North America

Analyst WoodMac has spelled out the urgent need to decarbonize the global hydrogen production industry. While the fuel can offer a sustainable grid balancing act for intermittent renewables, in its current fossil-fuel driven form it is pumping out more than 800 tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year.

In this op-ed for pv magazine, Roy Torbert and José Juan Terrasa-Soler, of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Resilient Power Puerto Rico, respectively, analyze the cost of Puerto Rico’s energy recovery and the role that microgrids play in reconstruction and resiliency.

More than 200 mayors across the US have sent a letter urging Congress to pass a five-year extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) with a particular focus on creating jobs and drawing investment.

Ciel & Terre USA, floating solar power systems providers, in conjunction with Solar Renewable Energy and RETTEW are pleased to announce the completion of its Hydrelio floating solar solution for a 4.4.-MW floating array on the town of Sayreville, New Jersey’s pre-treatment water storage pond. This represents the largest floating solar array installed in North America to date.

Global renewable energy developer Acciona has signed an agreement with energy developer Tenaska to acquire a portfolio of greenfield solar and energy storage projects in the United States. The development portfolio comprises approximately 3 GW of utility-scale solar and 1 GW of co-located solar and energy storage.

Although the International Energy Agency’s latest renewables report forecasts impressive solar growth there is still a nagging feeling it has produced conservative estimates and the emphasis on sharing costs with grid operators is predictable.

The government of Virginia has signed a deal with local utility Dominion Energy for 345MW of solar and 75MW of onshore wind energy to power government buildings and facilities

Secretary Perry informed President Trump yesterday that he will resign from his position, effective later this year. Perry released a message to DOE employees stating that he had “the coolest job in the world” as Secretary of the department.

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is planning to be wholly powered by solar power and natural gas microgrid. For the first time in the United States, a major airport will be completely powered by its own microgrid with the use of its own on-site natural gas wells and a solar array.

Wells Fargo has signed a 10-year structured power purchase agreement (PPA) with Reliant, an NRG Energy, to power the bank’s 400 Texas locations with PV solar.

Greenbacker Renewable Energy has unveiled a flurry of new acquisitions that includes 31.33MW of contracted C&I solar assets from Sky Solar and IGS Solar across the US, alongside a partnership with Scenic Hill Solar in Arkansas.

Renewables investor Leyline Renewable Capital has secured US$150 million financing deal from Newlight Partners, a Soros Fund spin-off, to invest in early-stage solar and other clean energy projects.

Google says it will spend US$150 million on renewable energy in regions where its products are manufactured, in a move it hopes will galvanise a further US$1.5 billion of investment.

London-headquartered investor Cubico Sustainable Investments has achieved financial close on the 162MW Wagyu solar PV project in Brazoria County, Texas, the US.

Three scientists have been awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of lithium-ion batteries.