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Virginia looks to New York green bank for possible clean energy financing

Virginia’s energy office is exploring whether to align the state with a billion-dollar New York clean energy financing program.




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Walmart sues Tesla over fires linked to rooftop solar systems

Walmart Inc. sued Tesla Inc., claiming it failed to live up to industry standards in the installation of solar panels on top of hundreds of stores, resulting in multiple fires across the U.S.





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Bernie Sanders’ ‘Green New Deal’ aims to have renewables power homes by 2030

Bernie Sanders wants renewable energy to power U.S. homes and vehicles by 2030 -- and he wants to do it by enlisting the federal government in building and running new solar, wind and geothermal electricity projects.




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Hydrogen is expected to account for 10% of China’s energy network by 2050

The Chinese government recently issued a whitepaper on the status and prospects of the hydrogen fuel and fuel cell sectors, indicating that energy derived from hydrogen will become an important part of the Chinese energy network.




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Hawaiian Electric Companies issue largest clean energy procurement to date; aim to end coal use, replace oil

Last week, the Hawaiian Electric Companies began Hawai‘i’s largest procurement effort for renewable energy resources to end the use of coal and reduce reliance on imported oil for power generation, moving the state closer to its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.




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Brazil to support construction of four new hydropower plants

Brazil has included four hydropower plants among the projects that will receive support as part of the country's investment partnerships program, called Programa de Parcerias de Investimentos or PPI. 




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Trump says he’s unwilling to risk US energy wealth for windmill ‘dreams’

President Donald Trump said he was not willing to sacrifice the abundant fossil energy wealth of the U.S. on “dreams” such as renewable power.




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Hydro Tasmania accelerating site investigations for pumped storage hydropower

Hydro Tasmania says it is accelerating detailed investigation of three key opportunities for pumped storage hydro development in the state as part of the Battery of the Nation initiative. Work has begun on a full feasibility assessment of pumped hydro development opportunities at Lake Cethana and Lake Rowallan in the northwest and near Tribute Power Station on the West Coast.




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Company trying to tackle renewable energy curtailment enters European market

This week, Scottish software company Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) announced that it will be expanding into Europe after completing successful trials with a utility company in Germany.




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Study shows rooftop solar could power 25 percent of Europe

Europeans can massively expand low-cost solar generation just by tapping the space over their heads.




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Houston Mayor selects developer for 70-MW urban solar array in revitalization plan

Last week, Houston, TX Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that Sunnyside Energy, led by developer Dori Wolfe of Wolfe Energy LLC, has won a competition to be considered to repurpose a 240-acre former landfill in Sunnyside. Subject to meeting certain terms and conditions, the team will construct one of the largest urban solar farms in Texas., if not the largest.




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Ameren Missouri to bring customers solar energy at night

Ameren Missouri, a unit of Ameren Corp., filed plans with the Missouri Public Service Commission to build three solar + storage facilities across Missouri




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New Zealand to receive first ever floating solar

It will be used to supplement electricity from the grid, as well as cogeneration from biogas, which is already generated on-site from wastewater treatment




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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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Lincoln Clean Energy to build 230-MW wind farm in Nebraska

Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE), Ørsted’s U.S. onshore company, issued the final notice to proceed on its 230-MW Plum Creek wind facility in Wayne County, Nebraska. This follows the final investment decision from Ørsted’s Board of Directors.




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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.




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NorthWestern Energy plans to upgrade 8-MW Madison powerhouse

NorthWestern Energy has announced plans to upgrade its 8-MW Madison Powerhouse with the installation of four new turbine-generator units.




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Clean energy investment set to hit $2.6 trillion this decade

The global energy supply is turning greener.





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Japanese businesses test blockchain to trade renewable energy

This week independent power producer Marubeni and LO3 Energy said they have started a pilot project in Japan where LO3 will administer an energy marketplace using blockchain to connect a number of Marubeni’s power production facilities, including renewables, with offices and factories around Japan in a virtual marketplace. The project will simulate energy transactions to test the viability of the concept with the ultimate goal of creating a full-scale commercially operational network in the future.





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What to do about PG&E? Cities and others offer ideas

Plenty of people, it seems, have plans for PG&E Corp. Even before the California utility giant filed for bankruptcy facing $30 billion in potential liabilities from wildfires, state regulators began studying whether it needed to be reformed, restructured or even taken over by the government. They asked interested parties -- city officials, unions, consumer groups and trade associations -- to chime in.




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Georgia will be home to largest solar PV project in the US to use bifacial modules and tracking

This week LONGi announced that it would be supplying modules to what it says is the largest “bifacial+tracker” power generation project in the United States. The 224-MW project will be built in Mitchell County, Georgia and is expected to be complete this year.




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Energy minister says South Africa will commit to more renewable power

South Africa plans to expand use of renewable power as the coal-dependent nation expects traditional, centralized generation plants to “disappear,” Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said.




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Onsite solar to power Cambodia cement factory

An onsite solar PV system in now operational at the most advanced cement factory in Cambodia.




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Floating solar photovoltaic plant to be installed at Kruonis pumped-storage plant in Lithuania

The Lithuanian Business Support Agency (LSBA) has granted €235,000 (US$267,500) to support development of an experimental floating solar photovoltaic power plant at the existing 900-MW Kruonis pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in Lithuania.




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UK local authority to produce all electricity from solar

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.




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Bringing reliable power to the people of Supai through solar PV and a microgrid

Reaching the remote Havasupai community of Supai, Arizona is not a journey for the faint of heart. Surrounded entirely by the Grand Canyon, this remote Native American reservation is either an eight-mile hike or mule trek from the closest road, or a helicopter ride to the bottom.




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Solar EPCs ranked by Wiki-Solar puts First Solar on top

The list of the world’s top solar EPC contractors was released in late February by Wiki-Solar.org. The list ranks the solar developers by number of projects and total installed capacity and reflects about the 30 percent of the market. Wiki-Solar.org says the list shows how the less volatile markets have favored domestic power plant builders. In particular, contractors from India and the US are rising up the ranking. Europeans have, with a few notable exceptions, found it harder to hold their position.




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Utility-linked group seeks to dismantle net metering in Michigan

Nonprofit advocacy groups linked to DTE Energy are waging a public campaign to significantly reduce the amount customers are paid for their solar power, in line with the utility’s request before Michigan regulators.




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4 creative ways cities are transitioning to a clean energy future

Mayors from cities across the U.S. are stepping up and committing to broad and inspirational action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize local energy systems. This leadership is especially critical given lack of federal climate action, but translating a mayoral commitment to reality can be a challenge.




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FPL announces plans to build four new solar power plants in 2019

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) this week announced plans to build four new solar power plants this year that are expected to begin powering customers in early 2020:




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Non-profit urges UK government to make workforce diversity a priority in clean energy

A new paper is being launched today at the House of Lords in London that challenges government, regulators and companies working on clean energy to make gender diversity a key priority. The paper has been produced by the EWiRE network, set up by Regen to provide a vibrant network for women working in clean energy.




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China to sustain solar growth with new plan, Jinko says

China’s plans to loosen its solar subsidy policy will keep growth of the world’s largest market intact, according to the head of JinkoSolar Holding Co., which is increasing production capacity by as much as 20 percent this year.




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Trump said to again seek deep cuts in renewable energy funding

The Trump administration is again seeking severe cuts to the U.S. Energy Department division charged with renewable energy and energy efficiency research, according to a department official familiar with the plan.




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Storage system built at world’s biggest solar park

An energy storage system has been installed at the largest single-site solar park in the world.




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U.S. solar market tops 10 GW in 2018, again

For the third year in a row, the U.S. solar industry installed double-digit gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity, with 10.6 GW coming online in 2018, according to the latest statistics from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).




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To renew the power supply in national parks, think microgrids

America’s national parks are one of the nation’s greatest assets. They preserve and protect vital ecosystems and offer people from all over the world the chance to experience the beauty and majesty of these great spaces.




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Powering the future… thanks to your neighbor’s renewable energy

Distributed Energy Resources (DER), such as residential solar panels, are not only changing the way energy systems operate, they also present an opportunity to change the way local communities operate by giving consumers the ability to sell excess energy, generated by microgrids or renewable set-ups, to their neighbors – it’s the new energy paradigm.




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NextEra, Con Ed warn patent dispute could roil US solar sector

Two of America’s biggest solar-farm owners are warning that a patent dispute between panel makers could roil a sector already shaken by President Donald Trump’s import tariffs.




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Shell makes aggressive move into U.K. retail power market

Royal Dutch Shell Plc took a step forward in its aim to become the world’s biggest power company with an aggressive move into the U.K. retail market by offering one of the cheapest tariffs available.




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FPL building world's largest solar-storage combo facility in Florida

The unit of NextEra Energy announced plans to build a 409-MW energy storage facility in Manatee County. FPL says the Manatee Energy Storage Center will be the world’s largest solar-power battery system by four-fold.




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Investment group says solar energy could see “popularity boost” in UK due to Brexit

Solar energy companies could fill the void created by the lack of secure energy transfer between UK and EU, the group says.




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Arizona Public Service issues RFP for large solar + storage plant to provide ‘solar after sunset’

After announcing nearly a gigawatt of new clean-energy projects in February, APS is now seeking proposals to build two of them in different parts of the state. The first request for proposals (RFP) seeks partners to add batteries to existing APS solar plants in rural Arizona, storing their power for use after the panels stop producing each day. A second partner is being sought to develop a large (100-MW) solar plant paired with an equal amount of storage, to bring more clean energy to customers after dark. Both of these projects will provide APS customers with more solar after sunset, serving their evening energy needs with an even cleaner resource mix.




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UK power grid to be 'zero-carbon-capable' says operator

Two years after Britain had its first coal-free day since the Industrial Revolution, the nation’s network operator is readying itself for life without any fossil fuels.




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A 'Green New Deal' for Central America would present business opportunities for renewable power generators

Recently there has been a great deal of interest in a ‘Green New Deal’ for the United States. It is seen as a way to solve pressing environmental, employment and economic problems with a single comprehensive plan. Modeled on Roosevelt’s New Deal, which created jobs, invested in large infrastructure projects, and pulled the US out of the Great Depression, the Green New Deal is a modern version of that program, but with green energy investments, 21st century job training, and deficit reduction as the key components.





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Three ways utilities can partner with smart renewable cities to deliver on their objectives

Cities and renewable electricity have, respectively, become the habitat and energy of choice globally. The two are increasingly inseparable. Urbanization and electrification trends have turned cities and the grid into leading platforms for human activity, presenting unique opportunities for today’s utilities to partner with municipalities to achieve their smart city goals.