Americas

As European Solar PV Installations Slow, China, US, Japan Surge Ahead

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Five countries; China, the United States, Japan, Germany and Italy will account for 70 percent of global installed PV capacity, projected to be 310GW at the end of 2016. A substantial increase from 40GW at the end of 2010. Continued stagnation of major European PV markets due to weaker financial incentives has caused PV additions in Europe to slow dramatically in recent years, but global demand remains strong. IHS says, “the supply chain continues to benefit from a period of relatively stable pricing, and there could be a new wave of capacity expansions.”

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City of Las Vegas Installs World’s First Solar-Kinetic Street Lights

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The City of Las Vegas will partner EnGoPLANET in a world first installation of street lighting powered by combining kinetic and solar energy, where the Kinetic energy is harvested from pedestrians’ footsteps via kinetic energy pads. “The city of Las Vegas is a leader in sustainability, from our commitment to renewable energy to recycling, our alternative-fuel vehicles and streetlights,” said Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman.

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Japan’s Sumitomo Boosts Sustainable Pelletized Biomass In Brazil

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With the participation of Sumitomo Corporation, Brazil’s Cosan Biomassa will increase its exports to Japan and Europe along with increased domestic sales, of up to 45 million tons/year of sugarcane pellets. Cosan has developed a fuel pellet made from sugarcane residues such as bagasse from the sugar mill and straw left over in the sugarcane field, and built a large-scale production plant (annual capacity 175,000 tons), the world’s first, last September. It commenced commercial production in December 2015.

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Solarcity/Tesla Pioneer Utility Scale Energy Storage System

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The proposed project is believed to be the first utility-scale system in the U.S. to provide dispatchable solar energy, meaning that the utility can count on electricity being available when it’s needed, even hours after the sun goes down. The 52 MWh Tesla Powerpack lithium-ion battery storage system will feed up to 13 megawatts of electricity onto the grid to “shave” the amount of conventional power generation needed to meet peak demand in the evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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Electric Vehicle Charging And Energy Storage Are Ideal Grid Allies

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Greenlots and Hawaiian Electric Company have demonstrated how an electric vehicle (EV) fast charger combined with energy storage can support Electric Vehicle (EV) initiatives, significantly increasing EV drivers’ “range confidence”. An innovative fast charger allows electric vehicle owners to get up to an 80 percent charge in as little as 30 minutes. Drivers can easily locate the fast-charge stations and charge using the Greenlots mobile app and pay for a charge through the app or by using a credit card, much as at a self-service petrol/gasoline pump.

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Schneider Electric And REC Solar Showcase Microgrid Energy Management Solutions

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The market leader wants to create a ‘living laboratory’ at it’s North American R&D hub “to drive global innovation in efficiency and energy management solutions”. The microgrid will be deployed via a new business model that does not require any capital investment by Schneider Electric. It’s expected to begin generating 560,000 Kwh per year of electricity by Autumn 2016. Beyond saving the company nearly 5 percent on electricity costs at the site in its first year, the Microgrid will offer power resiliency in the event of a power loss from the local utility.

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California’s Electric Vehicles and Support Infrastructure To Increase Rapidly

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San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) will install charging stations at up to 350 businesses and communities in the region, with 10 chargers at each location for a total of 3,500 separate chargers. It will install at least 10 percent of the chargers in disadvantaged communities. The project overcomes many obstacles to EV growth and reassures local EV drivers that they’ll have a place to charge their vehicles. With SDG&E’s energy portfolio being made up of 33% percent renewable energy and zero coal, drivers will be plugging into one of the cleanest electric grids in the country.

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FPL Installs One Million Solar Panels Tripling Solar Capacity

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Three new large, community-scale plants are expected to begin producing affordable, clean energy by the end of 2016 and will triple the company’s current solar capacity for it’s nearly 5 million customers. “This is a big step forward for our state and for the future of renewable energy in Florida,” said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida. “FPL’s three solar plants help reduce the use of fossil fuels, prevent the emission of thousands of tons of carbon each year and save millions of gallons of water.”

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Rooftop Solar Revolution? Giga Solar Announces Successful Test Results

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The results are from a groundbreaking project aiming to develop a suite of technologies that make the process of buying, installing, and connecting rooftop solar energy systems faster, easier, safer, and less expensive. The high-efficiency, crystalline-silicon, lightweight modules enable innovative, low-cost rooftop mounting methods. As they are glass-free and frameless, they can be flush-mounted directly onto the roof, avoiding the need for racking hardware, eliminating roof penetrations, and shortening the installation time. These benefits all contribute to lowering the cost of solar electricity. In addition to these benefits, the reduced module weight decreases transportation costs and improves ease of handling. The implications are highly significant in both developed and early stage markets – worldwide.

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First Reserve Acquires Mariah North Wind In First Phase Of 600MW Development

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One of the largest global private equity and infrastructure investment firms, First Reserve is strongly advancing it’s interests in the clean energy sectors, with this being the first of future wind and solar phases of the $1 billion Mariah Renewable Energy Center. The project will also construct and own a 27 mile, 345 kV transmission line to interconnect with the ERCOT CREZ system and is expected to be operational by the end of 2016. Partners in the project include HSBC, Citigroup and General Electric.

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H2O Power Surges With Acquisition of 31MW Hydroelectric Facilities In PJM Market

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The Allegheny 8 & 9 facilities have a 31.5MW capacity located on the Allegheny River in Armstrong and Indian Counties, Pennsylvania, within the Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland known (PJM) Interconnection. The assets are interconnected into the New York Independent System Operator in the PJM Interconnection Power Market. The capacity and energy generated by the Allegheny 8 & 9 facilities are sold to New York State Electric & Gas Corporation under a long-term power purchase agreement.

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