Omaha Public Power District’s Post

https://lnkd.in/gyPAvxsw interesting debate and the cost of converting productive farmland for solar energy generation.

One tension facing our energy transition future is how to scale renewable energy generation without compromising a) our ability to feed our rapidly expanding global population and b) the natural landscapes (woodlands, wetlands, prairies, etc.) that are so important to biodiversity, carbon sequestration, mental + physical health, etc. Working with Perch Energy, I've loved learning about how a key element of community solar's value proposition is its ability to fit into the crevices of urban, suburban, or rural regions that might otherwise go unused. Some highlights? 🏨 Anything from the roofs of schools, strip malls, hospitals, and parking garages to the grounds of brownfield sites too expensive to remediate can get a "green" facelift from community solar. 🌲 Installations that make the most of existing "un(der)used" space enable us to accelerate solar deployment without, say, clearing the woods behind the neighbors' house. Not all community solar is like this, but we need more of the projects that are. 🗞 Much community solar legislation (including Maryland and New Jersey, quite recently) incentivize exactly this symbiotic approach to expansion, going so far as to prohibit installations from occupying green space. ⚖️ Given that disadvantaged households face up to three times the energy burden of other American households, community solar's guaranteed electricity savings has potential to give money back to the people who need it most...but this topic is dense enough for a separate post! It's no secret that sustainability has many angles - carbon emissions, environmental justice, biodiversity, etc. We need "disco ball" solutions that refract light to all these important corners. Community solar definitely sparkles. 🪩 #communitysolar #cleanenergy #energyequity

Community solar does more than just increase the share of renewable energy flowing through the grid. It provides a host of benefits to the communities they're in, making them the clean energy alfalfa. Read this op-ed by Perch CEO Bruce Stewart in Modern Farmer and see just how community solar is the Goldilocks of solar development.

Strix Solar proposes community agriculture through a hybrid of agrivoltaics (animal grazing) and permanent pollinator habitat. If that's not enough the site offers MGE customers the direct opportunity to purchase all of their kW hours from this local shared solar array. Construction began in Spring on Strix Solar, a 6-MW solar facility in Fitchburg. Located on about 30 acres, and surrounded by operational agriculture, the Strix Solar project is expected to begin serving customers by the end of 2024. MGE requested that 2 MW of the output from Strix Solar serve the proposed Shared Solar II program. The remaining 4-MW will be a distributed energy resource that is connected to MGE's distribution system. It is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 1,400 households (9.45% of its ambient city - Fitchburg) each year! https://lnkd.in/gqv6tCEn #CRE #Solar #renewable #communityenergycompany #MGE #CREi #Fitchburg #argivoltaics

FEDERAL PLANS FOR MASSIVE SOLAR FARMS Article Excerpts: “Solar energy’s appetite for vast amounts of land has prompted the Biden administration to propose designating as much as 55 million acres of public lands as potential sites for industrial-scale solar farms.” “An updated initiative by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), called the Western Solar Plan, proposes six alternatives for solar development.” “In the most aggressive of these scenarios, 55 million acres across 11 Western states would be made available for solar energy. The least aggressive alternative would designate 8 million acres for that purpose.” by Kevin Stocklin

"When you dig into the details, solar's impact is truly far-reaching." ☀ "In 2022, solar and wind projects paid millions in property, state and local taxes, largely thanks to Michigan producers who see the value in diversifying their commodities to include renewable resources." Read the full piece by Kenneth Zebarah from Michigan EIBC member, Harvest Solar here: https://lnkd.in/gRnrw8Dv

❓ How can land development support the deployment of #RenewableEnergy systems, including #EnergyStorage and #solar? ✔️ In our latest blog post, learn more about the role of land development in renewable energy systems, the challenges and opportunities the team can face, and how best to navigate them: https://hubs.li/Q02mW2F80 #FutureofEnergy 🔋⚡

Enviromena has won a contract to repower three major solar farms in the UK, comprising the Halse Solar Farm in Taunton, the Horsacott Solar Farm in Barnstaple, and the Jordanston Solar Farm in Tenby. The three solar projects are all government subsidy accredited sites, have a combined capacity of c.20 MWp and have been operational for over 10 years. However, Enviromena said the sites have since developed significant performance and availability issues. “Over time solar projects like these see performance reductions, as much as 25% in some cases, due to failed DC cabling and ducting or older technology inverters becoming obsolete,” said Gary Saunders, Technical Director at Enviromena. “Sites become much more difficult to maintain, so repowering is a cost-effective way of bringing them back to and maintaining their maximum possible performance. It also increases the value of the asset while at the same time increasing its life span. “A significant amount of effort goes into repowering projects, but we are well placed to support asset owners on projects such as this thanks to our in-house experienced resources covering planning, design, grid, construction and O&M.” Enviromena noted that its in-house Design and Optimisation team have reviewed the performance data from the sites in detail and full site surveys have been undertaken in order to provide a recommended scope of works for each project. The results of this work will see all three sites return to 100% availability. Uprated inverters will be installed across all three sites where required, full replacement of all DC cabling and upgrades to the electrical infrastructure will restore the sites back to full operating capacity. In addition to improving the current and ongoing reliability and safety of the sites, these works will increase the amount of clean energy being exported back to the grid. Enviromena’s team currently manages over 250 MW of renewable energy assets in the UK and Italy. #cleanenergy

Dual-use solar: What it is and how it can help ease tensions between clean energy deployment and land use #solar #environmentalimpact #cleanenergy #cleanenergytransition https://lnkd.in/efujM4wr

🏆 Clearway's Victory Pass and Arica Solar + Storage complex is shortlisted for Solar Builder Magazine's 2024 project of the year – and we need your help! 🏆   Cast your vote for Victory Pass and Arica at the bottom of the link below. Voting ends October 11th.  ️ What makes these projects special? ✅ Victory Pass and Arica generate enough electricity to power over 200,000 homes each year and deploy stored energy when it’s needed most, creating valuable flexibility for California’s grid. ✅ The 463 MW solar and 186 MW battery storage projects were the first projects completed as part of the Bureau of Land Management's Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, with nearly 3,600 acres of habitat conservation and preservation land commitments. ☀ 🔋 🏜 🐢 ✅ Victory Pass and Arica are contracted with customers Silicon Valley Clean Energy, Central Coast Community Energy, Clean Power Alliance, Peninsula Clean Energy, MCE, Southern California Edison (SCE), an affiliate of NRG Energy, and PepsiCo, helping provide clean electricity and meet renewable energy targets for Californians all across the state.   Read more about what makes Victory Pass and Arica a monumental pair of projects worthy of this recognition and vote today! https://lnkd.in/eGQ-9jKU