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As coal and nuclear power stations retire, 2019 U.S. renewable generation additions expected to far outpace gas

2019 US renewable generation additions expected to far outpace gas: EIA https://www.utilitydive.com/news/2019-us-renewable-generation-additions-expected-to-far-outpace-gas-eia/545836/ AUTHOR, Iulia Gheorghiu @IMGheorghiu

Dive Brief:

23.7 GW of new U.S. electric generating capacity, mostly from wind, natural gas and solar, are expected in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) inventory of electric generators.
In addition, EIA data shows 8 GW of primarily coal, nuclear and natural gas generation are expected to retire this year, though that number could increase as utilities continue to evaluate their generating portfolios.
The expected retirements include Arizona’s 2.3 GW Navajo coal-burning power plant, Exelon’s 819 MW Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania and Entergy’s 677 MW Pilgrim nuclear power station in Massachusetts.

Dive Insight:

Cheaper prices of natural gas and renewable energy have impacted the competitiveness of more traditional generation fuels.

Renewable additions are projected to more than double gas in 2019. Last year, natural gas capacity additions outpaced renewable energy additions for the first time since 2013. 2018 was also a landmark year for new capacity additions, as EIA expected nearly 32 GW of new capacity — the most in a decade.

The estimates, based on EIA data, do not include additions in the residential and commercial solar sectors, which are expected to be an additional 3.9 GW by the end of 2019.

In 2019, EIA is tracking about 6.1 GW of combined-cycle gas plants and 1.4 GW of combustion-turbine gas plants, expected to be mostly online by June, in order to meet high energy demand during the summer peak. The rest of the expected additions include wind, solar and about 2% of other renewable and battery storage capacity.

Renewable capacity typically comes online at the end of the year, according to the EIA. This matches the upcoming changes in renewable energy tax credits. The wind production tax credit will phase out completely at the end of the year from its current status at 40% of 2015 levels. On the solar side, this is the last year for a full 30% investment tax credit for developing solar energy systems, which will begin to phase down in 2020.

Utility integrated resource plans (IRPs) are beginning to show that renewables can beat out older coal plants, as the Northern Indiana Public Service Company demonstrated through its 2018 IRP analysis last fall, assessing a scenario to eliminate the resource by 2028.

Half of the 4.5 GW of coal-fired capacity expected to retire in 2019 comes from the Navajo Generation Station (NGS), which has not found enough customers for its power generation despite support from a number of groups and the Trump administration to keep it open. Last September, private equity firm Middle River Power dropped its bid to purchase the plant.

In addition, the Pilgrim nuclear plant, set to retire in May, and Three Mile Island, scheduled to retire in September, follow announcements from the plant operators of “severe economic challenges.” Exelon’s Three Mile Island failed to clear the PJM Interconnection capacity market auction in 2017 and Entergy based the decision for Pilgrim on a range of financial factors, including low current and forecast wholesale energy prices.

While the Trump administration has worked to support existing coal and nuclear power plants and to create economic conditions to add new coal and nuclear capacity, trends are pointing away from nuclear and coal additions.

“I don’t think there are any trends in the current electricity market that favor the idea of building new coal or nuclear power plants,” Tim Fox, vice president of ClearView Energy Partners, told Utility Dive.

The natural gas plants set for retirement largely consist of steam turbine plants, mostly located in California. They are older units that came online more than 50 years ago. Other capacity retirements for the year include a hydroelectric plant in Washington state and smaller renewable and petroleum capacity.

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January 12, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Renewables beating coal energy in Germany

Renewables have overtaken coal as Germany’s main energy source, World Economic Forum, Reuters Staff, 4 Jan 2019 Renewables overtook coal as Germany’s main source of energy for the first time last year, accounting for just over 40 percent of electricity production, research showed on Thursday.

The shift marks progress as Europe’s biggest economy aims for renewables to provide 65 percent of its energy by 2030 in a costly transition as it abandons nuclear power by 2022 and is devising plans for an orderly long-term exit from coal.

The research from the Fraunhofer organisation of applied science showed that output of solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric generation units rose 4.3 percent last year to produce 219 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity. That was out of a total national power production of 542 TWh derived from both green and fossil fuels, of which coal burning accounted for 38 percent.

Green energy’s share of Germany’s power production has risen from 38.2 percent in 2017 and just 19.1 percent in 2010.

Bruno Burger, author of the Fraunhofer study, said it was set to stay above 40 percent this year.

“We will not fall below the 40 percent in 2019 because more renewable installations are being built and weather patterns will not change that dramatically,” he said……….https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/renewables-overtake-coal-as-germanys-main-energy-source?utm_source=Facebook%20Videos&utm_medium=Facebook%20Video

January 6, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Solar power for 97 Spanish grand hotels

Observer 30th Dec 2018 Spain’s state-owned chain of paradores, the grand hotels often housed in ancient castles and monasteries, has announced that all 97 of its establishments will use only electricity from renewable sources from the start of the new year.

The 90-year-old chain said the decision to switch to green electricity had been made for both environmental and symbolic
reasons. “Paradores is a company that supports sustainable tourism in every sense of the word,” said its chair, Óscar López Águeda. “What’s more, as a public company, we also want to set an example when it comes to investments that encourage energy saving and responsible consumption.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/30/spain-paradores-solar-power-pledge

December 31, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | decentralised, Spain | Leave a comment

Renewable energy getting a boost after the failure of VC Summer Nuclear Plant expansion

Nuclear negations yield renewable energy leverage https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2018/12/18/nuclear-negations-yield-renewable-energy-leverage/

As part of the recently approved settlement negotiations associated with the failed VC Summer Nuclear Plant expansion in South Carolina, renewable energy has gained greater PPA and IRP access, and greater market continuity.

DECEMBER 18, 2018 JOHN WEAVER The VC Summer Nuclear Power plant expansion failed at a cost of $9 billion to South Carolina electricity customers. The follow ups have led to court cases in which ex-employee testimony suggested firings for whistleblowing, and that the company running the construction – SCANA – had committed fraud, and mismanaged the project.

Utility customers on the hook for the project had received nine unique electricity bill increases, equal to about $27/month, a factor in South Carolina to having the highest average monthly bills in the United States. As part of the fallout, the parties involved are being pushed hard by politicians and voters to change their ways.

On November 30th, general council of the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCANA), also representing Dominion Energy, notified the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, that it supports a certain set of renewable energy supporting policies as part of the ongoing negotiations.

The policies are focused on renewables and energy storage gaining consistent access to the market. The regulations mainly aim to create a consistent set of variables – avoided costs, ten year PPAs, hourly pricing, consistent interconnection standards – that will allow developers of solar power projects to better model probability of successful projects.

This is not the first time that failed nuclear power plants have been followed by solar. The above images [on original] are of the 1 MW solar power plant that is running at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant in Ukraine. The large structure in the background is the $1.5 billion 31,000 ton concrete sarcophagus to cover the still burning nuclear melt down.

The Phipps Bend Nuclear Power Plant in Surgoinsville, Tennessee sat abandoned since it was cancelled in 1981, 36 years ago. As of July 5, 2017 it began generating solar electricity as United Renewable Energy completed a 1 MW solar power plant (main article image)

When Duke Energy Florida cancelled the Levy Nuclear Plant at a cost of $800 million in already collected fees from consumers, the electric utility announced plans to satiate the public with 700 MWac of solar power, plus at least 50 MW of grid-tied batteries, grid modernization projects, and 500 electric vehicle charging areas.

in South Carolina, renewable energy has gained greater PPA and IRP access, and greater market continuity.

DECEMBER 18, 2018 JOHN WEAVER The VC Summer Nuclear Power plant expansion failed at a cost of $9 billion to South Carolina electricity customers. The follow ups have led to court cases in which ex-employee testimony suggested firings for whistleblowing, and that the company running the construction – SCANA – had committed fraud, and mismanaged the project.

Utility customers on the hook for the project had received nine unique electricity bill increases, equal to about $27/month, a factor in South Carolina to having the highest average monthly bills in the United States. As part of the fallout, the parties involved are being pushed hard by politicians and voters to change their ways.

On November 30th, general council of the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCANA), also representing Dominion Energy, notified the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, that it supports a certain set of renewable energy supporting policies as part of the ongoing negotiations.

The policies are focused on renewables and energy storage gaining consistent access to the market. The regulations mainly aim to create a consistent set of variables – avoided costs, ten year PPAs, hourly pricing, consistent interconnection standards – that will allow developers of solar power projects to better model probability of successful projects.

This is not the first time that failed nuclear power plants have been followed by solar. The above images [on original] are of the 1 MW solar power plant that is running at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant in Ukraine. The large structure in the background is the $1.5 billion 31,000 ton concrete sarcophagus to cover the still burning nuclear melt down.

The Phipps Bend Nuclear Power Plant in Surgoinsville, Tennessee sat abandoned since it was cancelled in 1981, 36 years ago. As of July 5, 2017 it began generating solar electricity as United Renewable Energy completed a 1 MW solar power plant (main article image)

When Duke Energy Florida cancelled the Levy Nuclear Plant at a cost of $800 million in already collected fees from consumers, the electric utility announced plans to satiate the public with 700 MWac of solar power, plus at least 50 MW of grid-tied batteries, grid modernization projects, and 500 electric vehicle charging areas.

December 20, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Residential batteries ready to compete with fossil fuels and nuclear in Germany

Sonnen: Residential batteries ready to compete with fossil fuels and nuclear in Germany Energy Storage, 14 Dec 18 , Batteries in private households will be now able to perform the “same tasks as a conventional power plant”, across the whole of Germany, the CEO of Sonnen has said, following a ruling that opens up grid services markets to the company’s devices.

Sonnen last week announced that it has obtained pre-qualification to enter Germany’s Primary Control Reserve market by grid operator TenneT for its battery energy storage units installed across the country. Primary Control Reserve is a form of frequency regulation, keeping the grid to within acceptable boundaries of its optimum 50Hz operating frequency……….

If every solar home in Germany – there are around 1.5 million at present – was equipped with a SonnenBatterie, the power capacity would add up to 4.5GW, with an energy capacity of 15GWh. Such systems, connected to the virtual battery, or virtual power plant (VPP), could replace four large thermal power plants, equivalent to the entire capacity currently being used for PCR across the entire European continent.

The possibility for scaling up the model, in other words, “is one large step towards a clean and decentralised energy structure,” Ostermann said………https://www.energy-storage.news/news/sonnen-residential-batteries-ready-to-compete-with-fossil-fuels-and-nuclear

December 15, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | decentralised, energy storage, Germany | Leave a comment

REPLACING NUCLEAR WITH RENEWABLES WOULD SAVE FRANCE $44.5 BILLION

Futurism, 13 Dec 18 The French government just announced a plan to power 95 percent of the country with solar and wind energy by 2060. And by doing so, the government would spend about $44.5 billion (39 billion euros) less than it would if it maintained its current energy infrastructure.

To get there, the government would need to cancel plans to construct 15 new nuclear power plants, and instead replace its aging nuclear reactors with renewable infrastructure over the next several decades, according to a new report published Monday by the French environmental agency.

The report details how France could increase its dependence on solar and wind energy over time, gradually shutting down nuclear power plants to make room for renewables.

But doing so will still be costly: the report suggests that developing these new power plants as well as the necessary infrastructure to support them will cost the government $1.45 trillion (1.28 trillion euros) over the next 42 years. That’s a huge investment, but it’s still much cheaper than maintaining the status quo and replacing the country’s aging nuclear power plants with more modernized reactors…….. https://futurism.com/the-byte/nuclear-plants-renewable-energy-france

December 13, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, renewable | Leave a comment

Germany a leading solar power producer, despite its low hours of sunshine

Germany Works (accessed) 9th Dec 2018, Germany has belied its status as a country with the fewest hours of sunshine in the world to become one of the planet’s largest solar power producers.

In 2017, Germany ranked fourth globally and accounted for about 10 per cent of the global installed capacity, according to the International Energy Agency. In 2017, Germany ranked fourth globally and accounted for about 10 per cent of the global installed capacity, according to the International Energy Agency.

This has been achieved by 1.7 million small-scale solar panel operators rather than by big, centralised power producers. These operators produced 9.6 per cent of Germany’s net energy production in the first nine months of 2018, according to research institute Fraunhofer ISE. Further, solar power has become the cheapest mode of power generation in Germany, according to Fraunhofer ISE, which says that equipment and installation costs fell by 75 per cent between 2006 and 2017.
https://germanyworks.ft.com/energy/german-solar-power-is-a-sunrise-market/

December 11, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | decentralised, Germany | Leave a comment

Scotland’s wind power output over 100%

WIND output in Scotland has broken through the 100% threshold for the first
time with 109% of total electricity demand being met from renewables, according to new data. Figures from Weather Energy, part of a wider European project, show electricity generated by wind in November was enough to power nearly 6 million homes – a new record for Scotland.

In another milestone, wind production outstripped total electricity demand on 20 out of 30 days. Gina Hanrahan, head of policy at environmental group WWF Scotland, welcomed the contribution made by wind: “Wind power breaking through the magic 100% threshold is truly momentous. For months output has flirted around the 97% mark, so it’s fantastic to reach this milestone. “It’s also worth noting that 20 out of 30 days wind production outstripped demand.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/17286749.scottish-wind-power-output-breaks-100-output-milestone/

December 11, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Hungary plans for 100% renewable energy, phasing out coal

Open Access Government 28th Nov 2018 , Following yet another hike in the European Union’s emissions trading
system (ETS) in its fight against climate change, Hungary has announced
that it aims to phase out its use of coal and be fully reliant on renewable
energy sources by 2030.
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/hungary-plans-to-ditch-coal-by-2030-and-become-fully-reliant-on-renewable-energy/55057/

December 1, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment

Solar and wind fuels emit no carbon, but “low carbon” nuclear fuel- it’s a lie! theme for November 18

Solar and wind energy both flow directly to the generating system.

Not only are these fuels carbon-free, but, unlike nuclear, they leave no wastes

Only one step in that uranium-nuclear chain is low emission – though all nuclear lobbyists claim that this step is “no emission” – the reactor’s operation. BUT – Carbon-14 is produced in coolant at boiling water reactors (BWRs) and pressurized water reactors (PWRs). It is typically released to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide at BWRs, and methane at PWRs.

November 24, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's themes, renewable | Leave a comment

UK could be running solely on zero carbon renewable in summer months 2050.

Business Green 2nd Nov 2018 The UK power market will be able to withstand huge volumes of new renewable
generation coming on line according to new research, which suggests the
country could be running solely on zero carbon power during the summer
months by 2050.

The paper, released today by Aurora Energy Research,
explores what happens to the UK power market as it transitions to a high
level of renewable power. Aurora modelled a 2050 scenario where power
demand has risen by two-thirds from today, thanks to the rise of EVs, and
the grid now boasts 130GW of nuclear, wind and solar generation capacity.

Low power demand and a seasonal spike in renewables generation could
effectively lead to zero-carbon summers for the UK electricity grid under
this scenario, according to Aurora. But such large volumes of renewable
power would also “fundamentally alter” the workings of the power market,
with price crashes in the summer months as green power generation soars.
https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3065602/aurora-er-uk-could-enjoy-zero-carbon-summer-power-by-2050

November 5, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

€45 billion renewables investment opportunity in France, with its new energy policy

French turn on nuclear opens €45 billion renewables investment opportunity The French government is expected to show a draft plan on how to achieve nuclear generation reduction plans. After minister Hulot left the government in August, amidst disagreements with Macron’s handling of the nuclear lobby, the parliament has voted for a bill to reduce nuclear generation capacity. If the plans are realized in compliance with the climate targets, solar and wind deployment could grow significantly., PV Magazine,

OCTOBER 31, 2018 MARIAN WILLUHN UK-based analyst firm Aurora Energy Research projects a €45 billion investment opportunity for the French renewable energy market. The French government will present its plan (Programmations Plurianuelles de l’Energie) to lower its dependency on nuclear energy from 75% to 50% by 2025, while at the same time meeting Paris Agreement compliant emission reductions targets……..

Last week, the European Commission approved a new incentive scheme for self-consumption from distributed renewable resources for France. The plan comprises €200 million from the French State budget, for the support of the deployment of 490 MW of additional generation capacity. …….https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/10/31/french-turn-on-nuclear-opens-e45-billion-renewables-investment-opportunity/?fbclid=IwAR2XkLLTvB2lhTnf__7j4skqGwszrTecissm4PhXOMMWBPiv1esVtNuFj5Q

November 3, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, renewable | Leave a comment

“Clean Energy D.C. Act” – would lead Washington DC to 100% renewable energy by 2032

Green Matters 24th Oct 2018, Lawmakers in Washington D.C. are proposing one of the nation’s most
aggressive plans to cut carbon emissions. The “Clean Energy D.C. Act”
would roll out the strongest renewable electricity standard in the United
States, making the nation’s capital a world leader on climate change and
put them on an accelerated timeline to 100 percent renewable energy by
2032.

“This bill provides the bold action needed to match the urgency of
the climate crisis. It builds on the Clean Energy D.C. plan and the
District’s 12-year legacy of clean energy and green building policy
achievement, again blazing a path for other cities to follow,” said Cliff
Majersik, Executive Director of the Institute for Market Transformation in
a statement. https://www.greenmatters.com/renewables/2018/10/24/19LG2w/dc-climate-bill-2030

October 29, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable | 1 Comment

Egypt’s renewable energy project – going for the green economy

Image processed by CodeCarvings Piczard ### FREE Community Edition ### on 2017-10-20 17:00:50Z | http://piczard.com | http://codecarvings.com

Middle East Monitor 27th Oct 2018 , Egypt is “entering the world of solar energy” after it inaugurated the
largest solar power plant in the world early this year, RT reported on Friday. Reporting the remarks of Egyptian official Hassan Abaza, RT said that the superpower plant was built in the city of Aswan, southern Egypt.

It began supplying the national grid last December. Abaza reiterated that this is the largest solar power plant in the world, noting that his country is heading towards more investment in this kind of power as part of its plans for sustainable development.

He also said that solar power energy is better than oil because it is renewable, stressing that the “green
economy” is a mechanism to achieve sustainable development. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181027-egypt-builds-largest-solar-power-plant-in-the-world/

October 29, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Egypt, renewable | 1 Comment

Washington DC pushes 100% renewable energy bill

https://reneweconomy.com.au/washington-dc-pushes-100-renewable-energy-bill-48151/

Joshua S Hill 16 October 2018 A bill currently working its way through the Washington D.C. City Council will require all local utilities to source 100% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2032.

Like the Australian Capital Territory in Canberra, which has its own 100 per cent renewable energy target that will be met by 2020 – it is a strong and not-so-subtle reprimand to the occupant of the capital district’s most famous house.

The CleanEnergy DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2018 was introduced to the Council of the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) in July and has been working its way through procedures before the first of two public hearings was held last week.

In addition to increasing the District’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 100% – which would mandate utilities operating in the District source all their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2032 – the omnibus bill also seeks to establish a solar energy standard and require utilities to procure at least 5 per cent of their power from solar by 2032.

In a move obviously intended to increase solar development in the area, the bill includes an interesting wrinkle which proposes to increase the mandated share of solar, up until a limit of 1.68GW.

“The fight to reduce the impacts of climate change is the most important environmental issue of our time,” said council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) in July, who drafted the bill.

“The District has been a leader in this fight, but we need to do much more if we wish to achieve the greenhouse gas reduction goals in the Sustainable DC Plan and in our commitment to the Paris Accords on Climate Change.

By changing the way we approach energy consumption and building emissions, we will have a clear path forward in the fight against the devastating effects of climate change.”

The first of two hearings comes at an opportune time for the successful passing if the omnibus bill, coming as it did only a day after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a Special Report on global warming, which outlined “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” are needed in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

“If passed, this will be the strongest clean energy and climate protection law in the nation,” said Mark Rodeffer, chair Sierra Club DC Chapter. “To meet DC’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent by 2032 and 80 percent by 2050 and to protect our communities from the catastrophic effects of climate change, this kind of resolute action is needed.”

In addition to the aforementioned provisions in the omnibus bill, it also includes new building emissions standards, funding for local sustainability initiatives, and the promise of new rules on transportation emissions.

“This bill provides the bold action needed to match the urgency of the climate crisis,” added Cliff Majersik, Executive Director of the Institute for Market Transformation. “It builds on the Clean Energy DC plan and the District’s 12-year legacy of clean energy and green building policy achievement, again blazing a path for other cities to follow.

It will stimulate investments to cut energy costs, reduce the flow of money from the District for energy imports, and create jobs for DC residents advancing renewables and energy efficiency.

October 16, 2018 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

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