Puerto Rico legislator Héctor Ferrer called on Congress to use its oversight authority over Puerto Rico’s fiscal oversight board to oppose a proposed fee on rooftop solar power. January 28, 2022 William DriscollPuerto Rico legislator Héctor Ferrer has called on the US Congress to prevent an “illegal tax on private rooftop solar generation” in Puerto Rico.Ferrer said a proposed per-kWh charge on rooftop solar generation would violate not only Puerto Rico law, but also federal clean energy policies, and possibly the Constitution as well, in a January 24 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.Ferrer noted that the Puerto Rico House and Senate passed a joint resolution last November expressing “the wholehearted rejection” of a proposed Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) that includes the solar tax.The RSA is a proposal to settle with the owners of $9 billion in face value of bonds issued by the Puerto Rico utility PREPA. The RSA would add a “transition charge” on PREPA customers’ bills of at least 2.8¢/kWh, rising through 2044 to 4.6¢/kWh, “gravely impacting” all electricity consumers, Ferrer said.Ferrer highlighted the RSA’s provision that consumers who produce any of their own electricity from a new PV system would be required to pay the new charge not only on power purchased from the grid, but also on their own self-generated power. PV systems that were installed by September 2020 would be exempted, but could lose the exemption under certain conditions.The RSA’s “solar tax-centric approach is illegal,” said Ferrer, quoting Section 3.4 of the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act (Act 17-2019): “no direct or indirect charge shall be imposed on the generation of renewable energy by consumers.” Ferrer said the proposed RSA also “intrudes upon” the exclusive rate setting jurisdiction of Puerto Rico’s independent energy sector regulator, the Energy Bureau.The Constitutionality of such solar charges “is also questionable,” Ferrer said, as the RSA would “seek to federally impose a new tax on energy generated by privately owned solar power systems within private property.”Ferrer said the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) announced that it will file the RSA proposal by March 2022 for review by US District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who was appointed under the federal PROMESA law to oversee Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy proceedings. The FOMB was also created by PROMESA.Earlier this month, Judge Swain certified a settlement plan that reduced the Puerto Rican government’s debt from $22 billion of bonds down to $7.4 billion, according to Bloomberg News.In testimony for the Solar and Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico (SESA-PR) at a Puerto Rico Senate Committee hearing this month, SESA-PR Chief Policy Officer Javier Rúa-Jovet said that the “illegal charges” proposed in the RSA “would seriously impact the people of Puerto Rico, particularly those PREPA customers who seek to self-generate all or part of their energy through solar.”In his letter, Ferrer called on Congress to use its oversight authority over the FOMB, its board members and its executive direction “to ensure that PREPA debt restructuring is aligned with federal, as well as Commonwealth energy policies.”“As we’ve experienced during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria,” Ferrer said, “access to resilient energy is a matter of life or death for the Puerto Rican people.”Three days after Ferrer’s letter, on January 27, a reporter asked FOMB’s Executive Director Natalie Jaresko at an FOMB public board meeting about the Puero Rico legislature “passing PREPA’s restructuring bill.” SESA-PR President PJ Wilson later explained in an interview that the reporter was referring to enabling legislation that would repeal Law 17-2019’s prohibition against solar taxes, and make other legislative changes needed for the proposed RSA to move forward. In response to the reporter’s question, Jaresko said, “we look forward to getting that legislative answer in this first half of this calendar year.”SESA-PR has been advocating against the “solar tax” proposal since 2019, when it partnered with the national solar association SEIA to jointly file a “friend of the court” brief making several legal arguments against the proposal.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.

Continue reading

Also on the rise: The world’s largest energy storage facility to expand. Duke to add 70MW to its portfolio. Clean energy credit registry announced in Ontario. Salt caverns in Kansas studied for energy storage. California bus company will install EV chargers, solar panels, and a microgrid. And more.

Continue reading

Solas Energy Consulting acted as key technical advisor to GIP. The investment includes preferred equity and a letter of credit facility. January 27, 2022 Ryan KennedySolas Energy Consulting announced it served as key technical advisor to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for a $500 million investment in BrightNight, LLC. BrightNight is an independent power producer of renewable energy, with operations in the United States, India, Bangladesh, and South-East Asia. GIP’s investment included preferred equity and a letter of credit facility. Solas evaluated BrightNight’s hybridized development portfolio which includes solar PV and storage. Solas said it provided due diligence on all aspects of project development, including land/topography, siting, environmental, permitting, resource analysis, interconnection, and project economic modeling. GIP’s investment is expected to enable BrightNight, as an independent power producer, to offer a complete service from development through operations. Global Infrastructure Partners is a specialist infrastructure investor with approximately $77 billion under management. It owns 46 portfolio companies with combined annual revenues of $40 billion and more than 63,000 employees. The company recently announced the election of Bob Callahan, Lucy Chadwick, and Andrew Paulson as partners of the firm. BrightNight has a track record of executing significant utility-scale solar and energy storage projects. It participated in the development of the Eagle Shadow Mountain Solar Farm, a 400MW facility with utility NV Energy as offtaker. At the time, the project was the largest ever built on tribal land and achieved the lowest LCOE in the country at $0.023/kWh. The project was built alongside a retiring coal plant. The company also brought the Mount Signal Solar Farm in California to commercial operation, an 800MW cluster of three facilities that generate enough power for over 1 million people during the daytime.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.

Continue reading

Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with ProLogium to integrate solid-state battery technology into a range of vehicles; Panasonic and Toyota launched an industrial-academic collaborative research program concerned with battery resources and recycling; and LG Energy Solution plans to spend $2.1 billion with GM to build another EV battery plant in the US. January 27, 2022 Marija MaischIn light of its ambition to go all electric by 2030, German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz continues to expand its network of tech partners, this time through a collaboration with Taiwanese solid-state battery specialist ProLogium.The first Mercedes-Benz test vehicles equipped with solid-state batteries co-developed with ProLogium are expected to be introduced in the coming years. The companies have agreed on milestones to enable the integration of solid-state battery technology into a range of passenger vehicles in the second half of this decade.“We believe that range and efficiency are the new industry benchmarks for electric cars,” said Daimler head of development Markus Schäfer. “Solid state technology helps to cut down battery size and weight. This is why we are partnering with companies like ProLogium to ensure that Mercedes-Benz continues to break new ground in the automotive sector for the benefit of our customers.”Under the agreement, Mercedes will take a seat on the ProLogium board. The high double-digit million euro investment by the carmaker will be used to support the development of the technology and ProLogium’s plan of establishing production capacity in Europe. The Taiwanese battery maker focuses on the development of next-generation batteries including solid-state devices with silicon and lithium metal anodes and bipolar technology.“We have been working with Mercedes-Benz on the testing of our EV [electric vehicle] battery cells since 2016 and are excited to strengthen and expand our partnership,” said ProLogium CEO and founder Vincent Yang. “At ProLogium, we believe that innovative technology must be backed by the scalability of production. We look forward to ramping up our new plant by the end of 2022 and working with our customers toward successful mass production.”Thus far, the development of solid-state batteries has been primarily driven by automotive companies. Mercedes has partnered with Canadian battery material specialist Hydro-Québec to integrate the technology into field applications and cut development cycle times and other legacy automakers have invested heavily in solid-state devices, including Toyota and Volkswagen.Offering potentially higher energy density, more cycles at a reduced rate of degradation, and less weight, solid-state battery cells are described as one of the key levers for determining the cost, scalability, and energy density of EV batteries. A solid-state electrolyte offers the option of using materials with high storage capacity, high-ionic conductivity, and better chemical stability; replacing the flammable electrolytes used in conventional lithium-ion batteries.The innovative materials and design of solid-state batteries could almost double the range of today’s conventional li-ion battery cells and could be far cheaper as they do not require cobalt. However, the technology remains relatively unproven, with auto manufacturers hoping their battery partners will give them an edge and help bring forward commercial production.Closing the loopElsewhere, Toyota and Panasonic have started research with the University of Tokyo into battery resources and recycling. In addition to closing the loop and realizing carbon neutrality, the aim of the project is to reduce production costs in the battery supply chain.Four project partners: the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo; the Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc joint venture set up by Toyota and Pansonic; Panasonic’s Energy Company unit; and Toyota trading arm the Toyota Tsusho Corporation, will look at two aspects of the battery economy. They will focus on the development of new processes in an integrated manner, ranging from the development of nickel, lithium, and cobalt metal resources to refining them during the development and manufacture of battery materials. The research will also consider the development of new processes for the recycling of battery waste and used batteries.With the aim of further improving the recycling rate of batteries, the research project will promote the development of technology for the efficient and waste-free recycling of leftover materials from battery manufacturing and used devices. Combining the knowhow of the partners – manufacturing experience; commercial collection, processing and recycling of materials; and university research into rare metal refining technology – the project aims to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and recycling costs, which are currently a big issue.“We will not only supply battery materials but also contribute to the reduction of environmental impact and the formation of a recycling-oriented society by promoting recycling, making use of our knowledge in the recycling-oriented venous business,” said Masaharu Katayama, chief operating officer for Toyota’s Metals Business Unit.New fabFollowing its historic listing on the Korean Stock Exchange, LG Energy Solution unveiled its expansion plans yesterday, with a commitment to construct a $2.1 billion battery manufacturing plant in the US with General Motors. The facility will begin mass production in early 2025 and will produce 50GWh of EV batteries annually once fully operational.The factory will be located in Lansing, Michigan and will produce batteries under the Ultium brand developed by a joint venture between General Motors and LG Chem. Ultium devices are said to be unique because their large-format, pouch-style cells can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside a battery pack, enabling engineers to optimize energy storage and layout for each vehicle design.LG and General Motors are building two other battery cell manufacturing sites – one in Ohio and another in Tennessee – both of which will be capable of producing 35GWh of battery cells. “With a shared vision, GM and LG Energy Solution pioneered the EV sector by seizing new opportunities in the market well before anyone else did,” LG Energy Solution chief executive Young-Soo Kwon said. “Our third battery manufacturing plant, fittingly located in America’s automotive heartland, will serve as a gateway to charge thousands, and later, millions of EVs in the future.”LG Energy Solution shares were sold at an IPO price of KRW300,000 ($250) this month in Asia’s second largest float, behind only the $12.9 billion initial public offering for the Alibaba Group in 2019. On its trading debut today, LG Solution’s shares surged 68%, solidifying the battery maker’s rank as South Korea’s second-most valued company.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.

Continue reading

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority will install 34 new bus chargers, solar panels and a microgrid at its Cerone Bus Yard to provide zero-emissions transporation. January 27, 2022 Anne FischerThe California Air Resources Board’s requirement for public transit agencies to transition to 100% zero-emission fleets by 2040 is moving the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to install a solar-powered microgrid to power its fleet. The VTA received a grant for the project from the California Energy Commission.In conjunction with Proterra and Scale Microgrid Solutions, VTA will deploy approximately 1.5MW of rooftop solar on a solar canopy at the Cerone bus yard. VTA’s current electric bus fleet consists of 40 Proterra buses, with five more on the way. Upon completion, the new charging infrastructure will be able to fully charge a bus in as little as four hours.Proterra is a developer and producer of commercial electric vehicle technology, and, in addition to providing the electric buses, the company is installing the charging system. Scale Microgrid Solutions is the integrator of the EV infrastructure with onsite solar, 4MWh battery storage system, and a backup system that can provide power for up to 20 hours. The system will be connected to the grid, but can also enter island mode in the event of a grid outage. For extended outages, VTA has the option to easily connect a temporary generator to provide additional backup power for fleet operations. The microgrid and charging infrastructure will be linked together by a switchgear and controls package designed by Schneider Electric.The solar PV and battery energy storage system will give VTA operational flexibility as to when to purchase the utility power needed to charge its vehicle fleet. “California’s electric grid needs distributed energy resources in order to support fully electrifying its transportation sector,” says Tim Victor of Scale Microgrid Solutions.“This project combines several VTA goals.  It shifts us toward greener sources of energy, saves VTA money that can be reallocated to other operating needs and provides the infrastructure to charge our next batch of zero-emission buses.  Our riders will benefit from a newer, quieter fleet and we will decrease our contribution toward climate change and poor air quality,” said Adam Burger, Senior Transportation Planner with VTA.The microgrid and charging infrastructure will be linked together by a switchgear and controls package designed by Schneider Electric.The VTA also partnered with Lehigh University, whose Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy has been working in the “smart grid” space for nearly a decade. The system is expected to be operational in 2023.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.

Continue reading

Semper Solaris will install Enphase’s IQ microinverters and batteries. The microinverters have the ability to island the home off-grid in the case of a power outage. January 27, 2022 Ryan KennedyEnphase Energy announced it reached a partnership with installer Semper Solaris in which its IQ microinverters and home batteries will be deployed throughout the state of California.Enphase started shipping the IQ8 microinverters in December. IQ8 gained attention for their ability to form a microgrid during a power outage. The devices limit energy capture to just what the home is consuming, so if the grid goes out, the IQ8 automatically switches between on or off-grid.(Read: “Enphase going Einstein with IQ8 solar power inverters”)The Enphase Energy System with IQ8 comes in four different configurations: “Solar Only”; “Sunlight Backup” with no battery and the addition of IQ Load Controller to only support essential loads during an outage; “Home Essentials Backup” with a small battery; and “Full Energy Independence” with a large battery. While the first configuration is a standard grid-tied system, the remaining configurations are grid-agnostic systems that need the Enphase IQ System Controller 2 (formerly called Enpower smart switch) to island the home during an outage.The IQ8 family includes five types of software-defined microinverters, IQ8, IQ8+, IQ8M, IQ8A, and IQ8H, with peak output AC power of 245VA, 300VA, 330VA, 366VA, and 384VA, respectively. Enphase reports that the IQ8H microinverter is its most powerful microinverter to date and has a California Energy Commission (CEC) efficiency of 97%. The multiple types of IQ8 enable seamless pairing with a full range of solar modules, up to 540W DC.“We began piloting the product in the third quarter of 2021 with select installers and the feedback has been great. Homeowners not only get backup power with sunlight, but also have the flexibility to add more solar or batteries in the future as their needs change,” said Badri Kothandaraman, president and CEO of Enphase Energy.Semper Solaris plans to use Enphase’s proposal and permitting services. Enphase said it plans to build on the partnership and create a fully integrated digital platform, integrating additional services like operation and maintenance.“We have seen an incredible surge in demand from our customers for backup power and expect this trend to continue to increase as the push for electrification grows,” said John Almond, CEO of Semper Solaris. “There will be significant strain on our aging energy infrastructure, forcing us to rethink the way we generate and deliver energy to California households.”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.

Continue reading

Voluntary CECs are certificates that each represent 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of clean electricity that has been generated from a non-emitting source. Businesses will be able to to voluntarily purchase and retire these CECs to meet their corporate sustainability goals. January 27, 2022 Anne FischerThe Ontario government is developing a voluntary clean energy credit (CEC) registry, announced Todd Smith, minister of energy.Voluntary CECs are certificates that each represent 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of clean electricity that has been generated from a non-emitting source, such as solar, wind, bioenergy, hydroelectric, and nuclear power. Businesses will be able to to voluntarily purchase and retire these CECs to meet their corporate sustainability goals and demonstrate that their electricity has been sourced from a non-emitting resource. A CEC registry could return funds raised through the purchase of CECs to Ontario ratepayers and could support future clean energy generation in the province.“A CEC registry could enable more Ontario consumers to choose wind and solar energy to power their operations and help companies meet their ESG targets,” said Nicholas Gall, CanREA’s director, Ontario and Distributed Energy Resources.CanREA has a net-zero target to be achieved by 2050, and reports that at the end of 2021, at the end of 2020 had approximately 2,399MW of major solar energy capacity and ranked 22nd in the world for installed solar energy capacity. In 2021 Canada saw 288MW of new utility-scale solar energy commissioned, and CanREA projects that 2022 and 2023 will see significantly more growth in the deployment of wind and solar energy.The Ontario government has directed the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to research and report back on the design of a provincial CEC registry, that would give businesses more choice in how they achieve their corporate sustainability goals.The IESO will deliver its report by July 4, 2022, and the government intends to have the registry available by January 2023.“A voluntary clean energy credit market could be a key tool to help Ontario electricity customers realize their clean energy preferences,” says Lesley Gallinger, President and CEO of the IESO.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.

Continue reading

The two projects will add over 70MW of capacity to the company’s North Carolina solar portfolio. January 27, 2022 Tim SylviaDuke Energy announced it achieved the commercial operation of two of the utility’s solar projects,  adding just over 70MW to the company’s ever-growing utility-scale project portfolio.The projects in question are the 50MW Broad River Solar power plant in Cleveland County, North Carolina, west of Charlotte, and the 22.6-MW Speedway Solar power plant in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, just northeast of Charlotte.Construction of the Broad River project began last March, with Swinerton physically constructing the facility. Located on roughly 500 acres, the project is comprised of more than 170,000 solar panels and created more than 100 jobs during peak construction.In constructing the project, Duke also awarded a $5,000 grant to the Cleveland County Schools Educational Foundation and Crest High School to add a renewable energy and green construction skills module into the school’s workforce development curriculum.Construction on Speedway Solar also began in spring 2021, with efforts officially beginning in May. The project’s 185 acre site is home to 77,000 Jinko bifacial modules mounted on single-axis trackers. During peak construction, the project created roughly 70 jobs, and Duke awarded a $5,000 grant to the Cabarrus County Education Foundation to increase internet connectivity for students in Midland and Mt. Pleasant, N.C., much like the company did with the Broad River project.In total, Duke has constructed or acquired more than 4,100 MW of solar power via roughly 40 solar installations across North Carolina.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.

Continue reading

The Kansas Geological Survey may help address the challenge of intermittent production from solar and other renewable sources. January 27, 2022 Anne FischerWorking with Evergy, a utility serving customers in Kansas and Missouri, the Kansas Geological Survey is studying the possibility of storing excess energy generated by coal-fired power plants in underground salt caverns for future use.“Excess electricity can be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gas,” said Franek Hasiuk, KGS geologist and principal investigator for the project. “The hydrogen can then be stored in salt caverns for later use, either by burning it with natural gas in the power plant, adding it into pipeline natural gas for burning in home furnaces and stoves, supplying it to another business for use in chemical processes like fertilizer production, or using it to power vehicles.”Map of Kansas showing thickness of the Hutchinson salt bed, power plants (red circles), wind farms (blue diamonds) and refineries (yellow triangles).Image: Kansas Geological SurveyAs electrical grid operators increasingly buy power first from wind, solar and nuclear operations and turn to natural gas and coal plants only when needed, there’s a growing need for storage of  energy for future use.“Hydrogen storage could allow Evergy to store large amounts of energy to deal with the problem of intermittent power production from renewables – no solar when it’s night, no wind power when it’s not windy,” Hasiuk said.Extensive salt beds lie under the surface in Kansas. The Hutchinson Salt Member, deposited during the Permian Period, covers about 37,000 square miles in the subsurface in central and south-central Kansas and reaches a maximum thickness of more than 500 feet. Thick salt layers also occur in western and southwestern Kansas.Salt has been mined in Kansas since the late 1800s. Caverns in the salt beds are used for storing natural gas, natural gas liquids and other hydrocarbons.The study, supported by a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, will study the economic risks and benefits of storing hydrogen in these underground salt caverns.“Right now, it’s unclear whether undertaking a project like this is feasible for energy companies,” Hasiuk said. “Our study will help reduce the uncertainties related to hydrogen storage. At the end of the study, we may find out the costs of underground storage are as risky as or more risky than thought, but we should certainly be more confident about just how risky it is.”If the one-year project successfully demonstrates the viability of hydrogen storage, the partners will move to a second phase consisting of more advanced engineering and design of a storage system.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.

Continue reading