PV solar has been increasing at a rate of 50% a year for the past decade. This has led many utilities to question the impact that continued expansion will have on their investors and ratepayers. Andrew Satchwell et al studied the effects of PV solar penetration on two hypothetical utilities. In Financial Impacts of Net-Metered PV on Utilities and Ratepayers: A Scoping Study of Two Prototypical U.S. Utilities, they concluded the negative impacts of Net-Metered PV will fall on investors; Ratepayers may only feel modest losses.
There are more than 150 known hot springs in Western Canada. Look at the map above, most of the high generation temperature areas are in BC! According to Alison Thompson, Chair of the Canadian Geothermal Association, there is more than enough geothermal energy to power the province’s grid, yet none of these sites have been developed. Geothermal Energy has never been invited to bid on calls for power. In fact, there isn’t a single developed geothermal site in all of Canada! BC may have a “Trillion Dollar Opportunity,” and it is NOT LNG.*
There are currently 17 proposed projects. Depending on who you are talking to, anywhere from none to five could go forward. In this morning’s interview, I interviewMatt Horne, of the Pembina Institute, about BC’s LNG Dream.
Germany was not the first European nation to install offshore wind farms. There were plants in Denmark and England years before the first turbine was erected a mere 500 meters off the quay wall of the Rostock international port in 2005. Tracing the story of Germany’s offshore wind farms, we repeatedly found references to the independent project planning company WIND-projekt GmbH, whose portfolio includes everything from on and offshore-wind turbines to energy storage.
For a quarter of a century, HusumWind has hosted one of the World’s largest wind power conferences. This year the conference was held in Hamburg. As might be expected, there were some hard feelings. A PR professional approached my table of North American journalists, in a Hamburg restaurant. He points out that while there are only around 60 wind turbines installed in the city, there are more than 800 in Nordfriesland (which Husum is part of) and 3,100 in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein (which Nordfriesland is part of). It did not take much to uncover the reasons for the switch in venues. More than 1,200 companies from 30 countries will be displaying their products and projects at this year’s event. Even the lady manning Husum’s booth admitted this was to large an event for Husum. Hamburg is the gateway for Germany’s offshore wind industry and a leading center for renewable technology.
PV solar has been increasing at a rate of 50% a year for the past decade. This has led many utilities to question the impact that continued expansion will have on their investors and ratepayers. Andrew Satchwell et al studied the effects of PV solar penetration on two hypothetical utilities. In Financial Impacts of Net-Metered PV on Utilities and Ratepayers: A Scoping Study of Two Prototypical U.S. Utilities, they concluded the negative impacts of Net-Metered PV will fall on investors; Ratepayers may only feel modest losses.
