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California college invests in 1-MW solar carport to offset 100 percent of its energy use

Yuba College, a community college part of the Yuba Community College District, this week completed a 1-MW solar carport installation that it says could result in $10 million of avoided utility costs over the life of the system. The District purchased the solar outright, which resulted in optimal savings.




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EU approves €385 million renewable energy scheme for Lithuania

The European Commission has approved a €385 million (US$429.7 million) renewable energy scheme to support renewables generation in Lithuania, including hydroelectric power.




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CellCube to bring grid scale vanadium battery to South Australia

Renewables firm Pangea Energy and vanadium battery producer CellCube have signed on to build a 50MW storage system alongside a solar farm in South Australia.




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Australia's climate wars set to heat up after coal champion wins

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s surprise victory in Australia’s election was a win for the coal industry and ensures the debate about tackling climate change will continue to polarize the nation.




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India's largest coal-fired power producer appoints renewables head to speed transition

State-run NTPC Ltd., India’s largest coal-fired power producer, is appointing a new head of its renewables team to speed up its expansion into clean energy, according to a company official with knowledge of the plan.




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In quest for bigger batteries, California mulls pumped hydro

As the sun sets on California’s solar farms, a backup energy source deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains springs to life.




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Trump exempts bi-facial solar modules from import tariffs

In an announcement that was celebrated by the solar industry, yesterday U.S. trade officials said that bi-facial solar modules, which are solar modules that produce energy on both sides of the panel, would be exempt from import tariffs.




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Iowa officials consider energy storage tax credit, ‘value of storage’ study

Iowa economic development officials are tentatively endorsing a tax credit for battery storage to complement the state’s wind and solar generation.




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India wins trade dispute with US over solar-panel incentives

A series of U.S. renewable energy incentives violated international trade rules, according to the World Trade Organization, threatening to stoke tensions between the two countries as President Donald Trump prepares to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.




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BlackRock unit aims to boost Asian renewables to $5 billion

BlackRock Real Assets is aiming to boost its renewables power portfolio in Asia by as much as 10-fold as it seeks to keep pace with the world’s fastest-growing region for green energy.




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Clean Power Alliance signs PPA for 12-MW Isabella small hydro project in California

The Clean Power Alliance (CPA) has signed three long-term power purchase agreements, including two new solar projects and one existing small hydro project.

 




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POWERGEN India 2020 to support energy transition in India

Clarion Energy & iTEN Media announce the launch of POWERGEN India 2020 co-located with Indian Utility Week & DISTRIBUTECH India




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Freak weather events pose new risk to India's renewables goals

India’s ambitious plan to take the leadership position among nations as one of largest producers of renewable energy may have run into some unfavorable weather.




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Namibia announces $338M, 5-year renewable energy strategy

Namibia’s state-run utility will build four plants powered by renewable energy over the next five years as the southern African nation seeks to guarantee local supplies and cut its use of fossil fuels.




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Saudi Arabia set to build first wind farm

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is poised to start generating wind power within three years as part of an effort to harness renewable energy to cut local demand for fossil fuels.




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How the tech giants are fueling a solar revolution

From the way we shop to the way we socialize, the internet affects nearly everything we do these days. This dramatic change in our way of life has been fueled by a handful of large tech companies, companies that are increasingly going all in on solar.




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Net zero carbon emissions ‘impossible’ without hydrogen says UK energy alliance

The UK’s North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) is calling for government investment in hydrogen projects to meet ambitious carbon reductions targets in Britain.




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Renewable energy takes center stage at POWERGEN ASIA and Asian Utility Week

In a region of the world where coal is still king, there is room for renewables. This was a takeaway from the Ministerial Address and Joint Opening Keynote at POWERGEN Asia and Asian Utility Week. The two annual events kicked off Tuesday, Sept. 3, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.




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Democratic presidential hopefuls take on climate change, tout goals

Even as they touted ambitious proposals to reduce carbon emissions to a national audience, Democratic candidates for president tried to balance the boldness of their plans with the need for simplifying a complex scientific problem to make it palatable to voters.





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2021 Kia Sedona

The 2021 Kia Sedona minivan sits across the lot from more interesting family crossovers and vehicles. (That it shares the same showroom as the Telluride crossover is just not fair, man.) Still, some families can’t escape the need for comfortable transportation for two or more small children. And for convenience, it’s hard to top a van...




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Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee" is out of gas

After 11 seasons and more than 80 episodes, it looks like funny man and avid car nut Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee" is finally running out of gas. During a press conference to discuss his new Netflix special “Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill,” Seinfeld said he feels like there's nothing left to achieve with...




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City Utility Trials Voltage Optimization in First for Western Canada

The city utility for Lethbridge, Alberta is starting a voltage optimization trial that is expected to deliver energy savings for customers while reducing overall energy usage in the city’s electricity distribution system.




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The Higher Efficiency State: Massachusetts or California?

In 2017, Massachusetts was ranked No. 1 in energy efficiency by ACEEE for the seventh consecutive year. On the other side of the country, California was ranked a close second after tying with Massachusetts for the top spot in 2016.




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Want To Save the World with Your Brilliant Clean Energy Idea?

A new partnership between Enel and InnoCentive focuses on the power of the crowd to solve many of the world’s sustainable energy challenges.




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A California Startup That Cools With Ice Raises $40 Million

Ice Energy, a California firm that uses chunks of ice to cool buildings, has secured $40 million in financing from private equity group Argo Infrastructure Partners LLC.




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Australian Gas Peaker Plant To Get 4-MW Battery

In an Australian first, Origin will install a 4-MW/4-MWh grid scale battery at its Mt Stuart Power Station in Townsville. Mt Stuart Power Station is a 414-MW open cycle gas power station, designed to supply electricity at times of peak demand and is the largest such facility in North Queensland. In the U.S., these plants are called “peakers.”




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Details Announced for Billion Dollar Renewable Plan that Includes Solar, Storage, Hydro in Australia

Earlier this week SIMEC ZEN Energy announced details of the first of many planned renewable energy projects for South Australia. The Cultana Solar Farm, a 280-MW solar power plant expected to generate 600 GW-hours of energy annually in Australia’s sunny climate is expected to begin construction in early 2019 according to details in a press release.




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California One Step Closer to 100 Percent Renewable Energy Obligation

Yesterday another milestone was reached in California’s march toward a 100 percent renewable energy mandate with the passing of SB100 by the Assembly. The bill will require the state to receive 50 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2026; 60 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045. The current law requires the state to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030.




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New DERMS Partnership Helps Utilities Use Residential Batteries as Virtual Power Plants

This week Autogrid announced that it entered into a partnership with Swell Energy to provide software for managing Swell’s growing fleet of distributed energy resources (DER).




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Energy Storage in California is About to Get MUCH Cleaner. Here’s How.

California recently joined other leading states, provinces, cities, and corporations around the world by setting an ambitious 100 percent carbon-free electricity target. It’s a landmark, not because California was the first, but because it is the biggest. The state ranks as the fifth-largest economy in the world.




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Industry and Academia Partner To Train Next Generation of Digital Grid Experts

Last week, Siemens and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) announced a new new academic partnership that they say will provide students with the skills needed to operate and advance the nation’s energy grid.




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Why Commercial Buildings Need to Get Smarter About Energy and How EMS Can Help

New state energy goals and innovative utility program offerings have been making headlines in recent months. These types of regional policies and incentives are important, especially as we face challenges ranging from grid constraints and fluctuating electricity prices to environmental concerns, but significant portions of the country are outside of the direct influence of energy use mandates and incentives.




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California ‘Smart Home Study’ Underway

The California Energy Commission (CEC) is funding a study that it hopes will result in lower utility bills for customers and more control over electricity load for utilities. The project will involve 100 homeowners in Southern California who will install various types of distributed energy resources (DER) such as thermostats, load control switches, batteries, water heaters and eventually electric vehicle chargers.




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Geothermal-powered Italian Town Asks Why Populists Are Abandoning It

Italy’s Five Star Movement used to rave about towns like Montieri, a village in the verdant Tuscan foothills that burns little coal or natural gas. Instead, the local power plant harnesses steam rising naturally from hot springs deep underground to generate electricity.




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Fulfilling the Potential of Biogas in Spain

Biogas is a resource that has enormous potential in Spain and beyond. Biogas technologies convert organic wastes into renewable energy, clean transport fuel, and nutrient-rich natural fertiliser, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy and food security and air quality. A recent study commissioned by Naturgy, Spain’s largest natural gas distributor, showed a potential for 26,684 gigawatt hours (GWh) of biogas in the country, enough to cover the energy demand of 40% of Spain’s households.




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Ameresco Acquiring Maximum Solar to Increase Commercial-Scale Services

As part of its acquisition of Maximum Solar, Ameresco said, it will further develop in-house services to operate and maintain solar facilities. Maximum Solar currently manages about 150 MW of solar throughout the northeastern U.S.




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The Inaugural Fantasy Energy League’s Official Draft Preview: Game On!

In early December, I put out a call to the online energy professionals community to find participants for the world’s first Fantasy Energy League. Perhaps I saw the pending end of the 2018 fantasy football season and I wanted something to fill the coming void, or maybe I was just curious to see who else wanted to approach energy projections from a gamified lens. Either way, I put out my energy-industry bat signal for the Fantasy Energy League only to see my email inbox and my Twitter feed blow up.




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Clean Energy Group Says Georgia Power’s New IRP Falls Short on Solar, Energy Efficiency

On January 31, 2019, Georgia Power, the largest utility in the state submitted its newest integrated resource plan (IRP) to the state utility commission for approval.




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California municipal utility will phase out three natural gas power plants in favor of renewables

This week, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that rather than investing in the Haynes, Harbor and Scattergood natural gas power plants to meet the requirements of a 2010 law related to a practice known as once through cooling, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will phase them out in favor of renewable energy.




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Residential PV + batteries as wholesale energy market suppliers are just the ‘tip of the spear’

Last week, Sunrun announced that its bid to supply 20 MW of residential solar + storage capacity into the New England ISO Forward Capacity Market for 2022-2023 was approved. According to Chris Rauscher, Director of Policy and Storage Market Strategy for Sunrun, this is not a pilot project or an experiment in any way.




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Despite criticism, solar roads remain part of Georgia sustainable highway lab

While solar roads have been criticized as impractical and inefficient, a Georgia foundation says they will continue to be part of its research lab for greener highways.




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Australia's climate wars set to heat up after coal champion wins

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s surprise victory in Australia’s election was a win for the coal industry and ensures the debate about tackling climate change will continue to polarize the nation.




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The $4.4B geothermal energy plan for Ethiopia

Reykjavik Geothermal, a power developer backed by hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II, is about to kick off a $4.4 billion project to bring geothermal energy to Ethiopia.




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Power companies in New England tapping residential batteries to reduce peak demand

Here’s the latest wrinkle in the battery boom: National Grid Plc is paying consumers to tap electricity from their power-storage systems.




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Massachusetts incentivizes energy storage systems for commercial property owners

Commercial property owners with existing energy storage systems, or owners considering implementing an energy storage system, may be able to benefit from a recent order by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) allowing utility companies to pay customers who agree to rely upon their energy storage systems and dispatch the energy during peak events.




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POWERGEN India 2020 to support energy transition in India

Clarion Energy & iTEN Media announce the launch of POWERGEN India 2020 co-located with Indian Utility Week & DISTRIBUTECH India




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Saudi Arabia set to build first wind farm

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, is poised to start generating wind power within three years as part of an effort to harness renewable energy to cut local demand for fossil fuels.




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Louisiana’s military families to benefit from ground-source geothermal and modern energy-saving devices

Last week, Corvias announced that it had entered the final phase of its geothermal installation and energy upgrades effort at the U.S. Army’s Fort Polk in West-Central Louisiana, a milestone that once complete will not only modernize the aging infrastructure but save the Army significant money and benefit military families.




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California aims to fix low-income storage program and deliver new resilience incentives

California’s energy storage incentive program has been a great success, with more than 11,000 battery storage systems installed to-date. The problem is, it’s not reaching the state’s most vulnerable communities. A new proposal from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) aims to fix some of the barriers preventing disadvantaged communities from participating in the program, and it allocates $100 million to a new program designed to offset the cost of battery storage systems for populations threatened by wildfires and related utility power shutoffs.