Center of Excellence for Clean Energy

Energy storage, essential for long-term climate goals

Posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Consolidated Edison and National Grid are experimenting with energy storage in New York.

ConEd is in the middle of several major projects to advance the state’s distributed grid, while working to add 300 MW of energy storage by 2023.

Storage is essential to New York’s long-term climate goals, ConEd REV Demonstration specialist Alison Kling said. It can be used as grid support, including for particular feeders, real power, reactive power, or as part of broader non-wires alternative goals, but it will also be important in the long-term as the state continues to add more renewable energy onto its grid.

255-MW U.S. hydro portfolio sold to Hull Street Energy

Posted on Tuesday, February 11, 2020

A U.S. private equity firm, Hull Street Energy, has sealed a deal to buy a 255-MW portfolio of 31 hydroelectric facilities from a joint venture between Enel Green Power North America and GE Energy Financial Services.

Read more: Enel, GE JV sells 255-MW US hydro portfolio to Hull Street Energy (renewablesnow.com)

Solar panels that generate electricity at night?

Posted on Thursday, February 6, 2020

Researchers from the University of California, Davis explain in a recent paper, published in the journal ACS Photonics, that if you want to create a solar panel that generates electricity at night, you have to create one that operates the exact opposite way solar panels work during the day.

It’s referred to as the “anti-solar panel.”

Solar panels are cold compared to the Sun, so they absorb the Sun’s light and turn it into energy. Space is very cold, so if you point a panel on Earth that is comparatively warm toward it, it will radiate heat as invisible infrared light. This allows you to generate electricity by capturing that power. The paper claims such a device could generate about a quarter of the electricity at night that a normal solar panel generates during the day.

Hydrogen: A green and sustainable energy source?

Posted on Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Hydrogen could be a feasible alternative to fossil fuels because of its affordability and environmental friendliness. It is found throughout the environment, but producing it involves efficiently separating it from other compounds.

There are currently a number of ways this can be done, but methods can be slow and expensive. A team of scientists believes that hydrogen fuel could be generated “on-demand” because of a separation process structured around bismuth, a chemical element.

William Westmoreland, new director of PNCECE

Posted on Friday, January 24, 2020

William Westmoreland, the new executive director of the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy, brings more than 15 years of experience in program development, system integration, and community engagement.

William plans to increase awareness of the Center, update programs, and continue building partnerships that promote learning and working opportunities for our communities.

What you should know about hydropower

Posted on Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Hydroelectricity is a form of renewable energy. That means its source — water — is naturally renewing and doesn’t get used up in the process of generating power.

Other renewable energy sources include solar power, wind power, biomass, and increasingly, geothermal energy.

Hydropower is the single largest source of renewable energy in the U.S. Combined, renewable sources produce 17 percent of the United States’ energy, with 7 percent coming from hydropower.

TransAlta adds 119 MW of wind power in U.S.

Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Two U.S. wind farms with a total capacity of 119 MW, operated by TransAlta Corp., became operational in December 2019.

The 90-MW Big Level wind park in Pennsylvania started commercial operation on December 19. It sells power to technology giant Microsoft Corporation, under a 15-year contract.

The 29-MW Antrim wind facility in New Hampshire has been operational since December 24.

Wind farms in Montana could deliver enough energy to power large city

Posted on Friday, January 17, 2020

Site preparation has begun on the 114-turbine Pryor Mountain Wind Project in Montana. At least four wind farms are in various stages of development and combined could deliver up to 480 megawatts of capacity, enough to power a large city.

Pryor Mountain Wind “is a 240-megawatt wind project with a 40% net capacity factor and will produce about 841,000 MWh/year, making it an excellent wind power generation site,” said Spencer Hall of PacifiCorp. “The facility will produce the power equivalent to the usage of more than 76,000 U.S. households on an annual basis.”

74% of U.S. coal plants more expensive than new renewables

Posted on Thursday, January 16, 2020

New research from Energy Innovation and Vibrant Clean Energy (VCE) shows the U.S. has officially reached the coal cost crossover point, where fast-falling wind and solar prices make simply operating three-quarters of all existing coal generation plants more expensive than building new local renewable energy.

Washington statewide low-carbon fuel standard promoted by governor

Posted on Wednesday, January 15, 2020

At a recent visit to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Gov. Jay Inslee said a low-carbon fuel policy would increase access to biofuels for the aviation industry.

The aviation industry is a portion of the economy that’s particularly challenging for reducing greenhouse gases.

Inslee thinks the policy’s financial incentives would push fuel suppliers to develop supply chains for biofuel.

seattletimes.com