STUFF

Solar City CEO sees energy storage viable in 10 yrs.

FERC: clean/renewable power 82% of new US elgen capacity in 1Q13. 1.5Gw. 340Mw more from NG. 6 "units" of wind for 958Mw. Solar 537MW, 38 units. Biomass 46Mw from 28 units. Hydropower 5.4Mw, 4 units.

Wattner (Germany) bought 5 solar farms in Germany. Total cap 22Mw. 37M Euros. Over 6K investors getting steady returns from Wattner's short-term solar funds.

Mid Kansas El (co-op) broke ground on 110Mw power plant. 12 NG-fueled reciprocating engines from Caterpillar. 1st install of their new engines. Online April '14.

Tradewind Energy planning $600M wind farm in Kansas.

Piceance Basin in CO, WY, NB, SD. "The Gas Factory." Niobrara Shale. EnCana there. Multi-well pad drilling. 51 wells from single pad. Williams Fork Formation several thousand feet thick. In '69, atomic device detonated there in fracking attempt. Didn't work. In '07, Piceance had 5 of top 50 US gas fields in proven reserve.

OH State U buying 50Mw from Iberdrola OH wind farm. $1M/y savings for OSU. Gamesa 2Mw turbines at 304Mw farm. First Energy buying 100Mw, AMP 52Mw. 102Mw still to be contracted.

North Western Energy (Montana) attempting to restrict any new power it must buy from small indy wind power projects. NWE only owns ~30% of its power gen now. Fed law, Montana PSC rules say utilities must accept contracts to buy el from 10Mw wind farms or smaller. Their el demand ~725Mw. 30Mw from small wind projects now under contract. Another 20Mw coming. NWE pays avg $60/Mwh for its power. Pays $67 for wind power. Going to $50 for new contracts. 120-130Mw more wind proposed would force NWE to shop for other power to fill power gaps, they say. They bought their own 40Mw wind farm last year.

Aquentium Solar (AQNM) offering 100% financing, nothing down for solar systems for commercial businesses in Long Beach, Cal.

KY Power filed for PPA for 58Mw biomass plant. Online in '17. Wood feedstock.

Ormat, DOE, GeothermEx producing 1.7Mw from enhanced geothermal system. 1st EGS to be grid connected. $5.4M DOE funding, $2.6M from Ormat.

Cal judge rejected challenge to 300Mw wind project near Mojave. High mortality rate for Golden Eagles at adjacent wind farm. Concerns for bats, birds.

FL PSC approved FP&L's 3 biomass plant projects. Total 180Mw. Online '19. Saves customers est. $90M over life of plants they say. Eucalyptus feedstock.