I started covering the solar energy industry seriously in 2009. It seemed like a hopping, exciting time in the industry — growth was exploding. I remember one early story in which readers admonished me a little because I put “Solar Power Exploding” in a headline, and they thought I was referring to genuine explosions. In 2019, 2009 and 2010 progress looks like anthills.
Of all the strange things we do as a race on this planet, refining and over-complicating things are some of them. We’re never satisfied with letting things be and often time favor extravagant conspiracy theories over reality. After all, how would the opposing piston engine and the convoluted internal combustion engine system have worked until now otherwise? Even though it has brought us this far, we need to get rid of inefficiency for more effective solar thermal energy storage systems.
It has been a while since I wrote a “What Changed In The Solar Energy Industry … ?” article, so I’m lumping two months of news together for this one as November closes. That means cutting out more of the “small” stories, which should make this an especially potent roundup of notable changes in the electric vehicle industry. Enjoy!
New Mexico has elected US Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham to become its new governor by an impressive 14 point margin. The previous governor, Susan Martinez, was a climate change denier (she was not up for re-election). In her Clean Power, Clean Future plan, Grisham stated: “Inaction by the Martinez Administration has left us falling behind other states in pursuing renewable energy and clean tech industries.”
The decade-old 500 MW Palen Solar Project has finally won decisive federal approval to go ahead as an estimated $1 billion photovoltaic project in the California desert after years of controversy and varied ownership. The November 1 approval by the US Bureau of Land Management also side-steps years of regulatory consideration of the project by the California Energy Commission, when the plant was still being proposed as a solar thermal project.
Complementing our update on key changes in the electric vehicle industry in June and July, below are highly notable news items from the solar energy and energy storage industries in June and July.
With a string of new investments and acquisitions in the past year (you can find a unique overview further on in this article!), Shell has quietly stepped up the pace of its transition from an oil and gas company into an energy company. “We are further along than people realize”, says Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice-President of Shell New Energies, in an exclusive interview with Energy Post. According to Gainsborough, there is a “shift in thinking” within the company that is now irreversible. “People in Shell see a lot riding on the success of New Energies. And we are considered one of the most attractive units to work in. Anyone under the age of 35 wants to work for New Energies.”
Desalination plants require a tremendous amount of energy, making them extremely costly to run. And, if that energy comes from burning fossil fuels, it will only make climate change worse. The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking to tackle both problems by funding research aimed at dramatically reducing the cost of using solar power to get the salt out of seawater.
We have seen solar power in the Middle East come into the low 2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) range. We have seen it under 2 cents per kWh in Mexico. Misguided, casual observers claimed these prices only occurred due to heavily exploited labor, but now we have also seen 2.155 cents per kWh in the United States. This contract was one of six contracts that Nevada Power recently signed. All six contracts came in under 3 cents per kWh.
Following up on our “What Changed In The Electric Vehicle Industry In May?” roundup, below is a summary of major solar energy and energy storage news from May. This roundup isn’t just about big project announcements. The point is to highlight notable shifts or milestones here or there in the industry.
