Our top story this month West Virginia Governor Jim Justice vetoed a bill that would have raised the allowable maximum size of utility-scale solar projects from 50 MW to 100 MW.
Currently, West Virginia has an essentially nonexistent solar market. The Solar Energy Industries Association said it has 38 MW of capacity installed to-date, or enough to power nearly 3,800 homes.
The state sources 0.08% of its electricity from solar power, while about 90% of its electricity comes from coal plants. Coal plants are being retired across the nation for their heavy emissions profile, and the fact that new-build solar costs about 29% less than fossil fuel alternatives.
Governor Justice said the bill would lead to higher costs for consumers. The Hill reported that much of the Governor’s personal wealth lies within the coal industry, and that his family owns several mining and related businesses so read into that what you will!
Our second story is Dominion Energy have been authorised by Virginia regulators to add 764 MW of solar power capacity to its fleet in the state via new installations, acquisitions and off-take deals.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission has given the go ahead to Dominion’s plan to sign 13 power purchase agreements for 435MWs of independently owned projects and contracts will be signed with projects selected through a competitive tender.
Additionally, Dominion Energy Virginia’s PV portfolio will grow, with 329 MW coming from four projects that the company will either install or acquire.
Clearway Energy Group (“Clearway”) announced that Victory Pass and Arica solar and storage projects in Riverside County, California, have been placed in service. The projects’ combined capacity of 463 MW solar and 186 MW battery storage will generate enough electricity to power 205,000 homes.
Our next story is EDP has struck a 15-year energy storage service agreement in the US state of California to commercialise a 386 MWh battery energy project it has set there. The lithium-ion BESS is expected to go online in 2025. It will be co-located with the 100-MW Sandrini solar farm, which is due to start operations during 2024 with RCEA as the contracting party. Once online, the Sandrini BESS will be charged either by the namesake solar farm or by power from the grid, according to EDPR.
Finally Clearway Energy Group announced that it closed $174 million in construction financing and has begun construction on Dan’s Mountain, a 55 MW wind farm in Allegany County, Maryland.
Dan’s Mountain is the first new onshore wind farm to be constructed in Maryland in nearly ten years and is expected to increase the state’s wind energy generating capacity by nearly 30 percent. The wind farm is a $180 million investment in Western Maryland and is anticipated to generate tens of millions in tax revenue for the local community throughout the project’s life. Part of the project will be constructed on former coal strip mining land, a notable example of the Appalachian region’s opportunity and role in the energy transition.
They were the top stories from the US renewables market in April, if you enjoyed the video please give it a like, comment, share or even better all 3! If you have a renewable energy project coming up, CMC provide engineering, construction and project management services to help you deliver your project ahead of schedule and under budget, for more information visit www.expertisedelviered.com or reach out to myself directly on LinkedIn. Thank you for watching, I’m Eddy Maunder, this has been the Renewables Round Up and I hope to see you again next month.