QUICK NEWS, October 17: A ROADMAP FOR BIG SOLAR; WIND COST BEATS NAT GAS – STUDY; UP-TO-DATE STORAGE IN KANSAS CITY

A ROADMAP FOR BIG SOLAR Obama Administration Releases Utility-Scale Solar Development Roadmap

15 October 2012 (Solar Industry)

“…[The Department of Interior (DOI)] finalized Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development… intended to spur development of solar energy on public lands… provides a blueprint for utility-scale solar energy permitting in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah by establishing solar energy zones with access to existing or planned transmission, incentives for development within those zones and a process through which to consider additional zones and solar projects.

“…[DOI] established an initial set of 17 Solar Energy Zones (SEZs), totaling about 285,000 acres of public lands, that will serve as priority areas for solar development, with the potential for additional zones through ongoing and future regional planning processes. If fully built out, projects in the designated areas could produce as much as 23,700 MW of solar energy…”

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“The program also keeps the door open, on a case-by-case basis, for the possibility of carefully sited solar projects outside SEZs on about 19 million acres in ‘variance’ areas…[and] includes a framework for regional mitigation plans…[T]o protect key natural and cultural resources, the program excludes a little under 79 million acres that would be inappropriate for solar development based on currently available information.

“The Solar Energy Industries Association and Large-Scale Solar Association (LSA) praised the DOI for completing the PEIS and encouraged the DOI and other relevant agencies to continue to advance solar projects in the permitting process…”

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WIND COST BEATS NAT GAS – STUDY Wind cheaper than gas, says E&Y

Michael McGovern, 15 October 2012 (Windpower Monthly)

“The net cost of European wind power is up to 50% lower than that of its main conventional power rival, combined cycle gas (CCGT), according to [Analysis of the value creation potential of wind energy policies; A comparative study of the macroeconomic benefits of wind and CCGT power generation] by financial group Ernst & Young (E&Y).

“In Spain, the costs required to produce 1MWh will generate EUR56 of gross added value from wind, as opposed to EUR16 from CCGT…Across the six European focus countries (Spain, UK, France, Germany, Portugal and Poland), wind's net cost is competitive and, extrapolated across the UE26, cheaper.”

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“By factoring in returns to GDP, like jobs and local taxes, E&Y's analysis challenges the power sector's levelised cost of energy (LCOE) standard, which always places wind costs higher, mainly due to upfront costs.

“Gas is costlier in countries dependent on imports. But even in gas producing UK, E&Y places wind's net cost only slightly above gas, at EUR35/MWh against EUR31/MWh, respectively.”

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UP-TO-DATE STORAGE IN KANSAS CITY Kansas City Power & Light Tries Out New Energy Storage System

15 October 2012 (Renew Grid)

"Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), MRIGlobal and Exergonix Inc…[are testing] a new smart grid energy storage…nano-battery cell developed by Exergonix…

"…The 1 MW battery is in its first live smart grid test and was installed this summer at the KCP&L SmartGrid Innovation Park near 48th Street and Troost Avenue. The battery will support KCP&L's SmartGrid Demonstration Area."

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"With the installation, KCP&L is testing the battery system's effectiveness for managing energy on the electric grid. The battery stores solar energy produced in the Demonstration Area and is used to support energy delivery during peak demand times of the day.

"MRIGlobal, a research and development organization headquartered in Kansas City, will support the trial by conducting independent tests and analysis…[of the battery’s] environmental and economic performance, as well as the technical operations, durability and reliability of the system…"

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