QUICK NEWS, March 29: H-u-u-u-u-u-ge U.S. Solar Potential; Big Wins For Wind As It Gets Bigger; At The Verge Of The EV Future

H-u-u-u-u-u-ge U.S. Solar Potential New NREL study details US rooftop solar PV potential at 1,118GW plus

Mark Osborne, March 28, 2016 (PV Tech)

“…[There is significantly more potential for US building rooftops to generate electricity from solar PV (photovoltaics) systems than previously estimated, according to Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Technical Potential in the United States: A Detailed Assessment from the U.S. Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It shows]…the technical potential of 1,118GW of capacity and 1,432TWh of annual energy generation was possible, equivalent to 39% of current US electricity sales. This is almost double (664GW - 800 TWh) the previous analysis undertaken and reported in 2008…The significant difference was said to be attributed to increases in PV module power density, improved estimation of building suitability, higher estimates of the total number of buildings, and improvements in PV performance simulation tools that previously tended to underestimated production…NREL indicated that the latest total technical potential capacity analysis assumed a module efficiency of 16% to represent a mixture of various technology types…” click here for more

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Big Wins For Wind As It Gets Bigger Momentum building behind U.S. wind energy; For the first time ever, federal government uses congressional authority to join wind power program.

Daniel J. Graeber, March 28, 2016 (UPI)

“…[In a victory for U.S. wind energy advocates, the Department of Energy for the first time used authority mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to foster cooperation between the private and public sectors on new electricity transmission projects by joining a line…[being developed by Clean Line Energy Partners to deliver] up to 4,000 megawatts of power generated from wind in Oklahoma and Texas through a 705-mile power line that would serve the energy needs of up to 1.5 million homes in the [the Southeast]…Data released last week from the U.S. Energy Department show wind power accounted for 41 percent of all new electric generation capacity last year. On a state-by-state basis, Texas and Oklahoma were among those states leading the way…” click here for more

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At The Verge Of The EV Future After the Tesla Model 3 launches this week, the world will know if Elon Musk called the electric-car future correctly

Steve leVine, March 28, 2016 (Quartz)

“…Over the last dozen years, [serial entrepreneur and inventor Elon Musk has accomplished] the improbable—erecting a globe-spanning automobile company from scratch. His Tesla Motors is the only such success in at least a half-century…[But what drove Musk into autos in 2004] was to trigger the birth of a new, mainstream [electric car] industry…Last year, Tesla sold about 51,000 cars. Musk hopes to deliver another 93,000 vehicles this year…It would equal a mere 4% of the approximately 1.9 million cars sold in 2015 by both BMW and Mercedes…On March 31, Musk will finally unveil [the Model 3, a $35,000 sedan that will go at least 200 miles on a single charge]…It’s around the average cost for new cars in the US; and the distance is thought sufficient to alleviate most cases of so-called range anxiety…[P]redictions call for the Model 3 to be crammed with technology including autonomous functionality, and to feature Musk’s usual exquisite styling…[T]he first batch of Model 3 cars aren’t likely to reach our roads until 2019…The stakes are the highest ever for Musk. If motorists buy the Model 3 in the hundreds of thousands, he will have delivered on his vow to make an electric for the general public…” click here for more

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