/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/JEUL2B5V7BJCFMRTKGOS3ZSN4Y.jpg "Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ law breaches international rights standards – European rights body")
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focus
CNBC – June 15
Solar power increased 46% to more than 5 GW in the first quarter, according to a report from energy research firm Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association. The United States is well on its way to installing 24.4 GW this year, up nearly 24% year over year. The report reflects both robust demand from utilities and businesses looking to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, as well as the falling cost of the technology that has made it competitive with fossil fuel electricity. The impact of the bottleneck in the supply chain will become more apparent when the industry announces its second quarter results, SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper said in an interview.
news
Bloomberg – June 15th
Low water levels in major reservoirs mean that hydropower supplies in the western United States are declining. One of the hardest hit areas is California, where production has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years. At the national level, the US Energy Information Administration predicts that electricity generation from conventional hydropower sources will decrease by about 11% this year starting in 2020. With less hydropower, the challenge of meeting peak demand can become even more difficult, especially in California. According to Brianna Lazerwitz, an analyst at BloombergNEF, the state has relied on hydropower for nearly 13% of its electricity over the past three years.
Wyoming Tribune Eagle – June 16
Nearly 3,250 MW of new, low-cost, and clean energy resources, including solar, wind, batteries, and transmission to connect those resources to PacifiCorp’s multi-state grid, could join PacifiCorp’s rapidly decarbonizing system by 2024. According to the proposals, about half of the electricity it could wind will come from Wyoming, according to a press release. In addition, there is the plan to replace a decommissioned coal-fired power station with a nuclear facility.
Tech Crunch – June 15th
Heliogen has raised more than $ 100 million to test its 1000-degree, high-tech, concentrated solar technology at a number of participating mines and refineries. The company’s technology is designed to replace fossil fuels and other legacy systems in many applications that require such temperatures, such as mining and smelting operations. In addition to mining and smelting, the technology could also be used to generate carbon-free hydrogen.
Projects
Hanford Sentinel – June 10th
This month the Kings County Planning Commission approved three huge but modified solar projects that will span the west side of the county – all part of the huge Westlands Solar Park project. Westlands Solar Park is a 21,000 acre master-planned solar complex in west central Kings County. The Westlands Solar Park 2018 master plan provides for the development of a total of 12 solar power generation systems over a period of 12 years. The installed capacity of each solar park near the Fresno / Kings circle lines should be up to 250 MW.
T&D World – June 11th
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) recently announced the commissioning of its first hybrid renewable stand-alone power system, built and installed by BoxPower Inc. Threat District area in the Sierra Nevada foothills outside of Yosemite National Park, which improves reliability and significantly reduces the risk of wildfires. The Briceburg system uses solar energy in combination with battery storage and backup propane generation.
