North America

The volume of U.S. electricity generated by renewable energy is set to surpass the level sourced from coal for the first time this month and the trend is expected to continue in May, according to Department of Energy data.

In late January 2019, California’s largest investor-owned utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) declared bankruptcy for the second time, causing anxiety for investors, ratepayers, employees, PPA holders, elected government officials and, lest we forget, fire and gas explosion victims. Judge Alsup, who is overseeing PG&E’s probation from its felony conviction, lambasted the company for violating its probation. “To my mind, there’s a very clear-cut pattern here: that PG&E is starting these fires,” Alsup said. “What do we do? Does the judge just turn a blind eye and say, ‘PG&E continue your business as usual. Kill more people by starting more fires.”

California utility PG&E has tested levels of residential solar power up to 100% penetration, and how to mitigate the effects of voltage and thermal overload via smart inverters and traditional transformer and circuit upgrades — with smart inverters shown to allow for up to 100% penetration at cost-effective pricing.

While Ford is known in the United States for its gas-guzzling pickup trucks, the vehicle manufacturer cannot circumvent the global trend towards e-mobility. The market for large electric pickup trucks could be there as Canada dashed ahead with a federal EV sales target, that aspires 100% EV sales in 2040.

The EV, energy storage and solar company deployed only 47 MW of solar during Q1, as Tesla moves away from traditional sales methods towards web-based sales for its products.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory have found a mechanism for creating a charge in molecular materials. The findings, say the team, could lead to new approaches in the design of PV devices.

Utility SaskPower has closed the request for qualification phase for a 10 MW plant which prompted 22 applications from 13 companies. The province wants 60 MW of renewables by 2021. The tender for a first PV plant of the same size was finalized by SaskPower in June.

Dominion is building three solar projects and acquiring two more completed plants the U.S. states of Virginia and North Carolina. Add in one recently completed project, and the utility will be supplying 350 MWac to feed Facebook’s desire for emissions-free electricity.

The state grid operator has shown that for most of the period between 1:50 PM and 3:05 PM on Sunday, more carbon emission-free electricity than users demanded was generated in its region.

Senator and 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren has announced plans for a targeted expansion of renewable energy development on public lands along with a moratorium on new fossil fuel leases.