Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Rather niche solar news, but fun and practical I suppose.

US Air Force Deploys Solar Power For New Self-Assembling Tent

For all the technology advances in military systems over the past 1,000 years or so, on-the-go shelter has seen little in the way of foundational change. Expeditionary forces still rely on tents and canopies to keep the elements at bay.

Forces on the move also rely on fuel and water that moves with them, a topic that came to light with all its lethal consequences in the form of bomb-vulnerable supply convoys during the Iraq war, and most recently during Russia’s murderous rampage through Ukraine.

During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US Marine Corps and the US Army began turning to renewable energy as a solution to the expeditionary energy-water nexus problem, with a focus on solar power.

Aside from avoiding fuel transportation costs, solar power reduces the need for noisy, polluting gas or diesel generators. With solar power in play, warfighters in camp have less exposure to health and safety risks. Reducing the level of noise-induced stress is another plus for combat-readiness.

Pvilion Solar has been making PV-enabled solar tents, canopies, and sails for more than 20 years. It first flapped across the CleanTechnica radar just a few years ago, in 2017, so we have some catching up to do.

Back in 2020 the US Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office tasked Pvilion to develop and deliver a self-deploying tent with solar power, called HEXT for Hands-Off Expeditionary Tent.

Personnel at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska deployed the HEXT system at its flight line during the “Polar Force 22-4” exercise on March 31, which focused on the new Agile Combat Employment directive. They gave the technology a big thumbs-up.

JKenH

Solar PV Thermal

I see this having potential in commercial applications, perhaps less easy to integrate into domestic settings.

https://youtu.be/Ow0BHlSZg5M

JKenH

Solar panels will make your house more valuable – but only by half as much as they cost

New figures collated for the Telegraph showed that a terraced house in London, which costs £553,729 on average, would see its value increase by between £1,070 and £3,110 by fitting solar panels. 

A £489,791 detached house in the South West would see a price jump of between £946 and £2,751, while a £231,679 semi-detached house in the West Midlands would see a premium of £1,594 to £2,428 added, the research found. 

Solar panel installation typically costs around £6,500, according to the Energy Savings Trust, more than double what it would add to a home's value in the best-case scenario. 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/solar-panels-will-make-house-valuable-half-much-cost/

Coastalwatch

Great to see planning permission granted for this 50MW Solar farm combined with storage.

Along with increased biodiversity of the site other benefits include community awards and local supply contracts to £400k.

Couldn't find any publicity relating to local opposition groups so maybe it had an easy passage or could it be that attitudes are slowly beginning to change.

Statkraft gains planning permission for 50MW Stargoose solar farm

The site will include batteries for energy storage and biodiversity enhancements, with an estimated 141% biodiversity net gain expected from measures including 10 hectares of new meadow grassland, over 3.5 hectares of woodland, new or restored hedgerows, five new hedgehog homes and nearly 50 birdboxes.

"We’re thrilled that the Planning Committee at South Cambridgeshire recognised this fantastic opportunity to contribute to the decarbonisation of the UK’s energy supply and approved the Stargoose Solar Energy Farm today,” said Gareth Hawkins, UK business development manager.

“Also, as a result of today’s approval, we hope to offer construction employment opportunities for local people, and investment will be generated for the local community and environmental projects.”

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/statkraft_gains_planning_permission_for_50mw_stargoose_solar_farm

Martyn1981

Amazon delivering more RE and storage projects. Well, I say delivering, they were actually left with a neighbour! ;-)

Amazon doubles solar-plus-storage portfolio as delivery giant makes fresh 3.5GW renewables investment

Amazon has added 37 new renewable energy projects to its portfolio, including 26 new utility-scale solar projects, two of which will be hybrid solar-plus-storage. 

The technology and logistics giant is adding a total of 3.5GW to its 12.2GW portfolio of renewable energy.

markin

Coastalwatch said:

Great to see planning permission granted for this 50MW Solar farm combined with storage.

Along with increased biodiversity of the site other benefits include community awards and local supply contracts to £400k.

Couldn't find any publicity relating to local opposition groups so maybe it had an easy passage or could it be that attitudes are slowly beginning to change.

Statkraft gains planning permission for 50MW Stargoose solar farm

The site will include batteries for energy storage and biodiversity enhancements, with an estimated 141% biodiversity net gain expected from measures including 10 hectares of new meadow grassland, over 3.5 hectares of woodland, new or restored hedgerows, five new hedgehog homes and nearly 50 birdboxes.

"We’re thrilled that the Planning Committee at South Cambridgeshire recognised this fantastic opportunity to contribute to the decarbonisation of the UK’s energy supply and approved the Stargoose Solar Energy Farm today,” said Gareth Hawkins, UK business development manager.

“Also, as a result of today’s approval, we hope to offer construction employment opportunities for local people, and investment will be generated for the local community and environmental projects.”

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/statkraft_gains_planning_permission_for_50mw_stargoose_solar_farm

I cant find the planning doc for a 50mw unless its actually a 22mw expansion, with only 39 addresses given Notification of Planning.

And this one is cutting off the only access to BROOK FARM

https://applications.greatercambridgeplanning.org/online-applications/files/ECDF533B8177D37815D0CF4229A435C5/pdf/22_00051_FUL-BROOK_FARM__BARTON_ROAD-5911264.pdf

EDIT# its not this one, ref. 22/00051/FUL

Coastalwatch

Thanks for posting Markin, unfortunately document not available when I looked. Unless I just didn't have the necessary permissions.

Coastalwatch

A huge win for Solar in the Florida State, providing it is backed up by the senate there. The original bill would have devalued current owners payments while having a double whammy of the Utility being allowed to set it's own fees to those who have them now or in the future. I don't often find myself agreeing with this particular Governor but it's a very welcome decision that I hope gets confirmed by those who have to vote upon it once more.

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to whether he did it purely for the future of renewable energy in the state as opposed to the findings of the Poll conducted amongst a mix of voters. Either way it's thumbs up from me.

Breaking: Florida Governor vetoes anti-rooftop solar bill

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed House Bill 741, which would have phased down the value of net metering and opened the door for utilities to add fixed charges to solar customer bills.

When the bill initially passed on March 8, it did so by a combined vote of  83-31, with five abstaining in the House, and 24-15 in the Senate, garnering 68% of the total vote. In vetoing the bill, DeSantis sends it back to the House, where it will be available for consideration until the end of the current session. In Florida, it takes two-thirds of the members voting in each house to override a veto.

Since its introduction and through the bill’s passage in the state legislature, it received significant backlash with Will Giese, southeast regional director of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) calling it ” A nightmare for anyone who believes in energy freedom and the rights of people to choose the energy that works for them and their families.” A recent Sachs Media poll found that 86% of the 722 polled Florida voters, regardless of political affiliation or age, said they wanted Governor DeSantis to veto the bill, including 82% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats.

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/04/27/breaking-desantis-vetoes-anti-rooftop-solar-bill/

Coastalwatch

And sadly the not so good news! But maybe the forecast will focus minds on solving the issue sooner rather than later with a sensible outcome to allow projects to continue at the pace required if net zero is ever to be achieved, never mind in a timely fashion.

SEIA cuts solar deployment forecast 46% in light of anti-circumvention investigation

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has lowered its solar installation forecasts for 2022 and 2023 by 46% due to the Biden administration’s circumvention case against solar imports from Southeast Asia.

According to an updated analysis based on the organization’s survey for solar workers and companies already affected by the investigation, SEIA has predicted that the case will result in a drop of 24 GW of planned solar capacity over the next two years, which is more solar than the industry installed in all of 2021. In losing this capacity, SEIA also estimates that the United States will emit an additional 364 million metric tons of carbon by 2035, missing the opportunity to effectively take 78 million internal combustion-engine vehicles off the road. By 2025, imposition of tariffs will cause solar capacity to fall 75 GW short of the pace needed to reach the president’s goal, equal to the size of the entire US solar market prior to 2020.

The impact is not just on solar projects either. 65% of respondents working in energy storage expect the investigation to have a devastating to severe impact on their business as well.

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/04/27/seia-cuts-solar-deployment-forecast-46-in-light-of-anti-circumvention-investigation/

Martyn1981

Well, I've always said nice things about solar carports, but this is just getting silly .... 15,000 spaces?

World’s Largest Solar Power Carport Launched

A 35 MW solar power carport with 90,000 solar panels was launched the first week of May in the Netherlands. Biddinghuizen is the solar carport location, which is the same site for the annual Lowlands music festival. The festival receives tens of thousands of visitors each year, so the parking area covers 35 hectares and provides 15,000 parking spaces. Carports are typically effective sites for solar power installations because they provide flat surfaces that aren’t being used for anything else, so it is not necessary to use any additional land.