Tag: Solar energy
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Pro-Solar Tweaks Advance in General Assembly
As the General Assembly reaches the mid-point of its session, solar-energy legislation sponsored by Republicans has a very good chance of passing, reports Robert Zullo with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The proposals emerged from lengthy discussions in a working group of Virginia’s electric utilities, electric cooperatives, and solar industry proponents. While the package is “a mixed…
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Clean Energy Stakeholders Agree on Solar Legislation
A working group that includes Dominion Virginia Power, Appalachian Power and an assortment of clean energy advocates has achieved consensus on pro-solar legislation to submit to the General Assembly. According to Jim Pierobon, writing for Southeast Energy News, the group worked through the summer and early fall guided by Mark Rubin, a mediator with the…
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Environmentalists Oppose Apco’s Green Tariff
Appalachian Power Company’s proposal to offer a special green-power tariff (which I covered here) has run into heavy resistance from environmentalists on the grounds that (1) it would be expensive and (2) it would prohibit competition in Apco’s service territory. Jim Pieroban explores the controversy in Southeast Energy News. The proposed tariff, Apco spokesman John Shepelwich…
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Renewable Energy Outlook in Virginia Still Sunny
Progress toward an electric grid powered by renewable energy has been frustratingly slow to many Virginians. There have been two main obstacles to ramping up production of wind and solar power in the Old Dominion: cost and reliability. Wind still has high hurdles in Virginia. There is a limited number of on-shore locations suitable for…
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New Solar Farm in the Works
SunPower Corp., a California-based solar energy company, plans to request a special use permit from James City County for a solar farm up to 35 megawatts in Norge near Williamsburg, reports the Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily. The project, which would be built on a 223-acre site, is in the early permitting stage. SunPower is in active discussions…
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The (Battery) Acid Test
Dominion Virginia Power is running experiments to see how well battery storage works with solar electricity. The verdict so far: mixed. Last year Austin-based ViZn Energy Systems had developed a zinc-iron redox battery system, the product of eight years of work, which it touted as safe, efficient, durable and flexible. The battery, the company stated, could absorb…
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Banking on Batteries
AES Energy Storage is building a global enterprise using industrial-scale batteries to make the electric grid cleaner and more reliable. Richmond-based Dominion Resources may be the most visible energy company in Virginia — its Dominion Virginia Power subsidiary is the dominant electric utility in the state — but it is not the biggest. That distinction belongs to…
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Dominion Inks Second Solar Deal with Amazon
Dominion has announced a major expansion of its solar alliance with Amazon Web Services (AWS), adding 180 megawatts of generating capacity at five Virginia locations. The deal will build Dominion’s solar fleet to 434 megawatts in Virginia and North Carolina, close to its goal of 500 megawatts by 2020. Dominion’s eight-state fleet will reach 1,400 megawatts by…
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Testing the Impact of Solar
Virginia has been slow to embrace small-scale solar energy, but Dominion’s Solar Partnership Program could show how to integrate variable solar generation into local distribution systems. by James A. Bacon The biggest solar farm built in Virginia to date isn’t very big by anybody’s standards — only 2.5 megawatts, enough to power about 500 homes. But Dominion Virginia…
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Solar Farm 101
A book entitled “Solar Farms for Dummies” would never sell. Once constructed, solar farms are so simple to maintain that the biggest job is cutting the grass. by James A. Bacon Does anyone wonder how a solar farm works? From an electro-mechanical standpoint, it’s remarkably simple — nothing like a gas-fired power plant with its…
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The Bizarre Local Politics of Solar Energy
by James A. Bacon As nice as it would be to generate lots of power from the wind, one can understand why people don’t like wind turbines near them. They disrupt viewsheds. They make loud thrumming noises. They kills birds and bats. What I can’t understand is why people would object to having solar panels…
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Tesla’s Grand Plan
Tesla Motors, which wants to expand its retail presence in Virginia, is more than a manufacturer of high-end electric vehicles. It’s part of Elon Musk’s quest to transform the electric grid. by James A. Bacon Richmond businessman Stuart Siegel loves his Tesla Model X. The SUV is loaded with luxury options and its electric motor is as quiet as…
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BARC Launches Virginia’s First Community Solar Project
by James A. Bacon Governor Terry McAuliffe traveled to Lexington yesterday to flip the switch on Virginia’s first community solar project, installed by the tiny BARC Electrical Cooperative. “BARC’s community solar project is an excellent model for stabilizing and reducing energy costs, while delivering clean solar power to a large segment of households on the…
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The Market-Driven Path to Renewables
by James A. Bacon Texas, one of the most conservative states in the country, is not exactly what you’d call a hotbed of environmental activism. Yet the Lone Star state has added more wind-based generating capacity than any other; wind turbines and other renewables account for 16% of electrical generating capacity — and as much as…
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Hecate Announces Solar Deal in Cape Charles
by James A. Bacon Governor Terry McAuliffe has announced yet another utility-scale solar deal, this one a 20-megawatt project in Cape Charles in Northampton County. The “Cherrydale Project” will generate enough energy to power more than 3,000 households throughout the region, states the governor’s press release. The project was assembled by a newcomer to the Virginia…