Fossil Fuel Plants Failed Us, Not Solar

What's needed is more solar-charged batteries, not more peaker plants

Some headlines and quotes from experts erroneously lay blame for the recent blackouts on solar energy. This couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, solar energy technologies did exactly what solar energy can be relied upon to do: generate tons of energy on hot sunny days! In fact, if not for all the solar power on the grid this past weekend, the outages would have likely lasted far longer and been more widespread.

The blame should be laid at the feet of the fossil fuel industry who had power plants fail to produce when they were most needed. The idea of building more peaker plants, or prolonging the life of the old plants, is a recipe for more energy outages in the months and years ahead. 

Moving beyond blame, what is really needed is more solar energy, not less, combined with more batteries to cover evening peak. The state is not doing enough on this front. 

The chart below based on August 14, 2020 CALISO data demonstrates this point.

August 14, 2020 Statewide Load With and Without Local Solar and Energy Storage

Since the last electricity crisis in 2001, California has built 9 gigawatts (GW) of local solar energy at over a million customer sites throughout the state. Without those systems helping lower peak demand on hot summer days, such as August 14, 2020, the strain on the state’s electric grid would have been much greater, as portrayed in the yellow line of actual total energy usage. The red line depicts CAISO’s visibility on electricity demand. Because the electricity generated by behind-the-meter solar systems is consumed entirely on local circuits, CAISO data does not reflect the contribution of local solar and storage to the state's energy picture. 
 
If California builds 3 GW of additional energy storage systems at customer locations that can be dispatched during grid shortages, it would further trim evening peak needs. This is shown in the figure as the dotted blue line. CALSSA estimates the state can achieve this level of build-out within the next five years with state policies.

What is interesting to those of us who were around for the previous rolling blackouts is that California’s electricity needs still peak in the late afternoon, around 3pm. All the solar we've installed on the grid via NEM interconnected systems has had a significant effect of lowering peak demand, and shifting it into the evening hours. Because CALISO only manages the centralized grid and no other energy regulator (CEC or CPUC) has stepped in to communicate the complete picture, the public is left thinking Californians use more electricity at 6pm than we do at 3pm. The problem with this is of course it gives the impression that solar energy is either not doing its job or it is irrelevant to today’s energy needs (or both!). Nothing could be further from the truth. We do, of course, have an evening peak which requires more energy storage, not more fossil plants. 

This is the message CALSSA is pushing out to the public, policy makers, and the media. Please follow us on on various social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) to share this content and spread the word. 

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This article also appeared as an op-ed in PV Magazine, you can view it here.

Solar Heat Worldwide 2020: Megawatt installations on the rise Solar thermal – a major driver for climate protection

Solar thermal for district heating is on the rise worldwide. In Denmark, this market grew by about 170% in 2019 and other countries like China and Germany, primarily due to its improved cost-competitiveness. Market growth was also driven by the rising demand for industrial and agricultural applications. While residential water heating systems, the largest market sector, were under pressure in China and Central Europe from competing technologies, residential sales increased significantly in South Africa, Greece, Cyprus, and Brazil.

These are some findings from this year’s report, Solar Heat Worldwide 2020, published by the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA SHC). The full report is available for free on the IEA SHC website.

“It is true that solar thermal is going through challenging times, but it is important to note that this is mainly due to declines in the Chinese market. But despite this trend, solar thermal is experiencing steady growth in two key sectors – district heating and industrial processes. Plus, solar heating and cooling technologies will always have a positive impact on climate protection,” states Daniel Mugnier, Chairman of the IEA SHC Programme. SHC systems in operation globally in 2019 totaled 479 GWth (684 million square meters) and saved 41.9 million tons of oil equivalent and avoided 135.1 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Shifting Global Markets

The market for new installations once again varied by country, with shrinking volumes in large markets like China, the USA, Germany, and Australia. Driven by the decline in new collector installations of about 8% in China, the worldwide market shrank approximately 6% in 2019 compared to 2018. On the flip side, Denmark reported another banner year with a 170% growth rate, followed by Cyprus, South Africa, Greece, Tunisia, Brazil, and India.

 Small-scale Solar Thermal Heating Systems

Systems that provide hot water and heating in residential and public buildings, as well as hotels and hospitals and public buildings, represent around 60% of the newly added systems. A key point to note is that significant market growth occurred mostly only in those countries with market sales dominated by small scale systems (in particular thermosiphon systems). The report shows that national social housing programs linked with the installation of solar water heating systems have a very successful impact on market development.

Large-scale Solar Systems

Megawatt installations are on the rise. At least 74 new large-scale (>350 kWth) systems were commissioned in 2019 to provide heat for district networks and large buildings. About 400 large solar thermal systems (>350 kWth; 500 m²) connected to district heating networks and in residential buildings were in operation at the end of 2019 with a total capacity equal to 1.62 GWth or 2.3 million m2.

As of early 2020, 800 solar process heat plants with a collector area of 1 million m2 were installed worldwide.

Two new applications to note in this sector are solar heated greenhouses, which include systems ranging from 126 m² collector area to just over 14,000 m² and solar heated gas pressure control systems, which use solar to heat natural gas at gas pressure regulation stations during pipeline transportation, an interesting niche application being used in several systems in Germany.

Heat and Electricity from the Same Roof

For the second time, Solar Heat Worldwide carried out a market survey among Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) collector manufacturers. A PVT system is unique in that it combines the production of both types of solar energy – solar heat and solar electricity, thus reaching higher yields per area. This application is particularly valuable when the available roof area is limited, but a climate-neutral energy supply is wanted.

The PVT market is gaining momentum in several European countries and represents 58% of the global installations, of which 41% are in France. Asia, excluding China, follows with 24% of the installations and then China with 11%. Total PVT capacity by the end of 2019 reached 606 MWth and the PV power was 208 MWpeak worldwide, an increase of 9% compared to the end of 2018.

Solar Heat Worldwide

First published in 2005, Solar Heat Worldwide 2020 provides market data on installed capacities, costs, and share of applications from 68 countries. The 86-page report includes a special focus on thermosiphon systems and overviews of different commercial applications. Solar Heat Worldwide has a solid reputation as a reference source for solar heating and cooling data among international organizations, including REN21 and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The study was again the main contributor to the solar heating and cooling chapters of REN21’s Renewable 2020 Global Status Report (GSR), one of the key policy adviser reports on renewables.

About  IEA SHC

The International Energy Agency, Solar Heating and Cooling Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA SHC) is an international research and information program on solar heating and cooling technologies. Over 150 experts from 19 countries, the European Commission, and six international organizations conduct collaborative research on a wide range of topics from solar envelope solutions to future storage tank concepts and the integration of large-scale solar fields in district heating and cooling networks. SHC is one of the oldest Technology Collaboration Programmes of the IEA, founded in 1977 and one of ten addressing a specific renewable energy source.

Contact information
IEA SHC Communications: communications@iea-shc.org, http://www.iea-shc.org

Free download – Solar Heat Worldwide 2020 & Key Messages

https://www.iea-shc.org/solar-heat-worldwide-2020

Does your city generate a lot of solar energy? Rankings offer surprises

Sustainable energy is popular far from liberal strongholds, particularly among Central Valley farmers.

By MARTIN WISCKOL | mwisckol@scng.com | Orange County Register

Solar energy use throughout the state and the nation is expanding rapidly — and it’s not just liberal strongholds embracing the transition away from fossil fuels.

While Los Angeles produces the most total solar power nationwide, Bakersfield and Fresno generate more on a per person basis — and all three outproduce San Francisco, according to the new “Shining Cities 2020” study by Environment California.

“You’ll find the Central Valley comes in very strong in the number of people going solar as well as (in) the size of the systems,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the trade group California Solar & Storage Association. “This is because a lot of farmers go solar and they tend to build big systems.”

Also scoring high is Riverside, which produces the ninth most solar juice per person of the cities surveyed nationwide.

But even as it offers a report card on rankings, the “Shining Cities” study also outlines dramatic gains in solar use and makes a call for more public policies to promote solar use, including batteries to store solar energy so it’s available when the sun isn’t shining.

Key California landmarks have included the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, a goal signed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 and attained last year, and a mandate that all new homes in the state have solar panels beginning this year. The state’s target is 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045, with natural-gas power plants already being phased out.

Climate change and pollution are key drivers behind the push, but economics help too. Solar energy is now cheaper than that produced by fossil fuels — at least once the equipment and infrastructure is in place, according to David Hochschild, chairman of the California Energy Commission. Citing Bloomberg data, Hochschild said solar cost has fallen from 50 cents a kilowatt hour in 2000 to 2 cents a kilowatt hour today.

In California, solar energy went from 4% of state’s electricity grid in 2014 to 11% in 2018, according to the most recent data available. And that near-tripling doesn’t include “behind-the-meter” energy from rooftop solar panels directly used by homes, schools and businesses.

California’s hardly alone. Of the 57 cities annually surveyed nationwide since 2013 by Environment California, nearly 90% have more than doubled their solar capacity over that seven-year period, and 45% have more than quadrupled it.

By far the biggest user of solar, on a per-resident basis, is Honolulu.

“First, it’s an island, so climate change is a bigger issue,” said Dan Jacobson, state director of Environment California. “No. 2, energy is a lot more expensive. And, No. 3, you have companies seeing they can make money from it.”

Second in the national rankings is San Diego, followed by Albuquerque, San Jose and Burlington. Also represented in the top 15 are San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis and New Orleans.

More rankings

If you want to know how your city is doing, you may need to look beyond the “Shining Cities” study.

That report looked at just nine of California’s largest cities, one for each of nine geographical areas. But a statewide ranking of more than 1,100 cities and unincorporated areas has been compiled by the California Solar & Storage Association.

The association’s list differs from “Shining Cities” in two key ways. “Shining Cities” includes solar energy produced directly by utilities as well as behind-the-meter solar panels on homes, schools and businesses. The association’s list only includes behind-the-meter solar electricity used directly by the owner of the panels, and it ranks cities according to how many roofs have solar.

San Diego, Los Angeles, Bakersfield and Fresno are at the top of the list with the most solar rooftops.

In Los Angeles County, top cities also include Lancaster (ranked 15th), Brentwood (26th), Long Beach (28th) and Palmdale.

In Riverside County, Corona tops the list at No. 12, followed by Murrieta (14th), Temecula (18th), Riverside (34th) and Lake Elsinore (35th).

In San Bernardino County, Fontana is at the top at No. 16, followed by San Bernardino (36th), Victorville (54th), Apple Valley (57th) and Rancho Cucamonga (68th).

In Orange County, Irvine leads off at No. 26, followed by Santa Ana (62nd), Huntington Beach (70th), Mission Viejo (76th) and Orange (78th).

In a state often seen as unfriendly to business, regulations are generally favorable for solar, according to experts. But cities can vary in how welcoming they — and their utility companies — are to rooftop installations.

“In cities like San Diego, the permitting is very easy,” Jacobson said. “In other cities, there are horror stories about homeowners waiting for months.”

Push for batteries

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the solar industry in California employed 74,000 people — more than the five biggest utilities combined, according to Del Chiaro. But like many industries, solar recently has taken a big hit: a 21% loss of jobs in March and April.

So Del Chiaro has added job recovery as a component in her pitch to encourage more solar generation and solar batteries. That’s on top of consumer saving, energy resiliency and clean air.

One solar initiative her trade group is pushing for is a coronavirus-safe, “no touch” permitting process that would allow homeowners and businesses to apply online and allow virtual inspection tours to be conducted via live phone video once the units are installed. The group also wants to make it easier to connect solar power with electrical utilities for putting energy into the electrical grid, and it wants protections against taxes targeting solar energy.

Additionally, Jacobson, Del Chiaro and other solar advocates are pushing for an initiative that would result in a million solar batteries, a development that would help minimize the need to use natural gas when the sun isn’t shining. Specific measures Del Chiaro’s group wants to see include  expanding the federal tax credit, state help in installing storage at 2,000 schools, and a consumer-rebate program similar to that which helped jump start solar panel usage.

“We’ve got a good product,” Del Chiaro said. “The lithium ion batteries have gotten a lot better because of the electric car market and the innovation happening there. We just need to ramp up production and, to do that, we need demand.”

Read original article here >>

Palm Springs is No. 2 city in nation for solar power per capita, new report says

Written by: Mark Olalde, Palm Springs Desert Sun

Solar energy capacity continues to grow in cities around the country, and Palm Springs ranks second behind only Honolulu in the amount installed per-capita, according to a new report released Wednesday.

The study is the seventh annual iteration of a nationwide survey on solar generation, and it was conducted by advocacy organization Environment California and Frontier Group, a think tank. They found that the amount of solar installed in just seven cities is greater than the total amount available around the country only a decade ago.

“The home of the future is a solar home,” David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission, said during a presentation unveiling the report. The commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency but it was not involved in producing the report.

There are 57 cities that have been surveyed in each iteration of the report, and nearly 90% of those more than doubled. 

Los Angeles and San Diego topped the nationwide list of cities with the highest amount of total installed solar photovoltaic capacity, with three other California cities —Sacramento, San Francisco and Riverside — also making the top 20. 

Palm Springs had about 790 watts per person, as compared to about 840 watts per person in Honolulu, both of which far exceed the rest of the country in terms of the per capita rate.

The report said city council decisions helped spur action locally in Palm Springs. In 2007, the council first approved a plan to "make the maximum use of solar electric capabilities," which included encouraging new homes to be built with solar panels.

The amount of electricity generated in the Golden State by solar has exploded in the past seven years, and carbon-free sources — including renewables like solar and wind and other non-fossil fuel sources like nuclear and large-scale hydropower — now make up nearly two-thirds of the state's energy portfolio, Hochschild said.

And the growth in rooftop and community solar has not been confined to the usual suspects. Central Valley cities including Bakersfield and Fresno have some of the state's highest per-capita solar capacity, according to the study.

“We actually are seeing solar energy embraced throughout California. It is not just a coastal technology," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar and Storage Association.

California, which aims to go carbon neutral by 2045, celebrated the installation of solar panels on 1 million roofs late last year. Now, environmental groups are pushing for a new target: 1 million homes with battery storage.

This will make communities more resilient to natural disaster-induced blackouts as well as climate change in general, said Fran Pavley, a former state senator who works with the Schwarzenegger Institute.

“We have seen a dramatic increase in the impacts of climate change, something I didn’t think I’d see in my lifetime," she said. “There’s no such thing as a fire season anymore. It’s year-round.”

A state rule mandates that all new homes be built with solar panels, a move heralded by the solar industry and environmentalists for guaranteeing increased capacity. But, the California Energy Commission in February unanimously passed the first exemption to that rule, leading to concerns that the plan could lose ground.

And the solar industry, alongside renewables in general, has been hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. Del Chiaro said that 21% of jobs in the state's industry evaporated between mid-March and mid-April as stay-at-home orders and business closures stalled the economy.

Dan Jacobson, director of Environment California, said that the rate of solar panel installations has fallen due to the pandemic, but he argued that renewable energy should be an integral part of an economic recovery.

"We really need to come out of this pandemic greener than we went into it," he said. "With all the attention that’s been paid to jump-starting the economy and putting people back to work, solar — especially rooftop solar paired with storage — can play a leading role in that.”S

See original article here.