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    Texas bets big on solar energy as massive grid powers up

    http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/06/...powers-up.html

    A co-op program for solar farms, not a bad idea. I do love me some market driven Renewable energy. I do think it's silly not to write contracts on the usage, if for no other reason than to be able to estimate income and maintenance costs.

    El Paso Electric customers now have access to the largest community solar grid in the state of Texas. The three-megawatt facility has 33 thousand solar panels in a 21-acre facility next to El Paso Electric’s (EPE) natural gas power plant.





    The community solar pilot program is subscriber based and is currently maxed out at 1,500 customers with an additional 500 customers on a waiting list. It’s meant for people who are interested in using solar power but don’t want or can’t have panels on their homes.

    “Utility community solar programs have proven to be successful around the nation as electric utilities are able to utilize cost effective utility-scale solar resources in developing customer offerings, and EPE is excited to bring this new program to our community,” now-retired EL Paso Electric CEO Tom Schokley said in a statement when the company first filed for the pilot program.

    The price per kilowatt is fixed at $20.96. Subscribers must receive one kilowatt but can add to their subscription in half-kilowatt increments. Solar is more expensive than traditional power but EPE representatives believe solar subscribers will save money in the long run. They said the price of solar is guaranteed and won’t go up if traditional power prices rise, and the price may go down when more people subscribe; spreading maintenance costs to more people.

    EPE expects the first few months of the program to be extremely successful thanks to El Paso’s long, hot and sunny days. However they said there could be a drop off in the winter when the days are shorter and there are more frequent storms.

    EPE filed for approval in June of 2015. They began construction in November 2016, allowed customers to enroll in March 2017, were fully subscribed in April and brought the facility online last week.



    “This is actually one of the first facilities where we actually now own it. And now with our customers voluntarily being part of that program it becomes a program I think our customers will be proud to see,” said Eddie Gutierrez, El Paso Electric’s spokesman.

    Solar fields have been challenged on their safety to wildlife. Some have been known to cook birds mid-air if they flew over the panels on a hot day. But representatives for EPE say that their facility does not reflect heat because they used a thin film that does not have the reflective properties of older solar panels.

    The panels are automated and tilt to follow the sun throughout the day. The DC power they produce is sent to a converter where is comes out AC, then it’s converted to the proper voltage through a transformer, through two safety checks and into the grid.

    There is no contract for the program so customers can get out if they don’t like it. If customers move within El Paso, they can take their solar subscription with them. The program is only for EPE’s Texas customers but they are planning a solar facility for their New Mexico customers.

  2. #2
    But whut about duh oil workarz?!

    OMG, TRUMP, SAVE US FROM THE EVIL SUN!!!!!

  3. #3
    The Lightbringer bladeXcrasher's Avatar
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    Good to see Texas leading the way. Hopefully other countries can learn by our example.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by bladeXcrasher View Post
    Good to see Texas leading the way. Hopefully other countries can learn by our example.
    Well, I mean... It's good to hope that other countries, who aren't investing in solar energy, and who have the potential to do so, will follow suite, but it's not Texas, or the United States, that is leading by example. More like China, and Texas is following their example.

    Finland has a whole lot of these apartment buildings with level roofs, and that's a lot of space that could be utilized to power at least those specific buildings. Roof access is a problem though, since it's typically just a really tall ladder on the side of said building. Other than that, we don't really have much unused open areas to harness the power of the Sun with. I do hope though, that we, too, move towards more forms of renewable and clean energy in the near future.
    Last edited by mmoc3ff0cc8be0; 2017-06-07 at 01:00 AM.

  5. #5
    Well Texas is really the best place to do this stuff, unfortunately for many of us living in the civilized world (not super sunny places like Texas), fossil fuels are extremely more economical.

    That being said, the idea that theres places full of deserts like California and Texas where there aren't stupid amounts of these things seems silly.

  6. #6
    Nice! Hopefully, Europe can follow Texa's example.

  7. #7
    Moderator Crissi's Avatar
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    We also have huge wind farms too! (Thanks T Boon Pickens)

    Although watch all the jobs just up and wooosh with certain bills that our idiot Governor are trying to pass. "herpa derp we dun care bout business and jobs. We wanna pass bad things duuuuuuur".

    So I wouldnt count on Texas being some kind of business and energy leader for the future.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mittens View Post
    Nice! Hopefully, Europe can follow Texa's example.
    The latest data from 2016 indicates that the US has a total of 40300MW of installed capacity. This new grid has a capacity of 3MW. An addition of 3MW to a total capacity of over 40GW is a pittance. Since you mentioned Europe, however, here are some European figures for you;

    Germany: 41200MW
    Italy: 19300MW
    UK: 11600MW
    France: 7100MW
    Spain: 5500MW
    Belgium: 3420MW
    Greece: 2600MW
    Czechia: 2100MW
    Netherlands: 2100MW
    Switzerland: 1640MW
    Romania: 1300MW
    Austria: 1080MW
    Bulgaria: 1000MW
    Denmark: 900MW
    Sweden: 180MW
    Finland: 15MW

    Texas: +3MW (I have no idea how much there was before)

    So, I mean... Great job Texas. Nothing to be an "example" to Europe on, though.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Sydänyö View Post
    Well, I mean... It's good to hope that other countries, who aren't investing in solar energy, and who have the potential to do so, will follow suite, but it's not Texas, or the United States, that is leading by example. More like China, and Texas is following their example.

    Finland has a whole lot of these apartment buildings with level roofs, and that's a lot of space that could be utilized to power at least those specific buildings. Roof access is a problem though, since it's typically just a really tall ladder on the side of said building. Other than that, we don't really have much unused open areas to harness the power of the Sun with. I do hope though, that we, too, move towards more forms of renewable and clean energy in the near future.
    be more like china.... with their exponentially RISING emissions compared to the US and its decreasing emissions. seems legit.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Oblivion View Post
    more like china.... with their exponentially RISING emissions compared to the US and decreasing emissions. seems legit.
    True, China does pollute. However, they do have twice the solar energy capacity of the United States, though, at 78100MW.

  11. #11
    Moderator Crissi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Oblivion View Post
    be more like china.... with their exponentially RISING emissions compared to the US and its decreasing emissions. seems legit.
    To be fair, we were in their same place late 1800's to early 1900's. When a nation is in transition, it tends to crank every industry up to 11, resulting in a bunch of pollution. I think now China is realizing what we eventually realized, and will be transitioning to more varied, healthier alternatives.

    Progress of a nationa.

  12. #12
    The Lightbringer Dr Assbandit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sydänyö View Post
    True, China does pollute. However, they do have twice the solar energy capacity of the United States, though, at 78100MW.
    I believe they were also thinking of starting eco homes with greenery embedded in the building so it would be a literal concrete jungle in some areas to help with pollution.
    "It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum... and I'm all outta ass."

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  13. #13
    Moderator Crissi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sydänyö View Post
    True, China does pollute. However, they do have twice the solar energy capacity of the United States, though, at 78100MW.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_Texas

    so we have several hundred actually (and that was in 2015 as last entry. We could have a lot more by now).

  14. #14
    Elemental Lord callipygoustp's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bladeXcrasher View Post
    Good to see Texas leading the way. Hopefully other countries can learn by our example.
    That is funny.

    Here are the Top 10 US Solar States (4/15/2016)

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Crissi View Post
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_Texas

    so we have several hundred actually (and that was in 2015 as last entry. We could have a lot more by now).
    That's good to see. Still nothing to throw shade on the whole of Europe with, though, as some people seemed to be doing, but definitely a great thing. I only noticed the +3MW from the article, and it didn't seem like that much to me.

    Unfortunately, Finland isn't exactly an industry leader in solar power, but as said, we can't really put these kinds of farms anywhere, without leveling several hectares of forest. Though, the rooftops might work, if only the funds to do something like that were there. Of course, being that Finland is rather high up in latitude, much higher than the United States - I think US ends at like latitude of 46, while Finland starts from almost 60 - it would mean that most power generation would take place during summer months. Still, I mean, should be a benefit.
    Last edited by mmoc3ff0cc8be0; 2017-06-07 at 01:51 AM.

  16. #16
    Moderator Crissi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jettisawn View Post
    Not under the current administration. It's seems set on making any renewable less viable.
    Well most of this is done by private businesses so whatever Trump does should have little effect.

    Its completely dependent on if Lt Gov Patrick and Gov Abbot want to be complete jackasses like they currently want to be.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Sydänyö View Post
    Well, I mean... It's good to hope that other countries, who aren't investing in solar energy, and who have the potential to do so, will follow suite, but it's not Texas, or the United States, that is leading by example. More like China, and Texas is following their example.

    Finland has a whole lot of these apartment buildings with level roofs, and that's a lot of space that could be utilized to power at least those specific buildings. Roof access is a problem though, since it's typically just a really tall ladder on the side of said building. Other than that, we don't really have much unused open areas to harness the power of the Sun with. I do hope though, that we, too, move towards more forms of renewable and clean energy in the near future.
    Scandinavian countries are more into hydroelectricity and windfarms, and to some extent, nuclear in Sweden\Finland.

    Take Norway for example;
    Norway is known for its particular expertise in the development of efficient, environment-friendly hydroelectric power plants. Nationwide installed capacity of hydropower amounted to 29 GW in 2007. The maximum working volume of hydro storage power plants is 82 TWh, whereas the average seasonal cycle is 42 TWh. In 2008, hydroelectricity generated 141 terawatt-hours (TWh) and accounted for 98.5% of the national electricity demand. This was also 4.3 percent of the worldwide generated hydropower and according to the IEA, Norway ranked 6th for that year, behind China, Canada, Brazil, the United States and Russia.
    Solar power is on the rise, but seeing how the weather up here is complete shit most of the time with rain, snow, ice and whatnot, its probably better for us to stick to wind and rain since we got plenty of that.

    -----

    Quote Originally Posted by Mittens View Post
    Nice! Hopefully, Europe can follow Texa's example.

    Well, I dunno man. Seems like Europe is doing fairly well for itself.

    https://www.statkraft.com/IR/stock-e...tral-norway--/

    Statkraft, TrønderEnergi and the European investor consortium Nordic Wind Power DA will join forces to realise Europe's largest onshore wind power project in Central-Norway, comprising six onshore wind farms, with a combined capacity of 1000MW. The total investment in the wind farms amounts to approximately EUR 1.1bn. Construction will commence in Q2 2016 and commissioning will be completed in 2020.
    Last edited by Hoofey; 2017-06-07 at 02:17 AM.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Mittens View Post
    Nice! Hopefully, Europe can follow Texa's example.


    Europe is already way way way ahead of the USA on these things but good try

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by The Oblivion View Post
    be more like china.... with their exponentially RISING emissions compared to the US and its decreasing emissions. seems legit.
    They have 4 times our population, emit less pollution per person than we do and are in the transitional phase of their economy unlike us who are a fully developed modern economy. But don't let silly things like facts stop you keep on ranting about evil China.

  20. #20
    Bloodsail Admiral Moxal's Avatar
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    Good to hear. Though, come August, I am fairly certain that Texas is about 15 minutes from the surface of the sun.
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