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Oil India Issues Consultancy Tender for 100 MW Solar and Wind Projects

Maharashtra Issues Tender to Develop 4 MW Solar Project

Military Engineer Services Invites Bids for 1 MW Solar Project

MNRE Revokes Blanket Extension for Renewable Energy Projects in the GIB Area


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					</table><p>The Biden administration said that it has received more than $757 million in winning bids for offshore wind development rights in California, making it the third major lease sale in this category this year and the first ever for the Pacific region.</p>
<p>The list of successful bidders included <a href="https://www.rwe.com/en/our-energy/discover-renewables/offshore-wind" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RWE Offshore Wind Holdings</a>, California North Floating, <a href="https://www.equinor.com/where-we-are/united-states?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIifLN_dTp-wIVZpJmAh3h-wAYEAAYASABEgJLp_D_BwE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Equinor Wind U.S.</a>, Central California Offshore Wind, and <a href="https://invenergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Invenergy California Offshore</a>.</p>
<p>The highest bid came from California North Floating at $173.8 million for an area of 69,031 acres.</p>
<p>The online auction allowed qualified offshore wind developers to bid on five lease areas.</p>
<p>The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (<a href="https://www.boem.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BOEM</a>) auction offered five lease areas covering 373,268 acres off the California coast. The leased areas can produce over 4.6 GW of offshore wind energy, enough to power over 1.5 million homes.</p>
<p>In October, the U.S. government had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-to-lease-out-california-coast-offshore-wind-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would hold a lease sale for areas off the West Coast for wind projects that are critical to achieving the administration’s offshore wind energy goals of 30 GW by 2030 and a floating offshore wind energy target of 15 GW by 2035.</p>
<p>“The Biden-Harris administration believes that to address the climate crisis head-on, we must unleash a new era of clean, reliable energy that serves every household in America. Today’s lease sale is proof that industry momentum – including for floating offshore wind development – is undeniable,” Secretary Deb Haaland said.</p>
<p>The auction included a 20% credit for bidders who committed to providing monetary aid for workforce training programs for the floating offshore wind industry, developing a domestic supply chain for the floating offshore wind energy segment, or both.</p>
<p>It would result in $117 million in investments for these critical initiatives.</p>
<p>According to a report published by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-needs-to-deploy-90-gw-solar-150-gw-wind-capacity-annually-to-decarbonize-electric-grid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">needs</a> to deploy 40 to 90 GW of solar and 70 to 150 GW of wind energy every year until 2030 to decarbonize the country’s power sector by 2035.</p>
<p>In March this year, the U.S. Department of the Interior <a href="https://mercomindia.com/lease-auction-offshore-wind/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the New York Bight Offshore Wind Lease auction results, which was the nation’s highest-grossing competitive offshore energy lease sale in history. The lease areas were awarded to Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Bight, Attentive Energy, Bight Wind Holdings, Invenergy Wind Offshore, Mid-Atlantic Offshore Wind, and O.W. Ocean Winds East.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rakesh Ranjan</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Rakesh Ranjan,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a></p>
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<p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rakesh-Headshot-crop-2.jpg" width="77" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Rakesh Ranjan</strong></a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Prior to joining Mercom, he worked in many roles as a business correspondent, assistant editor, senior content writer, and sub-editor with bcfocus.com, CIOReview/Silicon India, Verbinden Communication, and Bangalore Bias. Rakesh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rakesh-ranjan-parashar/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rakesh Ranjan.</a>
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Area Lease Auction for Offshore Wind Projects in California Raises $757 Million


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					</table><p>The U.S. government said it would hold a lease sale for areas off the West Coast for wind projects that are critical to achieving the administration’s offshore wind energy goals of 30 GW by 2030 and a floating offshore wind energy target of 15 GW by 2035.</p>
<p>The area on offer is located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off central and northern California in the Pacific Ocean and is spread across approximately 373,268 acres. It has the potential to produce around 4.5 GW of offshore wind energy, which can power over 1.5 million homes while extending employment opportunities to thousands of individuals.</p>
<p>The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (<a href="https://www.boem.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BOEM</a>) would host offshore wind energy leases sale on December 6. It is expected to support potential commercial-scale floating offshore wind energy development on the country’s west coast.</p>
<p>BOEM Director Amanda Lefton said, “Today’s announcement represents years of close coordination and engagement with the state of California, tribes, ocean users, local communities, and all interested parties to move us closer towards achieving the administration’s vision to fight climate change and realizing California’s clean energy future while creating a domestic supply chain and good-paying union jobs.”</p>
<p>BOEM said it would offer bidding credits for bidders who enter community benefits agreements or invest in workforce training or supply chain development. The Bureau would require winning bidders to make efforts to enter into project labor agreements and engage with local tribes, underserved communities, ocean users, and agencies.</p>
<p>The latest leasing activity follows Secretary Deb Haaland and California Governor Gavin Newson’s announcement of an agreement advancing operations in areas for wind energy development offshore the northern and central coasts of California.</p>
<p>California’s final sales notice, to be published in the Federal Register later this week, will provide all details on the finalized lease areas, lease provisions and conditions, and information on the auction.</p>
<p>The notice would also include the names of the firms qualified to participate in the lease auction. It includes three lease areas off the central California coast and two lease areas off the northern California coast.</p>
<p>Last month, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Department of Energy <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-needs-to-deploy-90-gw-solar-150-gw-wind-capacity-annually-to-decarbonize-electric-grid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> a report stating that the country needs to deploy 40-90 GW of solar and 70-15- GW of wind energy annually until 2030 to decarbonize America’s power sector by 2035.</p>
<p>According to the Global Wind Energy Council, currently, 23 GW of offshore wind projects are <a href="https://mercomindia.com/2021-was-the-best-year-for-offshore-wind-installations-globally-gwec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under construction</a>. With a 49.5% market share, Europe is now taking the lead in offshore wind project construction, followed by Asia with 46.4%, and the U.S. with 4.1%.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gourav Mishra</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gourav,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WhatsApp-Image-2022-04-06-at-6.37.25-PM-1-1.jpeg" width="89" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gourav</a> is a staff reporter with Mercom India with over six years of experience in various roles with NewsX, The New Indian Express, IBTimes India, and U.S., Republic, and Analytics India Magazine. Gourav has a Master&#8217;s in journalism from Jain University, Bengaluru. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gourav-mishra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gourav Mishra</a></div>
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US to Lease Out Areas Off the California Coast for Offshore Wind Projects


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					</table><p>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:</p>
<p><strong>Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited </strong><a href="https://tatapower-ddl.com/pr-details/199/2137686/tata-power-delhi-distribution-limited-becomes-a-100-percent-rpo-compliant-discom-for-second-consecutive-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>became</strong></a><strong> a 100% RPO (renewable purchase obligation) compliant DISCOM for the second consecutive year. </strong>The power utility company supplies electricity to over 7 million people in North Delhi. It sourced 2,200 million units (MUs) of green energy from renewable sources like solar, wind, hydro, and waste to energy, including large hydro sources, and fulfilled the RPO for FY 2021-22 through physical power. This is approximately 25% of the total units sold to consumers by the company in its operational area.</p>
<p><strong>Azure Power Global, an independent sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer in India, </strong><a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/azure-power-ties-up-with-siemens-gamesa-for-supply-of-onshore-wind-turbines-301604906.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>signed</strong></a><strong> a Master Supply Agreement with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Power</strong>, a wind technology company. Siemens Gamesa will supply 96 units of SG 3.6-145 onshore wind turbines, catering to an overall capacity of approximately 346 MW wind projects. The turbine supply is expected to commence during the second quarter of 2023.</p>
<p><strong>Switch Mobility, the electric bus and light commercial vehicle company, and Chalo, a transport technology company, </strong><a href="https://www.switchmobility.tech/en/news/switch-mobility-and-chalo-join-hands-deploy-5000-electric-buses-across-india?nid=1362" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>entered</strong></a><strong> into a strategic collaboration to deploy 5,000 state-of-the-art electric buses across India</strong>. The partnership builds on Switch’s already strong order book covering three continents with established operators in India, Continental Europe, and the United Kingdom. The memorandum of understanding with Chalo has been signed for three years, and the buses will be deployed across districts and cities in India where it operates. Switch would supply variants of the recently launched EiV12 as part of the supply agreement.</p>
<p><strong>Emerging Power, the renewable energy subsidiary of natural resources development company Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC), </strong><a href="https://nickelasia.com/bulletin/emerging-power-inc-forges-joint-venture-with-shell-to-raise-renewable-energy-capacity" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>signed</strong></a><strong> an agreement with Shell Overseas Investments B.V. (Shell)</strong> to jointly develop, own, operate, and maintain onshore renewable energy projects in the Philippines. The EPI-Shell venture is targeting 1 GW by 2028 with ambitions to contribute up to 3 GW into the country’s renewable capacity by initially rolling out a series of projects in Luzon and Visayas. The focus will be on utility-scale solar photovoltaics while evaluating opportunities in onshore wind and energy storage systems. Based on industry data, a gigawatt of solar PV can supply the annual daytime consumption of over 1.2 million homes in the country.</p>
<p><strong>The California Energy Commission (CEC) </strong><a href="https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2022-08/cec-adopts-historic-california-offshore-wind-goals-enough-power-upwards-25" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>adopted</strong></a><strong> a report establishing offshore wind goals and set planning goals of 2-5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045,</strong> enough electricity to power 3.75 million initially and 25 million homes by mid-century. The CEC developed the report in coordination with federal, state, and local agencies and stakeholders, including tribal governments, fisheries, and other ocean users. CEC staff will next study the economic benefits of offshore wind in relation to seaport investments and workforce development needs. They will also create a roadmap to develop a permitting process for offshore wind energy facilities and associated electricity and transmission infrastructure. The entire plan must be submitted to the legislature by June 2023.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Satish Shetty</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Satish Shetty,</strong> Associate Editor at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Satish Shetty.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Satish-pic-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/satish-shetty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Satish Shetty</strong></a> is an Associate Editor with Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Satish was a multimedia news producer at Reuters, where he gained experience in digital news media. Satish has his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Broadcast Journalism from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.<br />
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Daily News Wrap-Up: Tata Power-DDL Meets Renewable Purchase Obligation for FY22

<p>In the state&#8217;s budget for the financial year 2022-23, <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California Governor</a> Gavin Newsom allocated $6.1 billion towards zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) acceleration.</p>
<p>The investment would include a General Fund of $3.5 billion, a $1.5 billion proposition, $676 million of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and a Federal Fund of $383 million.</p>
<p>With this, the Governor aims to bring the total investment of $10 billion in ZEV acceleration over the next six years to decarbonize California&#8217;s most polluting transportation sector.</p>
<p><strong>Low-income ZEVs and infrastructure</strong></p>
<p>The government plans to invest $256 million for low-income consumer purchases and $900 million to expand affordable and convenient ZEV infrastructure access in low-income neighborhoods. The investment will be used to deploy a range of charging options, including grid-friendly high-power fast chargers and at-home charging facilities, to support communities.</p>
<p><strong>Heavy-duty ZEVs and infrastructure</strong></p>
<p>Newsom allocated $935 million to add 1,000 zero-emission short-haul trucks and 1,700 zero-emission transit buses. The $1.5 billion Proposition will support school transportation programs, including advancing electric school buses in a coordinated effort between educational and energy agencies. The budget also factored in $1.1 billion for zero-emission trucks, buses, off-road equipment, and fueling infrastructure. Another $400 million will be invested to electrify ports.</p>
<p><strong>Zero-emission mobility</strong></p>
<p>The Governor granted $419 million to support sustainable community-based transportation equity projects in the budget. These projects would help low-income communities access zero-emission mobility. The investment includes clean mobility options, sustainable transportation, and equity projects.</p>
<p>The budget also incorporated  $200 million investment in demonstration and pilot projects in the high-carbon emitting sectors like maritime, aviation, rail, and other off-road applications and support vehicles&#8217; grid integration at scale.</p>
<p>Earlier in 2020, Newsom had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/california-to-be-zero-emission-by-2035/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> an executive order to phase out gas-powered cars and vehicles in the state by 2035 to tackle the climate change crisis.</p>
<p><strong>Clean energy technologies</strong></p>
<p>To combat the climate crisis and address the scale of California&#8217;s changing energy needs, $2 billion was allocated to deploy clean energy technologies in the energy system to achieve a diverse and reliable electric power source. The investment is expected to enhance the decarbonization of buildings, agriculture, and industry through new technologies to decrease consumer costs.</p>
<p>The state government is expected to invest $380 million General Fund over two years in long-duration storage projects to support grid reliability. The storage projects would help face emergencies like wildfires and internment renewables into the grid.</p>
<p>The General Fund of  $100 million is set aside to enhance the use and production of green hydrogen, in which electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.</p>
<p>The Governor earmarked $210 million to accelerate industrial sector decarbonization. The investment would provide a grant program to purchase and deploy commercially available advanced technologies and equipment to decarbonize industries while reducing criteria pollutants in disadvantaged communities.</p>
<p>The state government provided $45 million in the budget to advance the offshore wind energy program deployment in federal waters of the state.</p>
<p>For the decarbonization of buildings, the Governor announced a budget of $962.4 million. Of this, $622.4 million funds for over two years would be utilized to replace fossil fuel appliances with electric appliances, energy-efficient lighting, and building insulation and sealing.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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California Allocates $6.1 Billion in its Budget for Zero-Emission Vehicles

<p>According to research supported by the MIT Energy Initiative (<a href="https://energy.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MITEI</a>), hydrogen-fired power generation can be a cost-effective alternative to backing up solar and wind power. Emre Gençer and Drake D. Hernandez, research scientists at MITEI, have devised a model that allows for a more precise assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of various peak-power plant alternatives.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117314" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Their hybrid technological and economic analysis</a> was published in the online edition of Applied Energy on July 6, 2021, based on a detailed inventory of California&#8217;s power grid. The researchers compared the costs of different technologies using a core metric &#8211; Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) to conclude that hydrogen-fired power generation could be cheaper than lithium-ion batteries for peaking operations. The average total cost of developing and operating an energy-generating asset per unit of total electricity generated during its hypothetical lifetime is measured by the LCOE.</p>
<p>Energy providers are rapidly ramping up renewable resources such as solar and wind as the United States races to fulfill its target of zero-carbon electricity generation by 2035. However, these technologies require backup from other energy sources, particularly during peak power demand seasons. According to the report, grid operators are increasingly turning to fossil-fuel-based &#8220;peaker&#8221; plants to make up for the intermittent nature of variable renewable energy sources like solar and wind.</p>
<p>California is a shining example of a rapidly changing power system, according to MITEI. Solar power accounts for more than 20% of the electricity, while wind power accounts for about <a href="https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/08/20210829-mitei.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7%</a>. As a result, its peaker plants serve a critical role, coming online each evening as the sun sets or when occurrences like heat waves cause spikes in electricity demand for days at a time. While the research focuses on the most cost-effective alternatives for replacing peaker power plants, it also includes other ideas applicable to the discussion about energy system transformation.</p>
<p>There is a fledgling hydrogen production infrastructure in the state, utilized mainly to produce ammonia for fertilizer. To achieve grid-scale needs, massive investments will be required, which will be driven by deliberate incentives.</p>
<p>The researchers believe that studies like theirs can aid important energy players in making judgments. To that purpose, they have included their findings into <a href="https://sesame.mit.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SESAME</a>, an MIT-developed lifetime and techno-economic evaluation tool for energy systems. Users can use this comprehensive modeling environment to compare the costs of energy storage and emissions from various technologies or whether replacing a natural gas-powered plant with a hydrogen-powered plant is cost-effective.</p>
<p>Hydrogen alone will not usher in a zero-carbon future. But, the research shows hydrogen needs to be seriously considered in the energy transition. The industry needs to identify key areas where hydrogen should be used and start making the massive investments necessary.</p>
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Using Hydrogen to Economically Backup Wind and Solar Power: MIT Research

<p>The value of solar has fallen by about 37% compared to other power generation sources in California, said <a href="https://thebreakthrough.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Breakthrough Institute</a> in its latest report. The report said California’s 20% power comes from solar, substantially higher than any other state of the United States.</p>
<p>According to the report, the 37% decline in the value of solar in California is due to value deflation. Solar generation is concentrated in a relatively short period of the day. As the solar installation increases, the average wholesale price of power decreases during the mid-day hours, which reduces the value of both new and existing solar compared to other power generation sources. In California, the decline in mid-day electricity prices has reduced solar energy’s value, especially in the months of spring and fall.</p>
<p>According to the report, solar generation reaches the top in April-June due to high insolation and lower power demand in California. In July-August, solar penetration goes down as total load increases due to higher cooling demand. Especially, mid-day solar penetration increased from 18% in 2015 to 36% in 2019. Mid-day solar penetration also witnessed seasonal variations as it was 30% during winter months, 41% during spring, 37% in summer, and 36% in fall.</p>
<p>The report said the overall marginal prices of all electricity on the grid would decline as the percentage of power on the grid coming from solar projects increases. The marginal price of power declines from around $60/MWh to $0 as the percentage of power from solar increases from 0% to 55% on the grid.</p>
<p>As per the report, the marginal prices of power decline by around 50% at 30% solar penetration, and it falls to zero when over 50% of California’s power is generated by solar energy. The largest decline in solar value, or value deflation between 40% and 60%, is witnessed during the spring months (March-May) as total power demand is low, but solar generation is relatively high. While the smallest decline in solar value, or value deflation between 10% and 20%, is witnessed during July-September, as power demand and solar generation both are on the higher side.</p>
<p>In California, utility-scale solar generation expanded rapidly over the last five years from 5% in 2014 to 13% until now. Utility-scale solar’s value in California in 2020 was around $27/MWh, similar to the price paid to solar generators of $26/MW in power purchase agreements (PPAs). However, the actual levelized cost of energy (LCOE) generation from solar projects was about $45, around 40% more than PPA costs because of the combination of a 30% federal investment tax credit, various state-level incentives, and indirect investor subsidies.</p>
<p>The report observed that the value deflection of solar is expected to continue in line with the percentage of power generation by solar continues to grow. The value deflection would increase from 45% to 75% in spring months, and 35% to 45% in fall months, as solar penetration increases from 13% to 20%. In the spring months, value deflection could approach 90% when solar penetration reaches 30% because of low power demand and high solar production.</p>
<p>In California, average annual value deflection will be about 48% at 20% utility-scale solar penetration, 65% deflection at 30% solar penetration, 74% value deflection at 40% solar penetration, 80% value deflection at 50% solar penetration, and 85% at 60% solar penetration.</p>
<p>The report stated that value defection was countered by the rapid decline of solar module prices. It added that subsidized solar PPAs cost went down by over 50% between 2014 and 2020. During the same period, the unsubsidized LCOE of solar projects fell by about 65%.</p>
<p>In California, solar is subsidized by around $900 million annually, based on a difference between PPAs and LCOA costs. The availability of solar subsidies makes a big difference to the existing cost-effectiveness of solar and its ability to keep up with existing value deflection. However, technology-specific subsidies may be phased out as solar installation grows.</p>
<p>To raise the relative value of solar, other technology-neutral deployment policies like carbon pricing or clean energy standards should increase natural gas’ costs in the future. As if the solar value declines faster than its cost, solar deployment could be hindered in the state, increasing overall energy costs.</p>
<p>To reduce the value deflection of solar, the report suggested to deploy technologies like grid-scale storage, long-distance high voltage direct current transmission lines, and load shifting through efficiency and demand response.</p>
<p>According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2021 report, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-solar-market-adds-record/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. solar market had surpassed 100 GW of installed power generating capacity, doubling the industry’s size over the last 3.5 years.</p>
<p>In 2020, the U.S. solar industry <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-solar-industry-installed-2020-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grew</a> 43% and installed a record 19.2 GW of capacity despite the Covid-19.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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Solar Value Down by 37% in California Due to Value Deflection: Report

<p>California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to phase out gas-powered cars and vehicles in the state by 2035 to tackle the climate change crisis.</p>
<p>According to the statement, the California Air Resources Board will establish the regulation to ensure that new passenger cars and vehicle sales in the state are zero-emission by 2035. It will also develop regulations to supervise all operations of medium and heavy-duty vehicles to ensure they are emission-free by 2045. The mandate will be applied to drayage trucks from 2035.</p>
<p>These initiatives will help achieve over 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and an 80% improvement in oxides of nitrogen emissions from cars statewide.</p>
<p>The governor said that the order would direct state agencies to enhance the installation of low-cost fueling and charging options in partnership with the private sector to satisfy the infrastructure requirements to support zero-emission vehicles.</p>
<p>He added that the order would also regulate state agencies to develop plans for a statewide integrated rail and transit network and to enhance infrastructure to help bicycle and pedestrian projects in low-income communities.</p>
<p>“The executive order sets clear deliverables for new health and safety regulations that protect workers and communities from the impact of oil extraction. It supports companies who transition their upstream and downstream oil production operations to cleaner alternatives,” said the press statement.</p>
<p>According to its press release, the California Air Resources Board already sanctioned new regulations directing truck manufacturers to shift towards zero-emission electric trucks starting 2024. The governor also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 14 other states to enhance the medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles market.</p>
<p>According to a new report <a href="https://mercomindia.com/sale-electric-cars-iea-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> by the International Energy Agency, the number of electric cars plying on the road is expected to touch almost 10 million in 2020, with their sales growing despite the coronavirus pandemic. The report states that this year, electric car sales are expected to do better than other car markets.</p>
<p>Mercom earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/us-companies-ask-insurers-no-fossil-fuel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that 60 U.S. companies had teamed up to persuade American insurers to ditch fossil fuel-based businesses.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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All Cars in California to be Zero-Emission by 2035

<p>By the end of 2019, 7,332 U.S. schools had turned towards solar power, nearly double the number five years earlier. As a result, more than five million students across the U.S. now attend schools powered by solar energy.</p>
<p>With 1,365 MW of cumulative installed capacity, solar schools in the U.S. are now generating enough energy to power 254,030 U.S. homes.</p>
<p>Switching to solar has helped schools save on energy costs, reduced power outages, opened doors to clean energy, and provided job training in a fast-growing industry. At $8 billion a year, energy is the second largest expense for U.S. schools.</p>
<p>Some noteworthy examples of schools going solar include an Arkansas school district, which has used savings from its solar project to give teachers pay raises.</p>
<p>Interestingly, these schools are installing greater solar capacity, with solar production up 81% over the last five years. Over five million students now attend schools with solar installations &#8211; a 24% increase since 2017 and an 81% rise since 2014. In all, installed solar has increased by 139% in U.S. schools since 2014.</p>
<p>These findings were reported in the third edition of ‘Brighter Future- A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools’ published by the Solar Energy Industries Association (<a href="https://www.seia.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SEIA</a>) and The Solar Foundation (TSF). The report analyzes the growth of schools going solar and shares insights into how and why they are doing it.</p>
<p>Solar schools now make up 5.5% of all public and private K-12 schools. The decision to go solar at public schools was taken at the district level, and 16% of K-12 school districts (2,231 in total) have embraced this technology.California leads the pack with one-third of the nation’s solar schools and 45% of the installed capacity, followed by New Jersey, Arizona.</p>
<p>In California, microgrids are employed to keep schools operating during rolling blackouts; meanwhile, in Puerto Rico, solar microgrids ensure that school refrigerators stay cold and that the food for the students stays fresh.</p>
<p>Incidentally, the third-largest district in Arizona would end up saving $43 million over 20 years from 73,000 solar panels. One of the highlights has been the Batesville School District in Arkansas, which used the energy savings to become the highest-paying school district in the county, with teachers receiving up to $9,000 per year in raises.</p>
<p>Roughly 79% of the schools resorted to third-party ownership to finance their solar installations. The states that allow third-party ownership account for 91% of the solar installed at schools nationwide.</p>
<p>In the power purchase agreement (PPA), the school district pays for the energy produced by the solar installation, usually at a rate lower than what the district paid the utility company for electricity. Schools are witnessing an immediate energy saving that typically increases over time as the utility’s electricity rates rise.</p>
<p>Around 88% of the solar projects under 15 kW were paid for with grants and donations. For solar energy systems over 15 kW, third-party ownership is the primary funding source, and its utilization increases with the size of the solar energy system. For systems over 50 kW in size, direct ownership through cash, loans, and bonds is the second-highest source of funding.</p>
<p>The remaining 22 states only account for 9% of the solar installed on schools. Lack of access to third-party financing is stifling solar development in almost half the country. Only 21% of the solar installed on schools is purchased, owned, and maintained by the schools under direct ownership.</p>
<p>Similar policies are also in the works in India, and the schools in the country could benefit immensely if they go solar. Currently, solar installations are more <a href="https://mercomindia.com/schools-colleges-going-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">prevalent</a> on college campuses.</p>
<p>Last year, the Utkarsh Society <a href="https://mercomindia.com/haryana-hybrid-solar-systems-government-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> a tender to select service providers to install hybrid solar systems under the RESCO model in over 14,000 government schools across Haryana.</p>
<p>In August 2019, the Himachal Pradesh Energy Development Agency <a href="https://mercomindia.com/himachal-pradesh-tender-solar-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invited bids</a> for solar projects at 312 middle schools located in 11 districts of Himachal Pradesh.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Image credit: SEIA</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/rahul-nair/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Rahul Nair</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rahul-Nair.png" width="86" height="102" />Rahul is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Before entering the world of renewables, Rahul was head of the Gujarat bureau for The Quint. He has also worked for DNA Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad Mirror. Hailing from a banking and finance background, Rahul has also worked for JP Morgan Chase and State Bank of India. <a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/rahul-nair/" rel="noopener noreferrer">More articles from Rahul Nair.</a></p>
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7,332 Schools in the United States Benefit from Solar Energy

<p>Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcement of the day from around the world:</p>
<p><strong>Foresight Group and Elgin Energy have </strong><a href="https://www.foresightgroup.eu/news/elgin-energy-and-foresight-enter-a-joint-venture-to-develop-200mw-of-uk-solar-pv-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>formed</strong></a><strong> a joint venture to develop a pipeline of greenfield solar projects across the United Kingdom.</strong> The joint venture is expected to develop six solar projects with a total capacity of around 200 MW in the United Kingdom, Wales, and Scotland.</p>
<p><strong>Li-Cycle Corporation, a lithium-ion battery resource recovery firm, <a href="https://li-cycle.com/2020/09/23/li-cycle-selects-rochester-ny-as-site-for-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-hub/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> that it would invest over $175 million in its first commercial lithium-ion battery recycling hub at Eastman Business Park </strong>in Rochester, New York. The hub is a wet chemistry/hydrometallurgical facility that will refine battery-grade material from &#8216;black mass&#8217; generated from pre-processing spent lithium-ion batteries. The facility will have the capability of processing materials from an equivalent of 60,000 metric tons of spent lithium-ion batteries. It is expected to begin its commercial operation in 2022.</p>
<p><strong>GE Renewable Energy </strong><a href="https://www.ge.com/news/press-releases/ge-renewable-energy-announces-576-mw-order-invenergy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>announced</strong></a><strong> a trio of orders for its 2.X wind turbines with Invenergy.</strong> The 576 MW, 187-turbine order can satisfy the energy needs of 160,000 households across three states of the United States. All three projects will be operated by the first quarter of 2021 or earlier.</p>
<p><strong>Luxury brand CHANEL has </strong><a href="https://investors.sunrun.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/215/chanel-partners-with-sunrun-to-bring-solar-energy-to" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>committed</strong></a><strong> $35 million towards solar energy projects for low-income multifamily households with Sunrun Corporation. </strong>The partnership will expand access to solar for nearly 30,000 low-income residents across California, offering families savings of up to $40 to $50 a month. Both companies will install around 30 MW of solar energy systems on affordable multifamily properties in California.</p>
<p><strong>Standard Solar announced that it has been </strong><a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200923005244/en/Standard-Solar-Expands-Affordable-and-Accessible-Solar-to-Maryland-Communities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>providing</strong></a><strong> 8 GW of energy supply to Maryland community solar subscribers annually, in partnership with Ogos Energy, Earth and Air Technologies, and Neighborhood Sun.</strong> The two projects with a cumulative capacity of 5.5 MW are expected to provide clean energy to 800 Maryland households as subscribers. The company will own and operate the community solar projects.</p>
<p><strong>First Solar </strong><a href="https://investor.firstsolar.com/news/press-release-details/2020/JP-Energie-Environnement-Selects-Lowest-Carbon-First-Solar-Modules-for-Labarde-Project/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>said</strong></a><strong> that JP Energie Environment has been using its Series 6 photovoltaic solar modules to power the 59 MW Labarde solar power project.</strong> The project is being built on a former open-air municipal landfill in Bordeaux in South West France. The company said it&#8217;s Series 6 solar modules deliver the lowest carbon solar electricity available to date.</p>
<p><strong>Vattenfall and Glennmont Partners have </strong><a href="https://group.vattenfall.com/press-and-media/news--press-releases/pressreleases/2020/vattenfall-and-glennmont-sign-wind-power-balancing-services-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>signed</strong></a><strong> a long-term agreement to provide balancing services for the 211 MW Piiparinmäki onshore wind project in Finland.</strong> Glennmont Partners acquired the project in September last year. The project, which is located near Kajaani, will have 41 turbines. Once operational, the project is expected to produce 700 GW of clean energy annually. Glennmont Partners communicated that Google would purchase a significant portion of the total production from the project.</p>
<p><strong>With a product life-span of 30 years and a wind turbine recyclability rate of 85% to 90%, the wind power industry is now looking to design and manufacture the first 100% recyclable wind turbine blade.</strong> The <a href="https://www.lmwindpower.com/en/stories-and-press/stories/news-from-lm-places/zebra-project-launched" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ZEBRA project</a>, driven by the French Research Center IRT Jules Verne, brings together industrial companies and technical centers to demonstrate a full scale of technical, economic, and environmental relevance of thermoplastic wind turbine blades with an eco-design approach to facilitate recycling. The project has been launched with a budget of €18.5 million (~$ 21.8 million) for a period of 42 months.</p>
<p>Here is our <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-news-wrap-up-tesla-batteries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous</a> daily news wrap-up.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/">More articles from Harsh Shukla.</a></p>
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