Author Archives: Frank Andorka

Saving The Bees: The Vital Role Solar Might Play In Keeping Them Alive

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Over the past decade or so, bumble bee populations in the United States have diminished considerably thanks to a phenomenon called “colony collapse” (the author was the editorial director of Pest Management Professional during the height of the controversy).

Most environmental activists have blamed neonicotinoid pesticides (neonicotinoids act like nerve gas on insects and yes, as the name implies they are based on tobacco-like substances), though scientists could never definitively back that up.

Well, the Department of Energy (DOE) is on it.

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According to the DOE e-news service, “DOE Argonne National Laboratory researchers hope that [the United States] can rehabilitate bee and butterfly populations by allowing them to live at solar energy facilities.” To wit:

A team of Argonne researchers has been examining the potential benefits of establishing pollinator habitat at utility-scale solar energy (USSE) facilities to conserve pollinators and restore the ecosystem they provide. Looking at over 2,800 existing and planned USSE facilities in the contiguous United States, researchers in Argonne’s Environmental Science (EVS) division have found that the area around solar panels could provide an ideal location for the plants that attract pollinators.

The researchers point out that the land around utility-scale solar developments often goes unused and could provide the perfect scenario to grow bee-friendly native foliage and plants that would allow bees to thrive without affecting solar plant efficiency.

(There’s a really cool interactive map in the article itself that shows how much utility-scale solar is planned in each state as it relates to how much pollinator-dependent agriculture there is.)

And this statistic made my jaw drop:

[Two researchers] looked at three example crop types to measure the agricultural benefits of increased pollinator habitat. These crops – soybeans, almonds and cranberries – depend on insect pollinators for their annual crop yields. If all existing and planned solar facilities near these crop types included pollinator habitat and increased yield by just one percent, crop values could rise $1.75 million, $4 million and $233,000 for soybeans, almonds and cranberries, respectively.

With that kind of environmental impact, it should give pause to those who argue solar is eating up agricultural land that could otherwise be cultivated. Instead, it could be argued that having a solar array near farms could actually improve crop yields and the overall value of the farm itself.

It should be noted that companies like Connexus Energy and Cypress Creek Renewables are already putting in these types of pollinator-friendly solar arrays – here’s hoping other utility-scale developers will follow their lead.

More:

Can solar energy save the bees?

Op-Ed Argues In Favor Of More Robust Louisiana RPS

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The key to a booming Louisiana solar industry is a stronger renewable portfolio standard (RPS), according to an op-ed written a solar advocate from the Natural Resources Defense Council in The Lens, a newspaper focusing on New Oreleans and the Gulf Coast of the state.

After discussing the benefits of community solar and a place for it in the electricity generation mix of the Pelican State, author Kevin Fitzwilliam then proceeds to argue that a strong RPS is necessary to drive solar development in the state, a fact so obvious it’s hard to even believe it needs to be said (but apparently it does, and kudos to Fitzwilliam for saying it.

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The op-ed reopens a discussion that was closed in 2013 after several studies determined that a mandatory RPS wasn’t needed, according to the solar regulatory clearinghouse DSIRE. Researchers at DSIRE wrote:

Three major reasons given not to pursue an RPS were 1) that renewable energy generation is more expensive than conventional energy generation, 2) that rising natural gas prices have put renewables at a cost disadvantage, and 3) that federal interest in mandatory RPS goals appeared to be limited at the time.

That last is a particularly strange argument, given that on almost every other issue, federal attitudes about anything would be roundly ignored in Louisiana politics. But now, according to Fitzwilliam, the first two arguments have fallen away, too. He writes:

The bad news is that Louisiana doesn’t have the mandate to develop renewables that is brightening Minnesota’s energy future. And without one, there is no top-down pressure on utilities to get smart about solar.

Without such pressure, Fitzwilliam argues, Louisiana will never be able to get the robust community solar market it both deserves and needs. As he concludes:

Today’s U.S. electric grid has 50 times as much solar energy as was available in 2007, and community solar is helping to grow that amount. As more states across the country adopt legislation mandating renewable energy, community solar will become more commonplace. With all our abundant sunshine, it’s time for Louisiana to come off the sidelines and get in the game.

We couldn’t agree more with Fitzwilliam. It’s time for Louisiana to take another look at a mandatory RPS before it falls far behind its fellow southern states in the Solar Revolution.

More:

Leap to solar in Louisiana requires mandating that utilities use renewables

DSIRE: Louisiana

Alliant Energy Pledges To Eliminate Coal From Its Portfolio By 2050

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Days after announcing it would pay $110 million to get out of a contract that required it to buy power from an Iowa nuclear plant, Alliant Energy announced it was planning to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% and eliminate coal from its portfolio by 2050.

The Madison, Wisconsin-based utility that serves Iowa in addition to its home state made the announcement in its corporate sustainability report.

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The company says it plans to spend $2 billion on new renewable investments including wind and solar, including doubling the number of wind sites from six to 12 (some of which, as we reported last week, will go to offset the retirement of the nuclear plant). They also pledged that renewables would make up 30% of the utility’s total generation portfolio by 2030.

Alliant Energy Chairman and CEO Patricia Kampling said:

Alliant Energy is acting today to create a better tomorrow for our customers and communities,” said “We are transforming our energy fleet with an eye on customer cost, carbon reduction and providing cleaner and reliable power to the communities we serve.

One of the most interesting parts of the press release announcing the plan was this:

These actions will enable Alliant Energy to exceed carbon reduction goals pledged originally by the U.S. under the voluntary United Nations Paris Accord. While the Accord calls for reducing carbon 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, Alliant Energy’s plans enable a 40 percent reduction by that time.

It also announced Dubuque community solar garden is the first Envision® Platinum-rated solar project in the nation.

The bottom line is this: Clearly, President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Accord has not stopped the U.S. business community – including utilities directly affected by the greenhouse-gas emission targets – from continuing efforts to make sure those goals are met and (in the case of Alliant Energy, for example) exceeded. And the clean energy revolution, whether that’s wind or solar, is continuing along below the surface without no signs of abating.

Maybe it’s time for the federal government to realize that it’s time to stop fighting rearguard actions to save underperforming and ill-performing coal and nuclear plants. It’s simple really; all they’d have to do is follow Alliant Energy’s lead.

Vivint Solar Enters Midwest For First Time, Taking Advantage Of Growing Illinois Market

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Look out, Minnesota. Illinois just landed another major residential solar installer – they just may be coming for your title as the leading solar state in the Midwest.

Vivint Solar, following in the footsteps of its competitor Sunrun, decided to take the plunge into the Illinois market yesterday, citing low solar penetration numbers and high levels of governmental support as the reasons they joined the fray.

Earlier this year, the Illinois Power Agency approved the Long Term Renewables Resources Procurement Plan (the Plan), which most observers believe will accelerate solar adoption in the state, including at the residential level.

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Vivint Solar CEO David Bywater said in a release announcing the move:

With a supportive regulatory environment and broad enthusiasm toward clean energy, Illinois is a very promising market for rooftop solar. In particular, we are thrilled to begin operations in Chicago, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. where we did not yet have a presence. We believe this state has tremendous potential to become a strong clean energy hub, and we look forward to helping residents embrace solar energy and enjoy greater control over their electricity costs.

The company added that it plans to add 100 jobs in the state within the year.

Now about that Minnesota/Illinois emerging rivalry. Without question, Minnesota has long been the Midwest leader in solar development, particularly through its community solar program, which is among the best designed and executed in the country. But with the Plan now in place, Illinois is coming fast. As I wrote at the time of its passage:

As the Midwest has moved – often glacially – toward its own solar future, most observers have pegged Minnesota as the early leader that has stood clearly head and shoulders above all the other states in the region. But I believe that as the Plan moves forward that it won’t be long before Minnesota is looking over its shoulder to see Illinois quickly approaching.

Vivint Solar’s decision to move into the Land of Lincoln just reinforces my belief that it will soon be competing for the title of most progressive Midwest solar state.