http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/ Sun, 10 May 2026 09:24:14 +0000 86400 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/buffett-buys-renewables-r6421 . . . (owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway),
...has signed contracts to purchase electricity from,
. . . 6 solar projects totaling,
. . . 1,001 MW-AC, along with
. . . 100 MW / 400 MWh, of energy storage.



6-2-2018 Source:  Buffett buys #Renewables]]> Sat, 02 Jun 2018 14:46:55 +0000 2738872947fd92209325d76e3f4b6f12 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/largest-commitment-to-offshore-wind-power-r6417 . . . that will move the state’s electricity mix to
. . . 50% renewable by 2030, and
. . . codifies the largest commitment to
. . . offshore wind power from any state.

Momentum is growing with several other
. . . 50% RPS (renewable portfolio standard) policies under consideration in:
. . . . . . Maryland,
. . . . . . Delaware, and
. . . . . . states in New England.
These policy targets are achievable, and
. . . attract economic growth to states that pass them,
. . . because renewable energy, including wind power,
. . . has become mainstream and
. . . increasingly competitive with advancements in technology, and
. . . falling costs, according to AWEA reports.

5-25-2018 Source:  Largest commitment to offshore #wind power]]> Fri, 25 May 2018 14:17:08 +0000 3f826f30bc252fb41b7ef03b98ee98c8 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/400-megawatt-offshore-wind-farm-r6416 . . . selected Deepwater Wind, to develop a
. . . 400-megawatt, proposal
. . . in federal waters far off the coast.

5-24-2018 Source:  400-megawatt offshore #wind farm]]> Thu, 24 May 2018 12:53:30 +0000 78758e1a20a92614551dd56294223adf http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/100-renewable-grid-is-feasible-r6415 . . . . . . 100% Iceland,
. . . . . . 100% Paraguay,
. . . . . . 99% Costa Rica,
. . . . . . 98.5% Norway,
. . . . . . 80% Austria,
. . . . . . 75% Brazil, and
. . . . . . 69.4% Denmark,
. . . these countries grids run on:
. . . . . . hydropower,
. . . . . . wind,
. . . . . . geothermal, and
. . . . . . solar.

Large population regions are also, “at or above 100%” including:
. . . . . . Germany’s Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
. . . . . . Schleswig-Hostein regions,
. . . . . . New Zealand’s South Island,
. . . . . . Denmark’s Samsø island,
. . . . . . Quebec, and
. . . . . . British Columbia.

China’s, “Qinghai Province has just run for,
. . . 7 straight days, entirely on renewable energy.

“Indonesia, has far more than enough pumped hydro storage sites to support a
. . . 100% renewable electricity grid.”

An aggregated fleet of vehicles or chargers,
. . . can act as a [demand response] resource,
. . . shifting load in response to price signals, or operational needs;
for example, vehicle charging could be shifted to the middle of the day,
. . . to absorb high levels of solar generation, and
. . . shifted away from evening hours,
. . . when solar generation disappears, and
. . . system net load peaks.”

5-23-2018 Source:  100% #renewable grid is feasible]]> Wed, 23 May 2018 13:04:23 +0000 737014b6a940e365341bafb671377514 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/electric/electric-motor-r6414 . . . spoked magnet design spins up:
. . . . . . cheaper,
. . . . . . lighter,
. . . . . . more powerful.

5-22-2018 Source:  #Electric Motor]]> Tue, 22 May 2018 17:07:48 +0000 e6c46d6ccf72dec942de7195f6ab6294 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/wyoming%e2%80%99s-wind-r6413 . . . 30% of its power from wind.

“Utilities want wind these days,
. . . Not because of environmental policy.
. . . They want it because it’s cheap.”

In 2 years, a federal subsidy for wind production will end.
. . . Developers have to keep construction active on a new wind farm,
. . . or prove they’ve spent 5% of the overall cost of a project,
. . . in order to keep those credits for a period beyond the sunset date.
In short, developers are scrambling to take advantage,
. . . . of the federal tax credits.

With fossil fuels, like coal,
. . . Wyoming sets aside some of money from taxes in a permanent mineral trust fund.
. . . The idea is that severing valuable products from Wyoming,
. . . now robs future generations of those resources,
. . . so taxes compensate for that.

“Like it or not, we have to have something to replace our tax base,
. . . Clearly coal is going away.”

5-20-2018 Source:  Wyoming’s #Wind]]> Sun, 20 May 2018 12:26:51 +0000 420488825d86613b1c9aa97adc24301b http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/solar-to-surpass-wind-in-18-months-r6412 . . . which posits that solar will surpass wind in global energy capacity starting in 2020,
. . . making it the f4th largest source of energy generation behind:
. . . . . . coal,
. . . . . . gas, and
. . . . . . hydro.
Less than a year ago,
. . . solar surpassed nuclear energy,
. . . to reach 5th place.

The report also predicts that
. . . $2.2 trillion will be invested in new energy capacity through 2021, including
. . . $600 billion in the solar sector alone.

The residential battery storage market, will be the fastest growing in 2018,
. . . driven largely by the surge in the behind-the-meter residential deployments,
. . . in the US, Germany, and Australia.

5-18-2018 Source:  #Solar To Surpass #Wind In 18 Months]]> Fri, 18 May 2018 13:01:58 +0000 e608961813ac47bc0cfbcac85dd2147f http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/could-us-wholesale-energy-prices-fall-25-r6411 . . . If Renewables make up 50% of our Energy generation,
. . . USA Wholesale Energy prices, could fall 25% or more.

These impacts indicate the need for,
. . . more dispatchable resources that can,
. . . quickly respond to changes in demand, or production.

“Battery developers,
. . . will see a great business case, for themselves.”

5-17-2018 Source:  Could US Wholesale #Energy Prices Fall 25%?]]> Thu, 17 May 2018 12:25:46 +0000 3f402b66cf03140a43be0724821a5270 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/britain%e2%80%99s-wind-farms-vs-8-nuclear-plants-r6410 . . . 8 nuclear power stations in the first 3 months of 2018,
. . . marking the first time wind has overtaken nuclear across a quarter.

At one point overnight on 17 March,
. . . wind turbines briefly provided almost
. . . 1/2 of the UK’s electricity.
Wind power helped during the cold snaps, too, supplying
. . . 12-43% of electricity during the 6 subzero days in the first
. . . 3 months of the year.

5-16-2018 Source:  Britain’s #wind farms VS 8 Nuclear Plants]]> Wed, 16 May 2018 12:48:34 +0000 3be4d3f098a8da78f521afe939a92f1c http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/morocco-worlds-largest-concentrated-solar-farm-r6409 . . . aims to produce enough energy to power more than
. . . 1,000,000 homes by the end of the year, and reduce carbon emissions by
. . . 760,000 tons per year.
The first phase was officially turned on in 2016.

5-16-2018 Source:  Morocco: Worlds largest concentrated #solar farm]]> Wed, 16 May 2018 12:33:41 +0000 88ba8576df493c2273b9328861b8792c http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/electric/internet-shopping-electric-delivery-trucks-r6403 . . . other online shopping platforms,
. . . the delivery business is booming,
. . . particularly in urban areas,
. . . where pollution from diesel-powered trucks,
. . . has become a major concern for many world cities.

UPS will begin testing a fleet of
. . . 35 electric delivery vans from Arrival,
. . . a UK-based company specializing in lightweight electric vehicles.

UPS is also testing
. . . 50 plug-in hybrid delivery vans
. . . manufactured by Workhorse in the United States, and has ordered
. . . 50 Tesla Semi electric trucks for its fleet of alternative fuel vehicles.

5-11-2018 Source:  Internet shopping & #Electric delivery trucks]]> Fri, 11 May 2018 13:25:26 +0000 e5085f260c2bc7e50f153bd3d3a463d9 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/electric/energy-storage-problem-r6400 . . . are fine when it comes to small-to-mid-range storage,
. . . but the costs start to mount when you think about scaling up into the
. . . 10 - 100 hour range.

USA Department of Energy, announced
. . . $30 million for funding of next-generation technology
. . . batteries, that can store electricity in bulk for
. . . 10 - 100 hours.

They could enable utilities to:
. . . . . . keep leveraging fossil fuels into the grid,
. . . . . . puts nuclear power on even shakier ground than it is now.
. . . . . . shrink reliance on coal baseload power plants,
. . . . . . push gas “peaker” plants out of the picture, and
. . . . . . funnel more wind and solar into the grid.

Energy Department’s ARPA-E (Advanced Projects Research Agency – Energy) office,
. . . which kickstarts high risk, high reward R&D, funds the project called
. . . Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (DAYS).

5-8-2018 Source:  #Energy Storage Problem]]> Tue, 08 May 2018 21:29:02 +0000 e375a58ebc307dbc4633ac7fe91f2394 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/kodiak-island-98-renewable-energy-r6394 . . . 2nd largest island in the US, has a population of
. . . 15,000 scattered among 7 communities.
It gets its electricity from:
. . . . . . wind turbines, and
. . . . . . hydroelectric facilities,
. . . both of which typically fluctuate in their output.
To balance the system,
. . . it relies on a microgrid engineered, and installed by
. . . ABB, the giant Swedish/Swiss energy, and technology company.

“Remote locations like islands,
. . . may be rich in renewable energy sources,
but, the intermittent nature,
. . . makes their integration into the power grid a challenge.
ABB’s innovative microgrid solution,
. . . includes grid stabilization technology,
. . . that enables high penetration of:
. . . . . . renewable power generation, and
. . . . . . distributed control systems, that provide
. . . intelligent power management, and
. . . efficient hybrid power plant operation.”

The advantage of the PowerStore flywheel units,
. . . is that they can switch from:
. . . . . . full power charge, to
. . . . . . full power discharge, in less than
. . . 5 milliseconds.
Besides providing voltage, and frequency support, for the new crane,
. . . the PowerStore units will extend the life of the
. . . two 1.5 MW battery systems, and
. . . help to manage the intermittencies from the island’s
. . . 9 MW wind farm.
Battery performance tends to degrade after
. . . hundreds or thousands of charge/discharge events.
But, Flywheels do not.

Puerto Rico,
. . . might benefit greatly from such microgrid systems.

5-4-2018 Source:  Kodiak Island: 98% #Renewable Energy]]> Fri, 04 May 2018 13:25:13 +0000 0bd791e117caac17417e27915180616f http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/uk-new-solar-farms-r6393 . . . has entered into a partnership with Lightsource BP, for the development of
. . . 10 new solar farms at its sites, to generate
. . . 10 GWh of clean electricity each year, to help power its operations.

The electricity would be enough to power, more than
. . . 3,000 homes.

5-4-2018 Source:  UK: new #Solar farms]]> Fri, 04 May 2018 12:57:34 +0000 8241b23ef1376599b08f3a51c8a5a61e http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/renewable-energy-meeting-the-demand-r6392 . . . 73% of the instantaneous portion of demand,
. . . met by renewable energy.

5-3-2018 Source:  #Renewable Energy: meeting the Demand]]> Thu, 03 May 2018 13:42:58 +0000 bf9452f935bd53b41c9c7b441423d815 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/off-grid-solar-r6391 . . . huge success in poor areas around the world,
. . . offering not just cleaner and more reliable power,
. . . but cheaper electricity, too.

5-3-2018 Source:  Off-grid #Solar]]> Thu, 03 May 2018 13:19:37 +0000 6d179945d495cfa31025c8a9299ec401 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/wind/follow-the-money-wind-r6390 . . . shows that the market value of electricity generated by offshore wind,
. . . will soon exceed its cost in New York, and
. . . several New England states.

Northeast Wind Center projects  says, this would create
. . . 36,300 full-time jobs, while New York expects a
. . . $6 billion in-state industry by 2028, and Massachusetts projects up to
. . . $800 million in direct economic impacts along with up to
. . . 3,170 job years from offshore wind in the next decade.

5-3-2018 Source:  Follow the #Money: Wind]]> Thu, 03 May 2018 12:58:28 +0000 7fe6f43b1fa74eaab7e0388b4c24c010 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/tesla-energy-storage-business-r6388 . . . has reinforced once again, the perception that,
. . . Puerto Rico needs radical re-organization of its grid.
The island suffered from years of cronyism, and
. . . incompetence, if not worse, in its power system.
The kind of micrograms promoted by Tesla, and others,
. . . may in fact be the only answer to the crumbling utilities grid system.

There have been discussions for Tesla to replace
. . . 40% of the grid's capacity with an enormous
. . . 4164 MW solar plant.
At current prices that would cost
. . . US$8.22 billion.
Whether or not Puerto Rico,
. . . could raise the funds to pay for that is a moot point.
. . . International aid agencies might well step in to assist.

4-30-2018 Source:  Tesla: #Energy Storage Business]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2018 17:55:36 +0000 4f8b5dedab6f650dbf1b2532aa11f646 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/solar-powered-water-from-thin-air-r6387 . . . Arizona-based Zero Mass Water, will test,
. . . 150 of its solar-powered SOURCE drinking water systems,
. . . showcasing its ability to produce:
. . . . . . clean,
. . . . . . renewable,
. . . . . . infrastructure-free drinking water,
. . . using solar power.

4-30-2018 Source:  #Solar powered: Water from thin air]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2018 12:29:29 +0000 f27a4f23a9840cbee6ccaa3194e86ea0 http://www.altenergyshift.com/page/blog/_/green-energy/solar/first-solar-thin-film-pv-factory-r6385 Thin film PV, can be produced through:
. . . . . . low cost,
. . . . . . fully automated, (Robots)
. . . . . . high output,
. . . . . . roll-to-roll systems.

4-28-2018 Source:  First #Solar:  Thin film PV Factory]]> Sat, 28 Apr 2018 13:48:40 +0000 7f4b18de3cfeb9b4ac78c381ee2ad278