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Economic Factors Drive Wind and Solar Growth

December 13, 2020

The post Economic Factors Drive Wind and Solar Growth appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have found that a combination of lower capital, operating, and finance costs, in addition to better equipment performance, and longer useful lives, have driven power purchase agreement (PPA) prices and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for utility-scale wind and solar projects to all-time lows. The findings were presented by Mark Bolinger, research scientist in the Electricity Markets and Policy Department at LBNL, during a webinar focused on trends in deployment, cost, performance, pricing, and market value for utility-scale wind and solar.

A Decade or More of Phenomenal Growth

Bolinger noted that from 2006 to 2019 wind power capacity operating on the U.S. grid had grown by nearly an order of magnitude—from 11.5 GW to 106 GW. The percentage increase in utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, which researchers define as ground-mounted systems with capacities greater than 5 MW_AC, has been even greater, increasing from 1.7 GW in 2012 to 29 GW at the end of 2019.…

Improve Wind Turbine Safety with a Piston Accumulator Retrofit

September 21, 2020

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Wind turbines are designed to maximize power production based on the predicted wind speeds found at the plant site. However, excessive wind speeds are experienced at times, so it is crucial to limit power generation at those times to avoid spontaneous runaway turbine situations that may cause damage to the turbine rotor or other parts of the driveline or generator. Wind turbine brake systems are a vital safety system. A critical component in the hydraulic braking system is an accumulator, which provides a supplemental flow of hydraulic fluid during emergency braking operations. Diaphragm-style accumulators are standard, although catastrophic failures in the rubber diaphragm are not uncommon. An attractive and more reliable alternative is the piston-style accumulator that is not susceptible to this failure mode.

By: Tom Ulery and Jeff Sage of Parker Hannifin

Wind turbines are designed to operate reliably over their typically 20-year design life.…

BP Buying $1.1 Billion Stake in U.S. Offshore Wind

September 13, 2020

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The move by major oil and gas exploration companies into renewable energy has taken another significant step, as BP announced a $ 1.1 billion deal to buy the U.S. offshore wind power assets of Norway’s Equinor.

BP in announcing the deal on Sept. 10 said it is taking a 50% stake in Equinor’s Empire Wind project off New York, and a similar position in Equinor’s Beacon Wind development off Massachusetts (Figure 1). Equinor will continue to hold a half-interest in both projects and will remain the operator. The deal is expected to close in early 2021.

Bernard Looney, CEO of the British energy giant, in August said BP would cut its oil and gas output by 40% over the next 10 years, while spending as much as $ 5 billion annually to build its renewable energy business, as the company pivots from fossil fuel development.…

Subsidy-Free Wind Farm Planned in North Sea

August 12, 2020

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Dutch utility company Eneco and Shell have been chosen by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy to develop a radical new offshore wind farm incorporating technologies such as floating solar, short-duration battery storage, and green hydrogen production.

The Hollandse Kust (Noord) facility will be developed by Eneco and Shell by their CrossWind consortium near Egmond aan Zee. The project will be located approximately 18.5 kilometers off the west coast of the Netherlands and will, according to the Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, “test a variety of innovations in the field of energy storage and flexibility, with the possibility of rolling them out on a larger scale at other wind farms in the future.”

The 759-MW offshore wind farm is expected to be operational by 2023. The consortium has selected international dredging and offshore contractor Van Oord to engineer, construct, and install the necessary foundations and inter-array cables for the wind turbines, and to provide for their transportation to and installation at the site.…

IRS Grants Wind and Solar Sectors Critical COVID-19 Reprieves

May 29, 2020

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The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has granted a one-year extension of the continuity safe harbor, providing much-needed relief for many wind developers, which, crippled by pandemic-related delays, were racing to complete projects before crucial tax incentives expired at the end of this year.

In its May 27–issued Notice 2020-41, the IRS essentially modified prior notices addressing the “beginning-of-construction” requirements for both the production tax credit (PTC), which applies to renewables facilities under section 45 of the IRS code, and the investment tax credit (ITC), for energy property under section 48.

Responding to pleas by industry and a bipartisan group of lawmakers to extend the so-called “Continuity Safe Harbor,” the IRS now gives qualifying renewables projects that began construction in either 2016 or 2017 until December 2021 to complete projects. As crucially, the new notice also provides a three-and-a-half month safe harbor for taxpayer-paid services or property on or after Sept.…

Wind Energy Group Says $43 Billion at Risk from COVID-19

March 23, 2020

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Energy groups continue to assess the industry disruption caused by the coronavirus, with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on March 19 saying the global pandemic is putting $ 43 billion of wind industry investments and payments at risk.

Utilities, grid operators, and other have been altering their routines as state and local governments call for the closures of many non-essential businesses. Energy companies have instituted travel bans, have shuttered their offices—asking many employees to work remotely—and changed how they will interact with customers.

Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, earlier this week said the virus has caused “a pretty significant crisis” for the solar industry, disrupting supply chains and likely creating labor shortages. Tom Kiernan, CEO of AWEA, on Thursday acknowledged the challenges the coronavirus is causing for the wind energy industry, going so far as to ask for Congress to intervene to protect jobs and economic investment in the sector.…