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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 2, 2011

Southern California Edison Buys 250 MW of Distributed Solar PV for Less Than Electricity from Natural Gas

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/southern-california-edison-buys-250-mw-distributed-solar-pv-less-electricity-natural-gas/

Updated 3 PM: Preliminary numbers had suggested that Southern California Edison’s distributed rooftop solar PV purchase would be among the most cost-effective solar projects in the world, and data released yesterday confirmed that:

Southern California Edison has selected 250 MW worth of solar bids from companies able to produce solar electricity for 20 years for less money annually than the 20 year levelized cost of energy of a combined-cycle natural gas turbine power plant.

SCE’s bidding process for smaller renewable projects is smart. These small projects do not face the multi-year bureaucratic delays for extensive reviews, like most utility-scale solar, so each small unit can be built as quickly as normal commercial rooftop solar projects. They are made up of multiple distributed solar installations of under 20 MW, which in combination total a power plant-sized 250 MW.

…The requirement is that the renewable energy has to be priced to cost no more than the Market Price Referent (MPR) – which is an annual calculation of the 20 year levelized cost of energy of a combined cycle gas turbine.

The MPR has recently been around 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, so the solar PV projects will produce electricity for less than the retail rate in southern California.  There’s indication of enormous distributed PV demand, because SCE received bids for up to 2,500 MW of projects, but only accepted 250 MW.

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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 28, 2011

Distributed Wind Power Scales, Too

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/distributed-wind-power-scales-too/

Last week we noted how distributed (solar PV) generation scales, highlighting the 3,000 megawatts of solar PV that Germany installed in 2009, over 80% on rooftops

Distributed wind power scales, as well. 

Of Germany’s 27,000 megawatts of wind power projects (3rd most in the world and most per capita), nearly 90% are smaller than 20 megawatts, with most between 1 and 5 megawatts.

The small projects are also a significant portion of total capacity, with 20 MW and under wind projects contributing half of total wind power capacity.

Data source

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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 24, 2011

Community Power: Decentralized Renewable Energy in California

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/community-power-decentralized-renewable-energy-california-0/

I talked with Al Weinrub as he wrote this report and I think it’s another great demonstration of the cost and local economic superiority of distributed renewable energy generation.  Commuity Power helps overturn the conventional wisdom that bigger is better, illustrating how decentralized, distributed renewable energy can provide a cost-effective and economy-boosting strategy for meeting our power needs.

From the media release:

Community Power argues that local, decentralized generation of electricity offers many benefits to California’s communities relative to large central-station solar or wind power plants in remote areas.

It identifies the factors that favor local decentralized generation of electricity: its economic benefits to local communities, its cost-effectiveness, its minimization of environmental impacts, its potential to rapidly meet renewable energy targets, and its increased system security. The paper also identifies obstacles to local renewable power and outlines policies that can promote its development.

Community Power reflects the reality that all electric power is not equal: the impact of electric power production on our ecosystem and on our communities depends on the economic, environmental, political, and social conditions under which the electricity is produced. And from this perspective, the impacts on our communities of remote central-station renewable power and local decentralized renewable power are very different indeed.  

To get the full story, download Community Power by clicking here.

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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 21, 2011

Addressing Frequently Asked Questions About Solar PV v. Concentrating Solar

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/addressing-frequently-asked-questions-about-solar-pv-v-concentrating-solar/

Although both produce electricity from the sun, there are significant differences between solar PV and concentrating solar thermal electricity generation.  This FAQ provides answers to the most pressing questions about the two solar technologies. 1. Isn’t concentrating solar power cheaper? No.  Five years ago the two technologies were relatively comparable, but in 2011 there’s no… Continue reading

Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 20, 2011

Rapid Distributed PV Outstrips Lumbering Solar Thermal

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/rapid-distributed-pv-outstrips-lumbering-solar-thermal/

While California lumbers forward with a high-cost, controversial solar strategy built around remote utility-scale solar thermal plants, with the hope that 10,000 megawatts can be built in ten years, Germany is demonstrating now that 10,000 megawatts of distributed PV can be added in only three years.

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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 20, 2011

Half of Germany’s 43,000 Megawatts of Renewable Energy Owned by Individuals

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/half-germanys-43000-megawatts-renewable-energy-owned-individuals/
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 1 Comment | Updated on Jan 19, 2011

Over 80 Percent of German PV Installed on Rooftops

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/over-80-percent-german-pv-installed-rooftops/

Updated 1/28/11: Talk about distributed generation!  In Germany in 2009, nearly 1 in 5 solar PV systems went on residential rooftops and 60% was installed on small to medium residential or commercial buildings. 

 

The absolute numbers are big, too.  Germany installed nearly 9 gigawatts installed 3 gigawatts of solar in 2009, to reach 9 gigawatts of installed capacity.

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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 19, 2011

Nova Scotia Proposes Feed-in Tariffs Solely for Community-Owned Projects

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/nova-scotia-proposes-feed-tariffs-solely-community-owned-projects/

Joining Ontario and several U.S. states, the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has proposed a new twist on a common clean energy program. The policy provides a guaranteed, long-term contract for wind, biomass, hydro, and tidal power producers and offers them the same return on equity provided to utiltiies. Continue reading

Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 1 Comment | Updated on Jan 14, 2011

Nissan Leaf Owners Seek Self-Reliance

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/nissan-leaf-owners-seek-self-reliance/

How will electric vehicle use change the grid?  If early adopters have their way, less than expected.  Nearly half of Nissan LEAF buyers (in this online forum) intend to power their car with a home solar PV system

Anecdotal, to be sure, but a promising sign.

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filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 14, 2011

John Farrell Explains Ontario’s ‘Buy Local’ Clean Energy Policy on Etopia News

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/john-farrell-explains-ontarios-buy-local-clean-energy-policy-etopia-news/

We put out the new report, Maximizing Jobs From Clean Energy: Ontario’s ‘Buy Local’ Policy, this week and now you can watch an interview of my explanation of the report’s findings on Etopia News.

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