PG&E to phase out California’s last nuclear plant in favor of renewables

The California utility has also set a goal of 55% renewable energy by 2031, which is more aggressive than the state’s current renewable energy mandate.

By Christian Roselund, PV Magazine

When changes are coming, you can either attempt to delay them or get ahead of them and try to steer the course of these changes. Today Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) showed that in terms of the shift to renewable energy, it is choosing a combination of both options.

The utility has announced a proposal to California regulators to phase-out the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), by 2026. Diablo Canyon is the state’s sole remaining operational nuclear power plant, following the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013. It is also one of two remaining operational plants on the U.S. West Coast.

Under the proposal, PG&E will additionally increase energy efficiency efforts and set a goal to procure 55% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2031. This is more aggressive than California’s renewable energy mandate of 50% by 2030, and as such an unusual proposal by an investor-owned utility. 

However, PG&E is not alone. The measures represent a joint proposal by the utility, the utility workers’ union, the electrical workers’ union, three environmental groups and a nuclear watchdog.

However, solar trade groups are not part of that coalition, and have critiques of the plan. California Solar Energy Industries Association (CalSEIA) Executive Director Bernadette Del Chiaro says that while the plan to replace nuclear generation with carbon-free sources is "laudable", that the plan contains no provisions to replace any of the nuclear capacity with solar.

"Given the significant growth of the rooftop solar market in PG&E territory, it seems like a major oversight of this agreement to preclude customer-sited renewable energy from counting toward the replacement power and to not allow tariffs to at least help achieve these goals," Del Chiaro told pv magazine. 

"Further, to dictate how 2,000 annual gigawatt hours are to be brought online, eight years in advance, and seems premature."

Aside from overlooking rooftop solar, this move to shut down the last nuclear power plant as part of an increase in renewable energy is reminiscent of Germany’s “Energiewende”, of which one component is the nation's nuclear phase-out.

In supporting documents, PG&E references technical challenges which are similar to those experienced in Germany. The utility cites “challenges with inflexible baseload generation” in the proposal, and also “the challenge of managing overgeneration and intermittency conditions under a resource portfolio increasingly influenced by solar and wind production”. 

Nuclear is the least flexible form of conventional generation, and this conflict has resulted in negative power prices in California as well as curtailment of wind and solar. This issue has been highlighted in the U.S. press, including National Public Radio and MIT Technology Review, however the many articles often fail to recognize that it is the inflexibility of nuclear and other forms of baseload generation which are causing negative prices, as wind and solar typically curtail instead of over-generating.

And by setting a date of 2024/2025 for full phase-out, PG&E is planning to continue operation of the Diablo Canyon plant for another nine years, a period during which such issues will only get worse.

PG&E is also protecting itself from financial impacts due to these changes. Under this proposal, the utility will ensure that it fully recovers its investments in Diablo Canyon. 

Additionally, the utility plans to make sure that any new renewable energy procurement is covered in “non-bypassable” charges to its customers. These are charges that owners of net-metered PV systems must also pay, in addition to non-solar customers.

However, CALSEIA's Del Chiaro notes that it is not yet clear if these additional non-bypassable charges will significantly impact the economics of net metered solar arrays in California.

Source: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/energiewende-us--pge-to-phase-out-californias-last-nuclear-plant-in-favor-of-renewables_100025107/#ixzz4EV1W7lqH

Intersolar and ees North America Offers Comprehensive Workshop Program for Installers, Project Developers

By Steven Goldstein, Stock Transcript

Intersolar and ees North America, the most attended solar plus energy storage industry exhibition and conference dedicated to the North American market, will host more than 20 workshops this year to educate installers and project developers on the key trends and new products shaping the industry. The featured workshops this year are developed in partnership with the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA), the North American Board of Certified Energy Professionals (NABCEP) and the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries (NAATBatt). For the third straight year, Intersolar North America will host CALSEIA’s Contractor Day, an all-day, all-inclusive package deal designed for those involved in solar sales and installations, on Tuesday, July 12.

Information on the exhibition program, including Contractor Day, is available online.

As part of Contractor Day, attendees will pick from five workshops that cover the hot topics of running a solar business. At a special luncheon, CALSEIA’s executive director Bernadette Del Chiaro will discuss the latest developments regarding rate structure and Net Energy Metering in an open-format Q&A session. Additionally, included in the special Contractor Day package is a ticket to Intersolar’s premier networking event, the Solar Summerfest.

“We’re pleased to be hosting Contractor Day at Intersolar to provide solar professionals with special access to workshops and programs designed just for them covering topics such as storage, permitting and HOA challenges, rate design, and marketing,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of CALSEIA. 

As an integral part of Intersolar’s and ees’ exhibition program, more than 20 workshops will feature product insights, discussions on solar and energy storage and more to help contractors gain an in-depth understanding of the products being showcased on the exhibition floor. As the first major solar plus energy storage industry event of the year in North America, Intersolar and ees attract 18,000 visitors from companies across the whole value chain to see firsthand the next-generation products from more than 500 exhibitors to help reduce costs, boost efficiency and drive the market forward.

CALSEIA’s Solar Heating and Cooling Alliance (SH&C) will host a symposium to examine the impact these technologies can have on energy and natural gas consumption in California and across the U.S..  Industry SH&C experts will discuss industry trends, including emerging financing tools and commercial solar pool heating projects, and examine innovations to help these projects succeed.

With California positioned as the largest energy storage market in North America, Intersolar and ees North America is the perfect place for its partner NAATBatt to host two important workshops. The two workshops, “Making Money with Storage” and “What’s Next in the Development of the California Energy Storage Market” will examine the future of the energy storage industry in California and beyond.

“Solar developers thinking about adding storage to their product offerings should attend the NAATBatt solar plus storage workshops on Wednesday, July 13,” said James Greenberger, executive director of NAATBatt International. “The workshops will offer a frank assessment of how competing storage technologies compare and how developers can use them to enhance returns.  The afternoon workshop will focus on the future of the California market and how developers can take advantage of the quickly growing and quickly changing storage opportunity in the Golden State.”

Installers attending Intersolar and ees North America are able to attend at 12 NABCEP technical training and hands-on product workshops. NABCEP, Intersolar and ees selected exhibiting companies representing the latest in energy storage, mounting and racking systems, inverter and monitoring technologies.  Attendees will earn 2 NABCEP CEUs for each two-hour workshop. Presenting companies include Anchor Products, Aquion Energy, eGauge Systems, Ginlong Technologies (Solis Inverters), GS Battery (U.S.A.) Inc., IronRidge, Quick Mount PV, Rolls Battery Engineering, SolarEdge Technologies Inc., sonnen, Inc., SunModo Corp., and Trojan Battery Company.

“As the U.S. solar market continues to break records and expand, installers across the country need to stay on top of the product trends and best practices that are streamlining the installation process, boosting efficiency and making solar a viable option for a variety of customers,” said Don Warfield, Chairperson at NABCEP. “We’re excited to partner with a variety of companies to offer in-depth technical training workshops and hands-on product workshops at Intersolar and ees North America this year, and help installers gain an edge in a competitive marketplace.”

Exhibition Stages Offer Free Presentations on New Products, Market Trends 

Attendees will be able to see more presentations from Intersolar and ees North America exhibitors on the Innovation & Application stage, located on Level 3 of Moscone West, and the ees stage on Level 2 of Moscone West. The Innovation & Application stage will feature free training programs to attendees, as well as 30-minute presentations from Intersolar AWARD finalists. On the ees stage, visitors will hear industry experts discuss their experience with production, sale, installation and application of batteries and energy storage systems, as well as presentations from ees AWARD finalists.

The Intersolar North America exhibition will be held July 12 to 14 at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, and is co-located with both ees North America, the ideal platform to connect stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy storage market, and SEMICON West, the world’s marketplace for micro­electronics innovation. Registration for the exhibition and conference is available online. For a full listing of exhibition events, visit the online schedule.

Source: http://www.stocktranscript.com/intersolar-and-ees-north-america-offers-comprehensive-workshop-program-for-installers-project-developers/90767/

Pasadena business owner taps into solar power

Brett Barnard has 744 solar panels on the roofs on his two Pasadena businesses - STORBOX Self Storage business and The Wine Grotto. It’s the largest non-institutional photovoltaic solar array in the city. His 14-year-old son Cole is shown here in front of some of the panels.

By Kevin Smith, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Brett Barnard has solar panels — lots of ‘em.

In fact, the panels that sit atop his two Pasadena businesses — STORBOX Self Storage business and The Wine Grotto — make up the largest non-institutional photovoltaic solar array in Pasadena.

The system, completed six weeks ago by Torrance-based California Solar, includes 744 panels that deliver 230 kilowatts of power. It’s enough to provide nearly 100 percent of his annual energy needs.

“We’re planning to expand that with 70 more panels on a new building,” the South Pasadena resident said. “It will be a 43,600-square-foot building that will have five levels, three above ground and two below ground.”

The solar system didn’t come cheap.

“The total cost of the panels and installation was about $515,000,” Barnard said. “But I had also had the wrong kind of roofing system, so I had to put a whole different kind of roofing in. That cost me another $240,000, so the total was about $755,000.”

Fortunately, a significant portion of those costs were offset by federal, state and local incentive programs.

“It takes a fair amount of effort to learn about this and we shopped around and looked at 10 to 12 different installers,” Barnard said. “The federal government is offering a 30 percent tax credit, so the installation costs were covered, and the city also has an incentive program that pays you back for solar production.”

The incentive program is part of the Pasadena Solar Initiative, which aims to help Pasadena Water & Power customers install 14 megawatts of solar power by 2017. Under the program, eligible solar customers can get a cheaper net energy metering (NEM) rate until the aggregated capacity of all solar installations in the utility’s territory exceeds 5 percent of its system peak demand.

Barnard also plans to integrate a battery system into the mix once the 70 new panels are installed. California Solar owner Will Breiholz explained how that will work.

“This is a new trend,” he said. “When a business turns on its air conditioning or other equipment that can cause a spike in energy use. Utility companies check their meters every 15 minutes and whatever the peak use was is what they’ll charge someone for the month, even if they don’t get nearly that high for the rest of the month.”

The battery system will store energy that can later be used during peak times, so Barnard won’t draw have to draw that energy from the city’s power grid. That will help keep his rates down, Breiholz said.

The battery system will also ensure that power to the two business can continue — at least for a while — in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.

“Brett was also smart to do the new roofing system,” Breiholz said. “UV light is what kills your roof, and if you have a solar system that will last 35 to 40 years you don’t want to put that on top of a roof that might last another 10 years. He replaced his old roof with a single-ply roof that’s white and made out of a vinyl kind of material that you roll down. It’s a synthetic material that’s kind of like PVC, and it lasts forever.”

The solar panels also help shade the roof from unwanted sun-related damage, Breiholz said.

Self-storage facilities typically don’t use a lot of electricity. But The Wine Grotto does because the wines must be kept at an optimum temperature.

“I have about 600 clients who store their wines here,” Barnard said. “We have a total of about 200,000 square feet of space, including the self-storage space, 5,000 square feet of office space we lease and 13,000 square feet for the wine storage.” 

Brad Heavner, policy director for the California Solar Energy Industries Association, said self-storage facilities are prime candidates for solar arrays — not because they use a lot of electricity, but because they have plenty of roof space.

“It would be great because they could charge someone to use the space on their roof,” he said. “About 3 percent of the total residents and businesses in California have solar power.”

Source: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/environment-and-nature/20160612/pasadena-business-owner-taps-into-solar-power

Solar incentives not yet dead in east valley

Indio resident Paul Nelson has been unable to use his newly installed solar panels, seen on May 9, 2016, due to decisions made by the Imperial Irrigation District.

By Sammy Roth, The Desert Sun

Imperial Irrigation District officials hope to bring back a popular solar incentive program — but under terms that could make rooftop solar too expensive for most of the agency's Coachella and Imperial valley customers.

The district abruptly shut down its net metering program in February, saying it would no longer compensate solar-powered homes and businesses for the electricity they send onto the grid. The announcement infuriated solar companies and left hundreds of families scrambling to figure out whether they could still afford to go solar, even though many of them had already signed contracts with installers.

Irrigation district staffers have now proposed a compromise: They want to reopen net metering indefinitely, but under new financial terms. Homes and businesses that go solar under their tentative proposal — including the hundreds stuck in limbo — would receive something like 4 cents per kilowatt-hour for their solar generation, rather than the 12 cents homeowners receive now, district Energy Manager Vicken Kasarjian said.

That plan is still subject to approval from the Imperial Irrigation District's board of directors, which could decide it's not interested. Last month, the board rejected a staff proposal that would have reopened the original net metering program to some of the customers stuck in limbo. At the time, board member Stephen Benson said he has "a problem with the idea of solar."

In a meeting with The Desert Sun's editorial board on Wednesday, district General Manager Kevin Kelley referred to Benson's statement as an "unfortunate remark." Kelley said he hopes the district's board will approve the new proposal.

"We knew that in California, in the hottest part of the state, we couldn't simply turn our back on rooftop solar," Kelley said. "We're actually anxious to get this back in front of the board, and to be a leader."

But the new proposal is already raising alarm bells for the solar industry. Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association, said cutting the compensation rate for homeowners from 12 cents to 4 cents would essentially make solar three times more expensive.

"That would significantly slow down, if not pretty much kill the rooftop solar market. You can't take the economic profile of solar and reduce it by a third, and expect the market to just rebound overnight," she said.

The rooftop solar industry fought successfully to prevent Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric from making similar changes to their net metering programs. Edison had proposed to lower its compensation rate from around 15 cents per kilowatt-hour to 8 cents — a change that was ultimately rejectedby the California Public Utilities Commission.

The Imperial Irrigation District doesn't need approval from the utilities commission, because its a publicly owned rather than an investor-owned utility. And district officials are wary of net metering. They believe the program forces non-solar customers to subsidize their solar-powered neighbors, and they don't think that's fair — hence their proposal to slash the compensation rate.

Kelley said the district lost $9 million in revenue due to rooftop solar in 2015. If the agency just continued the old net metering program, he said, it could lose so much revenue it would be forced to raise electricity rates for everyone, so it could afford to keep the grid running. Right now, the district's residential electricity rates — 11.69 cents per kilowatt-hour — are significantly lower than Southern California Edison's residential rates.

"Solar is a burden. It has benefits, but it's a burden for the system," Kasarjian, the district's energy manager, said Wednesday.

Clean energy advocates, though, say rooftop solar benefits everyone in ways that utilities aren't taking into account. Those benefits include limiting the need for expensive new power plants and reducing strain on the grid, which can help utilities avoid costly maintenance. Solar panels can also displace fossil fuels, the main cause of climate change and a serious contributor to local air pollution.

Just last week, the left-leaning Brookings Institution released a paper suggesting that rooftop solar is more likely to be a net benefit than a net cost to all energy consumers. Meanwhile, the Natural Resources Defense Council and SolarCity — a major environmental group and a national solar installer, respectively — released a study finding that rooftop solar is saving all Nevadans between $7 million and $14 million per year.

"That's the piece that they're missing. They're missing that rooftop solar provides value to the utility and all ratepayers," said Del Chiaro, from the California solar trade group.

District officials still need to work out the details of their new solar proposal. On Tuesday, they'll ask the board of directors for permission to develop a new net metering program, which they hope to finalize by July.

“You think we can control the board? They may say no to the whole thing," Kasarjian said.

Since the district announced it was shutting down net metering on February 29, it's experienced a surge in applications from homes and businesses hoping to turn on their solar panels: nearly 1,200 in all. If the board agrees to develop a new net metering program, those customers would be able to enroll in that program — if they still want to go solar under the less favorable economic terms.

Meanwhile, hundreds of customers who got in line before February 29 are still waiting for permission to turn on their systems. District officials say it simply takes time to process interconnection applications, and that they'll continue to process applications in the order they're received. Kasarjian said the district planned to approve 250 applications on Wednesday, which would leave 235 customers in the queue.

Nate Otto, founder of Hot Purple Energy in Palm Springs, said he has about 15 completed installations "sitting there in limbo" in Imperial Irrigation District territory, unable to connect to the grid and unsure how much money the'll save if they do. He's not sure what those homes will do if the district doesn't reopen some form of net metering. If worst comes to worst, he said, he might buy the systems back from those customers.

"Some of them haven't paid, and I haven't drilled them either," he said. "I'm not going to leave them out there and say, 'That's too bad.'"

Imperial Irrigation District customers who are already enrolled in net metering haven't been affected by any of the changes, and are still being compensated for the electricity they generate.

Source: http://www.desertsun.com/story/tech/science/energy/2016/06/01/solar-incentives-not-yet-dead-east-valley/85263124/