NextEra Energy to Build Its First Green Hydrogen Plant in Florida

 

By Karl-Erik Stromsta

NextEra Energy is closing its last coal-fired power unit and investing in its first green hydrogen facility. 

Through its Florida Power & Light utility, NextEra will propose a $65 million pilot in the Sunshine State that will use a 20-megawatt electrolyzer to produce 100 percent green hydrogen from solar power, the company revealed on Friday.

The project, which could be online by 2023 if it receives approval from state regulators, would represent the first step into green hydrogen for NextEra Energy, by far the largest developer and operator of wind, solar and battery plants in North America.

“We’re really excited about hydrogen, in particular when we think about getting not to a net-zero emissions profile but actually to a zero-emissions carbon profile,” NextEra Energy CFO Rebecca Kujawa said on Friday's earnings call.  

For the rest of the story visit: https://NextEraGreenHydroinFlorida

Why America’s Schools Are Turning Into Solar Power Stations

By Amanda Schupak

On the campus of Galesburg High School in Northwestern Illinois, there is a football field, a track, eight tennis courts, two baseball and two softball diamonds, and an acre of photovoltaic panels capable of generating nearly 1.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

The array will knock at least $40,000 off the school’s energy bill over the next few years, and superintendent John Asplund expects the number to go up after that. At a time when the coronavirus threatens not just school administrators’ ability to bring kids into the classroom but also their latitude to keep teachers and assistants employed, energy savings could translate to saved jobs.

“Some say they haven’t gotten into [solar] because it seems too good to be true,” said Asplund, whose district includes five other schools, three of which have their own new solar arrays. “But it really is true. You can save a lot of money ... and you can help the environment.”

Galesburg High School is one of dozens of schools around the state and some 5,500 schools across the country now producing their own solar electricity, making a strong case for turning schools into power stations. On top of the cost savings (which, in the case of public schools, goes back to taxpayers), adopting solar in schools has the benefit of bringing the technology to areas that might not otherwise have much exposure to renewables, and provides the perfect opportunity for teaching the next generation about green energy.

For the rest of the story visit: https://www.SchoolsintoPowerStations

Industry Partner Cal Couillard, Owner and CEO of Speed Solar Inc., Receives High Impact Technology Conference 2020 Industry Recognition Award

This award represents HI-TEC's commitment to recognize industry colleagues who make significant contributions to the education and training of today's technology workforce. Nominees for the award must have had a demonstrated broader impact on technology education on both a local and national level. The Industry Recognition Award recognizes key industry personnel for outstanding contributions to promote advanced technological education.

Cal Couillard, a self-described “crazy inventor guy,” is currently leading his fifth business, Speed Solar Inc., a Midwest distributor of solar photovoltaic panels and hardware. In Cal’s words, he has “invented his way through multiple businesses to reach his true passion—designing solar solutions to address global warming and climate change.” He hopes to transform the energy marketplace by promoting wide-scale adoption of solar photovoltaics and electric vehicles.

For the Rest of the story visit:https://HI-TEC2020Awards

Congrats Cal!

N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center Releases The 50 States of Solar Q2 2020 Report

Raleigh, NC – (July 22, 2020) The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its Q2 2020 Edition of the 50 States of Solar. The quarterly series provides insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions on distributed solar policy, with a focus on net metering, distributed solar valuation, community solar, residential fixed charges, residential demand and solar charges, third-party ownership, and utility-led rooftop solar programs.

The report finds that 40 states, plus the District of Columbia, took some type of distributed solar policy action during Q2 2020 (see figure below), with the greatest number of actions continuing to address net metering policies (54), community solar policies (36), and residential fixed charge or minimum bill increases (27). A total of 156 distributed solar policy actions were taken during Q2 2020, with the greatest number of actions taken in Virginia, New York, Arkansas, and New Hampshire.

For Additional Information Visit: https://Q250StatesSolar2020

Online Short-course on Anaerobic Biogas Production from Industrial Waste – Sept. 2020

The 18^th annual Marquette University short course on anaerobic treatment of high-strength industrial waste will be online this year and held on three consecutive Thursday mornings, September 10th, 17th and 24th  via Microsoft Teams. The course is designed for industry managers, operators,  consulting engineers, regulators and students. Information will be presented regarding anaerobic microbiology and chemistry, anaerobic digestion operation and design, sustainability, biogas utilization, and construction/start-up guidelines. Case studies of cheese, sugar beet, recycle paper mll, industrial pre-consumer food waste and other industrial systems will be presented. Speakers will include Dr. Willy Verstrate (Ghent University, Belgium – retired), Daniel Zitomer (Marquette University), Patrick McNamara (Marquette University), Martin Tielbaard (ATProS, Inc.), Dennis Totzke (consultant) and others.  For more information, contact Dr. Daniel Zitomer (daniel.zitomer@mu.edu). The schedule, speaker bios and registration information can be found at the course webpage http://www.marquette.edu/ANT. A limited number of scholarships is available to cover the registration costs ($30) for graduate students studying anaerobic biotechnology. Regular registration for non-students is $300. For more information on scholarships, please contact Dr. Zitomer (daniel.zitomer@mu.edu).

Webinar: Offshore Wind 101- North Carolina

July 22, 2020
1PM EST

Join us (Southeastern Wind Coalition), to learn more about the status of offshore wind development status and supply chain opportunities in North Carolina!

About this Event

Whether you're a student hoping to learn more about jobs in the offshore wind space, a North Carolina resident wondering when we may have turbines generating clean energy off our coast, or you work for a North Carolina business looking to enter the estimated $70B U.S. manufacturing supply chain, this webinar is for you. Please join us to hear from those closest to the action.

For additional information and to register visit: https://OffshoreWindWebinar

How COVID-19 is Impacting the Renewables Industry

The EIA projects that the U.S. is on track to produce more electricity this year from renewables than coal for first time on record. While 2019 total energy consumption saw renewables surpass coal, 2020 is the first time the electricity sector is expected to see the same achievement. While the coal industry in the U.S. has been shrinking over the past decade due to declining renewable costs and cheap natural gas, the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the coal industry into uncharted territory. In the first four and a half months of 2020, wind, solar and hydroelectric dams in the U.S. have produced more electricity than coal on 90 individual days. In all of last year, that number, the previous record, only totaled 38 days.

For the rest of the story visit: https://COVID19ImpactingRenewables

By 2029, Half of New US Wind Installations Will Be Offshore

By: Maxwell Cohen

The United States offshore wind industry is set to ramp up from near zero today to as much as 25 gigawatts in 2029, according to new Wood Mackenzie research.

That means offshore wind will capture almost half of the U.S. market for new wind power installations by the end of the decade — if the industry can avoid potential permitting and transmission capacity challenges.

On the other hand, if the market moves more slowly, the total build this decade will total just 15 gigawatts.

Today, more than 9 gigawatts of offshore wind projects are already contracted or soon to be approved in the U.S., and up to 6 gigawatts more will be solicited through 2022.

For the rest of the story visit: https://2029Halfof WindOffshore

Alliant Proposes $900M Solar Buy; 6 Farms Would Power 175,000 Homes

By Chris Hubbuch

Alliant Energy has announced plans to purchase about $900 million worth of new solar power plants in Wisconsin.

The six projects totaling 675 megawatts of capacity — enough to power about 175,000 typical Wisconsin homes for a year — are the first phase in the Madison-based utility’s plans to add up to 1,000 megawatts of solar by 2024.

The acquisition would make Alliant the largest solar operator in Wisconsin.

Alliant plans to file applications Wednesday with the Public Service Commission for permission to purchase the solar projects, which range in size from 50 to 200 megawatts and are under development in Grant, Jefferson, Richland, Rock, Sheboygan and Wood counties.

All six projects are being developed by private, unregulated companies. Five are in the permitting pipeline; Alliant and Ranger Power announced plans Tuesday to seek a conditional use permit later this year for the sixth, a 75-megawatt project in the town of Jefferson.

For the rest of the story visit: https://AlliantSolarBuy

The 16 Solar & Storage Projects Hawaii Just Ordered

By Zachary Shanan

I recently highlighted a couple of big solar + storage projects that were given the go-ahead in Hawaii. Then I found out that these are two of 16 solar and energy storage projects just approved for development in the state.

One week ago, Hawaiian Electric posted details about these 16 projects. “The name, location, developer, technology, size and estimated completion dates are listed on the Hawaiian Electric renewable project status board at www.hawaiianelectric.com/statusboard as well as links to each project’s individual website. Each developer is responsible for ongoing outreach to their prospective neighboring communities, alerting them to plans and responding to concerns.” A table of the winners is at the bottom of this article, but here’s a quick summary of the 16 projects totaling 460 MW of solar power capacity and 3 GWh of storage capacity:

“The results are eight solar-plus-storage projects and one standalone-storage project on Oahu, three solar-plus-storage projects and one standalone-storage project on Maui, and two solar-plus-storage projects and one standalone-storage on Hawaii Island for a total of 460 megawatts of solar energy and nearly 3 gigawatt-hours of energy storage.”

For the rest of the story visit: https://16SolarandStorageProjectsinHawaii