February 12 NEC Energy News
¶ “Mother Of All Agrivoltaics Projects Will Link Solar Canopies, Irrigation Canals” • One example of how farming combines with solar PVs is the Turlock Irrigation District in California, which just announced a new agrivoltaics project that could give the state multiple gigawatts of solar power, by outfitting irrigation canals with solar panels. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Energy Department Invests $6 Billion Into Nuclear Energy Program, Including 4 Nuclear Locations In Virginia” • The DOE announced a $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit Program to support US nuclear reactors. According to the DOE, nuclear power now provides 52% of the nation’s carbon-free electricity. (The figure shows the DOE is not using its own latest data.) [WAVY.com]
¶ “IG: ‘Fraudulent’ Parts At US Nuclear Plants Pose Safety Risk” • A report by the NRC Inspector General says that “counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items” believed to be in US reactors “present nuclear safety and security concerns that could have serious consequences for nuclear power plant equipment required to perform a safety function.” [E&E News]
¶ “Amazon Deforestation: Record High Destruction Of Trees In January” • The number of trees cut down in January in the Brazilian Amazon far exceeded deforestation for January of last year, according to government satellite data. The area destroyed was five times larger than 2021, the highest January total since records began in 2015. [BBC]
¶ “Glut Of Solar Panels In 2025” • Rethink Energy predicts that there will be a surge of polysilicon production capacity coming online in the next two years, leading to a glut of solar panels by 2025. The solar panel production capacity is expected to exceed 1,000 GW per year by 2030. The initial wave of manufacturing facilities is to come in 2025. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “PG&E Customers Receive 93% Of Their Electricity From Greenhouse Gas-Free Resources” • PG&E estimates that 50% of its customers’ electricity in 2021 came from eligible-renewable resources including biopower, geothermal, small hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. The figure is 93% when nuclear and large hydroelectric power are included. [Yahoo Finance]
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