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Good morning and happy Friday,
This week, Energy Storage USA 2025 kicked off in Dallas, with a keynote speaker saying BESS will help ERCOT manage a doubling of peak demand by 2030.
And, Heatmap reports that a BLM spokesperson said “there is currently no freeze on processing renewable applications for solar” or “making authorization decisions” on projects, suggesting the solar permitting pause is over. We’ll see – meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers is “developing a process to quickly approve fossil fuel projects.”
On the IRA front, a Texas lawmaker says he’d “like to repeal every jot and tittle of the IRA tax credit expansion, but I think there’s a thoughtful way” to phase them out. Please, take your time!
The International Renewable Energy Agency says that China’s solar boom helped global renewable installations worldwide hit a record high last year, with 92.5% of all new electricity brought online coming from clean sources, and Apple announced a $99 million new clean energy fund in China.
Here in the U.S., the American Society of Civil Engineers “gave the energy sector a D+ on its quadrennial report card due to its failure to build out necessary generation and transmission infrastructure,” calculating that $580 billion will be needed to keep pace with surging demand.
Read on for more.
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Whose Rights?
Solar development can be particularly tough in Virginia, where rural communities fear they will “bear the brunt” of clean energy development, while researchers emphasize the need for a full accounting of the social costs of land-use choices. One lawmaker characterized the issue as localities vs. property owners; another is worried about how the state will meet its clean energy goals. Last month, two bills that attempted to resolve the issue failed. Is there a way forward?
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The bill that had the most traction would have required localities to approve solar projects using a model ordinance that prohibited “unreasonable restriction,” including bans – but localities, fearing a loss of control, lobbied against the bill and won.
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The second option, which was backed by the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition, would have “required localities to classify solar projects as eligible for a special use permit,” while giving counties final authority over decisions.
- According to MAREC, in the 18 months leading up to last October, 33 large utility-scale solar projects representing 3,236 MW were rejected across the state. 34 counties have restrictive ordinances and 16 have limitations that amount to a ban on utility-scale projects.
⚡️ The Takeaway
A uniting purpose. In related news, permitting reform is also on the minds of many Senate Republicans and Democrats as work continues on “the thorny problem of energy and infrastructure project delays.” While they’re “still exploring the prospects,” it seems likely that Dems may be willing to make tradeoffs involving “sacrosanct” environmental laws. As one GOP lawmaker said, “the lack of permitting and the time it takes is a uniting purpose.”
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Upending a Free Market?
Last week the Texas Senate passed SB 388, which energy industry expert Doug Lewin described as “heavy-handed, anti-market” legislation that represents “twin economic and energy catastrophes” and will “bring economic growth in Texas to a screeching halt.” But c’mon Doug, how do you really feel about it? Here are some additional details:
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The bill creates a new trading program for “dispatchable” power credits in ERCOT. Effectively, power providers will be required “to offset new renewables and battery capacity with an equal amount of new dispatchable capacity beginning as early as next year.”
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Mysteriously, the definition of “dispatchable” power doesn’t include BESS; the intent of the legislation is to drive investment in new natural gas generation, but that’s going to prove a wee bit tricky given the widely acknowledged supply-chain constraints affecting gas plant buildout.
- Matthew Boms, executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, says SB 388 “punishes” renewable resources; it would certainly upend ERCOT’s competitive market, which has made Texas “a favorite place to do business for power plant developers.”
⚡️ The Takeaway
If it ain’t broke… In his March 19 newsletter, Lewin notes that “renewables and batteries have become, ironically, a bridge to gas,” and says “we should ALL agree that the state needs to bulk up on renewables and storage at least long enough for the gas-turbine supply chain to get replenished.” Texas adds a gigawatt of new power plants every month, “twice as fast as any other grid in America,” and continuing that pace of growth is essential to our nation’s competitiveness. “American ingenuity and Texas energy give us a chance to win the AI race. Only the Texas Legislature can screw it up, and they just might.”
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A Man, A Plan, A (Solar) Canal, Panama…
We’re big fans of palindromes, so we hope readers will forgive us for including Panama in the title of this week’s Last Byte, even if the story has nothing to do with our friends in Central America.
The California Solar Canal Initiative (CSCI) is a research project focused on installing solar panels on canals across the state. Doing so offers opportunities to expand clean energy production while also minimizing land use, and – importantly in California’s sunny, arid climate – conserve water by reducing evaporation.
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While the initiative is still in its early stages, the idea has tremendous potential. The Golden State has approximately 4,000 miles of exposed canals; covering them with solar panels could produce enough clean energy to power about 2 million homes, while simultaneously saving a quantity of water equivalent to the usage of about 2 million people. It’s also possible the panels’ production could be boosted by the cooling effect of the water beneath them.
The benefits aren’t limited to energy and water – covering the canals could also reduce weed growth, thereby reducing maintenance costs, and installing all those panels would be a big job creator. And it’s estimated that putting the equivalent number of panels on land instead of over existing canals would require about 50,000 acres. That’s a “shady” plan we can get behind.
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Building American power requires a powerful team. |
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