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Students Help Low-Income Families During ‘Solar Spring Break’

Over 100 college students from 10 schools across the country spent their spring break installing solar for low-income families and getting hands-on workforce training in the solar industry through GRID Alternatives’ Solar Spring Break program.

GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit solar installer, led the students in 17 installations across California and Colorado through March 25. Now in its third year, the alternative break program creates an opportunity for students to experience solar firsthand and learn about the energy and environmental issues facing low-income communities while gaining a foothold in the solar sector.

According to GRID Alternatives, Solar Spring Break has grown from six schools and teams in 2014 to 10 schools and 11 teams in 2016. This year’s participants included Arizona State University, Beloit College, Claremont McKenna College, UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, the University of Michigan, Northeastern University, the University of Nevada-Reno, North Carolina Central University and the University of California-Berkeley.

“Solar Spring Break gives college students who are passionate about renewable energy the chance to turn passion into action [by] doing projects that have a tangible impact on families’ lives,” explains Erica Mackie, CEO and co-founder of GRID Alternatives.

“The GRID staff taught us more in two days than we had learned in months at school,” comments Abhishek Rao, a graduate student at Arizona State University who participated in 2015. “We put into practice all we had studied from textbooks about residential solar systems, from surveying the site, to using tools to determine shading, designing the system, and actually installing it with our own hands. Solar Spring Break definitely added a much-needed, real-world perspective to my experience studying solar energy engineering at school.”

 

20 MW Solar Project Goes Online In Southern California

Independent power producer NRG Energy Inc. and its subsidiary NRG Yield Inc. have commissioned a new 20 MW solar photovoltaic project in Southern California.

The two companies jointly funded the NRG Solar Oasis facility, whose output will be sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project was built on approximately 180 acres of land located in the western Mojave Desert, five miles northeast of Palmdale, Calif., the majority of which is leased from the United States Air Force.

“We are proud to continue to bring renewable energy options to the residents of Southern California, and this project is a great example of our focus on customers and our desire to provide them with the energy solutions they need and want,” comments Craig Cornelius, senior vice president of NRG Energy. “We are happy to see that the United States Air Force values clean energy and has partnered with us on this project that helps California meet its renewable energy goals.”

The project consists of approximately 98,000 PV solar panels on-site, and it created approximately 250 jobs during construction.

 

Mississippi Power Breaks Ground On First Of Three Projects

Mississippi Power, Hannah Solar and the U.S. Navy have broken ground on a 23-acre, 3 MW-4 MW solar project at The Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC), also known as the Seabee Base, in Gulfport, Miss.

According to Mississippi Power, the facility will have roughly 13,000 panels, providing enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 450 homes.

“Renewable energy is important to a well-balanced energy portfolio,” says Anthony Wilson, Mississippi Power’s president and CEO. “This is one of three utility-scale solar projects that have been approved by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, making our company the state’s largest partner in renewable energy. We are proud to team up with the Navy, along with the commission and its staff, on this very important project.”

“Partnerships like the one between Mississippi Power and the Department of the Navy make us stronger,” says Honorable Dennis V. McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment. “It enables us to better serve and complete our mission. The efforts of NCBC to be effective managers of energy resources have been recognized at the highest levels of the Navy, and it is these efforts that make all of our bases more resilient and secure.”

The other two projects approved by the commission include a 450-acre, 50 MW electric solar generating station in Hattiesburg to be developed in partnership with Silicon Ranch Solar and a 52 MW utility-scale solar project in Sumrall to be developed with Origis Energy.

The project developers will finance each installation, with Mississippi Power receiving all of the energy and associated renewable energy credits through long-term power purchase agreements.

Construction on all three projects is slated to begin later this year.

 

Co-op To Buy Power From A Dozen New Solar Projects

Dairyland Power Cooperative, which provides wholesale electricity to 25 member distribution cooperatives and 17 municipal utilities, has finalized contracts with two developers to purchase over 15 MW from a dozen new utility-scale solar PV projects in Wisconsin.

“As Dairyland celebrates our 75th anniversary this year, we are excited to announce very significant solar generation plans that far surpass current solar resources in the state,” says Barbara Nick, president and CEO of the co-op.

Last year, Dairyland issued a request for proposals for solar generation resources. At this point, the co-op has power purchase agreements in place with two solar developers, Vermont-based groSolar and Chicago-based SoCore Energy, for 12 new solar facilities to be sited in Wisconsin.

The solar installations will range between 0.5 MW and 2.5 MW in scale, with groSolar developing a 2.5 MW project in Phillips, Wis., and SoCore Energy developing the rest.

The developers will install, own, operate and maintain the solar facilities. The first projects are expected to become operational this summer, with others continuing to come online into the fall.

These projects constitute Dairyland’s largest solar investments to date, and the co-op says it is continuing negotiations for additional solar resources in its service territory. Further project announcements are anticipated in the near future.

 

FPL Builds Solar Project At Daytona International Speedway

Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) and Daytona International Speedway (DIS) have completed the FPL Solar Circuit, a system of more than 7,000 solar panels that generate electricity for the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based speedway’s operations and FPL’s customers.

The FPL Solar Circuit’s total generating capacity is approximately 2.1 MW, and the project consists of three canopy-like structures - located at the Midway, Sprint FANZONE and Lot 10 parking area - covered with solar panels. According to the utility, the clean energy generated by the installation will prevent the emission of an estimated 2,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year - equivalent to an average vehicle driving more than 2 million laps around DIS.

The FPL Solar Circuit is also equipped with data-gathering equipment that will be used as part of a multiyear research study the utility is conducting to improve the integration of solar energy and smart grid technologies.

“We’re honored to play a significant role in the redevelopment of such an iconic destination that hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors to our state each and every year and reaches millions of others around the globe,” says Eric Silagy, president and CEO of FPL.

 

Geronimo Sells 66 MW Community Solar Portfolio To BHE

Geronimo Energy has sold a second portfolio of Minnesota community solar garden developments to BHE Renewables, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. The portfolio includes a total of 66 MW of solar garden projects spread across 21 locations and 16 Minnesota counties, and they are expected to be constructed by the end of 2017.

This acquisition is in addition to a previously purchased portfolio of Geronimo-developed community solar gardens by BHE Renewables, bringing the total combined portfolio size to nearly 100 MW.

Both portfolios are part of Xcel Energy’s Solar* Rewards Program, and Geronimo says it has been and will continue to provide development services for BHE Renewables (including subscription acquisition) for both solar garden portfolios.

“BHE Renewables is pleased to invest in the community solar garden program in Minnesota and broadening its relationship with Geronimo Energy,” says Richard Weech, president of BHE Renewables International. “Offering subscriptions to local energy customers gives them access to the benefits of solar energy, including helping them save money on their electric bills. It also reflects our commitment to growing the renewable energy industry in Minnesota beyond our initial 32 MW of solar gardens currently under development.”

Projects & Contracts

Students Help Low-Income Families During ‘Solar Spring Break’

 

 

 

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