Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Local Organizations, Sustainable LivingTags , , Leave a comment on Clean-power agencies relieved at legislation change

Clean-power agencies relieved at legislation change

Jeff Quackenbush, NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL

A key element of legislation that advocates of Sonoma Clean Power and similar alternative-energy agencies insist would threaten their ability to form and operate could be switched off, thanks to state Senate action Monday.

The requirement for electricity customers to opt-in to a community-choice aggregation (CCA) agency was dropped from Assembly Bill 2145 during a meeting of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.

“We protected Sonoma County’s right to participate in Sonoma Clean Power,” Geof Syphers, agency CEO, said about that vote. The county’s CCA started service May 1 and serves all areas but Healdsburg, which has its own utility, and opt-outers Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Cloverdale.

via Clean-power agencies relieved at legislation change – North Bay Business Journal – North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties – Archive.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Sonoma Clean Power inks deal for 30 MW solar project

Sonoma Clean Power inks deal for 30 MW solar project

Press Release, Sonoma Clean Power, SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE

Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), Sonoma County’s new electricity supplier, signed an agreement today with leading North American solar project developer Recurrent Energy, to construct 30 megawatts (MW) of solar power in California, and to supply the energy to SCP customers.

“This 20-year deal secures pricing that helps Sonoma Clean Power maintain its low costs and deliver further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” offered Supervisor Susan Gorin, Chair of the SCP Board of Directors.

Power from the new solar facility, located in the Central Valley, will be sufficient to supply 9,000 homes starting in late 2016 when construction is completed. The project will be constructed under a project labor agreement. 

“The cost of this power is lower than any of our current contracts for renewable energy – helping to make room in the budget to support investments into local Sonoma County projects,” said Sonoma Clean Power’s CEO, Geof Syphers. “Early work on local power includes an existing deal for a similar amount of power from Calpine’s Geysers geothermal facility, a proposed feed-in tariff program for larger customers wanting to sell power, and improvements to the existing net metering program for solar customers,” Syphers added.

via Sonoma Clean Power Inks Deal for 30 MW Solar Project.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & EnergyTags , Leave a comment on Solar Helping Keep California Cool During This Heatwave

Solar Helping Keep California Cool During This Heatwave

Chris Clarke, REWIRE KCET

May 14. The agency that operates the electrical power grid for most of California forecasted last week that the state was in good shape for the summer, even without the San Onofre nuclear power plant and with drought making significantly lower output from hydroelectric stations. This week seems to be underscoring that confidence.

Warm temperatures mean greater demand for power in California as people reach for their air conditioning, and the California Independent System Operator (CaISO) is charged with making sure there’s enough electrical power to meet that heightened demand. This year, the state’s record drought means the prospects for hydro power in the state are well below average, and Southern California’s grid still struggles to make up the more than two gigawatts of supply lost when the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station went offline.

But if CaISO’s grid stats for Wednesday afternoon are any indication, last week’s forecast wasn’t far from the mark. With a heat wave hitting much of the state and pushing statewide power demand toward an unseasonable 40,000 megawatts, the grid seems to have plenty of juice to spare — and more than ten percent of the afternoon’s demand is being met by solar.

via Solar Helping Keep California Cool During This Heatwave | Solar | ReWire | KCET.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Brown, Thompson step in to aid PACE loan program for homeowners

Brown, Thompson step in to aid PACE loan program for homeowners

Guy Kovner, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Gov. Jerry Brown and Rep. Mike Thompson are involved in separate efforts to boost Sonoma County’s groundbreaking program to help residents pay for energy-saving improvements to their homes.

The highly touted program, which has funded more than $50 million worth of residential projects since it started in 2009, sustained a major setback in 2010 when federal housing officials said it jeopardized the nation’s major source of home mortgages.

While Thompson, D-St. Helena, is seeking to remove the federal roadblock, Brown and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer have created a $10 million fund aimed at offsetting the loan program’s potential impact on mortgages.

Thompson’s legislation went nowhere in 2010 and 2011, but may fare better this year with a new director, a former Democratic congressman from North Carolina, heading the federal agency that sets mortgage policy.

via Brown, Thompson step in to aid PACE loan program for homeowners | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on The "value of solar"— utility-scale or rooftop?

The "value of solar"— utility-scale or rooftop?

R.J. Harrington and Timothy Schoechle, BOULDER DAILY CAMERA

In his March 16 Camera column, "Renewables? Yes!" Bob Greenlee praised the recently announced plan by Xcel Energy to construct a large utility-scale solar PV project in Pueblo County which he claims will be "two to three times more cost-effective than smaller rooftop projects." Although a dubious claim, such a project might still seem like a good idea — to those unaware of the incredibly rapid changes taking place in the energy world. But the ground is moving under Greenlee’s (and Xcel’s) feet. Over the last year, and particularly in the last few months, the main debate has shifted from fossil vs. renewables to centralized renewables vs. distributed renewables — specifically rooftop solar PV.

Just over one year ago, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the investor-owned utility policy and lobbying organization, issued a brief, but prescient report titled "Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business." The report offered its members a "heads-up" that their basic 100-year old business model was threatened by rooftop solar, and it recommended that they rethink their whole business. The costs of rooftop solar panels (called Distributed Generation or DG) have dropped so dramatically that in some places they are already cost competitive with utility-supplied electricity. The conventional economies of scale of centralized generation is simply gone — solar modules are just as efficient at small scale as large. Public pressure has been mounting for PUCs to adopt new tariffs that recognize the "Value of Solar" to society and to encourage its use by moving beyond the ancient "cost-of-service" regulatory model that does not recognize the externalized costs of traditional generation (e.g., to air, water, health, jobs, environment, etc.) or the benefits of DG.

via The "value of solar"— utility-scale or rooftop? – Boulder Daily Camera.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable LivingTags , Leave a comment on Are solar panels facing the wrong direction?

Are solar panels facing the wrong direction?

Katherine Tweed, GREENTECH MEDIA

West-facing rooftop solar panels produced 49 percent more electricity during peak demand compared to south-facing panels, according to a new study from Pecan Street Research Institute.

The research is the first of its kind to evaluate the energy production of solar panels oriented in different directions. Pecan Street analyzed 50 homes in the Austin, Texas area. Some had only south-facing panels, others had west-facing panels, and some had both.

South-facing panels produced a 54 percent peak reduction overall, while west-facing solar PV panels produced a 65 percent peak reduction.

via Are Solar Panels Facing the Wrong Direction? : Greentech Media.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & EnergyTags , Leave a comment on Solar Sonoma County becomes Solar Action Alliance

Solar Sonoma County becomes Solar Action Alliance

Lori Houston

It’s official: Solar Sonoma County is now the Solar Action Alliance (SolarActionAlliance.org), a new name reflecting the organization’s expansion to Marin and Napa counties and broadening impact in advancing solar energy at the local level. Solar Sonoma County has become a “chapter” of Solar Action Alliance, which now also includes Solar Marin County and Solar Napa County.
Continue reading “Solar Sonoma County becomes Solar Action Alliance”

Posted on Categories Climate Change & Energy, Land UseTags , Leave a comment on Sonoma County takes closer look at green energy projects

Sonoma County takes closer look at green energy projects

Brett Wilkison, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Hearing on Sonoma County renewable energy zoning rules

WHEN: 2:10 p.m. Tuesday

WHERE: Board of Supervisors chambers, 575 Administration Dr., Room 100 A, Santa Rosa

With renewable energy development now a central issue in Sonoma County, disputed rules that would govern the size and location of green energy projects are returning to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday for approval.

The zoning changes, which focus largely on solar systems, would open up more land in unincorporated areas to commercial-scale projects, including agricultural, industrial and business parcels.

The first test case could be a 23-acre solar panel installation proposed for a hayfield outside Petaluma, a project prohibited under current zoning but allowed under the revised rules up for approval.

via Sonoma County takes closer look at green energy projects | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & EnergyTags , , Leave a comment on Ygrene seeks green in energy retrofits

Ygrene seeks green in energy retrofits

Robert Digitale, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Nearly two years after it launched amid national media attention, Santa Rosa’s Ygrene Energy Fund has financed its first projects for making older buildings green.

The company, which fashioned its business after a program pioneered by the County of Sonoma, is providing financing and administration to retrofit homes and commercial buildings in Sacramento and Miami. The public/private programs allow property owners to install solar electric systems and other energy- and water-saving improvements, with borrowers repaying the debt on their property tax bills.

via Ygrene seeks green in energy retrofits | The Press Democrat.

Posted on Categories Climate Change & EnergyTags , Leave a comment on Marin Energy Authority moving ahead with plan to build its own solar projects

Marin Energy Authority moving ahead with plan to build its own solar projects

Richard Halstead, MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

The Marin Energy Authority decided this week to begin setting aside money to develop its own renewable energy generation projects within its jurisdictional boundaries, which include all of Marin County and the city of Richmond.

The authority’s board Thursday gave its unanimous approval to the creation of a "local renewable development fund." The fund will be fed by half of the revenue generated each year from the authority’s "Deep Green" program. The authority has set a goal of creating 14 megawatts of new solar capacity within its jurisdiction by 2019.

via Marin Energy Authority moving ahead with plan to build its own solar projects – Marin Independent Journal.