Category: Renewable Energy

This month the Kings County Planning Commission approved three huge but modified solar projects that will sprawl over the westside of the county, flanking Highway 41 and the Avenal Cutoff — all part of the huge Westlands Solar Park project.

Westlands Solar Park (WSP) is a master-planned solar complex covering 21,000 acres in west-central Kings County — that featureless landscape that looks like it was an ancient lakebed — because it was. The developers are covering this flat land with a sea of solar panels that will soon stretch ‘wall to wall’ along both sides of the Avenal Cutoff for miles between NAS Lemoore and I-5. The 2018 Westlands Solar Park master plan calls for a total of 12 solar power generating facilities to be developed in a period of 12 years. The installed capacity of each solar farm near the Fresno/Kings county lines is planned to be up to 250MW. Already, six of the 12 projects have, or are in the process of being permitted- clustered near each other connected to the grid by a new tie-in line (Gates Gen-Tie). The 250MW WSP project called Aquamarine is expected to go on line this fall.

Westlands Grape Solar — a 250 megawatt alternating current solar farm that includes construction of an electrical substation and a large battery energy storage facility. Located on the northside of Nevada Avenue, the new solar farm is planned to be constructed over a 14-month period, starting in mid-2022, with completion scheduled for mid-2023. The facility will include approximately 250 battery storage units, larger than other WSP projects in the past.

The other two projects are already approved but are increasing the number of battery storage units as the state calls for more of the units to spread the impact of solar generation to the grid into the evening hours.

2. Westlands Chestnut Solar — The applicant is proposing to amend a previously approved Conditional Use Permit to allow for an increase in the area covered by battery storage units from approximately 2 acres to 6 acres and a central microwave communication tower up to 175 feet tall. The number of battery storage units will go from 44 to 150. The site is 24998 Nevada Avenue.

3. Westlands Blue Solar -The applicant is proposing to amend a previously approved Conditional use Permit and increase the permitted battery storage units from 84 units to 250 units covering 9 acres instead of 3 acres. The location is 25959 Laurel Avenue, Lemoore.

The Westlands Aquamarine project will sell 50MW to Valley Clean Energy Alliance, which executed a contract with WSP in early 2020. Valley Clean Energy is a locally-governed electricity provider for the California cities of Davis, Woodland, Winters and unincorporated portions of Yolo County. “We believe Westlands Solar Park is ideally positioned to be a leader in California’s program to reduce the state’s carbon footprint and meet its Renewable Portfolio Standards targets. With Aquamarine advancing to full operation before year-end, we are realizing our vision for Westlands Solar Park to become a major clean energy provider as well as meeting a significant commitment in our company’s ongoing sustainability program,” said Avi Shemesh, co-founder and principal, CIM Group. “With Aquamarine and the future phases of Westlands Solar Park, we also are bringing clean energy jobs to the region and generating revenue for the local government and area businesses. “With the imminent completion of Aquamarine, we are in active discussions with numerous entities to supply the clean energy that is critical to meeting the short- and long-term goals for renewable energy — vital to improving communities,” Shemesh said.

Aquamarine recently entered into a 75-MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with Santa Clara, joining other off-takers Anaheim Public Utility, and is currently negotiating additional PPAs with other potential counter parties. WSP has the capacity to grow to more than 2,700 MW of renewable energy at full buildout and the potential to provide clean energy to more than 1,200,000 homes.

https://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/around-kings-county-wall-to-wall-solar-plants-on-the-way/article_ba7d14c1-4c90-51be-afaa-c3d71c351471.html

AgLand Renewables LLC (AgLand), the California subsidiary of Maryland-based CleanBay Renewables Inc., has been selected by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to receive $1.7 million in tax credit from the highly competitive California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) program. With this support from the Governor’s office, AgLand can begin development of multiple bioconversion facilities in California that will directly support the state’s economic and environmental goals. “Attracting a company like AgLand Renewables to California is exactly why the CalCompetes program was created,” said Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director of GO-Biz. “Not only will AgLand Renewables create well-paying jobs and economic opportunity across the Central Valley, but its solution will help us reach California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals while simultaneously supporting the Governor’s healthy soils initiative.”

AgLand will deploy at least two facilities in the Central Valley, home of California’s vast poultry production industry, over the next five years. The facilities will use anerobic digestion and fertilizer formation technology to sustainably convert poultry litter into renewable natural gas (RNG) and organic, controlled-release fertilizers. “These state-of-the-art facilities will help grow California’s leadership in climate smart agriculture, scale-up healthy soils, recycle important nutrients in agriculture, and invest hundreds of millions within hard hit agricultural communities,” said Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “More than half a million tons of poultry litter is produced in the Central Valley each year, which, if uncontrolled, can release significant greenhouse gases and other emissions that negatively affect the local air, soil and water quality,” said Thomas Spangler, CleanBay Renewables Inc.’s Executive Chairman. “Our sustainable alternative use for poultry litter provides an immediate opportunity to enhance the economic value of the Central Valley’s agricultural industry while simultaneously helping the state meet its low carbon fuel standards and emissions reduction goals.”

By converting more than 150,000 tons of chicken litter annually, each facility can generate more than 750,000 MMBtus of renewable natural gas, 100,000 tons of organic, controlled-release fertilizer, and an estimated 500,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent emission abatement that will be available for purchase in carbon markets. “The projects will provide a long-term, sustainable source of renewable transportation fuels and organic fertilizers that will provide a substantial reduction in climate pollutants and improve soil health in California,” said Donal Buckley, CleanBay Renewables Inc.’s CEO. “Further, our direct investment of over $1 billion will provide much needed economic benefits to the Central Valley, creating dozens of new well-paying full-time jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs through construction and supply-chain needs.”

The proposed site locations in Kings and Merced Counties, were identified with support from the GO-Biz Business Investment Services team. Both facilities are projected to be fully operational by 2024. AgLand is exploring other measures to further reduce its carbon footprint, including co-located solar power fields and microgrid technologies as well as the production of alternative fuels such as green hydrogen.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210621005452/en/AgLand-Renewables-Receives-California-Competes-Tax-Credit/?feedref=JjAwJuNHiystnCoBq_hl-Ypx8OuIA-qqxXAfOC1go22PU1fv-fCAtwybrddq94az7dI9_69nqXXndEkzoNy31peBvhKXN8xoKDPrCnMXhC58cMd5Jhr97vTYoLZQbGkSFja_QkRbjKVqSkUPuEMBEw==

Denmar U.S. is proposing to build and operate a new, state-of-the-art export facility for American natural soda ash at the Port of Stockton, California. This facility will represent a robust and lasting investment in Stockton and San Joaquin County, helping the Port grow the local economy while ensuring Denmar can help meet the global demand for a domestically-produced, naturally occurring product.

Soda ash is an essential raw material used most frequently in the manufacturing of glass, as well as detergents, electric car batteries, and other household products. Used in manufacturing for more than 5,000 years, Denmar’s American natural soda ash is derived from Green River, WY in the largest natural deposit of soda ash in the world.

Our goal is to build a modern, safe and reliable export facility to help meet the growing global demand for American natural soda ash. Ideally located to reach global markets, the Port of Stockton offers existing infrastructure that will allow us to operate a facility with enough capacity to meet the demand for this important domestic commodity. To ensure the project moves forward supporting local jobs, Denmar U.S. entered into a Letter-Of-Intent with the San Joaquin Building Trades Council for construction and will hire locally from Stockton’s strong workforce.

https://denmarus.com/

The Visalia Industrial Park snagged another high profile company this week as residential solar installer Sunrun agreed to lease a 300,000 square-foot industrial building on Riggin Avenue, across from Amazon. The building is one of two twin, tilt-up buildings recently completed by Visalia contractor BJ Perch and are ready for occupancy.

The buildings are owned by YS Buildings, LLC of Los Angeles. Agent for the company Freddie Molina says he has a signed agreement with the solar firm, which wants to start moving into the building right away. Molina continues to be active in building “spec buildings” — constructed before a tenant commits — in the Visalia Industrial park and plans more.

Molina says Sunrun will distribute solar panels and battery storage units used on homes across California. As for the number of jobs, no number has been confirmed. At least for now, Sunrun is not returning phone calls seeking more information. Both Fresno and Visalia brag they are strategically located mid-state to reach the Western US market in 2/3 days by ground transportation and one day to reach both the Bay Area and Southland. But Visalia had the availability of a large distribution building ready to lease — unlike Fresno, where supply is said to be limited.

Bay Area-based Sunrun is one of the nation’s top solar companies and the residential installation leader said to control about 25% of the market, according to Barron’s. Besides rooftop panels, the company now sells its rechargeable solar battery system, Brightbox, as of last year. Another recent development: In late 2020 the company announced the purchase of former rival Vivint Solar. Sunrun recently said it has more than 550,000 customers and an 18% year over year improvement including Vivint Solar. Besides installation of these energy units, SunRun is the largest provider of third-party-system finance for solar in the US.

Sunrun argues home owners will be better off with solar. “In December, PG&E, the largest utility in California, announced that customers will be hit with an average rate increase of 8%. Just this month many homeowners in Texas have been surprised with skyrocketing bills, many over $10,000. Utility rates have been increasing across the country, with retail rates in our markets increasing 3% per year on average for the last 15 year.”

In their most recent financial report, Sunrun raised its installed growth rate estimate to 25-30% for the year, and said that “the strong momentum that we saw in the fourth quarter has continued into 2021.” Sunrun maintained its position as the largest residential solar installer in the U.S. in the last quarter of 2019.

https://thebusinessjournal.com/solar-firm-selects-south-valley-for-300000-square-foot-warehouse/

One of the nation’s fastest-growing solar energy companies has helped thousands across five different states make the switch to solar since it was founded in 2017, and its home office is right here in Turlock. Solar Energy Partners was first started four years ago by brothers Alex and Clint Williams along with Dave Madrid, who each had decades of experience in the solar industry already. The company offers a “white glove” service in researching, comparing, selecting and installing residential solar panels for customers, saving homeowners nearly $118 million since they first began.

In 2014, TID set a 5% cap for installed net metering meaning that once the limit was hit, new solar installations no longer qualified for the previous net metering program, which includes the opportunity to aggregate multiple solar systems or being netted on an annual basis.  “In Turlock, there are two groups of people who have solar,” Williams said. “They’re either in that original 5%, or they’re someone who wasn’t as worried about the economics of it and wanted solar so that they could be a part of the solution. Or, they’re just tech-savvy and want the latest solar technology. “Solar isn’t just the smarter way to do power financially for a lot of people, it’s the smarter way to do it period.”

The company is also constantly recruiting employees for its rapidly expanding business, with most making up to $100,000 per year according to Williams. Projections from Allied Market Research predict that the solar industry should reach $223.3 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20.5% from 2019 to 2026.

While most looking to switch to solar energy are hoping for quick savings, Williams encouraged them to look at the long-term picture. “If you switch to solar because you want your bill to be lower next month you might be disappointed, but if you look at it on a longer scale the savings are there,” Williams said, noting most solar panels last up to 30 years. “Of course, on the 30-year scale there’s still a huge economic benefit to it, but the reality is that going solar is just the right thing to do. “If everybody just did the right thing, what kind of world would we live in?”

https://www.turlockjournal.com/news/local/turlock-based-solar-company-expanding-quickly-meet-demand/

The city of Fresno is partnering with Fresno Community Solar Developers LLC to build Fresno’s first solar farm. “This is exactly the kind of project that is used across the country as an example of what a green economy can look like,” said Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias.

The solar farm will be located on 158 acres of city-owned land near Jensen and Polk avenues, pending final approval from the California Public Utilities Commission. “We have successfully attracted the support of PG&E, and we expect that the California Public Utilities Commission will follow through and also support the project, making it completely operational within a year,” said Arias. The construction of the solar farm and the next 40 years of operation is funded by $20 million of private investment money.

Arias said the plan is one year in the making, and will benefit the city in multiple ways, like reducing pollution and providing 20 years of energy savings for local families with eligible incomes. “It is expected to be part of the Disadvantaged Community Green Tariff Program. That simply means that people that live in this area, there will be hundreds of people, who are able to save 20% on their energy bill,” said Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer. “Every year, over a million dollars passed on to people who live in many of these disadvantaged neighborhoods.” Arias said the solar farm will also bring much-needed job opportunities to the city of Fresno. “We’re also purposely and intentionally going to recruit and train 50 residents in west Fresno to build the solar farm, operate the solar farm,” said Arias, “which will give them the skill set to go to other green economy jobs in the area.”

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/city-leaders-say-fresnos-first-solar-farm-with-benefit-residents-environmentally-and-economically/