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POWER Notebook: Investment in Renewables Down in 1H2019

July 15, 2019

Investments in renewable energy projects slowed in the first half of 2019, primarily due to a 39% year-over-year drop in China, the world’s largest renewables market, according to data published July 10 by BloombergNEF (BNEF).

BNEF said investments in China dropped to $ 28.8 billion, the lowest figure for any six-month period since 2013. China is moving away from government-set tariffs for solar and wind capacity and instead moving to auctions for renewable power. BNEF said global investment in renewables was $ 117.6 billion in the first half of this year, off 14% compared to the January-June 2018 period.

Justin Wu, head of Asia-Pacific for BNEF, in a news release said: “The slowdown in investment in China is real, but the figures for first-half 2019 probably overstate its severity. We expect a nationwide solar auction happening now to lead to a rush of new PV project financings. We could also see several big deals in offshore wind in the second half.”…

The POWER Interview: Technology Helps Integrate Renewables to the Grid

June 17, 2019

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Patrick Lee, who founded and leads PXiSE Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of San Diego, California-based Sempra Energy, is a proponent of energy sharing. His company builds enhanced grid management systems, using data, insights, and algorithms “to maximize efficiency and reliability of all DERs [distributed energy resources] as one system.” In other words, a PXiSE-supported microgrid is designed to interact with the grid, balancing the supply and demand of power, in an energy-sharing mode, rather than just managing an islanded microgrid.

The company’s Active Control Technology (ACT) platform is used at Sempra’s headquarters in San Diego as well as at other sites, including Con Edison’s 200-MW Great Valley Solar project near Fresno, California; the 110-MW Pima Solar facility in Mexico; and in distribution grids in Australia operated by Horizon Power.

Patrick Lee

Lee has said PSiXE’s technology provides a cost-effective way for users to move from fossil-fueled power generation to renewables. Lee recently talked with POWER about how PSiXE approaches the challenge of integrating renewable power generation to the grid.…

EIA: Gas, Renewables Outpacing Coal for Power Generation

May 11, 2019

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The percentage of coal-fired generation in the U.S. electricity mix will continue to decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said May 9, with gas-fired generation accounting for at least 40% of the nation’s power this summer and output from renewables continuing to rise.

EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) said coal-fired units will produce only about 25% of the nation’s electricity this summer, as renewables including solar, wind, and hydropower take more market share. EIA said renewables will supply nearly a quarter of the power needed in Western states this summer.

The agency said nuclear power, which supplies about 19% of the nation’s electricity, will continue at that level at least through 2020. EIA forecasts that renewables will produce about 18% of U.S. power this year, rising to about 20% next year. The agency said it expects wind generation will surpass hydropower output this year for the first time, taking over the top spot for renewables.

The EIA report comes two weeks after the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reported that data shows renewable energy—including hydro, biomass, wind, solar, and geothermal—in April for the first time generated more electricity in the U.S.…

Sempra Energy Exits U.S. Renewables Sector

April 25, 2019

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Sempra Energy on April 22 marked its complete exit from the U.S. renewables business as it completed the sale of 724 MW of operating wind generation and battery assets to American Electric Power (AEP) for $ 1.05 billion.

The San Diego–headquartered utility holding company, which says it has the largest U.S. customer base, said the move is consistent with a strategy to pay down debt and redeploy capital to support the growth of Sempra Energy in North America.

The transaction on Monday is the latest in a series of divestitures over the past year to raise $ 2.5 billion in proceeds. As Sempra Energy CEO Jeff Martin noted in a February fourth quarter earnings call, it stems from a “deep strategic process” led by the company’s board to exit fossil-fired generation as well as renewable generation that began as early as 2014.

“[I]t’s very important to make sure we’re doing all the right things to advance the clean energy transition, but it’s also important that we’re doing that in a way which is thoughtful around price, diversity of supply in a balanced energy program,” Martin said.…

New York Latest State to Set 100% Carbon-Free Goal, with Increased Renewables

January 18, 2019

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is continuing his push for renewable energy in the state, as the governor on Jan. 15 announced an initiative for New York to achieve 100% carbon-free power generation by 2040. Cuomo’s “Green New Deal,” part of his 2019 Justice Agenda and as part of the state budget, calls for an increase in deployments of renewable energy projects, including offshore wind.

New York is the third state, behind Hawaii and California, to commit to a full portfolio of renewable power generation. The Sierra Club said more than 100 U.S. cities and counties also have committed to all renewable energy, and about a half dozen already have met that goal.

“Let us set the goal, 100% clean power by 2040, highest in the United States of America, a climate action council to eliminate the state’s carbon footprint,” Cuomo said in his State of the State address at the state capitol in Albany. He said he wants groups to “come up with the next generation of clean technology and train our workforce for those jobs.”…

Growth in Renewables Continues Despite Drop in UK Power Generation

January 8, 2019

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Renewable energy sources increased their share of the UK’s electricity supply in 2018, with new wind farms and biomass plants helping renewables contribute a record 33% of the country’s power in the past year. Coal-fired units, meanwhile, saw a 25% drop in their output, with coal providing about 5% of the country’s total generation.

The UK has said it wants to phase out all coal generation by 2025.

An analysis by Carbon Brief, a UK-based climate science and energy policy group that advises the government, in a report released Jan. 3 noted that the amount of electricity produced in the UK last year was at its lowest level since 1994, despite sustained population growth during the period, including an increase of 6 million people since 2005. Analysts said the reduced need for power is due to increasingly efficient use of energy and the country’s changing economy.

Carbon Brief’s report noted 335 TWh were generated by UK power plants last year, a drop of about 1% from 2017.…