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Massachusetts seeking bids for largest renewable energy contract in New England history

By Crystal Bui

August 1, 2017

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Massachusetts is now reviewing proposals to bring clean energy to the state.

Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration is seeking project bids worldwide to provide up to 1,200 megawatts of energy.

The governor is taking proposals from water, wind, and solar power companies, with local businesses looking to grab the largest renewable energy contract in New England history.

Other proposals from energy companies come from near and far, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as Vermont, Maine, Indianapolis, Canada and even the United Kingdom.

One familiar company is making a run for the contract: Rhode Island-based Deepwater Wind. They’re known for their first off-shore wind farm in the United States, right off Block Island.

Deepwater Wind shared their proposal with NBC 10 News on Tuesday.

“What we’ve proposed is the largest wind-battery combined power in the world,” CEO Jeff Grybowski said.

Grybowski plans to add 18 to 24 wind turbines about 20 miles off the coast of New Bedford — and they’re planning on to partner with an industry power-player: Tesla

Tesla’s new battery technology will store wind farm energy. The company’s founder, Elon Musk, recently visited Rhode Island

“So, it really helps us maximize the value of all that wind power,” said Grybowski.

The wind-farm energy could power about 80,000 Massachusetts households every year.

“But again, this a price competition,” said Grybowski.

The project, if approved, would be ready by 2023 to 2024.

NBC 10 asked Grybowski how many years it would take to bring the cost down for residents because of the initial investment.

“I think from day one, we think this will be a price-competitive project,” said Grybowski.

He also said it’s likely the wind-turbines won’t be seen from shore.

Deepwater Wind is hoping their off-shore wind farm will be a part of that mix for years to come.

It’s also unlikely any of the project bids will be subsidized.

New Videos on the SGE Website!

Want a quick intro to solar panels and how solar energy works? Check out our updated video page for a breakdown on this booming source of renewable energy!

By Danica Bergmann

Major solar power project to provide electricity at night

By Ian Johnston

July 18, 2017

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A major solar power project in the Middle East will provide electricity during the night, the developers have said.

The $1bn (£770m) scheme will provide up to 200 megawatts to the grid in Dubai between 4pm and 10am, according to the news service Bloomberg.

Instead of generating electricity using photovoltaic cells, the system works by using mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy and heat water. The heat is stored in molten salt and then used to create steam that drives a turbine.

Paddy Padmanathan, chief executive of the Saudi Arabia-based company behind the project, ACWA Power International, told the news service that this system was likely to become more popular around the world.

“I expect concentrated-solar power, within 18 months, to be head-to-head with combined-cycle gas, if not more competitive,” he said.

“The focus has been on photovoltaic and batteries, but there’s a limit on how long they can hold a charge for. We’re proving that CSP [concentrated solar power] can work through the night.”

The system can heat the molten salt to a staggering 490 degrees Celsius.

Mr Padmanathan said there were currently only two companies supplying solar CSP devices.

“The others have gone bankrupt,” he said, but he added: “I know of at least five Chinese companies that are starting to enter the market.”

ACWA has built CSP plants in Morocco and South Africa and hopes to build another in Saudi Arabia.

“Right now they’re tendering for solar PV and wind, but I think they’ll want a CSP project as well, especially when they see how cost competitive it can be,” Mr Padmanathan said.

Jenny Chase, head of solar analysis at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said the plunging costs of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels was reducing the chance that this rival method of harnessing the sun’s energy would take off.

“This plant in Dubai is for delivery by 2021,” she said. “By then, we’re expecting solar PV and batteries to be in the same order of magnitude for cost and will be a lot more flexible than a solar thermal plant.”

 

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The cutest solar farm ever is now live on the grid

By Yi Shu Ng

July 5, 2017

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Who knew clean energy could be this cute?

China connected a panda-shaped solar power plant to the grid last week.

The project was built by the aptly-named Panda Green Energy, and has an output of 50MW, enough to power more than 8,000 U.S. households, according to Inhabitat.

It’s located in Datong, a city in the province of Shanxi, northern China.

Another panda is in the works on the site.

Two types of solar panels — white thin film photovoltaic (PV) cells and black monocrystalline silicon PV cells — give the plant the look of China’s favourite monochromatic animal.

It’s hoped that when the plant is complete, it will have an output of 100MW, and output 3.2 billion kWh of solar energy in 25 years.

The power plant is part of a UN Development Program (UNDP) effort to promote clean energy to China’s youth, and aims to teach young people about sustainable energy. It will host a summer camp organised by the UNDP and Panda Green Energy in August, for teenagers aged 13-17.

The UNDP is also organising open design challenges with Panda Green Energy.

“Designing the plant in the shape of a panda could inspire young people and get them interested in the applications of solar power,” Panda Green Energy’s CEO, Li Yuan, told state-owned Xinhua in May last year.

Panda Green Energy is hoping to build panda-shaped power plants in other countries in central and Southeast Asia, too.

The company is planning to expand into countries like Fiji and the Philippines, and wants to build over 100 panda-shaped plants in the next five years. The plants will include motifs inspired by local animals, like the koala or rhinoceros.

“I believe that the panda solar power plants will become a tourist hotspot, and in future we’ll export these panda power plants to other parts of the world,” Li told Xinhua.

Californians take a shine to solar power

By Jocelyne Zablit

July 2, 2017

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Jacquie Barnbrook had grown tired of the high electricity bills and her gas-guzzling luxury car when she finally decided to take the plunge last year.

The 52-year-old Los Angeles resident joined an ever-growing number of Californians who are switching to for their energy needs in a bid to not only save money but to also do their part for the environment in a state setting the pace for the rest of the country in that sector.

“At this time of year, my power and water bills usually were around $400 a month,” Barnbrook said. “Right now, it’s $150 a month.”

As for her vehicle, Barnbrook said she ditched it in favor of a hybrid one that she now plugs in and charges at her house.

“I was previously spending $80 dollars on gas every three or four days and now I haven’t put gas in my new car since the beginning of March,” she noted.

“That’s four months ago!”

Nearly 4.9 million homes are powered by solar energy in California—the nation’s green trailblazer and the most populous state—and that number is expected to continue to grow, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a non-profit trade association.

Even President Donald Trump, an avowed sceptic on climate change, is considering putting on the wall he plans to build on the Mexican border.

Snake oil

Although solar installations have slowed this year due, in part, to a record number of people rushing to sign up in 2016 for fear of losing a tax incentive, the market is expected to continue to grow, especially in places like California which has a plethora of sunny days, experts say.

Driving this expansion is the plummeting cost of solar panels—which were traditionally limited to relatively affluent homeowners—and improving technology on batteries to store energy, they add.

“Right now, we’re in throes of rapid change in the solar industry,” said Rajit Gadh, director of the UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center. “As people process all the information out there and report their success stories and it starts to become mainstream … the momentum will grow.”

He said apart from cost, another reason average consumers have gingerly adopted solar power in recent years was the dizzying number of regulatory hoops they had to go through to get approval from utility companies and a lot of complicated information to process.

Moreover, as demand for the product has surged in the last decade, so have the number of companies—both serious and shady—jostling for a piece of the pie.

“Solar power is confusing and for a long time it really didn’t make a lot of economic sense,” said Ryan Willemsen, CEO and founder of the San Diego-based start-up Solar to the People.

“In California, solar is really getting a reputation because of some of the unscrupulous folks involved who are pushing solar super hard,” he added. “In San Diego alone, for example, there are over 200 solar operations.”

Ara Petrosyan, CEO and founder of LA Solar Group, a consulting firm, said he believes that once the dust settles and shady companies inevitably go out of business, consumers will be able to make more informed and affordable choices and the sector will take off like “a rocket ship.”

“In five years, so many rules and regulations have been added that you have to be a really good expert to stay in the business,” he said.

He added that a clear sign of where the industry is going is the number of installations—which cost between $15,000 and $20,000 for an average size house—his company is handling.

“When we started in 2012, we did about 10 installations a month,” Petrosyan said. “Today, we do about 120 a month … and it will definitely keep increasing.”

Such projections are good news for a state that has mandated that 50 percent of its electricity come from , including solar, by 2030.

Solar power is also growing fast in other states, including New York, which look to California as an example.

“The overall industry trend is that the cost of solar panels and other components is going down,” said Willemsen.

“And more and more standard folks are hearing it’s a good idea and once one person in the neighborhood goes solar, more and more follow.”

Solar energy is taking off

By Skye Borden

June 26, 2017

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Last week in the Northern Hemisphere, we experienced the longest day of the year, when the sun showers our half of the world with bright and powerful rays of light.

Here in Missoula, that means more sunny hours to run up Rattlesnake, paddle the big wave or lounge outside with a cold local brew. It also serves as a reminder that today, and every day, we should soak up more of those rays of sunlight to power our communities with inexhaustible, pollution-free, solar energy.

It’s no secret that solar energy is taking off faster than ever before. Just in the United States, we have 43 times more solar today than we did 10 years ago — enough to meet the power needs of 8.7 million households.

So, we’re making progress. But of course it hasn’t always been this way. For so long — since the Industrial Revolution, really — we’ve relied on the extraction of old and dirty forms of technically sun-powered energy; long-dead plants and organic materials, pushed back into the earth and later pumped out as oil, gas, coal, and other fossil fuels.

We know now that extracting and burning these fuels for energy not only harms our environment and our health, but threatens the climate and the stability of the planet.

The time has come to move past such finite, dirty and increasingly expensive resources. Certainly we have the technical potential to directly use clean sunlight for nearly all of our energy needs.

In fact, the United States alone could power itself 100 times over just with the solar power that shines within our borders. Studies show that just around 2 percent of our land mass could power the entire country with solar; panels on American rooftops alone could power nearly 40 percent of the country’s energy needs.

The good news is, we’re reaching a tipping point for renewable energy in the U.S and across the world like we’ve never seen before. Ramping up our renewable goals is not a question of resources, science or technology. It is a question of political will. As more and more leaders in cities, companies, institutions and states commit to goals of using 100 percent renewable energy, we’ll only get there sooner and realize more of the benefits to Montana and our society.

Here in Missoula, we applaud Mayor John Engen for pledging committing to implement the Paris Accord. But, we can do even more. We urge leaders like Engen to commit to a 100 percent renewable energy future; a goal we can and must achieve.

So, on the longest day of the year, we should remember this: every minute of sunlight can be harnessed to create renewable energy to power our lives. We can and must meet this challenge. As we continue to use energy more efficiently, ramp up storage of renewable power and scale up our use of clean energy resources, we’ll make our air and water cleaner, and we’ll leave a legacy that we can be proud of.

Sun Tech: Solar Powered Gadgets For Summer (or any time of year!)

We’re all about solar panels- but you can power far more than your house using energy from the sun! Check out these nifty tools and toys to help you out around the house, the beach, the pool, or wherever your summer takes you!

Solar Speakers – keeps the pool party going without having to trip over cables or change batteries!

Solar Phone Chargers – Incredible affordable and incredibly useful for maintaining your emergency calling ability on off-the-grid adventures!

Solar Headphones – Another convenient way to skip both tangling connection chords AND constantly replacing batteries!

Solar Fans – The one linked here is an attic exhaust fan (keep your upper levels cool and circulating), but porch and even desktop versions exist as well!

Solar Flashlights – Perfect for camping and backpacking, where weight and storage space are key and ditching even small batteries goes a long way! (Plus, you never have to find your way to your tent in the dark!)

Solar Decorations – A way to transform your yard or porch that won’t be heavy on the electric bill, and will stand out to your neighbors and friends!

Solar Keyboard – Even through your office window enough sun can sneak in to power your typing!

Solar Walkway Lamps – I had these along the walkway to my front door growing up, and when relatives come over or when there’s snow and ice everywhere, and especially when little trick-or-treaters come to your door, it’s so nice to be able to light their path!

And just to add in a couple honorable mentions:

–Solar Cookers, discussed in an earlier blog post, use reflection to concentrate heat from the sun on your food and make snacks, no wires or electricity necessary!

-Using the sun’s energy the good old-fashioned way: Gardening! It’s are always a great way to teach kids about plants, give them a project in responsibility (that’s not as expensive or intense as a pet), and for children and adults alike, to grow colorful flowers, tasty herbs, and even fruits and veggies to freshen up the dinner table!

Know of any other useful gadgets or toys that run on sun? Let us know: @SecondGenEnergy on Twitter or on our Facebook page, we’d love to hear from you!

By Danica Bergmann

These Solar Panels Generate Drinking Water from the Air

By Rich Demuro

June 12 2017

Read the original article Here

A company called Zero Mass Water has created a special solar-like panel that creates clean, drinkable water from the air. You can now install them on your home or office.

I’ve drank a lot of water from bottles, but it was never created like this.

I’m on the rooftop of a building in Santa Monica on an overcast day, checking out solar panels from a company called Zero Mass Water. These are not just your typical energy creating panels – they are busy pulling water out of the air.

“It turns out there is more water in the air than all the fresh water in the planet,” explains Zero Mass Water CEO Cody Friesen.

Friesen says he’s installed his special form of solar panels in seven countries. The panels are self-contained – with everything they need to generate clean drinking water inside. Solar cells power the device, a special membrane inside absorbs water molecules, which is then treated with minerals for a fresh taste before being stored in on-board reservoirs.

“What these panels do is very similar to the ocean, sun, rain cycle,” says Friesen.

You can hear cooling fans whirring as the panels do their job on the rooftop. Each panel costs about $2,900 and that does not include installation costs. A panel produces about ten small water bottles daily and is expected to last for about ten years. A simple water line carries the drinking water inside the building, your home or into your kitchen.

We head downstairs to a drinking fountain supplied by Zero Mass Water’s panels. As I fill up a water bottle, a digital counter says the system has filled the equivalent of 5,862 plastic water bottles so far.

The water looks and smells clean. I take a sip and am pleasantly surprised by the taste. It’s fresh, crisp and doesn’t have the flat taste I had imagined.

Zero Mass Water has managed to create a green source of water and their panels are now available to homeowners in California and Arizona, although the company says they will work anywhere in the world.

Although their current price is prohibitively expensive for many homeowners, they practically pay for themselves in about 4 years if you’re currently buying bottled water. It also just feels neat knowing that you’re going green and creating your own water supply, seemingly from thin air.

More information:

Zero Mass Water