Vista Solar Completes 153-kW WestGate Church Array

Vista Solar completed a 153-kW solar array for WestGate Church in San Jose, Calif. The system, which was designed and installed by Vista Solar, is expected to generate more than 250,000 kWh of energy each year. Vista Solar secured a $0 down, 15-year PPA which allowed WestGate to be cash-flow positive from the start. As part of the PPA agreement, Vista Solar will monitor the system for 15 years to ensure it is performing at or above expectations.

Digest (August 2014)

Florida Power & Light Company partners with PetroQuest Energy to develop natural gas production wells in southeastern Oklahoma; First Solar receives financing approval to build a 141-MW solar power plant in Chile; DTE Energy will deploy Tollgrade’s LightHouse MV smart grid sensors and predictive grid analytics platform within its distribution network in Detroit; US DOE chooses Abengoa, together with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Colorado School of Mines, to develop a new solar storage technology for thermoelectric plants.

Coal After MATS

A strategy for completely removing mercury from environmental emissions.

Coal-fired power plants subject to EPA’s MATS rule can try a biological treatment option to remove mercury emissions from the environment.

Threat Level Red

Integrating weather and GIS data for more accurate threat assessments.

Weather and GIS are being combined in new ways to provide better storm threat assessments - helping utilities create increasingly effective battle plans to defend against approaching storms.

Reliable But Costly

Recent trends in distribution line undergrounding.

Utility distribution lines increasingly are going underground, but costs are still prohibitive for replacing existing overhead lines.

Utility System Hardening

Taking Resiliency One Step Further

An independent system operator for the distribution network could allow utilities to invest in rooftop solar behind the meter and within territory.

Smart by Default

Time-varying rates from the get-go – not just by opt-in.

Default enrollment for time-varying rates, with an opt-out, will reduce peak demand and far more than a default flat rate with a TVR opt-in.

Rooftop Parity

Solar for Everyone, including Utilities

An independent system operator for the distribution network could open more opportunities for distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar.