Solar Power

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Smart Cities Dive – April 5

Ninety-five local governments across 33 states procured 3,683 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy generation capacity in 2020 through 143 deals, the largest amount of capacity ever added in one year, according to the latest update from the Rocky Mountain Institute and World Resources Institute in their Local Government Renewables Action Tracker. The 143 transactions, a 23% increase over 2019 levels, could generate enough electricity to power approximately 812,000 households annually. Solar was the most popular form of renewable energy to be procured, at 79% of all deals, followed by wind at 17% and geothermal at 4%.

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News

The Mercury News – April 1

With summer’s heat approaching, California’s plan for avoiding a repeat of last year’s blackouts hinges on a humble savior – the battery. Giant versions of the same technology that powers smart phones and cars are being plugged into the state’s electrical grid at breakneck speed, with California set to add more battery capacity this year than all of China, according to BloombergNEF. By this August, the state will have 1,700 MW of new battery capacity — enough to power 1.3 million homes and, in theory, avert a grid emergency on the scale of last year’s.

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The San Diego Union-Tribune – April 5

Sempra Energy’s subsidiary in Mexico has acquired full ownership of a cross-border wind farm along the Sierra de Juarez mountain range, in Tecate, Baja California, for about $80 million. The Energía Sierra Juárez complex consists of 47 wind turbines with a capacity to generate 155 MW of electricity. Via a new cross-border transmission line, Energía Sierra Juárez interconnects with the Southwest Powerlink at San Diego Gas and Electric’s East County substation.

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Projects

KSBY – March 29

Last week, Morro Bay city leaders hosted a question-and-answer session with Vistra Energy, which is looking to build the world’s largest energy storage system in Morro Bay. If the 22-acre facility is approved, the developer could break ground at the site of the vacant former power plant as soon as next year. Vistra hopes to have “the facility online by the end of 2024 when the first unit of the Diablo Canyon nuclear generation station goes offline.”

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Power Magazine – April 6

A California company has teamed with the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s largest gas utility to build a major solar power project just outside Houston, Texas. Rosendin and Tokyo Gas America are developing the Aktina Renewable Power Project, a 500-MWac/631-MWdc solar farm spanning 4,000 acres in Wharton County, southwest of Houston. The companies said the project includes 1.4 million solar modules. The Aktina project, expected to begin coming online later this year, would when completed as scheduled be the largest operating solar power project in Texas.

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U.S. News & World Report – April 2

A Maryland-based nuclear energy company signed a partnership agreement last week with a public utility company in Washington state to develop, build, and operate a commercial advanced nuclear power reactor. X-energy of Rockville, Maryland, will work with Energy Northwest of Richland and Grant County Public Utility District to build an 80-MW reactor on land already leased by Energy Northwest at the Hanford nuclear reservation in eastern Washington.

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Renewables Now – April 7

Solar project developer 174 Power Global Corp, an affiliate of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, has inked a power purchase agreement that supports the development of a 200-MW solar park in Colorado. The off-take contract was signed with Black Hills Energy, owned by utility company Black Hills Corp, and has a term of 15 years.

China will end subsidies this year for new solar power plants and distributed industrial energy projects and could set prices for wind and solar power sold to the state power grid on a par with fossil fuels to make renewables stand on their own feet, according to the country’s top economic planner.

The cutoff in handouts for the two key solar power sectors in 2021 follows the central government’s move last year to slash subsidies. China is also mulling an end to subsidies for new residential solar power projects in 2022, according to an internal draft plan released by National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Tuesday.

China has phased out subsidies for wind and solar power following several years of strong support to offset the higher costs of producing clean energy compared with traditional sources like gas and coal. Such subsidies had led to the rapid installation of new solar power projects in recent years, marking China as one of the fastest growing renewable markets in the world.

China added 48.2 gigawatts of solar capacity last year, according to statistics published by the country’s National Energy Administration in January. Sixty percent more capacity was added in 2020 than in 2019 with nearly half of that capacity being added in December alone as firms rushed to add capacity before the year end in anticipation of subsidies winding down.

China accounts for one-third of global installed solar capacity according data from the International Energy Agency.

The end of China’s subsidies on wind power last year drove China to install 56% of all new wind power installations in 2020, three times more than the closest competitor, the United States, with 18% of new installations, according to an annual report published by the Brussels-based trade group Global Wind Energy Council last month.

As manufacturing costs have fallen in recent years, the country is placing a priority on making the industry self-reliant while easing demands on the central government’s finances, experts said.

The NDRC suggested buffers to ensure that new wind and solar power projects can survive in a deregulated electricity market.

First, the draft plan called for each province to be allotted a certain amount of electricity hours. Under these quotas local power authority would buy electricity from newly-built renewables power projects by letting generators bid in auctions. It then suggests setting an upper price limit on government auction purchases which is roughly on par or below market prices for coal.

Government-assured purchases means power generators won’t need to pay when they connect their facilities to the state grid, a source working at a state-owned electricity utility told Caixin.

This approach is considered key to China hitting its tentative target to produce 40% of its energy mix from renewables by 2030, said a person familiar with the draft plan. That goal hasn’t been formalized yet, the source said.

Beijing has set ambitious general goals for reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, the implications of which continue to ripple through the country’s energy sector.

Contact reporter Lu Yutong (yutonglu@caixin.com) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.

Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Global’s new stock database.

April 12 (Renewables Now) – France’s EDF Renewables last week unveiled a contract to supply power from a 20-MW solar park at home to a unit of domestic railway operator SNCF Voyageurs.

The partners have sealed a 20-year green corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) tied to the entire output of the photovoltaic (PV) plant, which is expected to be around 25 GWh.

SNCF Voyageurs signed the off-take deal through its subsidiary SNCF Energie to support its goal of using between 40% and 50% of renewables to cover the electricity consumption of its trains by 2025. In line with this target, talks are being held through SNCF Energie with “various renewable energy developers and producers.” The railway group will potentially seek to enter similar green corporate PPAs for up to 20% of the power requirements of its fleet.

The proposed solar farm will be installed in the municipalities of Lachapelle-Auzac and Souillac, Lot department, with its construction slated to begin in the next few months. Power generation is set to begin in 2023.

EDF is a unit of French utility EDF (EPA:EDF).

MELBOURNE, Australia, April 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — According to Sunrun Solar, installers of commercial solar panels in Melbourne, the biggest hurdle for most businesses looking to switch to solar is the out-of-pocket costs. Fortunately, a new rebate has been announced to reduce the up-front costs associated with solar power systems.

From May 2021, eligible small businesses in Victoria will be able to apply for the Solar for Business Program rebate. The rebate offer includes up to 50% or $3,500 (whichever is less) on eligible solar power systems.

The Small Business Energy Saver Program will also provide bonuses of up to $2,000 for upgrading to more energy-efficient equipment, such as air-conditioning, refrigeration, and heating pumps.

Over the next three years, 15,000 solar rebates will be available under the program. There are also some other subsidies to make installing solar power in Melbourne much more affordable. Australia has a national solar rebate subsidy, which can help slash small commercial solar systems’ up-front cost. 

These subsidies will go a long way to ensuring you can make your business as energy efficient as possible without costing the earth. Keep in mind, there will be eligibility criteria, and if you install a system before the programs are in place, you will not be eligible for the rebate.

If you’re planning to take advantage of these new rebates, make sure you do your homework and talk to a reputable installer of solar panels in Melbourne, such as Sunrun Solar. They’ve helped many small businesses to make the switch to solar power with a range of incentive programs, and they will ensure you have the right solar power products to meet your business needs.

Sunrun Solar is just one of many installation companies that understands the importance of these government subsidy programs. As a renewable energy source, solar is a strong investment for jobs. It’s vital for the future of the environment and can help businesses become more profitable by driving down electricity costs.

More information on these subsidies will be made available soon.

Related Images

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Solar Panels Melbourne
Solar Panels Melbourne

SOURCE Sunrun Solar

Champions of the accelerating push for solar energy around the world are confronting a previously overlooked challenge: The industry’s supply chains are heavily reliant on Xinjiang, a Chinese region the U.S. government and others say is the scene of genocide against local ethnic minorities including the mostly Muslim Uyghur inhabitants.

About half the world’s supply of polysilicon, an essential ingredient in most solar panels, comes from this part of northwestern China, where human-rights groups and U.S. officials say China runs a sprawling network of internment camps that the U.S. says have held more than 1 million Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group.

Some in the renewable-energy industry say they fear that polysilicon and other essential materials that come from Xinjiang could have links to forced labor. And lack of unrestricted access to Xinjiang means it is difficult to ensure suppliers aren’t somehow linked to human-rights abuses.

Global pressure to curb trade with Xinjiang is building. Both the U.S. and the European Union are weighing legislation that could lead to import bans on more products from the region, including polysilicon. The U.S. already banned imports of Xinjiang-produced cotton and tomatoes in January.

Many Western solar companies are already scrambling to cut exposure to the region, fearing their industry will be spotlighted next.

MANILA, Philippines — In the past few years, Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos in Negros Occidental has been at the frontline of a crusade waged both from the pulpit and on the streets.

Alminaza, 61, is part of the Philippine Catholic Church’s strong opposition to the use of fossil fuels in the country. And the threat to the diocese looms large: a proposed 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in its coastal city.

But the bishop understands that beyond dialogues and campaigns, the Church can and should be doing more to demonstrate its seriousness in rejecting fossil fuels. “We cannot just oppose and oppose,” he says. “We have to be more proactive.”

Happily, their avowed intention shows.

In 2017, San Carlos became one of the first dioceses in the country to formally sign a partnership with an energy resource company to install solar panels on the roofs of three of its buildings, including the seat of the diocese, the San Carlos Borromeo Cathedral.

That they are blessed with sunshine is an understatement. Negros Island, already dubbed the renewable energy capital of the Philippines, has solar power comprising nearly half of its installed capacity mix, according to a 2000 scoping study by the think tank Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED).

Nationwide, more dioceses are pivoting toward solar energy to power up parish churches, schools and seminaries — both a manifestation of the Church’s commitment to a just transition to renewable energy sources, and a showcase of its call to the government to rethink energy policy amid the climate crisis that threatens the most vulnerable in its flock.

Care for common home

The Catholic Church in the Philippines, with 85 dioceses, is by no means an energy-intensive sector. But its vigorous campaign for the faithful to withdraw support from fossil fuels is seen as a potential inflection point in a country that continues to depend heavily on burning coal for power and energy needs.

The Philippines is home to the biggest Catholic population in Asia and the third largest in the world. Among 110 million Filipinos, at least 8 of 10 are Catholic, making of the Church a moral and political force.

The Church’s involvement in social justice and environmental issues is not new. Catholic priests and nuns have long taken their preaching to the streets, standing with communities against destructive activities such as illegal logging and large-scale mining.

These advocacies took a new dimension in 2015, when Pope Francis issued the “Laudato si,” his second encyclical that called for the “care for our common home.”

“There is a traditional belief that the Church should not meddle in social and environmental issues, that it only needs to focus on its role of giving the sacraments and celebrating the liturgies,” notes Fr. Edwin Gariguez, the former executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-Nassa), the humanitarian and advocacy arm of the Church.

Gariguez adds: “But Pope Francis himself has said that we have a responsibility for social transformation, part of which is our obligation for the environment and to help the poor. And the ‘Laudato si’ is a mandate, an imperative from the Church.”

In his 180-page encyclical, the Pope lamented the destruction of the environment, explicitly mentioning fossil fuels as the factor behind the rapidly warming planet. “We know that technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels—especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas—needs to be progressively replaced without delay,” he wrote.

Gariguez says this has been the big push for the global Catholic movement, including in the Philippines, to streamline its activities from education drives to signature petitions in an effort to bring awareness and pressure to governments to shift away from coal.

Mainstreaming the shift

While some Philippine parishes had individually moved to “solarize” and green their churches, Pope Francis’ clarion call prompted the Church’s national leadership to mainstream the shift toward clean and renewable energy.

In October 2016, the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Lay Apostolate, with its implementing arm Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, entered a partnership with WeGen Laudato Si Inc., a special-purpose company formed by WeGen Distributed Energy taking inspiration from the Pope to work closely with faith groups in the country.

A distributed energy resource company, WeGen operates in the Philippines and in Vietnam, focusing on renewable energy technologies, particularly solar energy.

Aside from the goal shared by the Church and the company, what speeded up this partnership was a bridge: Jun Cruz, the director of relations of WeGen Laudato Si and a member of Laiko.

Facilitated by Cruz, a memorandum of agreement was signed to assist Catholic dioceses interested in using solar power for their buildings. Each diocese being autonomous and self-reliant, WeGen Laudato Si spoke with individual bishops to pitch the benefits of harnessing the sun’s energy for their power needs.

Their efforts in the last five years appear successful. WeGen Laudato Si has sealed partnerships with 74 of the 85 dioceses. Solar panels have been installed in nearly 200 religious or Church-owned buildings in at least 45 dioceses from the Prelature of Batanes in the north to the war-torn Prelature of Marawi down south.

World’s first

The biggest project so far is in the Diocese of Maasin on Leyte Island which, in 2018, became the first diocese in the world to completely shift to solar energy use.

The Vatican commended the diocese for this effort during the 5th anniversary of “Laudato si” last year.

The installed solar panels in 42 parishes and a school building has a system size of 234 kilowatt peak (kWp). Bishop Precioso Cantillas has said that shifting to solar allowed them to save at least P100,000 a month in power bills—resources that the Church can funnel into its other socio-civic activities.

At the Diocese of San Carlos, Alminaza says they have yet to fully calculate their savings from the installed 12-kWp system in their buildings. As in other dioceses, their system does not have battery storage and is still tied to the grid. This means that during the day, the solar panels power up their buildings, but their energy consumption is hooked back to the existing power grid once the sun sets.

The technology for battery storage remains expensive, pushing dioceses to forgo this option.

WeGen Laudato Si’s solar panels on rooftops may pale in comparison to huge solar farms that generate megawatts of electricity, but this is exactly how they envisioned their work to be, says Cruz.

“Our projects are small compared to other companies,” he says. “But even if it’s a small parish on an island that only requires 3 kWp, we install our panels because our vision is really clean and affordable energy, anytime, everywhere, for everyone.”

Other players

Other companies tried to strike similar deals with the Church to provide solar panels to dioceses, Gariguez recalls. None has prospered, he notes, perhaps given the challenges of dealing with individual prelates in dioceses that are smaller, far-flung, and with less resources.

“For a company that is profit-driven, the Church may not be as appealing” to do business with, Cruz says. “But if there will be other players who can offer cheaper prices, then it will encourage competition, and it’s the parishes that stand to gain.”

With WeGen Laudato Si, Church leaders are presented cost-benefit analyses and financial studies based on the diocese’s power needs and capacity to pay, says Cruz.

Most, if not all, of their projects offer no cash-out and have payment terms that can extend to 15 years.

Such a setup does not allow for a quick return of investment, with the company spending at least P70,000 per installed kilowatt peak, Cruz says.

“From the start, we [tell] them that we are a business and not a nongovernmental organization,” he says. “Solar panel systems may still be expensive, but they are definitely cheaper now… With the panels installed, we explain to the Church leaders that whatever they can save from their electricity bills, instead of paying it to a distribution company, they can use it to pay us.”

Hit by pandemic

But even with the options offered by the energy firm, many dioceses are still reeling from the financial hit of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns require the faithful to stay home, resulting in massive reductions in Mass collections that are the primary source of funding for the parishes.

“I think there is no longer an argument on the shift to renewable energy for the protection of the environment,” says Fr. Antonio Labiao, the current executive secretary of CBCP-Nassa. “I think what our priests and lay leaders are more concerned with is the cost.”

“Many of our dioceses now, especially in the provinces, are struggling to survive. So pushing for the implementation of solar energy might take some time,” he says.

But the pandemic may just lead the country to pursue a cleaner energy pathway, environment experts and advocates say.

“The pandemic is an opportunity for green recovery, a just recovery,” says lawyer Avril de Torres, head of the CEED’s research, policy and law program. “This must focus on reformulating energy plans, so we don’t go back to the ways of the past and we move forward by being powered by renewable energy.”

Department of Energy data show that the Philippines is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, particularly coal and oil, for its energy needs. There are 28 coal-fired power plants nationwide, with an existing capacity of 9.88 gigawatts. At least 19 other coal plants remain in the pipeline, putting the Philippines among the top countries in coal expansion.

Renewable energy advocates are hopeful that the pandemic will give wind to the shift to sustainable energy, especially with consumers burdened with high electricity bills and communities with coal plants clamoring for urgent change, says De Torres.

“There are a lot of renewable energy mechanisms that will become effective, that we are hopeful for… but unless there is a clear phaseout policy, renewable energy cannot displace coal,” she says.

Symbolic to concrete

As Filipinos face more supertyphoons and intense droughts each year, the Catholic movement toward cleaner energy further crosses from symbolic deeds to concrete actions.

Beyond their shift to solar power, Catholic dioceses and other faith groups have moved forward to demand that banks and other financial institutions withdraw their investments from coal and fossil fuel industries. A number of bigger dioceses and religious groups sit as top shareholders in these institutions.

“We are happy that there are so many Catholic dioceses that are already putting up solar panels, but it should not stop there,” says Rodne Galicha, executive director of the interfaith movement Living Laudato Si Philippines. “You cannot just put solar panels and not [urge] companies and parishioners to not patronize services and products that are harmful to the environment.”

In Catholic-majority Philippines, the groundwork is set, says Galicha, with the Church possessing the machinery and architecture to influence the conversation on energy democracy and environment protection.

But for actual changes to take effect, the collective action of the faithful, not just the chosen few, is needed—and this is not expected to be done overnight.

As he envisions a more sustainable energy path for his diocese and the entire Negros Island, Alminaza believes that Church leaders like him can truly make a difference and rally their flock behind a good cause: the survival of the planet, of which humans are the stewards.

“The challenge I see is for the Catholic population to wake up,” he says. “Ecological conversion takes a while… and even with consecutive calamities, people don’t see yet the connection [of our actions to the planet].”

“But we cannot say we love God,” he says, “and then neglect and keep destroying the environment.” INQ

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This report was written and produced as part of a media skills development program delivered by Thomson Reuters Foundation. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.–Ed.

Read Next

In some of the poorest parts of the world, where there is no access to a reliable electricity grid, the UN is equipping hundreds of health facilities with solar technologies, allowing them to avoid power outages and save lives.

Formerly dependent on costly and polluting diesel generators, which often do not provide sufficient electricity, over 900 health facilities, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa, have been provided with equipment such as solar rooftops and batteries. It has given them access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity, while saving money which can be re-invested in health services.

The health facilities benefiting from the UN Development Programme-supported Solar for Health initiative are making a positive contribution to the vaccine rollouts in their countries: COVID-19 vaccines need to be stored securely at low temperatures, something that can only be achieved where there is a low risk of power cuts.

Read more here about how vulnerable communities are staying healthier thanks to solar technologies.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to debt finance the construction of Thar Surya 1 Pvt Ltd’s 300 MW solar power project in Bikaner, Rajasthan by $50 million.

Apart from lending $50 million, IFC will also mobilise $100 million debt through parallel lenders.

According to IFC, the total solar power project cost is estimated at $200 million.

The solar power project is sponsored by Enel Green Power India, one of the step-down subsidiaries of Enel Green Power S.p.A., an existing IFC client.

Enel Green Power is one of the largest renewable energy developer in the world with 49 GW installed capacity across wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower projects, and with presence in 28 countries.

Enel Green Power is a subsidiary of Enel S.p.A., Italy.

The solar power generation project was awarded by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

The power generated by Thar Surya will be sold to SECI under 25 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

–IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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