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Evergy to Build Solar Array at Kansas City Coal Power Plant Site

January 9, 2022

Evergy, a Kansas City, Missouri–headquartered energy provider serving about 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, announced plans on Jan. 5 to build a 10-MW solar array at the company’s Hawthorn power plant.

“Our Hawthorn power plant is a prime location to showcase Kansas City’s commitment to renewable energy and our city’s forward-thinking progress,” said Chuck Caisley, Evergy senior vice president and chief customer officer. “Bringing this renewable energy to Hawthorn will limit the expense by using infrastructure already in place.”

The Hawthorn Generating Station is located in northeast Kansas City, Missouri, and includes a 564-MW coal-fired unit known as Unit 5 and a 225-MW natural gas-fired combined cycle unit known as Unit 6&9. Hawthorn 5 was built in 1969, but after an explosion in February 1999 destroyed the power plant boiler, the unit was substantially rebuilt and returned to service in 2001.

Evergy plans to build the solar array on 67 acres to the northwest of the plant. The site is expected to include more than 22,000 solar panels and be operational in fall 2022.…

Rooftop Solar and Energy Storage Are Not Republican or Democrat, They’re American

December 7, 2021

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There is a common misperception that “green energy” appeals mostly to liberals. However, at least some of the facts don’t support that view. A case in point can be found in the rooftop solar sector.

“It’s not Republican or Democratic. It’s really American. It’s free enterprise,” Jayson Waller, founder and CEO of POWERHOME SOLAR, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast.

POWERHOME SOLAR does business in 15 states—some red and some blue—so Waller has fairly good insight on the types of people who are installing solar systems. “Both sides of the aisle are liking solar,” he said. In fact, POWERHOME SOLAR surveyed customers and found more than 60% were Republicans.

Waller suggested that part of the misunderstanding is a result of the climate change debate. Yet, he doesn’t necessarily see rooftop solar as part of an environmental agenda; he implied that economics were driving growth. “What we see is more Republicans come across and understand what solar is—it’s the largest job growth the last two years in a row.…

New Materials, Efficiency Upgrades Advancing Solar Technologies

December 1, 2021

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The growth curve for solar power continues its upward trajectory, thanks to technologies such as perovskites, heterojunction solar cells, and energy storage systems designed to complement rooftop solar. New inverters and racking solutions are making solar installations more efficient, helping extract more energy from the sun’s rays.

There is no shortage of technological advancements in the solar power sector, contributing to renewed growth in the industry after the coronavirus pandemic paused several projects. More countries are turning to solar as they establish decarbonization targets, more companies are setting sustainability goals, and the push for home improvements—an offshoot of the pandemic—has supported residential rooftop solar.

Researchers have continued to develop more-efficient solar energy equipment, and the market is supporting innovation. A two-year extension of the 26% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar power, passed by the U.S. Congress earlier this year, has provided more impetus for homeowners and businesses interested in adding solar.

And an important factor in the growth of solar power may not be a better solar panel or inverter, but rather deployment of energy storage to support solar development.…

Veterans Support Construction of New Texas Solar Farm

November 11, 2021

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A new solar power project in Texas has entered commercial operation, with military veterans a major part of the facility’s construction workforce.

The 163-MW Elm Branch solar farm, operating in part under a power contract between L3Harris Technologies and Lightsource bp, featured an apprenticeship program led by McCarthy Building Companies, the project’s EPC contractor, and Adaptive Construction Services (ACS). The program brought in about 50 veterans to directly support construction at the site, or complete their training.

Construction of the solar farm began in January of this year and created about 250 overall construction jobs.

Watch a video about the Elm Branch project and how U.S. military veterans were instrumental in construction of the solar farm in Texas.

“Veterans are a critical part of our company and our country’s workforce,” said Byron Green, Vice President, Global Operations, L3Harris. “This new solar project serves as a model of the benefits that shared goals among several organizations can create to support veterans, communities and the environment.”…

Arizona Solar Project to Supply Microsoft Now Online

July 20, 2021

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The post Arizona Solar Project to Supply Microsoft Now Online appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A solar energy project that will provide power for Microsoft has begun commercial operation in Arizona, with the project developer announcing term financing has been completed.

Longroad Energy, a Boston-based renewable energy developer that also has offices in California and Maine, on July 20 said the 200-MW Sun Streams 2 array—one of four Maricopa County-based projects that Longroad acquired from First Solar in February of this year—is online. The other three projects, known as Sun Streams 3, 4, and 5, are scheduled to enter operation over the next three years.

Sun Streams 2 has a 20-year revenue agreement with Microsoft for the project’s capacity, along with renewable energy certificates, in support of the company’s West US 3 data center. The project includes battery storage; the four-project portfolio totals about 900 MW of solar plus storage.

Microsoft in June announced the launch of a new Azure cloud data center region in Arizona.…

The POWER Interview: Spotlight on the Solar Wave

May 28, 2021

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The post The POWER Interview: Spotlight on the Solar Wave appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Growth in the solar power sector is coming from many angles, with utilities building ever-larger solar arrays, and more homeowners and building owners putting panels on their rooftops. Many utilities and other companies also are expanding offerings of community solar, a way for electricity customers to get the benefits of solar power without having to install a rooftop system.

BlueWave Solar, a Boston, Massachusetts-based company founded in 2010, offers community solar sales and services along with solar financing and project development. What began as a company “that started … with a couple guys driving around in an old station wagon touting the benefits of solar to anyone who would listen,” according to the BlueWave website, today has projects scattered across the U.S. Northeast.

The company works with cities and a variety of energy companies, and recently announced it has secured more than 1 GW of future solar and storage projects across eight states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.…