QUICK NEWS, March 25: CALIFORNIA IS 1ST STATE TO GET 5% POWER FROM BIG SOLAR; FEDS GREENLIGHT VIRGINIA OCEAN WIND; FLA SOLAR INITIATIVE ADVANCES

CALIFORNIA IS 1ST STATE TO GET 5% POWER FROM BIG SOLAR California first state to generate more than 5% of electricity from utility-scale solar

Allen McFarland, March 24, 2015 Energy Information Administration

California is the first state to get over 5% of its annual utility-scale electricity generation from utility-scale solar power, according to EIA's Electric Power Monthly. Its 1 MW or bigger solar plants generated a record 9.9 million MWh of electricity in 2014, up 6.1 million MWh over 2013. Thanks to nearly 1,900 MW of new utility-scale solar capacity, California's 2014 utility-scale solar output was three times more second place Arizona and more than all other states combined. The state's total installed utility-scale solar capacity was 5,400 MW at the end of 2014. California solar rebates and net-metering policies have grown over 2,300 MW of additional rooftop and distributed solar by the end of 2014, according to the California Public Utilities Commission. Because California's solar production largely coincides with high demand periods, it was able to replace 83% of the 46% drop in hydroelectric generation lost to the drought. click here for more

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FEDS GREENLIGHT VIRGINIA OCEAN WIND Virginia gets country's first wind energy research lease in federal waters

Tamara Dietrich, March 25, 2015 Daily Press

“Virginia is the first state in the country to secure a wind energy research lease to build and operate turbines in federal waters, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced…The agreement with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will enable Dominion Virginia Power to move forward with its plans to erect a pair of 6-megawatt test turbines on the Outer Continental Shelf, about 24 nautical miles east of the Virginia Beach shoreline…The turbines are intended as a demonstration project that, if successful, could mean Dominion will develop an adjacent 113,000-acre Wind Energy Area to generate enough electricity to power 700,000 homes…Environmentalists have long approved of McAuliffe's support for wind energy and, following the announcement, said they were ‘thrilled’ with the progress…The two test turbines could be in place by 2017, generating enough electricity to power about 3,000 homes. Dominion says if it determines it's cost-effective to do so, it will then develop the Wind Energy Area…” click here for more

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FLA SOLAR INITIATIVE ADVANCES Solar Ballot Initiative Is a Step Closer to Supreme Court Review; Demonstrates Strong Statewide Support Garnering Necessary Signatures in Just Two Months

March 24, 2015 (Floridians for Solar Choice)

“Just over two months after launching a constitutional amendment ballot initiative to place solar choice on the 2016 ballot…72,000 petition signatures have been verified by Florida’s Division of Elections. This number will continue to increase and the verification clears the way for a legal review of Floridians for Solar Choice’s petition language by the Florida Supreme Court…Once the ballot’s wording gains Supreme Court approval, the campaign will need to collect and have the Division of Elections verify an additional [683,149] signatures…by February 1, 2016 in order to place the proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2016 ballot…The ballot proposal - designed to expand solar choice by removing barriers that limit solar ownership models - is gaining wide support through a diverse coalition of more than two dozen businesses, conservative groups, faith communities, clean energy and environmental organizations. Florida remains one of only five states where current law expressly denies citizens and businesses the freedom to buy solar power electricity directly from someone other than a monopoly electric utility or government-owned electric utility… Registered voters in Florida are urged to sign the petition here.” click here for more

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