Solar

75 MW of community solar coming to Illinois in Ameren, ComEd territories

July 10, 2019 By gk104 Leave a Comment

Arlington, VA based Summit Ridge Energy (SRE) announced that it will acquire 11 projects from Pivot Energy in Illinois totaling 29 MWs, increasing SRE’s portfolio of community solar projects in the state to more than 20.

Pivot developed 29 MWs that won Adjustable Block awards, and will be contracted by SRE to handle customer acquisition and management for those projects.

“We have been fortunate to work with SRE on these projects, which are some of the first community solar arrays in the state,” said Pivot’s CEO, Rick Hunter. “Pivot is committed to our project communities and the Illinois market for the long run, and we’re glad to have a partner with the same mentality in SRE.”

Mark Raeder, SRE’s Principal in the Midwest, said the company plans to construct over 75 MWs of community solar in Illinois alone over the next 18 months. “We’re breaking ground on several projects in Ameren service territory this summer, with construction activities beginning in ComEd shortly thereafter. With favorable renewable energy legislation likely to pass in Springfield this fall, we’re continuing to acquire projects across the state, serving to further expand our presence and demonstrate our strong commitment to the Illinois market.”

“Both Summit Ridge and Pivot have been active in the Illinois market since well before the launch of the Adjustable Block Program,” said SRE CEO Steve Raeder. “Our funding vehicle, Summit Ridge Capital, coupled with Pivot’s customer aggregation platform, SunCentral, will enable thousands of customers to realize the financial benefits of community solar across Illinois.”

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The recent expansion of community solar programs across 20 states to date has become the catalyst to America’s commercial solar industry, presenting tremendous opportunity for customers who want the cost and environmental benefits of solar without installing panels on their roof. Community solar provides reduced electricity costs for consumers, regardless of their socioeconomic status or geographic location, protects the environment, and reduces our dependence on fossil fuels.

First published on 2019-07-10 14:23:23

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Driven by China, global investment in clean energy falls

July 10, 2019 By gk104 Leave a Comment

Gerald Porter Jr., Bloomberg

Worldwide investments in clean energy projects have hit a six-year low.

Global spending totaled $117.6 billion in the first half of 2019, down 14% from a year earlier and the least since 2013, according to a report by BloombergNEF. Investments slowed in all three major markets — the U.S., Europe and China — but China’s decline was especially pronounced as the country continued its shift away from subsidies for solar and wind power.

The slide in spending underscores how much sway China holds in the global market for renewable energy. Despite a 39% plunge in investments, the country remains by far the world’s biggest clean-energy spender with deals totaling $28.8 billion in the first half. Its decision to pull back subsidies was also the chief reason for a drop in global spending last year.

“The slowdown in investment in China is real,” said Justin Wu, head of BNEF’s Asia-Pacific region.

Some possible good news for the clean energy industry: Spending may pick back up in the second half of the year as an auction for solar power in China triggers a “rush” of project financing and some big offshore wind deals come through, Wu said.

Spending in some countries including Japan and India rose. And despite the drop in Europe, investments in both Spain and Sweden took off, jumping by more than 200% in both countries.

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First published on 2019-07-10 13:39:13

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UK local authority to produce all electricity from solar

February 28, 2019 By Gavilab Leave a Comment

Two large-scale solar farms are set to make Warrington Borough Council the first local authority in the UK to produce all its own electricity from clean energy.

Solar and storage company GRIDSERVE is to build the solar farms in a deal worth more than £60m.

They will be the biggest to be built in the UK since 2016. Construction of the first 34.7 MW hybrid solar farm, plus 27 MW of battery storage at York – the largest at any UK solar farm – is due to start imminently. This is due to be followed by a 25.7MW solar farm at Hull.

Warrington Borough Council has agreed to pay £62.34m for the two assets and will take ownership when they are operational. GRIDSERVE will continue to operate and maintain the solar farms over their lifetimes to maximise system performance and value for the council.

GRIDSERVE chief executive Toddington Harper said: “Warrington is leading the way in showing councils how solar and battery storage can help generate sustainable income to deliver vital public services, meet climate targets with clean energy, and support a low carbon economy.

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“These will be the most advanced solar farms in the UK – and quite possibly the world – ushering in a new era of subsidy-free, truly sustainable energy. We’ve completely rethought the solar model, looking in detail at how to maximise value at every step, and these projects will also pioneer the use of cutting-edge technologies that serve the grid”.

Warrington Council expects the two projects to generate millions of pounds in profits every year for 30 years. The Hull solar farm will supply all the council’s electricity needs and cut its energy bills by up to £2m a year. Electricity from the York solar farm will initially be sold on the open market, although a number of additional local authorities have already expressed an interest in buying its power.

Warrington Council leader Russ Bowden said: “This deal is good news for Warrington residents and good news for the environment. The solar farms will secure our energy supply, give us control over our energy prices, contribute to reducing fuel poverty and generate an estimated operating surplus of £150 million over 30 years that can be invested back into the most important frontline services.

“Councils have a major role to play in helping to meet carbon emission reduction targets. These two sites are a working model that we hope other Local Authorities will follow.”

The two solar farms will involve a number of “firsts” for the UK solar industry, pioneering the commercial use of new technologies to maximise solar generation, make more money from electricity sales, and earn income from grid services.

The 27 MW lithium-ion battery storage system at York will share the grid connection and allow GRIDSERVE to control the flow of energy so it can get better prices for the solar power and earn money by providing services that help National Grid to balance supply and demand and support growth of renewables and electric vehicles. A battery storage system is also planned to be installed at Hull in a later phase of the project.

York and Hull will also be the first UK solar farms to use bifacial solar panels, which generate energy on both sides. They will also be the first large-scale UK projects to use trackers which follow the sun, maximising generation over the whole day, and minimising ‘price cannibalisation’ risk from solar farms with fixed position solar panels which typically produce peak output at the same time each day.

GRIDSERVE and Warrington also plan to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure

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linked to both sites. These will be among the first in a nationwide network GRIDSERVE is developing, offering supercharging for up to 24 electric vehicles simultaneously.

First published on 2019-02-28 07:00:00

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