Halpaa aurinkosähköä USAssa: alle 0.03 EUR/kWh

Arizona utility Tucson Electric Power (TEP) said this week that it will buy solar energy at a historically low price from a new local system large enough to power 21,000 homes.
The 100-MW solar array and an accompanying 30-MW energy storage system are expected to be in service by the end of 2019. TEP said that, excluding the cost of storage, it will buy the system’s output for 20 years for less than $0.03/kWh — less than half as much as it agreed to pay under similar contracts in recent years.
“This new local system combines cost-effective energy production with cutting edge energy storage, helping us provide sustainable, reliable and affordable service to all of our customers for decades to come,” Carmine Tilghman, senior director of energy supply and renewable energy for TEP, said in a May 22 statement.  [rew]

Ranska rakentaa 17 GW uusiutuvaa energiaa

It has been announced last week that EU has approved France’s plan to develop three different schemes for the expansion of around 17 GW of onshore wind, solar, and sewage gas installations in the country.

The onshore wind scheme will require a potential budget of €1 billion per year, and will offer support for 15GW of new capacity during the next 10 years.
The projects, which will take the form of what is called a premium on top of the market price, are likely to be small projects, offering backing to operators of small-scale onshore installations of no more than 6 wind turbines with a capacity of maximum 3 MW.

The solar support scheme is a scheme for small-scale solar PV installations (below 100 kilowatt) on building roofs. These installations will obtain a feed-in tariff over 20 years and the premium on top of the market will change depending on the size and the business model – injecting the electricity back into the grid or consuming part of it. Around 2.1 GW of small-scale solar power is expected to be created through the scheme.

The final scheme - sewage gas support scheme - could supply 160 MW of projects, most of them of less than 1 MW in size. Even though the scheme will be open to bigger installations, it is more likely that the support is given to small-scale installations. The more than 500 kW installations will get a backing in the form of a premium on top of the market price for a period of 20 years, but installations under 500 kilowatts will obtain a feed-in tariff over 20 years.

Bernerille moitteet oikeuskanslerilta

Oikeuskanslerinvirasto antoi eilen päätöksensä valituksiin min Anne BERNERin toiminnasta Finavian-tapauksessa. Päätöksessään oikeuskansleri

• Toteaa, että valtio-omistaja oli kieltänyt Finavian hallitusta etenemästä kanneasiassa.
• Katsoo Bernerin puuttuneen Finavian operatiiviseen toimintaa, mikä on ristiriidassa valtion omistajaohjauksen periaatteiden kanssa.
• Kiinnittää huomiota samoihin puutteisiin kuin VVT viime kesänä.
• Moittii siitä, että Finavian hallitukselta pimitettiin kaksi asiantuntijalausuntoa.

Vihreiden ministeri Heidi Hautala sai potkut 2013 vähäisemmästä rikkeestä.

15% katto sähkönsiirron korotuksiin

Valtioneuvoston tänään eduskunnalle antaman esityksen mukaan sähkömarkkinalakiin ja maakaasumarkkinalakiin lisätään säännökset, jotka rajoittavat sähkön ja maakaasun siirto- ja jakelumaksujen kohtuuttomia korotuksia. Maksuihin tulisi vuotuinen 15 prosentin korotuskatto. Korotuskatto ei oikeuta toistuviin 15 prosentin korotuksiin.  [kl]