A partial solar eclipse is seen beside the ‘Golden Victoria’ statue on top of the Victory Column (Siegessaule) in Berlin March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo
Electrical transmission networks in Germany are preparing for a solar eclipse this week that could trigger a sudden fall of around 1 gigawatt (GW) in solar power output, grid firm Amprion (RWEG.DE) said on Monday.
The event will take place between 0920 GMT and 1140 GMT on Thursday in northern Europe, an Amprion background paper said.
Although it is expected to have a more modest impact than 2015’s solar eclipse across Europe — which reduced output by 15GW in a country that can need up to 80 GW of power on winter days — Germany’s four high-voltage grid operators, or TSOs, must keep the grids in balance because large amounts of power cannot be stored.
“The network frequency has to be stable and swings in production must be balanced,” said an Amprion spokeswoman.
The TSOs can draw on alternative energy sources such as coal, gas, nuclear and hydroelectric energy. One GW is equivalent to the installed capacity of a nuclear power station.
The array includes 90 Canadian Solar bifacial 390W panels, which help capture the high reflected light albedo during the snow season.
This M18KD tracker located in Halifax, Nova Scotia features 90 Canadian Solar bifacial panels generating 390 Watts each. (Mechatron Solar)ADD TO READ LIST
By PVbuzz Editorial Team‘
A recently featured solar project details the installation of a massive dual-axis solar tracker on an estate in the city of Halifax, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Faced with high electricity rates, Halifax estate owner Stephen Mildenberger tapped solar developer Aartha Group of Surrey, British Columbia to install a Mechatron M18KD gearless dual-axis tracker. The tracker hosts 90 Canadian Solar bifacial panels generating 390 Watts each, along with Hoymiles microinverters.
The bifacial panels will help capture the high reflected light albedo during the snow season.
“We’ve already seen a boost of about 20% from the bifacial panels, on top of the 35% gain the tracker provides compared to a fixed-tilt installation,” says Mildenberger.
The 35 kW of energy produced by the system will provide the vast majority of the electricity demand for the estate, including enough to operate an EV charging station. Excess electricity is sold to the utility under net metering.
The legislation encourages the inclusion of zero-emission vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure in municipal redevelopment projects.
Passing the state Senate on Thursday was (A-1653/S-2142). It had cleared the Assembly in July
Prime sponsor Kip Bateman (R-Somerset) said his bill was designed to “meet New Jersey’s goals for clean, renewable energy requires expanding access to charging sites for drivers of electric vehicles.,”
The legislation, Bateman said, “encourages local governments to incorporate new charging infrastructure in plans for redevelopment.”
“A report of the New Jersey Energy Master Plan Alternative Fuels Work Group identified the development, installation, and maintenance of the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, both at home and at strategically selected public places, as one of the most significant opportunities for, and barriers to, advancing the deployment and use of EVs in the state, Bateman said.
“The advancement of an expansive EV charging network will help produce new jobs, fuel economic growth, clean the air, and reduce our reliance on foreign oil,” Bateman continued. “The more charging locations that are available to drivers, the more confidence motorists will have in driving electric cars. Most EV drivers will power up their cars at home, but public charging pumps are necessities for motorists taking a longer trip beyond their normal route.”
In addition to comprehensive coverage of energy and environment news, Monday through Thursday, subscribers to our daily EnviroPolitics newsletter receive a Weekend Legislative Edition that tracks similar legislation from introduction to enactment in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. If you’re not already a subscriber, try a free, no-obligation, 30-day trial.
The following bills had actions yesterday in Trenton:
A5194 – Establishes ranking criteria for certain nonpoint source pollution control grants issued by DEP. 06/03/2021 Passed in Assembly 45-24-2
A1653 – Encourages development of zero-emission vehicle fueling and charging infrastructure in redevelopment projects. 06/03/2021 Substituted for S-2142 (1R) 06/03/2021 Passed in Senate and sent to Governor 33-2
A2070 – Restricts use of neonicotinoid pesticides. 06/03/2021 Amended on Assembly floor, 2nd reading in Assembly (Johnson)
A2152 – Authorizes DCA, DEP, DOT, and municipalities, to provide priority consideration to permit applications for green building projects. 06/03/2021 Amended on Assembly floor, 2nd reading in Assembly (Johnson)
A2360 – Requires electric public utility to charge residential rate for service used by residential customer for electric vehicle charging at charging stations within certain designated parking spaces. 06/03/2021 Passed in Assembly 68-4-0
A2783 – Directs DEP to develop guidelines concerning State and local government purchase of goods made from recycled material. 06/03/2021 Amended on Assembly floor, 2nd reading in Assembly (Johnson)
A3352 – Requires all newly constructed warehouses to be solar-ready buildings. 06/03/2021 Passed in Assembly 47-22-1 06/03/2021 Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate 06/03/2021 Substituted for S-3504 06/03/2021 Passed in Senate and sent to Governor 25-13
A4933 – Requires builders to offer unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology as an option in new construction; establishes tax incentives, and State and local purchasing requirements, for unit concrete products that utilize carbon foot 06/03/2021 Substituted by S-3091 (3R)
S830 – Requires public water systems to offer drinking water tests to customers in certain circumstances. 06/03/2021 Passed in Senate 38-0
S955 – Authorizes counties to reduce greenhead fly populations; appropriates $50,000. 06/03/2021 Passed in Senate 38-0
S1016– Restricts use of neonicotinoid pesticides. 06/03/2021 Amended on Assembly floor, 2nd reading in Assembly (Johnson)
S2142 – Encourages development of zero-emission vehicle fueling and charging infrastructure in redevelopment projects. 06/03/2021 Substituted by A-1653 (1R)
S3091 – Requires builders to offer unit concrete products that utilize carbon footprint-reducing technology as an option in new construction; establishes tax incentives, and State and local purchasing requirements, for unit concrete products that utilize carbon foot 06/03/2021 Substituted for A-4933 (2R) 06/03/2021 Passed in Assembly and sent to Governor 57-13-1
S3618 – Makes supplemental appropriation of $10 million for grants for certain lake management activities for recreation and conservation purposes. 06/03/2021 Passed in Senate 36-0
SR102 – Urges U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the monarch butterfly as threatened species. 06/03/2021 Passed nad filed by voice vote
In addition to comprehensive coverage of energy and environment news, Monday through Thursday, subscribers to our daily EnviroPolitics newsletter receive a Weekend Legislative Edition that tracks similar legislation from introduction to enactment in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. If you’re not already a subscriber, try a free, no-obligation, 30-day trial.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a slate of new efforts, including $15.5 million in new funding, to support solar energy deployment in underserved communities and build a diverse, skilled workforce.
These initiatives will help families and businesses that have been left behind in the clean energy transition to reap the benefits of cheaper power and access to highly skilled jobs. Together, these efforts reflect the Biden Administration’s commitment to launching every American worker and community into a greener future.
“Solar energy is one of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest paths to President Biden’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035—and now, it’s time to double down on our efforts to make those benefits available to communities in every pocket of the country,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.
“These new initiatives and funding will jumpstart a long-overdue conversation around how DOE can leverage solar energy’s explosive growth to create solutions and jobs that lift up Americans who have been left behind, and create a future filled with JEDI.”
As California works on a new net metering policy, other states are grappling with similar issues.
Contractors move a SunRun Inc. solar panel up a ladder to the roof of a new home at the Westline Homes Willowood Cottages community in Sacramento, California, on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesRelated
A debate over how best to compensate rooftop solar owners is taking place across the country.
In California, the country’s leading solar market, regulators are working on changes to rooftop solar rules, while utilities and solar advocates are trying to position themselves to shape the process to their liking.
Many of the other policy fights are happening in places where rooftop solar is at the margins, and utilities would like to keep it there.
I reached out to some of the groups that follow solar policy most closely to get an idea of which states I should be watching, from the obvious—California—to some others that might get overlooked.
Many of the debates are about “net metering,” which refers to the way that rooftop solar owners can send excess electricity to the grid and get paid for it by utilities, an important variable for determining whether it makes financial sense for someone to install rooftop solar.
In many places, utilities pay the full retail price for excess electricity from rooftop solar. But as rooftop solar gets more popular, utilities have pushed to reduce the price and charge additional fees. Solar advocates say utilities are trying to slow the growth of a competing source of electricity, while utilities say solar owners are not paying a big enough share of the costs of maintaining the grid.
The result, following years of debate and lobbying, is that some states are moving away from net metering at the full retail price, and trying to figure out what will become the new standard. Utilities and the solar industry are arguing over the design of those rules, with some on both sides saying they would like to end the cycle of constant policy fights and figure out a long-term solution.
California is playing an outsize role because its rooftop solar market is larger and more complex than that of other states, and its policies could be trendsetting.
“What happens in California now may be replicated in other places a few years down the road,” said Ben Delman, communications director for Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit that works with consumers in a dozen states to set up bulk buying of rooftop solar systems. “Other places are looking to (California) as sort of a way to see almost into the future in their own markets.”
The California Public Utilities Commission is working on an update of net metering, and plans to issue new rules later this year, the first major rewrite since 2016. The commission published some guiding principles for the process, including that the new policy should “ensure equity among customers,” which is a sign that the utilities may have a receptive audience for their argument that the current policy leads to a shift of some costs to non-solar customers.
The state’s major utilities issued a joint proposal last month that would increase fees and decrease compensation for electricity sent back to the grid, which the companies said was a matter of fairness, to prevent overcharging customers who don’t have solar.
Solar advocates had their own proposals and disputed the utilities’ arguments about fairness.
“California cannot achieve its ambitious clean energy goals if policymakers suddenly and dramatically lower bill savings for those who choose to go solar, as the utilities will continue to demand,” said Susannah Churchill of Vote Solar in a statement.
One of the core issues in California is that rooftop solar has gotten so popular that it is affecting the fundamentals of demand for centralized power plants and is putting pressure on utilities’ finances. Regulators face the difficult task of trying to encourage the continued expansion of rooftop solar while also listening to utilities’ concerns.
In other states, the fight is more about whether rooftop solar is a good enough deal for customers to get a foothold in the market.
Here are some of the places where debates are going on:
