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Solar Project Forges a Bright Future for Colorado Steel Mill

August 31, 2022

The Bighorn Solar farm has been called the future of renewable energy. It’s a project dedicated to providing cleaner power for a major industrial facility, while also investing in the community and preserving local jobs.

When the United Nations and other organizations began discussing how to make industrial processes more sustainable and environmentally friendly, the groups knew it would take buy-in from utilities, businesses, and communities to bring projects to life. Today, the “Greening of Industry” is moving forward, with a shift toward sustainable business practices more prevalent than ever. The transition to a low-carbon economy is being embraced in many sectors, even those traditionally reliant on fossil fuels.

The Bighorn Solar project in Colorado is an example. Bighorn Solar is a 300-MW photovoltaic solar farm, developed by Lightsource bp to power the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain steel mill in Pueblo. Bighorn is at present the largest onsite solar power plant for a U.S. industrial facility, and also the first such facility in the country to be dedicated to a steel mill.…

SOLAR FOR GREEN HYDROGEN

August 8, 2022

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The solar radiation received on the earth exceeds total annual global energy consumption by a factor of more than 5000.1 Effectively harnessing and utilising solar energy at the gigawatt (GW) and terawatt (TW) scale requires bulk energy storage, time-shifting, and location-shifting of solar output, requiring GW-scale energy storage and long-term time-shifting. Other than pumped storage, which..
Energy Central…

IEA Calls for More Diverse Solar PV Supply Chains

July 8, 2022

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) is urging the development of more diverse solar PV supply chains, suggesting the sector’s heavy reliance on China has led to imbalances that pose risks to its future growth.

A dedicated study of the world’s solar PV supply chain issued by the Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization on July 7 acknowledges that government policies in China have contributed to a cost decline for solar PV of more than 80% through economies of scale and continuous innovation. But because global manufacturing capacity for solar panels has increasingly moved out of Europe, Japan, and the U.S. and into China over the past decade, China’s share in all key solar panel manufacturing stages now exceeds 80%. For key elements, including polysilicon and wafers, China’s share “is set to rise to more than 95% in the coming years, based on current manufacturing capacity under construction,” the agency said.

However, this concentration of PV supply chains poses specific vulnerability and risks to the industry that the world is banking on to achieve substantial decarbonization, it said.…

Biden Pausing Solar Tariffs, Pushes for U.S. Production

June 7, 2022

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The White House is moving to support the solar power industry, including U.S. manufacturing of solar panels and other equipment, by pausing tariffs on imported solar panels from four Southeast Asian countries. The 24-month moratorium announced June 6 will exist while U.S. officials continue to look at the practices of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries that are being investigated for possibly circumventing tariff rules.

The solar power industry has decried the investigation, saying it has led to supply chain constraints that are threatening U.S. solar power projects, and industry jobs. Officials from across the U.S. energy sector on Monday applauded the move, saying it should lead to more certainty regarding equipment used for power generation, transmission, and distribution.

President Joe Biden on Monday issued plans for the two-year exemption on tariffs, noting the investigation’s impacts on the solar power industry, and its threat to the administration’s own clean energy goals. The White House said it would continue to push Congress “to pass clean energy investments and tax cuts” to spur U.S.…

The POWER Interview: How Solar Can Solve the C&I Power Puzzle

May 28, 2022

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Commercial and industrial (C&I) enterprises rely on their power supply. Many facilities, such as hospitals, federal institutions, and military bases—those considered mission critical—have long been at the forefront of finding solutions to keep their lights on.

In today’s world, the need for reliable and resilient power is critical for a wide range of industries. Uninterrupted power is essential, not only for operations but also for safety. Power outages can bring economic disaster for businesses that don’t have a power system that can ensure the lights don’t go out.

That’s why more and more C&I enterprises are installing their own power generation systems, to keep their business up and running. Many are embracing renewable energy solutions as part of their sustainability efforts, recognizing the importance of decarbonization as they design their own onsite generation, or as they purchase power from others—be it solar power, wind power, or another distributed energy resource.

Kirk Edelman, chief commercial officer with New York City-based Safari Energy, a solar energy company, answered questions from POWER about the solar industry and how it fits within the growing need for commercial and industrial facilities to produce their own power to ensure a reliable and resilient supply of electricity.

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Solar Developer Has Plan to Turn Oil Wells Into Energy Storage

February 24, 2022

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A California developer of concentrated solar power (CSP) systems has announced an innovation that it says combines the company’s technologies to turn existing oil wells into energy storage sites that can provide clean energy.

Hyperlight Energy on Feb. 24 said it was launching Tectonic Sun, an electricity generation technology that when paired with the company’s Hylux solar thermal solution can provide “zero-carbon electricity” from oil wells “while reducing emissions during the extraction process at enhanced oil recovery [EOR] sites.” Hyperlight on Thursday said the new system “is capable of providing emissions-free power with 80% capacity factor for use at any time of day or night throughout the year.” (Go here to view a video detailing how the technology works.)

The company has a technology demonstration project, Tectonic Sun Alpha, at a Hathaway oil drilling site in Bakersfield, California. Hathaway is an independent, Bakersfield-based drilling company that operates six oil and gas fields in Kern County, California.

Repurposing Oil Wells

“The industry is increasingly embracing the concept of cost reduction through repurposing oil wells, as shown by the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technology Office [GTO] recently announced group of projects aiming to use old oil wells to access traditional geothermal-based heat, and Southern Company’s research collaboration with innovator Petrolern, to ‘Convert Oil Wells to Geothermal Resources’,” said John King, CEO of Hyperlight Energy.…