitalize on wind energy on the Eastern Shore that the government is open to working with them if they follow all the rules, like Pioneer Green Energy has.

Harris said that Pioneer Green Energy officials testified during the Maryland legislative session on the bill that would have delayed the project, saying it would be hard to legitimize continuing to move forward with the project in a state where it wasn’t clear if the investment is wanted. The same goes for the language Mikulski added in the senate report, if it eventually gets voted into the defense appropriations bill, he said.

Follow me on Twitter @jboll_stardem.

Groups urge Mikulski to support Shore wind energy project

200000 Kenyans to benefit from wind project

August 11, 2014

By Nicholus Nduati

More than 200,000 Kenyans living in marginalized areas far from the national electricity grid are set to benefit with cheap wind generated electricity in four years’ time.

This is courtesy of the wind for prosperity project initiated by the Danish government that will target 13 marginalized areas.

About 68 percent of Kenyans still do not have electricity connections blamed on low generation capacity.

The project will be financed in part by the 18 billion shillings funding from the Danish government.

The Kenyan government is working on a program to double electricity connection in three years to utilize the enhanced generation capacity.

The first installations to the wind power project are expected late this year with efforts currently underway to identify areas with huge potential for wind energy in the country.

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200000 Kenyans to benefit from wind project

Energy Department Announces Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project Awards

The Energy Department and the Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory today announced funding for projects led by Pika Energy, Northern Power Systems, Endurance Wind Power, and Urban Green Energy that will help drive down the cost of small and medium-sized wind energy systems. Through the second round of the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP), the teams will receive a total of $1.35 million between them. In support of the Energy Department’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, this funding aims to help U.S. manufacturers improve their turbine designs and manufacturing processes to reduce hardware costs, improve efficiency and eventually earn certification from accredited third-party certification bodies, which issue easy-to-understand labels showing a turbine has met performance and safety testing requirements set by the wind industry.

Comprising more than two-thirds of all wind turbines installed in the United States in the last decade, distributed wind energy systems provide clean, renewable energy to consumers and reduce their energy bills. Distributed wind systems are typically installed on residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial, or community sites, and can range in size from 5 kilowatts (kW) to multiple megawatts depending on their application. While these wind systems vary widely in size, the CIP focuses on small and medium-sized turbines up to 250 kW in rated capacity.  Here are the projects announced today for funding:

• Pika Energy of Westbrook, Maine, will improve the performance of their existing components and manufacturing process. Pika will scale up their existing turbine components to roughly twice their current size to produce a turbine capable of producing more energy at a reduced end-user cost. Pika will also implement the use of an injection molding technique for manufacturing in order to produce lighter and stronger components.


• Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vermont, will develop and deploy an innovative blade designed for low wind speed applications. Northern Power Systems will also model and test an advanced control method that will help increase the amount of energy produced by their turbine.


• Endurance Wind Power of Spanish Forks, Utah, will test the prototype of their expanded rotor that allows for a larger wind-sweep area, leading to a more efficient turbine.


• Urban Green Energy of New York City, New York, will test their vertical axis wind turbine against the American Wind Energy Association’s Small Wind Turbine Performance and Safety Standard. The standard was created by the small wind turbine industry, scientists, state officials, and consumers to provide consumers with realistic and comparable performance ratings of competing products.

This second round of CIP awards builds on the success of the first round awarded in 2013, through which Bergey Windpower identified the component improvements necessary to optimize a turbine for increased performance and reduced end-user costs, while Pika Energy developed an advanced blade manufacturing process they plan to further improve in this second round.

The Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy accelerates development and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions that strengthen U.S. energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality. Learn more about the small wind and distributed wind turbine industry in the United States by visiting the Energy Department’s distributed wind webpage.

Energy Department Announces Distributed Wind Competitiveness Improvement Project Awards