Solar PV News

[Merrill]

So we were having Christmas dinner last night and one couple was telling us that solar panels are killing birds, so they were not good for the environment. First time I have heard this and would like some input from those who may have heard this (nwdiver).

 

[mspohr]

So we were having Christmas dinner last night and one couple was telling us that solar panels are killing birds, so they were not good for the environment. First time I have heard this and would like some input from those who may have heard this (nwdiver).

The official denier party line is that windmills kill birds, not solar panels.
Windmills do kill a few birds but it's insignificant compared to cats. Tell them to kill their cat... or maybe you could get some new friends who weren't so ignorant.
Solar panels do nothing but generate electricity.

 

[nwdiver]

So we were having Christmas dinner last night and one couple was telling us that solar panels are killing birds, so they were not good for the environment. First time I have heard this and would like some input from those who may have heard this (nwdiver).

LOL... supposedly large farms look like bodies of water from the air so migrating birds try to land on them. Kinda hard to believe... I've never had a duck try to land on my roof thinking it was a pond. Even IF this was remotely true (it's not)... coal kills far more birds than wind and solar combined...

 

[mspohr]

The economics of solar are compelling...

Warren Buffett trades for four solar plants, retiring a coal unit

Thanks to this new capacity, the 254 MW North Valmy 1 coal-fired plant will retire by Dec. 31, 2021, four years early. The North Valmy Unit 2 (268 MW) is still set to be retired by the end of 2025, and reports have suggested it can also be shut early.

Nevada regulators have approved six solar power plants and three energy storage facilities, totaling just over 1 GWac of solar power and 100 MW / 400 MWh of storage. One of the facilities will come online by the end of 2020, and five by the end of 2021. Pending the timely completion of the solar projects, a 254 MW coal plant will be retired.

All six power purchase agreements (PPAs) have prices below $30/MWh:

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The official denier party line is that windmills kill birds, not solar panels.
Windmills do kill a few birds but it's insignificant compared to cats. Tell them to kill their cat... or maybe you could get some new friends who weren't so ignorant.
Solar panels do nothing but generate electricity.

That line isn't going to work with dog lovers.
But that's OK, they're wrong anyway and there's no saving them.

 

[nwdiver]

That line isn't going to work with dog-lovers.

You mean cat-lovers? And they don't have to kill their cat... just keep it indoors away from birds.

But yeah... wind is a rounding error compared to other causes of dead birds...

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

You mean cat-lovers? And they don't have to kill their cat... just keep it indoors away from birds.

But yeah... wind is a rounding error compared to other causes of dead birds...

Cat lovers will understand the comparison.
Dog lovers will ask "Why can't we do both?"

 

[gene]

Stanford researchers, using machine learning applied to satellite imagery, have found 1.4 million solar power installations in the United States. The researchers also extracted significant socioeconomic patterns from the data which they say can help to predict future installations.

Sunlight, smarts, a house, and some money means solar power

 

[nwdiver]

Stanford researchers, using machine learning applied to satellite imagery, have found 1.4 million solar power installations in the United States. The researchers also extracted significant socioeconomic patterns from the data which they say can help to predict future installations.

Sunlight, smarts, a house, and some money means solar power

Hmmm... finally proof that my former nuclear co-workers are morons. Feel safe?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Electric Power Monthly:
Solar GWh or percentages
October 2018 (2017 in parentheses):
Utility Solar: 5,225 (4,830)
Estimated small: 2,400 (2,002)
Total: 7,625 (6,832)

2018 through October (2017 in parentheses):
Utility Solar: 59,511 (46,488)
Estimated small: 25,847 (20,957)
Total: 85,358 (67,445)

2018 Rolling 12 months through October (2017 in parentheses)
Utility Solar: 66,309 (51,679) 1.57% (1.28%)
Estimated small: 28,879 (23,381) 0.69% (0.58%)
Total: 95,189 (75,060) 2.26% (1.86%)
At that growth rate, it's only 244 1/2 years to go until solar provides all US electricity.

New solar additions for the next 12 months are forecast to be slightly less than in the last 12 months. This probably reflects some of the past uncertainty about the tax credits.

 

[mspohr]

Stanford researchers, using machine learning applied to satellite imagery, have found 1.4 million solar power installations in the United States. The researchers also extracted significant socioeconomic patterns from the data which they say can help to predict future installations.

Sunlight, smarts, a house, and some money means solar power

Here's the project web site:
Home - DeepSolar

In addition to lots of good socioeconomic data, it's interesting that they found many more solar panels than anybody expected. It's hard to count all of those random installations.

 

[nwdiver]

At that growth rate, it's only 244 1/2 years to go until solar provides all US electricity.

New solar additions for the next 12 months are forecast to be slightly less than in the last 12 months. This probably reflects some of the past uncertainty about the tax credits.

That's why we desperately need a carbon tax AND increased incentives to accelerate the transition. I talk to these morons regularly. They'd rather drop $20k on a family trip to Disney World than $15k to break their pathetic addiction to fools fuel. People are horrible. The sooner we accept that unfortunate fact the better.

 

[mspohr]

That's why we desperately need a carbon tax AND increased incentives to accelerate the transition. I talk to these morons regularly. They'd rather drop $20k on a family trip to Disney World than $15k to break their pathetic addiction to fools fuel. People are horrible. The sooner we accept that unfortunate fact the better.

I think that more drastic measures are necessary. The incentives aren't working. It's time to just say no to fossil fuels. Ban them completely. Shut down coal mines, oil and NG wells. Sure, it will be disruptive in the short term but it will speed the transition and it will be far less disruptive than the climate change we have in store.

 

[mspohr]

Year-End Reflections and Predictions From a Solar Veteran

Reflections on 2018 and solar predictions for 2019

 

[mspohr]

Sale Of Massive Spanish Solar Farm Offers Glimpse of Things To Come

“What is so special about this project is that we will generate green electricity at market prices without any kind of subsidies, a first in Europe. We are therefore entering a new phase where the energy turnaround is concerned: solar power is now cheaper to produce than conventional power,” said Matthias Taft, senior energy executive at parent company BayWa AG.

Electricity from the project will be sold to the Norwegian state-owned hydropower company Statkraft under a 15-year contract.

 

[SageBrush]

Electricity from the project will be sold to the Norwegian state-owned hydropower company Statkraft under a 15-year contract.

Norway's Statkraft enters Spain's power market with 170 MW solar deal | Reuters

Statkraft plans to supply the electricity via bilateral contracts to commercial companies and also through the wholesale market, where other traders can purchase it from Spain’s power exchange, said a company spokeswoman.
Statkraft, a major hydropower producer in Norway that also runs an international markets business, will add the solar farm’s output to its portfolio of 15,000 MW trading capacity, the firm said.

The interesting news appears to be an open access wholesale market

 

[mspohr]

14 PV trends for 2019

Exciting times! Relentless improvement in efficiency, lower costs, more widespread adoption.

 

[SageBrush]

prices

of $30 a MWh do not include the storage. That is

The storage facilities will receive capacity payments that range which range from $6,100/MW-month for Dodge Flat to $7,755/MW-month for Battle Mountain. A report by the Brattle Group for Nevada regulators suggests that by 2030 – depending on pricing – 700 to 1,000 MW / 2.8 to 4 GWh worth of energy storage could be cost-effectively deployed statewide.

I don't know how to parse these measurement units. Are they a peak demand quantity over a month ? If so that sounds cheap since it would work out (presuming 4 hours a day of supply) to an extra $6.1 - $7.55 for 4*30.5 = 122 kWh a month or 5 - 6.3 cents a kWh

This works out to 20% of PV output shunted through storage* so the weighted cost of energy would be
0.2*5.5 + 3 = 4.1 cents a kWh for energy that is available for about 12 hours a day.

Nevada regulators have approved six solar power plants and three energy storage facilities, totaling just over 1 GWac of solar power and 100 MW / 400 MWh of storage.

 

[mspohr]

GSC wants 1 trillion mini-grids, 10 million solar jobs

Looks like they are going to focus on developing countries bringing solar to people who have no electricity

 

[mspohr]

Floating PV technical potential is 10% of U.S. generation

Next frontier for solar pv is floating on water. Reduces land cost.