QUICK NEWS, January 26: BUILDING THE SOLAR TO BUILD SOLAR; WHAT WIND NEEDS; NEW DIRECTIONS FOR BIOFUELS

BUILDING THE SOLAR TO BUILD SOLAR Solar energy: building a new industry in WNY from the ground up

David Robinson, January 23, 2015 (The Buffalo News)

“…With SolarCity pledging to create 2,900 new jobs from its new factory now under construction…and with Japanese-manufacturer Solar Frontier studying the feasibility of opening a plant here, state officials are optimistic the [Buffalo] region is moving toward becoming a center for solar energy manufacturing…To do it, the state is pledging to invest $750 million from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion economic development initiative to build and equip SolarCity’s factory. It also would provide millions of dollars in support for Solar Frontier, if the company decides to build a plant here…[T]he SolarCity plant, scheduled to open sometime during 2016, would be one of the world’s biggest factories, with the annual capacity to make enough solar modules to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity. SolarCity executives have said they need the Buffalo plant’s capacity to meet what they see as the continued rapid growth in the demand for new solar energy systems…SolarCity has agreed to give the state an exclusive four-month window to negotiate a potential expansion of its Buffalo manufacturing capacity, to as much as 5,000 megawatts…” click here for more

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WHAT WIND NEEDS The Key To Making The Most Of Rising Wind Energy Production Is…

Alfredo Parres, January 23, 2015 (Clean Technica)

“…Global wind power capacity is set to grow by a further 50 to 100 percent by 2020, so it’s well worth considering how to make the most of these wind resources and the challenges that must be faced…Denmark produced 39.1 percent of its electricity from wind, with its most productive month exceeding 60 percent. One some blustery days, the country sourced more than 90 percent of its electricity from wind…[T]he United Kingdom and Germany also set record highs for wind energy…In Texas, regulators say turbines in the state set a new wind power record, 10,296 megawatts, on March 26, 2014. This accounted for nearly 30 percent of the 35,768 megawatts of electricity coursing through the grid…By the end of 2013, China had an installed capacity of more than 90 gigawatts…From a technical point of view, the intermittent nature of wind presents challenges…Grid operators demand stability. Poor power quality can lead to instability and outages…[T]here is no single solution…[One is the] ability to import and export electricity…[Another is that wind farms must] ensure their output meets grid code requirements by mitigating the impact of transient voltages and power dips…[Finally, adequate transmission reduces curtailments and wind-related negative electricity pricing]…” click here for more

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NEW DIRECTIONS FOR BIOFUELS Biofuel industry at crossroads awaiting EPA ruling

James Osborne, January 20, 2015 (The Dallas Morning News)

“Seven years ago President George W. Bush signed a law mandating refineries blend fuels derived from corn, animal fat and plant waste into the nation’s fuel supply. But the industry it spawned says it’s on the verge of plant closures and layoffs if the federal government doesn’t clear up uncertainty about future fuel standards…The renewable fuel standard, which sets year by year mandates for ethanol, biodiesel and other biofuels, has come under debate in Washington over concern there is already too much ethanol within the nation’s gasoline supply…At the same time, U.S. oil production has increased 80 percent since 2010…[Ethanol is no longer needed to reduce] U.S. oil imports…That has left the biofuel industry in regulatory gridlock. The EPA has not updated the renewable fuel standard since November 2013. That year biodiesel production hit 1.8 billion gallons. But with no new standard, that number fell to 1.75 billion gallons in 2014…” click here for more

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