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ENGIE, Microsoft Seal Innovative ‘Firm Power’ PPA for 230 MW Wind and Solar in Texas

September 26, 2019

The post ENGIE, Microsoft Seal Innovative ‘Firm Power’ PPA for 230 MW Wind and Solar in Texas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

ENGIE, the world’s largest independent power producer, has signed an innovative volume firming agreement (VMA) with Microsoft that will allow the technology giant to buy “firm” power from wind and solar projects in Texas under a specially structured power purchase agreement (PPA).

The companies on Sept. 24 said the long-term PPA will allow Microsoft to buy a total of 230 MW that ENGIE plans to put online in January 2021 on a fixed, 24/7 basis, to match hourly consumption from a Microsoft data center in Texas. The majority of output will come from the 200-MW Las Lomas wind project in Starr and Zapata Counties in south Texas, but Microsoft will also buy 85 MW from the 200-MW Anson Solar Center project in Jones County, central Texas.

ENGIE and Microsoft on Tuesday also announced a partnership to integrate Microsoft Azure intelligent cloud services with ENGIE’s Darwin energy software to optimize performance of ENGIE’s wind, solar, and wind + solar hybrid assets worldwide.…

The POWER Interview: SEPA’s Julia Hamm Talks Solar Pathways

September 24, 2019

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The post The POWER Interview: SEPA’s Julia Hamm Talks Solar Pathways appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is meeting this week in Salt Lake City, Utah, joining with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to present North America Smart Energy Week, which this year includes both the long-running Solar Power International gathering along with Energy Storage International.

A big theme this week is the integration of solar with storage. Climate change also is a topic of discussion, as solar and storage advocates tout the benefits of carbon-free power generation and their roles in crafting legislation and regulations designed to help meet clean energy targets.

Julia Hamm, CEO of the Smart Electric Power Alliance. Courtesy: Smart Electric Power Alliance

Julia Hamm, president and CEO of SEPA, sat down with POWER on Sept. 23 at the show to discuss how her group has evolved, and to talk about the changing power generation landscape. Hamm has been with the group for 20 years, starting in 1999 when it was known as the Utility PhotoVoltaic Group (UPVG) before becoming the Solar Electric Power Association (version 1.0 of the SEPA acronym) in 2000.…

POWER Notebook: New 1,600-MW Coal Plant in India; Low-Price Solar Deal in Idaho

April 9, 2019

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Financing has reportedly been secured for a 1,600-MW coal-fired power plant in India’s eastern state of Jharkhand. Qatar’s Gulf Times newspaper reported April 6 that Power Finance Corp., a state-run lender in India, and its subsidiary REC approved a $ 1.5 billion loan for the project. The report said the new plant would be funded through loans and equity, with Power Finance and REC covering the entire cost of the project, which Bloomberg estimated at just more than $ 2.1 billion.

The plant is being designed to sell power to Bangladesh through a power purchase agreement with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Adani Power Limited, part of India’s Adani Group, one of the world’s largest coal-mining companies, is building the plant. People familiar with the project reportedly said the plant is eligible for tax breaks, as India’s commerce ministry has designated the region as a special economic zone, and the plant as an export industrial facility. BPDB said Bangladesh currently gets about 56% of its power generation from natural gas, with oil and diesel providing most of the rest.…

FPL Plans to Build 1,500 MW of Solar in Next Two Years

March 16, 2019

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Florida Power & Light (FPL) continues to add to its solar power portfolio, with the utility on March 13 announcing plans to build the largest community solar program in the U.S.

Eric Silagy, FPL’s president and CEO, in a statement said, “We’ve been aggressively expanding solar with one goal in mind: bringing more solar to all of our customers cost-effectively while continuing to keep their bills lower than 90 percent of the country. This innovative program is another major step forward in our ‘30-by-30’ plan, which is one of the world’s largest solar expansions, and also an unprecedented opportunity for our customers to harness the power of the sun like never before.”

The company’s FPL SolarTogether program, which needs approval from the state’s Public Service Commission, would allow customers to receive a credit on their bills from the utility’s cost savings from solar power. FPL plans to build 20 solar power plants, with total generation capacity of 1,490 MW, over the next two years.…

APS Will Add 850 MW of Battery Storage to Solar Plants

February 23, 2019

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Arizona’s largest utility wants to support its renewable power portfolio by adding as much as 850 MW of battery storage capacity to its solar power plants by 2025.

Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) made the announcement February 21. Don Brandt, the utility’s chairman and CEO, in a statement said, “Arizona is already a national leader in solar energy. The challenge is, no one has figured out how to stop the sun from setting at night. As storage technology improves and declines in cost, we will increasingly be able to store the power of the sun cost-effectively to deliver when our customers need it.”

The plan includes installing batteries at existing solar facilities, and at future sites. APS would not talk about the cost of the program, citing confidentiality agreements, but said it would build at least 100 MW of new solar capacity by 2025. Analysts have said the utility currently generates about 14% of its power from renewable sources.

The U.S.…

Community Solar Power Offers the ‘Best of Both Worlds’ [PODCAST]

January 28, 2019

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Laura Stern, co-founder and president of Nautilus Solar Energy, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. Founded in 2006, Nautilus is a leading acquirer, developer, and operator of community solar projects. During the past five months, the company has acquired community solar projects in Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, and Rhode Island.

Community solar refers to local solar facilities shared by multiple community subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. This solar power model is being rapidly adopted throughout the U.S. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association—the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry—there was 1,294 MW of installed community solar capacity at the end of June 2018, with at least one community solar project online in 42 states. Furthermore, the group says the market will add as much as 3 GW over the next several years.

Community solar allows homeowners, renters, and businesses to have equal access to the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy generation regardless of the physical attributes or ownership of their homes or businesses.…