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Solar Is Becoming The Next Cash Crop For Farmers

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Farmers across the country are starting to install solar panel systems as a new way to make money.

This particular post will highlight a WaPo article that focused on farmers in Illinois. According to the article, hundreds of farmers have applied to have solar panel systems be connected to the grid so that they can sell the excess energy that the systems generate.

These farmers have realized that the profits generated from excess solar will lead to more money than what can currently be attained from crops. According to the University of Illinois, prices for corn are 7 percent lower and soybean prices have fallen 15 percent. Also, farmers are doing their part to help the state reach its mandated goal of 25 percent renewable energy by 2025.

 (Youngrae Kim/For The Washington Post)

The state is expecting about 1,000 total applicants for this solar program. About 100 of them will receive agreements to be accepted into the program starting (now) March, 2019. This will bring the solar production capacity to between 80 and 100 MW. According to the Illinois Solar Energy Association, a total of 10,000 MW of solar capacity will eventually need to be installed to meet the state’s goals.

There is concern, however, that taking prime, fertile farm land away from food production might have dire consequences. “The soils here in Illinois are some of the most productive soils in the world” – soil scientist Robert Rhykerd. The U.N. expects world’s population to rise to 9.8 billion by 2050 so feeding that additional 2 billion people is a concern, to say the least.

While Rhykerd and other experts see the importance of increasing food production, they also realized that farmers need to be able to make a living. For many of these farmers, solar power is helping them make ends meet.

Farmers and universities are also being very smart about exactly where solar farms are set up. Obviously, less fertile areas are chosen for solar panel installations. Evan DeLucia, director for the center of Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, knows the importance of this. “As an ecologist and sustainability person, I really am concerned about the expansion of solar onto prime farmlands. So that’s something to look at really closely.”

Much like the general solar industry across the country, it’s very early days for solar power on farmlands. They certainly have the land and financial incentive to consider utilizing solar energy.

Farmers will surely continue to install more solar panel systems well into the future.

Disney Commits To More Solar Power

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Disney has just announced plans to cut its carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2020.

The company now has multiple solar installations, with one of their most notable one being their Mickey Mouse installation that was completed in 2016 near Epcot Center. That project sits on 22 acres and generates enough electricity to power 820 homes.

Their most recent project is also in Florida. This recently completed 2019 installation is quite a bit larger than their Mickey Mouse shaped project. It is a 270 acre facility that can generate 50 MW at peak production.

This solar power project is providing power to the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando. The power plant is large enough to fully power 2 of the company’s 4 theme parks in Central Florida.

More than half a million solar panels comprise this massive system. At 50 MW, it can provide enough power for 10,000 homes. From an environmental perspective, this installation can prevent 57,000 tons of emissions from being produced which is the equivalent of taking 9,300 cars off of the road.

The United States is not the only locale where the company is going green. Disneyland Tokyo utilizes nearby solar rooftops to provide their electrical light parade with 600 KW of electricity. Geothermal energy is used in 2 of the company’s locations in Paris as well as a hotel. In Shanghai, the company utilizes a “heating and cooling plant” to reduce emissions by 60 percent.

Disney is yet another company that realizes that going solar and initiating other green measures has multiple benefits. The primary one includes the ability to save a significant amount of money over the long term. Also, the positive public relations achieved for doing the right thing environmentally has far reaching effects. If nothing else, this and other companies can avoid any potential future backlash for not reducing their carbon emissions.

When large corporations like Disney lead the way in solar power development they provide a great example of what others can do.

We can expect many others to follow suit soon!

San Bernardino County Says No To Utility-Scale Solar

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The largest county in the United States has just banned utility-scale solar. More specifically, San Bernardino County has said no to large scale solar developments that plan to sell a majority of its electric production elsewhere.

More than a million acres constitutes the amount of land that will be off-limits to solar contractors that do not comply with the new law.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has instead created guidelines for large solar installations. Called CORE (community-oriented renewable energy), this plan focuses on energy generation that is primarily used by local residents. The line is drawn right at the 50 percent mark. At least half of solar power generation must be utilized on site and not sold to the grid.

At the heart of this decision is the debate of whether rural residents quality of life is being diminished by having to deal with living nearby large solar panel installation sites. Conservationists and Native American tribes are among those that have successfully blocked large scale solar projects in the past.

In all fairness, who would be OK with living next to any type of power plant, even one that does not spew toxic fumes?

On the other hand, it is certainly easier to argue for more rooftop solar. The fact remains that a very high percentage of roofs and parking lots in this country still do not have solar installed on them. This would be a good starting point.

However, if we are truly to become a society that eventually relies on solar energy for the majority of the power that we need, we cannot ignore utility-scale solar. Common sense compromises can enable many large scale solar installations to still take place.

One Of The Largest Solar Projects About To Be Constructed

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An almost 500 MW (497 MW) solar panel project is about to begin construction in Texas.

The project is owned by Enel Green Power North America (A subsidiary of Enel Green Power, based in Italy). They have named this project “Roadrunner.” There’s only three solar installations that are slightly larger than this one and they are all in California.

From Enel Green Power

Approximately half of the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019, and the other half by the end of the 2020. By industry standards, this is a very aggressive timeline.

As amazing as the news of this single project is, it is only the tip of the solar iceberg in Texas. There currently is an astounding 43 GW of solar capacity in the interconnection queue. About 1.2 GW are expected to come online by the end of the year. This would be the first time that more than a gigawatt of solar capacity was installed in Texas in a single year.

The company states that, once completed, the project will be able to generate 1.2 TWh of electricity annually and offset approximately 800,000 million tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Some may say that this, on the surface, seems a bit ironic or unexpected in a state that has been known as a significant producer of fossil fuels for many decades. The big picture is that the energy industry follows the same business rules as any other. If there’s a way to reduce costs, then that path is almost always followed. So the bottom line and the big statement that is being made here is that solar power is now cheaper than fossil fuels, even in the Lonestar State.

So, unfortunately, the upcoming massive adoption of solar power in Texas and across the country is not due to vitally important environmental reasons. On the other hand, it’s simply good business in terms of lowering costs and achieving long term savings.

Whatever the reasons, it is ultimately a great thing that major power corporations are beginning to invest heavily into solar power!

Solar Now Accounts For More Than 2 Percent Of U.S. Power

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According to the U.S. Department of Energy, solar power accounted for 2.4 percent of the nation’s electricity demand in 2018.

Combining both utility scale and non-utility scale, the total solar industry grew 25 percent in 2018.

pv-magazine-usa.com

California continues to be the solar power leader. The state increased its 2017 levels by 15 percent. It is now capable of supplying 14.1 percent of its electricity needs with solar power. Nevada was next with 12.4 percent, Hawaii at 11.8 percent, Arizona at 8.7 percent, and Utah at 7.6 percent.

While not making the top 5, there were quite a few states in New England that made noticeable gains in solar capacity. Also, quite a few states in the south experienced triple digit percentage increases in the past year or so. In fact, 12 states in total had at least 100 percent growth increases.

Unsurprisingly and unfortunately, there seems to be apparent resistance in states with stronger Renewable Portfolio Standard Policies. These are policies which basically say how much renewable energy a state must install by the end of a certain time period. Instead, states that are sunnier tend to be installing solar voluntarily at a quicker pace.

This can be seen as market forces being more powerful than political ones. It’s also a positive sign that the other states not going solar as quickly due to these mandates soon will regardless of said mandates. The bottom line is that the tipping point has been passed in which solar power is now too cheap to ignore.

Now it must be addressed that many will scoff at the idea of 2 percent being significant at all.

They would be missing the point.

The larger picture is that, while solar does only satisfy 2.4 percent of the nation’s electricity needs, the rate at which it is expanding is impressive and is what truly matters. In fact, solar power now delivers 100 times the amount of electricity it did 10 years ago. How about that for growth!

As utility-scale solar installations continue to take place, we will see solar accounting for a good percentage of total electricity demand in the not too distant future.

Chicago To Go 100 Percent Renewable

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A recent announcement from the Major of Chicago details plans for the city to be powered completely by renewable energy by 2035. If it gets approved, Chicago would become the largest city in the country to set a goal of 100 percent clean energy.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s “Resilient Chicago” details a comprehensive roadmap to put the city on a much more sustainable path. The plan works in conjunction with the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 Chicago Collective.

While many news outlets covered this story, credit this time will be given to Solar Industry Mag.

During the announcement, the mayor said, “Now, more than ever, it is up to local leaders to develop plans for a sustainable and resilient future, and Resilient Chicago creates a framework for us to build urban resilience into Chicago’s DNA.”

This can definitely be seen as a change in business as usual for Emanuel who was, not too long ago, a strong proponent of nuclear energy. It should be mentioned that this new plan does not call for any new nuclear plants to be constructed.

The 137 page document is certainly just a rough framework. This is highlighted by the fact that the only page that mentions solar installations does not go into any real detail. As a large number of solar panel installations will need to be completed in the ensuing years, specific plans will need to be worked out.

Speaking of the timeline to fill in the details, Resilient Chicago will be presented to the city council in March, 2019. The 100 percent clean energy part of the overall plan needs to be finalized by the end of 2020.

If the largest city in the U.S. is considering going 100 percent renewable, it is definitely proof that solar power’s time has arrived. While not discussed in any of the recent news reports, the underlying motive is not just that elected officials want to do the right thing. The bottom line is that sources of renewable energy are now significantly cheaper than fossils fuels.

Major Solar Bill Of Rights Introduced

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California Senators Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Jim Nielsen (R-Fresno) has just proposed significant solar power legislation.

Their Solar Bill of Rights proposal, if passed, would enable California homeowners to “….require the PUC to collaborate with the Independent System Operator to modify existing tariffs to remove barriers to the participation of customer-sited energy resources in programs intended to provide energy, capacity, and ancillary services for the bulk power system.”

Image: California Senate Democrats

Basically homeowners will be able to freely generate and store their solar power and have both their solar panel systems and battery systems be connected to the grid. The bill states that there will not be any “discriminatory fees or charges” for having such a set up.

In addition to that, there will be new compensation ideas related to the benefits that solar plus storage customers bring to the grid. The main idea being that as more homeowners are storing their energy at home and delivering their excess electricity to the grid, the more resilient and stable the grid is on the whole. The senators rightly believe that homeowners should be compensated for offering this important value to the grid.

Three major organizations are supporting this proposed bill. They are Vote Solar, Solar Rights Alliance, and the California Solar and Storage Alliance. In addition to the previously mentioned senators, this bill is also backed by 4 assembly members as well as Jeff Stone (R-Riverside County).

There’s two important ideas to mention with this new proposal. First of all, it appears to be stronger legislation than the average net metering law. Secondly, it also takes into account on-site energy storage.

It’s no surprise that this is taking place in California. The state has been the leader in the adoption of solar power. However, this bodes well for other progressive states (and eventually every state in the union). It can be seen as a guide or example for other states to follow.

This really is a significant proposal. It can’t be understated. This bill would allow for energy competition. It would signal that the energy industry is no longer to remain a monopoly. Homeowners, businesses, non-profits, etc. would be allowed to become energy investors and reap the benefits of the power industry. This is an enormous opportunity for those who wish to take advantage.

This is obviously very early days as very few homeowners have both solar panels and energy storage systems. However, this proposed legislation is a great sign that the free market system should and will pertain to the energy industry as well.

The First Solar Plus Wind Plus Storage Project

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NextEra Energy Resources and Portland General Electric (PGE) have recently announced that they are developing a renewable energy project that incorporates solar, wind, and energy storage. It includes 300 MW of wind, 50 MW of solar, and 30 MW/120 MWh of energy storage. The final completion date is planned for 2021.

The location of the project is in Morrow County (a bit more than 100 miles east of Portland) at the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility.

Image: U.S. Department of Energy

Originally, the project was going to be primarily wind-based with a total of 500 MW in capacity. 100 MW of the 300 MW of wind capacity will be owned by PGE. The rest of the project will be owned by a subsidiary of NextEra and the energy produced will be sold to PGE under 30 year power purchase agreements.

Details on the energy storage include 41 total sites. Each site will have containers that measure 12 feet wide, 36 feet long, and 10 feet tall. In the containers will be modules of small lithium ion batteries that measure approximately 1 inch by 3 inches.

This groundbreaking project is certainly great news for the renewable energy industry as a whole! While it may not make sense to incorporate all three ideas in every location, this will surely not be the last time we see a solar+wind+storage project.

Yet Another Solar Plus Storage Story

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Much has been written on this site concerning the significant near term potential for solar plus storage applications.

This post goes beyond the hypothetical as we look into the contract that the leading U.S. solar panel installer has recently won to implement a major solar plus energy storage project.

According to a recent PV magazine article, SunRun won a bid to construct a 20 MW solar plus storage system for ISO New England’s 2022-2023 Forward Capacity Market. The system will be required to offer that 20 MW of power to the grid 24 hours a day for one year. It will be paid $3.80/kW/month or $76,000/month or $912,000 for the year.

Called Brightbox, Sunrun’s energy storage system is a battery product made by South Korea’s LG Chem RESU company. Their residential systems come in three different sizes – 3.3 kWh, 6.5 kWh, and 9.8 kWh. SunRun is planning on doing about 5,000 installs to meet their requirements.

SunRun’s system will only cover one-tenth of one percent of the total market, as the total capacity that qualified for the auction was 43 GW.

As important as it is for a project like this to prove its effectiveness, the legal environment must also be favorable moving forward. There’s positive signs of this as there has been recent legislative victories concerning energy storage in both Massachusetts and California.

There’s reason for optimism here for at least two reasons. First off, the forces that promote and support a free market system in the U.S. should prevail in the end, allowing for other energy producers to compete with established utilities. Secondly, distributed solar plus storage developments will lessen the need of major utilities to construct new power plants thereby saving them considerable capital expenditures.

This energy storage story will be followed up by many more as we are merely witnessing the infancy of this new arrival to the marketplace. Prices for batteries will continue to fall, grid integration will improve, and new legislation will pave the way for considerably more energy storage capacity.

Some States Not Waiting For The Green New Deal

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The Green New Deal is back, again.

While not technically a new idea, it is certainly getting some significant new media attention largely due to the efforts of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The deal basically calls for a much quicker transition to renewable energy sources than what is currently happening. A large number of Green Jobs would obviously be a part of the deal as well.

However, since the Republicans currently have the majority in the senate, this proposal is anything but guaranteed.

In light of this fact, the governors of a few states are not waiting for the passage of the Green New Deal. They are setting their states on aggressive paths of decarbonization. Let’s take a look into what actions 5 states are taking to utilize more renewable energy.

  • U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) hold a news conference for their proposed “Green New Deal” to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 10 years, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

New York

There is currently a bill in New York which will have the state reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. It specifically calls for 40 percent by 2022 and 70 percent by 2027 before reaching its final goal. Most notable is the fact that this bill does not call for the inclusion of nuclear power, making it a truly renewable energy proposal.

Massachusetts

While Massachusetts already has a mandate to reach 100 percent renewable energy, the timeline of 2090 is, well, a joke. Instead, there are currently two bills that are proposing that the complete transition to renewable energy sources can happen by 2045. These bills have already received more than 100 co-signers. However, there has previously been resistance to similar bills in the state’s House of Representatives.

Minnesota

The state has a plan that will start at a goal of 80 percent carbon free by 2035 and 100 percent by 2050. This bill actually has a good chance of passing because at least 35 members of the state’s legislature have already signed on.

New Mexico

There are currently two bills in New Mexico which propose raising its renewable portfolio standard to 80 percent by 2045, with an interim goal of 50 percent by 2030. These bills have a decent chance of passing because of the significant presence of Democrats. They control the state’s House, Senate, and Executive positions.

Virginia

The state of Virginia currently has a bill that proposes a transition to 80 percent renewable energy by 2027.

It should also be noted that California, Hawaii, and Vermont also have aggressive renewable energy goals as well. It certainly is comforting to know that states (and cities) can take leadership roles in terms of progressive energy policies. These states’ leaders know the severity of the situation and are taking appropriate actions.

Others will follow suit soon!