A DSD project in Glenville, Schenectady County, New York, Image: DSD Renewables.

DSD Renewables, a solar PV and energy storage developer owned by Blackrock Real Assets, has acquired a six-site community solar-plus-storage greenfield project portfolio with 45 MW of solar and 88 MWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Massachussets, USA.

The seller is solar developer Borrego and construction is set to begin in 2023. 

The portfolio is part of the state’s Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program which was launched in 2018 to incentivise solar development, with its long-term state-wide deployment target doubled in April 2020 to 3.2GW.

Under it, utilities pay their customers for solar production on a monthly basis; for 10 years for residential systems and 20 years for large commercial solar projects like DSD’s. 

A portion of the sites’ offtake will be for community solar – individual households – and low-income subscribers will be eligible to receive electricity bill credits.

The SMART program includes extra savings or ‘adders’ for customers who install battery storage systems alongside their solar no matter how small, that being the only ‘adder’ without a minimum size. 

Data centre services provider Markley Group will be one of the commercial subscriber anchor tenants of the sites.

All six are all solar-plus-storage and are in Acushnet (2), Freetown (2), Plymouth and Wareham. The smallest is 1.5MW solar/3.37MWh storage and the largest is 12.9MW/26.6MWh. 

“Partnering with such a stable and efficient capital provider like DSD has enabled this portfolio to achieve its full potential,” says Borrego Vice President of Project Finance Adam Feldman.

“We’re accelerating community solar adoption for those who can benefit most while instituting a clean energy future for more residents and businesses of Massachusetts.” 

Borrego bills itself as a developer, designer, installer and operator of commercial solar. DSD Renewables is today primarily an investor in solar projects, originally a start-up within GE but acquired by BlackRock Real Assets in 2020.

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Trevor Lauer

DTE Energy is adding new renewable energy projects totaling approximately 500 MW due to the continued growth of its MIGreenPower voluntary renewable energy program. Supported by 35 industrial, 450 small business and more than 48,000 residential customers, MIGreenPower enables DTE Electric customers to attribute even more of their electricity use to renewable energy, beyond the 15% DTE already provides to all customers as part of their energy mix.

“We want to thank all of our MIGreenPower customers for their participation in the program,” says Trevor Lauer, president and COO of DTE’s electric company. “Over the next decade, we plan to continue adding clean energy projects and investing in new technologies to move our state closer to a carbon neutral future.”

As a result of MIGreenPower customer commitments, DTE is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for new wind and solar projects, both with and without energy storage. The projects must be ready to achieve commercial operation in 2023, located in Michigan, and interconnected to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) or distribution level transmission.

Interested bidders should register their company information on the PowerAdvocate website and, once registered, can attend a pre-RFP conference being held on February 15, 2022. Bids are due April 29, 2022, and the company anticipates executing contracts this summer.

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A large-scale flow battery demonstration and research facility in Germany. Image: Fraunhofer ICT.

Industry stakeholder organisations from across Europe have come forward to urge the European Union to support the adoption of long-duration energy storage in its European Green Deal.

A joint letter has been signed by 11 national and continental groups, including the Environmental Coalition on Standards, the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE), energy storage and renewables industry associations including Spanish storage industry groups AEPIBAL and ASEALEN, Flow Batteries Europe and the European Copper Institute.

Addressed to Commissioners, as well as to the European Union Council’s French Presidency and European Parliament committee members working on the Green Deal package, the letter emphasises the vital need for long-duration energy storage technologies to enable decarbonisation of the electricity sector. 

The signees noted the US has moved towards enabling adoption and market participation of long-duration storage and “believe Europe cannot stay behind”. 

The groups outlined the fundamental role of energy storage in adding flexibility, enabling the massive integration of renewable energy onto Europe’s electricity networks, by ensuring power availability and grid stability. 

The letter argued that much more is needed than the storage systems of up to four hours’ storage duration that are typically being deployed for applications like ancillary services or replacing peaker plants. 

Long-duration energy storage can also result in cost savings for transmission infrastructure, keeping electricity pricing more stable and affordable throughout Europe. 

“This will keep electricity prices more stable and more affordable for the European end users. Large investments in energy infrastructure are needed for the energy transition, with capital flowing away from fossil fuels and toward clean power and other climate solutions,” the letter said.

“The years between now and 2030 are critical in the race to net zero, and long-term storage is still in its infancy, needing much stronger policy support and investment.”

Notably, as well as a push for long-duration energy storage at government level in the US — and also the UK — there was an indication this week that large end-users of energy with decarbonisation goals are increasingly interested in the technologies. 

Microsoft and Google were the most prominent names among new members joining the Long Duration Energy Storage Council, Energy-Storage.news reported yesterday. 

The CEO-led organisation comprises long-duration technology providers with a range of different solutions, along with end-users and energy companies — BP and mining giant Rio Tinto have already been members since it was founded last year. 

The letter sent this week around the EU Green Deal put forward some specific asks and recommendations in two key areas, legal frameworks and funding: 

Legal frameworks to support large-scale storage deployment

New revenue streams should be created that the technologies could benefit from, the letter said, suggesting for example that Emissions Trading scheme design or incentives for renewable energy plants to be self-scheduling and dispatchable would encourage investment in storage. 

Easier permitting procedures should be put in place.

Creation of a separate asset class for energy storage, rather than including it as one of — or as a subset of — generation, transmission, distribution or power consumption. Again, a topic under discussion in many parts of the world. 

Encouragement for electricity system operators to lengthen contract lengths for services provided by energy storage, to give more certainty to investors. 

Removal of barriers to energy storage delivering certain services, allowing system operators to stack revenues by providing multiple services. Allowing for multiple and maximised revenue streams would be the best way to make energy storage economically viable, the groups argued.

European Commission modelling of the electricity system does not properly value the role of system flexibility, or the role of fast-responding energy storage assets. 

Increasing funding for more technologies besides short-duration lithium-ion

Funding should be offered to all classes and durations of energy storage, including research and development support, support for more demonstration projects and the endorsement of energy storage as “an important green investment opportunity”.

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the free, web-based platform for automatic residential solar permit approvals. February 3, 2022 Ryan KennedyIn July 2021, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and NREL released the Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP+), a free software aimed at automating residential solar permitting. The tool was launched in a webinar by DOE Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm, and with the help of promotion from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), was adopted by several pilot cities. The results from the pilot program are now in, and it appears SolarAPP+ delivered on its promise to reduce project times. In the pilot of five jurisdictions across diverse residential solar market characteristics and needs, SolarAPP+ reduced overall project times by an average of 12 days. Though the cost for PV equipment has lowered in the last decade, costs from permitting, inspection, and interconnection remain high, said NREL. Shortened project times are viewed as an important feature of customer experience and retention, as residential solar soft costs like customer acquisition are also relatively expensive in the United States.  A smooth permitting process can help both keep a customer satisfied throughout the installation process and make them more likely to refer their friends, family, or neighbors to adopt solar. Referrals are an important part of the residential solar sales process, creating a network of customers and lowering soft costs for developers.Three Californian cities and two jurisdictions in Arizona were chosen for the pilot study. In all areas, project permit approvals were reduced to less than one day on average. The most relief came to Tucson, AZ, where the paper permitting process averaged 24 days. Image: NREL The tool also provides relief to authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) i.e., city and county employees, who no longer have to process a massive influx of paperwork due to the steep rise in residential solar demand. The software has been approved for both solar photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage. On February 17th, SEIA will host a webinar to overview the pilot study results.This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

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Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson (R) is supporting new bills that may slow the rate of renewable energy growth in the state. February 3, 2022 Ryan KennedySen. Mike Thompson of Kansas (R) introduced new laws that would require solar and wind facilities to be built only on lands zoned for industrial use. About half the state’s 105 counties are rural and unzoned, so the bill could effectively freeze renewable energy growth in the state. Kansas already uses a fair amount of renewable energy when compared to other states, and the Energy Information Association reports renewables powered 44% of Kansas’ operation in 2020. “It would be sending a message…that, well perhaps Oklahoma, or Missouri, or Nebraska, or Texas or Iowa would be a better and more stable state in which to invest dollars,” said Kimberly Svaty, public policy consultant for the Kansas Power Alliance, which represents the state’s clean energy industry. “In the case of the next generation energy economy, renewable wind is really the beginning,” Svaty added. “It’s wind, it’s solar, it’s battery storage, it’s dealing with nitrogen replacements among many other things, all of which Kansas is standing to be really well positioned to see unprecedented investment from the economic standpoint.” Kansas had the nation’s second highest wind energy generation in 2020. State Senator Mike Thompson, Republican. Image: KS Legislature Thompson said the bill is not about slowing renewables, but about transparency. “All I’m trying to do is make it so that (wind and solar developers) have to file something so that neighbors can kind of see what’s going on and understand it,” Thompson said. “Because obviously if you have a 500 or 600-foot turbine that’s going to be placed on your neighbor’s property but it’s 1,500 feet away from your house, which was happening quite a bit, there are health and safety concerns that you want a say over.” Industry advocates say the bill is an example of government overreach, forcing zoning upon counties that have chosen not to be zoned. Thompson said he is working to revise the bill to consider other options than tackling zoning, but has not yet commented on whether it would be removed. This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

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The company is projected to do $1 billion in residential solar project originations this year. February 3, 2022 Ryan KennedyCommonBond, best known for its student financing business, announced it now offers solar financing. The company did a soft launch of its solar loans in Q3 2021, and is now on pace to perform $1 billion in residential solar project originations this year.CommonBond offers customer facing API-based point of sale operations and app and web-based point of sale portals for installers. The software can be integrated with leading solar proposal generation tools,“We believe that cost and awareness are two major obstacles to residential solar adoption,” said Robb Granado, president of CommonBond.  “CommonBond has built a unique set of capabilities for solar installers and homeowners to address those obstacles.” Image: SolarReviews Solar loans are common way to own a PV system. SolarReviews said secured loans such as HELOC run between 3-8.5% APR, depending on credit score. The rate of PACE loans tends to be higher, with APRs between 6.5-8.5%. Unsecured loans have higher APRs, and generally vary widely in their APRs. In general, they range 6-30%, and having a good credit score helps keep rates low. Many solar loans are zero-down, but where down payments are required, they typically range between $0-$300o. You can find a solar loan as short as three years or as long as 30, but typically they range from 10-20 years, said SolarReviews.A Zillow study found solar raises a homes property value by 4.1% on average. On a $500,000 home, that is an increase of $21,500 in value.SolarReviews recommends two different strategies to consider: one would be structuring the loan to have a day-one positive cash flow value, and money back in your pocket month-to-month. The other method would be to shorten the loan, maximizing savings and enjoying several years of clean, free energy for years.This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

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The company’s 2022 IRP includes plans to retire all coal units by 2035; add nearly 2,400MW of natural gas and 6,000MW of renewable capacity, as well as 1,000MW of energy storage in that same time; and begin distributed energy resource and income-qualified community solar pilot programs. February 3, 2022 Tim SylviaGeorgia Power, the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company and the power provider for almost all of Georgia, has released its 2022 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), outlining how the utility plans to provide electricity to its 2.7 million customers over the next 20 years.Headlining the IRP comes the announcement that Georgia Power will retire and decertify all Georgia Power-controlled coal generation units, with the exception of Plant Bowen Units 3 & 4, which will continue to operate no later than 2035. The company’s plan includes retirement of a total of 12 generating units, or more than 3,500MW, by 2028 and, if approved, would begin later this year and continue through 2028.How will this capacity be replaced? Well, first and foremost, Georgia Power is proposing to certify an additional 2,356MW of capacity from natural gas power purchase agreements (PPAs), procured through the company’s 2022-2028 Capacity Request for Proposals (RFP).While the company’s continued commitment to natural gas may be troubling, that isn’t the only resource planned to replace the coal capacity. The utility is also proposing an addition of 6,000MW of renewable capacity by 2035, which includes a request for approval of 2,300MW in the aforementioned IRP, and the bulk of which will likely come from solar.Georgia Power is also requesting approval to own and operate 1,000MW of energy storage by 2030, which includes a specific request for approval to own and operate the 265MW McGrau Ford Battery Facility.Getting away from large-scale generation resources, Georgia Power’s IRP also includes proposals for the creation of distributed energy resource (DER) and income-qualified community solar pilot programs.The DER program would enable participating customers to receive a resiliency service via a company-owned, operated and maintained DER. Participating customers could elect to receive a credit in exchange for the company’s ability to access the DER for the benefit of all customers during a system reliability event, like peak demand reduction or load-shifting. If approved, it would provide system reliability benefits for all customers while supporting commercial and industrial customers with enhanced resiliency needs. This seems to be a pretty standard utility DER response pilot program, though others in the past have opted to allow customers to bring their own battery system, rather than have one provided by the utility, though providing a battery does remove the considerable financial burden of adopting residential storage.the community solar pilot program would provide income-qualified customers access to Community Solar generated energy at discounted prices.  The discount would be made available by participating corporate sponsors who would receive corresponding Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Both proposed programs are subject to regulatory approval.This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

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The new Aurora Sell suite can generate the solar design using proprietary machine learning algorithms, lidar, and imagery data. February 3, 2022 Anne Fischer

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The proposal would leave thousands of solar projects in limbo, create dire financial strain among developers, and severely hamper corporate, state, and federal initiatives to support renewable energy. February 3, 2022 Tim SylviaPJM Interconnection, the largest electrical grid operator in the US is proposing a two-year pause on reviewing interconnection requests for its eastern US regional transmission network, as the operator looks to work through its more than 1,200 energy project backlog, with most of these projects being solar.For newly-proposed projects the wait could be much, much longer.The proposal is outlined in PJM’s Interconnection Process Reform Task Force (IPRTF) Update, which was presented on January 24. According to PJM, the increased economic viability of solar energy projects, rapidly-scaling corporate interest in investing in solar, state-level energy policies, and the Biden administration’s continued commitment of expanding the resource have all contributed to a massive influx of new project interconnection requests, and a queue that grows considerably by the day.As outlined by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s Gwen Brown and Sky Stanfield in a recent op-ed in pv magazine USA, literally every grid-connected project must go through the interconnection process, a process which is not designed to deliver timely results, nor handle a backlog of such magnitude. Most current interconnection policies handle each request on a project-by-project basis, and were developed prior to the popularization of rooftop solar and other distributed energy resources (DER).And while time can be spent identifying specific shortcomings and necessary improvements of current interconnection standards, the reality of the situation is that PJM’s proposal threatens to stall or lead to the cancellation of thousands of projects, leave developers in dire financial straits, and damage the efficacy of state and federal commitments to transitioning this country to a renewably-powered grid.3/6 To achieve President Biden’s goal of 80% clean by 2030 and 100% by 2035, we have to install roughly 100 GW/year of clean energy. We simply cannot afford to have such a lengthy delay for the country’s largest grid operator if there’s any chance of meeting this goal. Period.— Robbie Orvis (@robbieorvis) February 2, 2022In terms of a real-life outlook, PJM released an outline of pathways it could take to achieving 50% renewable energy across its grid by 2035, a far cry from the Biden Administration’s call to achieve 100% carbon-fee electricity by the same year.Part of PJM’s issue is the historic operation of the wholesale electricity market that it operates, in a region that spans from parts of Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana, to the mid-Atlantic, as far north as New Jersey and as far south as parts of North Carolina. Within this operational area, renewable energy resources have not long been a major feature in the distribution mix, with wind, solar and hydropower plants making up roughly 6% of that mix.PJM’s map of service territory Image: PJM As states in the market have moved to adopt more solar, specifically New Jersey, Illinois, and Virginia, PJM has had to reconsider how it operates, carefully monitoring how each project plays into overall system reliability, an expectedly slow process.Quite simply, the system is growing at a pace it was not designed to, and no action to remedy that imbalance has yet been taken, leading to the breaking point the nonprofit finds itself at today.The solution that PJM has proposed would scoot the most construction-ready projects — those with financing in place, off-takers secured, and hardware accounted for — to the front of the review queue, with the rest of the queue following in a descending order of how construction-ready or speculative they are deemed to be.What has also been proposed is a plan to implement a two-year delay on about 1,250 projects currently waiting in the queue, while new projects would not be eligible for review until the fourth quarter of 2025 at the earliest, with final decisions on those coming as late as the end of 2027.In their ongoing contributions to pv magazine USA Stanfield and Brown intricately outline the policies that have brought about this interconnection overload, as well as steps that should be taken to immediately alleviate the pressure on interconnection queues across the country (it’s not just PJM). You can read the most recent contribution and find links to the rest of the series here.This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

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Organic Valley, the largest farmer-owned organic cooperative in the US, is teaming up with SunCommon to help Vermont farmers go solar with zero up-front costs. February 3, 2022 Anne FischerSunCommon, headquartered in Waterbury, Vermont, launched a program that offers to help Organic Valley farmers go solar with zero upfront costs. Organic Valley is the largest farmer-owned organic cooperative in the US with a footprint of 100+ Vermont farms. The program provides Organic Valley farmer-members with financing for solar and other renewable energy projects. Farmers benefit from a fully-funded solar installation with no upfront costs, and they save on their energy bill.While SunCommon has offered zero upfront solar to schools and municipalities, this is the first time the company has offered this financing to farms. “They are usually hard to finance, with their capital needs high on the farm operations and low ability to use solar tax incentives on their own,” said Mike McCarthy, commercial solar project consultant at SunCommon.Early participants in this program include Vermont dairy farmers and Organic Valley farmer-members Guy and Matt Choiniere. Now their 500-acre, fourth-generation farm has two recently completed solar projects on the rooftops of two existing barns that will produce an estimated 115,500 kWh annually with a projected annual cost savings totalling more than $20,000. The larger (72kW) project, which has 197 Talesun 365W modules, is expected to offset close to all of their electricity costs. The smaller (32kW) project with 88 Talesun 365W modules, is offsetting power costs for the Bouchard Family Farm up the road.“What I love is that this revives a barn that was losing value and that we were planning to retire,” said Guy Choiniere. “Now, with new solar panels on the roof, we have revitalized this space such that there is a new milking parlor on the inside producing value and energy production on top, also producing value. And, it was all so easy to do. SunCommon managed the entire process, including labor, materials, and all the nitty gritty details. We were able to carry on with our daily farm operations without a hitch.”To date, SunCommon has worked with 75 farmers in Vermont and New York on solar energy projects.This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

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