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EGEB: German ‘citizen energy cos’ win 96% of wind auction, ‘free’ energy storage, solar at 2%, more

Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

Germany’s First Onshore Wind Auction Brings Low Prices for Citizen-Owned Projects – Community projects — wind farms owned directly by citizens — made up 93% of the winning bids (65) or 96% of the volume – Locals are pooling resources to build energy. This document from 2014 – presents that there were close to 1,000 citizen owned projects and that those citizens represent 50% of all renewable ownership in the country. These numbers line up with what I’ve read in the past. You wonder why Germans approve paying some of the highest rates of electricity in the developed world? 50% of that green energy tax and electricity revenue goes back to the people – not international conglomerates or energy utilities. Voters like concrete paychecks versus distant financiers. Solar power and wind jobs – same thing. Side note – 1.7 million personal solar systems and greater than 50,000 battery systems. Cost of capital from regular folk much cheaper than investor groups – risk tolerances higher.

US 1st Qtr electricity generation from the EIA – 41% of electricity is c02 free – up almost 10%, Solar at 2% of March – up 36% (expected 2.1%+ total annual electricity – a 56%+ increase), coal use up 5%, total electricity generation down 2.3%, total electricity sector emissions down est. 3.3%(estimate based upon all coal based energy at 2.2lbs/kWh and gas at 1.2lbs/kWh). We’ve managed to get cleaner per kWh and totals in total emissions – even while coal use increased 5%. If it wasn’t for all the nuclear closing so soon, I’d be trying to figure out when we’d hit 50% CO2 free as a nation.

Solar power stats integrated into the California Regional MLS (industry standard real estate database) – another SunShot initiative – Over the course of 6 months and several meetings, Berkeley Lab and its partners—the Real Estate Standard Organization, researchers, and practitioners in the real estate, appraisal, and solar industries—developed standards for accurately capturing key solar system characteristics in MLSs – The valuation of solar is different from a new kitchen or a bathroom – $/kWh over several decades. If that is clearly communicated to real estate professionals – than buyers will value it better.

Resettling the First American ‘Climate Refugees’ – $48 million for Isle de Jean Charles, is something new: the first allocation of federal tax dollars to move an entire community struggling with the impacts of climate change – This is the definition of an externality. Fossil fuel sources were just given an extra $50 million for free. Taken from the American tax payer. This is part of the $5.3 trillion a year fossil fuels get annually.

Free energy storage offered to ‘overlooked’ C&I businesses – ‘Omnio’s engineering team will work with host businesses’ site management teams to install batteries free of charge at proposed sites. These will then provide a peak shifting service and charge when energy prices are low before discharging when they are at their peak to generate savings across the business. Omnio will then use the installs to provide ancillary services to the grid to create revenue and fund the fleet of 50kW energy storage devices.’ – If this is anything like leasing solar panels to residential customers in the early on – expect mad growth through financial wizardry.

China’s Clean Energy Ambition Floats on Abandoned Coal Mine – Showing this link mainly for the first image (and header image on today’s EGEB). The process of construction seems to involve the copper being rolled out constantly while adding floating plastic pieces underneath, and assembling. This seems like a process that can easily scale – seems simple in process. I am very interested in this product now.

Earlier this year, Automakers began work to convince Trump to let them sell more gas-guzzling cars instead of electric vehicles.13 Attorney Generals have stated their intentions to sue the Trump Administration if he follows through with requests –

These poll results are borne out by the general population’s investment in residential solar power –

Header Image: Sungrow employees assemble a grid of specially designed floats that will support the world’s largest floating solar project, on a lake that was created by land collapsing into abandoned coal mines, in Liulong, China, June 4, 2017. The provincial government wants to expand the project to more than a dozen sites, which collectively would produce the same power as a nuclear reactor. (Adam Dean/The New York Times)

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