Solar Energy

Lower Merion Township Receives $250,000 Grant Award for Rooftop Solar on Main Line of Ludington Library

(Credit: Bill Mead/Unsplash)

Going solar remains unaffordable and technically impossible for many in Pennsylvania.

That’s why one Erie County legislator said he’s reintroducing the legislation to close a loophole for renters and homeowners who can’t afford to invest in their own roof panels.

Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, sponsored a plan Thursday that would establish subscription programs that would guarantee residents get 100% solar power from a local source instead of the traditional grid mix.

“This bill will allow those who truly believe in renewable energy but live in circumstances that are not conducive to generating it, to put their money into supporting their dream of a cleaner grid,” he said.

While residents can shop for renewable energy plans on Pennsylvania’s retail electricity market, most of that generation comes from projects in Tennessee or Kentucky.

A spokeswoman for Laughlin’s office said many of the plans sold on the market aren’t really “green.” That’s because project developers often sell solar renewable energy credits to fossil fuel suppliers, who then use the credits to prove that some of the energy supplied to customers comes from renewable sources.

Credits range from $3.50 to $370 per megawatt hour produced, depending on each state’s market value. In October 2022, Pennsylvania loans were worth between $40 and $42.

However, Laughlin’s plan requires local sources to keep their credits so that the generation meets the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, thereby guaranteeing it is “green.”

The proposal comes amid the senator’s strong opposition to plans to install wind turbines on Lake Erie. The The House completed the event in Aprilwill allow land leases in the central and western regions of the lake.

While supporters say the development plans prevent environmental and economic disruption, critics disagree.

“If this bill is being proposed to protect the environment, it is anything but,” he said.

He said the negotiations left out property owners, fishermen and the charter captains he represents who “want to preserve a peaceful way of life.” All of them were concerned that wind turbines would not only disrupt the landscape along the shoreline, but also risk pollution from oil spills and stir up toxic sediments along the lake bed.

Laughlin did not comment on the bill at the time, but announced Thursday that he did not support it.

Bryan Hannegan, president and CEO of Holy Cross Energy, said the 5-megawatt solar array in Woody Creek is an excellent location for battery storage. The 35-hectare facility was completed in 2021, ahead of Holy Cross priority maintenance. This view was taken during a day trip by EcoFlight.

Courtesy photo

The Western Slope energy cooperative says they are on track to hit 90% renewable energy by the end of 2025 due to strides in wind and solar generation. With building codes favoring solar power and electrification, the power grid will increasingly experience excess energy during peak production periods when demand is not as great. In the morning and evening, when the demand of customers is more, the production of solar energy is lower.

“We’re going to have more of a good thing than we know,” said Bryan Hannegan, president and CEO of Holy Cross Energy. “Part of the challenge is how do we get people to start thinking about either not producing (energy) or storing that energy for later so that it can be used at a time when we would otherwise have to go out of our area. sourcing energy from another location, which may come at a higher cost or carbon footprint.

The key to avoiding the drag of energy with its carbon footprint is to ensure the flexibility and storage of renewable energy, which will help eliminate the remaining percentage points in the race for carbon-based energy to be 100% renewable.

Holy Cross is a nonprofit energy cooperative founded in 1939 by farmers and ranchers on the Western Slope. The organization provides energy to more than 46,000 members on the West Slope.

In 2020, Holy Cross set a goal of achieving 100% carbon-free energy supply by 2030 and achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 while maintaining service reliability and affordability.

Hannegan told the Pitkin Board of County Commissioners at a work session Tuesday that they are ahead of the curve with that goal.

Holy Cross has stated that in 2023, 50% of their energy supply will come from wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectricity and coal mine methane production. As of early 2024, estimates show that 75% of their energy will come from renewable sources, mostly from the eastern Colorado wind farm.

Located in Kit Carson County, the Bronco Plains II Energy Center sells 150 megawatts of power to Holy Cross in the winter and 100 megawatts in the summer. The power purchase agreement went online at the end of 2023, and Holy Cross credits the wind farm for moving from 50% renewables to 75%.

Holy Cross expects more power from Bronco Plains by the end of 2025, said Jenna Weatherred, member and vice president of community relations for Holy Cross.

They said that by the end of 2025, 65% of the energy supply will be provided by wind and 13% by the sun. Coal and natural gas are expected to account for 7% and 3%, respectively.

Holy Cross offers a program to reduce the cost of on-site battery energy storage, Power+. Even with the calculation structure to pay back the cost of the Tesla Powerwall 2 battery energy storage system over 10 years at 0% interest through Holy Cross promissory notes, customers can pay up to $44,000 over the payback period – even with federal and state incentives.

Weatherred said that while he applauds efforts by states to promote solar energy in their building codes, grid or on-site solar energy storage is just as important.

“For 20 years we’ve been saying the sun is big,” he said. “These are still true, but there are times when we have too much memory in the system.”

As Holy Cross pursues efficiency and the “100×30” goal, they are approaching a business model that has changed from an energy provider to a service provider.

“Our biggest concern, frankly, is that we may not actually have enough demand growth to sustain our current business model based on kilowatt-hour sales,” Hannegan said. “For sustainability, for grid flexibility, we might want to actively encourage people not to buy electricity from us. Which in the business of selling electronics, like electric utility — at least right now — is an unnatural move.”

In a future where customers generate enough electricity, Hannegan and Weatherred said the co-op will switch to an energy mobility facilitator. Hannegan likens this potential future role to the “Fed-Ex” of electricity, moving energy between customers — because everyone will eventually have to call for more electricity than they produce, he said.

Weatherred said the change would focus the fee structure more on delivery costs. Holy Cross’ current energy rate for small residential customers is 11 cents per kilowatt hour. The co-op increased fixed rates for customers and saw the biggest increase in small residential areas.

Still, as the Roaring Fork Valley and the rest of Holy Cross’ service area move toward electrification, Commissioner Steve Child noted that the demand for Holy Cross services will only increase.

“We’re getting closer to 100% renewable energy, well, we’re moving the doorposts. As buildings become electrified, as cars become electrified and transportation systems … there will be more than our current demand,” Child said. “We’re going to need more renewable generation and we’re going to need more storage space.”

Holy Cross will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, June 6 at 5:00 p.m. at 4 Eagle Ranch in Wolcott, where the results of the current board of directors election for the North District seat will be announced.

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Cowboy Solar’s permitting process is not yet complete; even though the meeting board was appeased, Enbridge still needs to get county, environmental and municipal permits.

Despite the dominance of fossil fuels in Wyoming, the land rush for renewables continues in the state, driven by the very strong economics of solar and energy storage, the state’s friendly permitting process and the Biden administration’s newly developed Western Solar Plan. . This ambitious plan opens up more acres than ever before for the US Bureau of Land Management to oversee solar energy production on public lands for decades to come.

Although Wyoming lags behind in solar power, ranking 46th among US states with only 124 megawatts of capacity, it’s no slouch when it comes to wind power. Since 2019, the state has been harnessing its excellent resources by doubling wind generation, which would account for 22 percent of total electricity generation in 2022. Wyoming had just over 3 gigawatts of wind capacity at the start of 2023. EIA.

While record-breaking utility-scale solar-plus-storage installations have become commonplace in sunnier places like Texas, Florida, and California, a new and real trend has emerged to place these giant plants in less-exposed places like Minnesota, Ohio, and Louisiana. , and now Wyoming. Smart energy policy and forced economy do not recognize state borders.