Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, Sourcing Renewables  -  July 27, 2019

Weekend reads: RE at 50% by 2030?; Solar in space

It's the weekend! Kick back and catch up with these don't-miss articles from around the web:

NextEra Energy Predicts 50% Renewable Energy In US By 2030 (Clean Technica)  At its June meeting with investors, NextEra Energy presented the audience with 235 colorful slides concerning the financial health of the company. Many of them were identical to the slides presented at the last such meeting in May. One was substantially different, however. In May, the company presented a slide based on data supplied by IHS Markit for calendar year 2017. It showed the United States would get 25% of its electricity from renewable energy resources by 2030. 

The billion-dollar battery boom  (PV Magazine)  We live in a highly electrified world, one that is only expanding on the penetration of electrification. It should come as no surprise then, that in an electric world, the value of batteries and their vast potential cannot be understated. Investors are taking notice of the potential of batteries too, a fact outlined by the Mercom Capital Group, which has released its H1 and Q2 2019 Funding and M&A report on battery storage, smart grid, and efficiency.

Shoot for the Sun: Why the U.S. Should Prioritize Space-Based Solar Power (International Policy Digest)  On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered his historic “Moon Shot” speech before a joint session of Congress, calling for an ambitious space exploration program to put Americans in space before the decade’s end. His speech came just four months after being sworn in as president. At the time, President Kennedy felt that the United States had to respond to the then-Soviet Union, who had just successfully launched Sputnik I, the world’s first artificial satellite.  

Could Renewable Natural Gas Be the Next Big Thing in Green Energy? (Yale Environment 360)  In the next few weeks, construction crews will begin building an anaerobic digester on the Goodrich Family Farm in western Vermont that will transform cow manure and locally sourced food waste into renewable natural gas (RNG), to be sent via pipeline to nearby Middlebury College and other customers willing to pay a premium for low-carbon energy. For the developer, Vanguard Renewables, the project represents both a departure and a strategic bet. 

A field in D.C. will soon be home to 5,000 solar panels. It’s all because of local Catholic groups — and a message from the pope. (Washington Post)  Right now, it’s a large, empty field. But by next year, the five-acre plot in Northeast Washington will sprout about 5,000 solar panels, the largest ground array the nation’s capital has seen — a change wrought by local Catholic groups. Catholic Energies, a nonprofit organization that helps churches across the country switch to solar energy, partnered with the field’s owner, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, to build a system sufficient to keep the lights on in 260 homes for one year. 

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