U.S. Interior Department Finds First Solar’ $1-Billion California Solar Plant Will Cause Air Impacts

U.S. Interior Department Finds First Solar’ $1-Billion California Solar Plant Will Cause Air Impacts

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management found that First Solar Development LLC’s 450-megawatt Desert Quartzite Solar Project in eastern Riverside County, California, will result in temporary exceedances of air quality standards, temporary visual qualify impacts from dust, and potential groundwater contamination from releases of fuels and other materials, according to a draft environmental review from…

Solar Panels Ranked Second-Most Installed Technology in 2016 Thanks to Maturing Technology, Economies of Scale

Solar Panels Ranked Second-Most Installed Technology in 2016 Thanks to Maturing Technology, Economies of Scale: EIA

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar

Solar photovoltaic cells were the second-most popular technology installed in 2016, after wind turbines, as average construction costs of the projects have dropped to $2,436 per kilowatt, a 34 percent fall from $3,705 per kilowatt in 2013, according to an Aug. 8 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency said that crystalline silicon…

Virginia Clears Sustainable Power's 500-Megawatt Solar Farm Set to Double State’s Solar Capacity

Virginia Clears Sustainable Power’s 500-Megawatt Solar Farm Set to Double State’s Solar Capacity

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar, Top News

The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved Sustainable Power Group’s application to construct the Spotsylvania Solar Energy Center, set to be Virginia’s largest solar project. The solar farm, planned for western Spotsylvania County, will sell its output to the wholesale market operated by PJM Interconnection LLC. In March, Microsoft Corp. announced a contract to buy 315…

Florida Regulator Clears Vivint Solar to Offer Residential Solar Leases

Florida Regulator Clears Vivint Solar to Offer Residential Solar Leases

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar

The Florida Public Service Commission clarified that Vivint Solar Developer LLC can offer residential solar equipment leases in the state, according to the agency’s Aug. 7 press release. The commission agreed that the company’s 20-year, fixed-payment lease is not a retail sale of electricity. Vivint Solar proposed the lease as a financing option to homeowners…

Hawaii Approves Solar-Plus-Battery Project to Serve Over 40 Percent of Electricity Demand on Island of Molokai

Hawaii Approves Solar-Plus-Battery Project to Serve Over 40 Percent of Electricity Demand on Island of Molokai

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved a long-term power purchase contract between Maui Electric Company Limited and Molokai New Energy Partners for a solar-plus-battery project capable of meeting about 40 percent of the island’s electricity demand. The approximately 5-megawatt photovoltaic project, combined with a 3-megawatt battery, is projected to slash the island’s reliance on diesel…

Illinois Power Agency Issues Plan to Achieve Stronger Renewable Portfolio Standard Targets

Illinois Power Agency Issues Plan to Achieve Stronger Renewable Portfolio Standard Targets

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar, Wind

The Illinois Power Agency finalized its first long-term plan for renewable procurements and programs for the years 2018 and 2019 to meet the state’s stronger renewable portfolio standard targets, according to an Aug. 6 filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission. The measure follows legislation enacted in 2016 that required a separate plan for procuring renewable…

Nevada Trims Net Metering Credits After Solar Capacity Reaches 80-Megawatt Threshold

Nevada Trims Net Metering Credits After Solar Capacity Reaches 80-Megawatt Threshold

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar

The Nevada Public Utilities Commission announced that it’s lowering the credits that it awards to customers for excess generation exported onto the grid to 88 percent of the retail electricity rate, from 95 percent, after new and existing solar capacity on the system topped 80 megawatts. Legislation passed in June 2017 that reinstated net metering…

Massachusetts’ Energy Storage Gets a Boost Under Proposed Framework For Capacity Rights In Solar Incentive Programs

Massachusetts’ Energy Storage Gets a Boost Under Proposed Framework For Capacity Rights In Solar Incentive Programs

Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources reached a compromise proposal with stakeholders regarding ownership capacity rights of facilities under net metering and, Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target or SMART programs participating in the ISO New England Inc.’s forward capacity market. The agreement would allow owners of storage facilities to retain their rights to bid capacity into…

U.S. Court Upholds New England Capacity Market Exemptions For State-Sponsored Renewables

U.S. Court Upholds New England Capacity Market Exemptions For State-Sponsored Renewables

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar, Wholesale Power, Wind

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 31 rejected challenges to ISO New England Inc.’s rules that provide an exemption to the minimum offer price rule, or MOPR, for certain renewable resources participating in the capacity market. In 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved revisions to allow up…

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Bill to Expand Targets for Renewables, Energy Storage

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Bill to Expand Targets for Renewables, Energy Storage

Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar, Wind

Massachusetts lawmakers approved legislation on July 31 to strengthen the state’s renewable portfolio standard by requiring a 2 percent boost in procurement of the supplies each year from 2020 to 2029, up from the current 1 percent annual increase. The current goal requires 15 percent by 2020, followed by a one percent increase each year.…

California Grid Operator to Expand Scope of Demand Response in Wholesale, Energy Imbalance Markets

California Grid Operator to Expand Scope of Demand Response in Wholesale, Energy Imbalance Markets

Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Grid Modernization, Wholesale Power

The California Independent System Operator Corporation proposed enhancements to demand response resources participating in its markets, including new bidding and real-time dispatch options. The proposal also includes an energy storage load-shift product that would allow a resource to be dispatched for both load consumption and curtailment. The changes represent the third phase of the grid…

NRG Files Appeal Against New York Utilities Said to Unfairly Slash Credits for Community Solar Power

NRG Files Appeal Against New York Utilities Said to Unfairly Slash Credits for Community Solar Power

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Pulse, Solar

NRG Community Solar LLC lodged a protest over the lower-than-expected credits Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. and Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. said that they will award for power from community solar projects, with the developer arguing that the reduced rates jeopardize the viability of its renewable facilities. NRG said that it was recently…