QUICK NEWS, August 11: U.S. OFFSHORE WIND ABOUT TO BUILD; CHINA-U.S. SOLAR TRADE WAR THREATENS PROJECTS; WILL TENNESSEE PICK NEW ENERGY OR NAT GAS?
U.S. OFFSHORE WIND ABOUT TO BUILD Embryonic No More: U.S. Offshore Wind Industry Gaining Momentum
Jesse Broehl and Michael Ernst, August 6, 2014 (North American Windpower)
“…The offshore sector is progressing not only with key projects like Cape Wind and the Block Island wind farm, but also more broadly as the federal government provides new grants and works with coastal states to offer large leases for future offshore development…As of the end of July, the developer behind the 468 MW Cape Wind project had secured close to two-thirds of the approximately $2.5 billion needed for the wind farm, to be located off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass. In addition, the developer sold more than 77% of the projected output (363 MW) through stable, 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) at $0.187/kWh plus inflation…Deepwater Wind’s more modest 30 MW wind plant, located off the Rhode Island coast, has its entire output secured with a 15-year PPA at $0.244/kWh…preliminary contracts for turbines from Alstom…an installation vessel from Fred Olsen Windcarrier, and continues to move through final regulatory hurdles…Construction of both projects is planned to commence in 2015…The pipeline potential being built up through offshore lease signings through a program administered by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is also an exciting development…” click here for more
CHINA-U.S. SOLAR TRADE WAR THREATENS PROJECTS Over 3 GW of US Utility Scale Solar-PV Projects at Risk from US Anti-Dumping Case…PV project pipeline approaching 50 GW in the United States, but large-scale developments are at risk from proposed trade rulings
August 4, 2014 (SolarBuzz)
“More than 3 gigawatts (GW) of the projects currently in the US photovoltaic (PV) project pipeline had been set to use Chinese modules, according Solarbuzz…[W]ith the recent anti-subsidy and anti-dumping rulings proposed by the US Department of Commerce, companies may have to find other suppliers or potentially pay higher prices for those modules…Approximately half of the US PV project pipeline is composed of ground-mount systems—many of them large-scale. While traditionally these have been attractive due to economy of scale savings, many could face challenges, in the form of cost increases stemming from the US trade investigation…[The size of the project and total market demand now approaching 50 GW of commercial and utility projects] continues to grow in the US, indicating sustained interest from project developers working in the market…” click here for more
WILL TENNESSEE PICK NEW ENERGY OR NAT GAS? TVA board to pick wind, solar or natural gas to replace Allen plant being shuttered in Memphis
Dave Flessner, August 7, 2014 (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
“The Tennessee Valley Authority will continue to move away from the coal-fired generation that once supplied most of its power when it likely shuts down the Allen Steam Plant in Memphis by 2018…[TVA's staff claims the lowest-cost replacement option would be] a natural gas plant, which is projected to cost anywhere from $500 million to $1.3 billion…[T]he federal utility is obligated to pick the cheapest replacement power that complies with environmental and other rules…[The Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club] questions whether natural gas will be less expensive than renewable sources over the long run…[and] is urging TVA to buy into a 3,500-megawatt wind power connection coming to Memphis by a Houston company known as Clean Line Energy Partners. The $2 billion project would carry wind-generated power from windmills in Texas and Oklahoma over a 700-mile, direct-current line into the Tennessee Valley…TVA contends that wind is too variable…But [Sierra Club says] the winds being tapped in the Great Plains are more steady and could be supplemented with more solar power and with some limited gas-fired generation in the Memphis area…” click here for more
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