General Electric will demolish a California natural gas-fired plant with 20 years remaining in its useful life, deeming the plant “uneconomical” as inexpensive solar and wind grab a larger share of power in the state. The Inland Empire Energy Center (IEEC), a 750 megawatt plant, is slated for closure by the end of the year.
Legislation to increase the rate of VAT attached to solar panels and home batteries to 20% move forward yesterday following a legislation committee hearing that included accusations of government errors and “bombast and windbaggery”. Yesterday (Monday 24 June) legislation was put forward containing the VAT increase, which will see tax on home solar and battery
It was never more important to keep renewable energy in the focus of our parliament. We have heard plans for net zero carbon for the UK which is a fantastic endeavour. However, it will only happen with government backing and my current focus is on helping domestic installs with appropriate incentives. Installed Solar
Two thirds of all people who own a PV array generate enough electricity to become self-sufficient if they have access to storage, according to German utility E.ON. “66 percent of our clients with a solar array produce more electricity over the year than they consume,” the company’s head of German operations, Victoria Ossadnik, told broadcaster
A new asset class is coming to the energy industry. One of the most exciting innovations in energy over the past decade has been the development of energy storage technology. Batteries have become viable for almost every size project, from homes to the largest utilities. In 2018, 311 megawatts (MW) and 777 megawatt-hours (MW-hr) of
Recent power outages related to wildfires and other weather-related events suggest that a battery storage system might be a sensible addition when installing a solar photovoltaic system. The cost of battery storage is dropping, and there are alternatives available to reduce the cost further. “The era of available electricity whenever and wherever needed is officially
Details have emerged of the UK's Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which will see owners of small-scale solar facilities continue to be paid for surplus energy sent to the grid, aiming to close the policy gap left by the end of feed-in tariffs (FiTs), by the end of 2019. Details of the SEG have been much-awaited
The UK government should consider targeted support for small-scale battery storage if it wants households to participate in a smarter, lower carbon energy system, according to Brian Davis, vice president, Energy Solutions at Shell International. Shell New Energies acquired German battery storage firm Sonnen in February. The company has deployed hundreds of megawatts of storage
Fueled by increased interest in grid service applications like time-of-use (TOU) shifting, self-consumption and backup power, the U.S. market for energy storage doubled in 2018 and is expected to double again by the end of the year. Of the 777 MWh of energy storage deployed in the United States in 2018 (which was an 80%
Gov. Tony Evers caused a bit of a stir this year when he said Wisconsin should have a goal of generating carbon-free electricity by the year 2050. That would mean no coal-fired power plants in the state, and several other changes. Energy experts say one of those changes would likely involve more use of devices