New Jersey wants solar for warehouses: If new legislation A3352 becomes a state law after Governor Phil Murphy signs on it, all new warehouses in New Jersey, USA will need to incorporate solar PV systems constructed on or after July 1, 2022. The legislature makes it mandatory for all such warehouses with 100,000 sq. ft. or more and used to store goods for resale, to be design ready with solar installations on site, according to the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). "Encouraging solar on warehouses will help provide clean power in commercial and industrial areas where air pollution from fossil fuels is already a problem, while also delivering clean solar power to the grid, much closer to where the residents of New Jersey live," said Senior Manager of State Affairs for the Mid-Atlantic, SEIA, Scott Elias. The State of New Jersey aims to have 17 GW of solar PV capacity by 2035.
New solar arrays for ISS: The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said the International Space Station (ISS) has got the first of its 6 new Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iRosa) installed by European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts Thomas Pesquet and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough. One more array is planned to be fixed by astronauts in a spacewalk tentatively scheduled for June 25, 2021. The remaining 4 solar arrays will be installed in the coming years, in order for the ISS to upgrade its power supply. The astronauts are positioning 60 x 20 ft. arrays in front of the already installed arrays. All the new arrays will produce 20 kW more electricity to produce 120 kW in total. The upgrade process was announced in January 2021 when NASA said the arrays will be supplied by Deployable Space Systems (DSS) using solar cells produced by Spectrolab of The Boeing Company. The new arrays are being delivered by SpaceX's Cargo Dragon (see Solar Array Upgrade For International Space Station).
PacifiCorp shortlists 3.25 GW RE: Electricity supplier PacifiCorp has shortlisted 3.25 GW of new, low-cost clean energy generation capacity and submitted it to state regulators in Oregon, US. The capacity was shortlisted as part of a competitive request for proposals (RFP) initiated in 2020 (see 4.3 GW Renewables RFP Launched By PacifiCorp). The 19 shortlisted projects comprise 1,243 MW of solar, including 682 MW of installed battery capacity, and a standalone battery with 200 MW capacity in Utah, and 210 MW of solar including 52.5 MW with installed battery capacity, in Oregon. "The results of this competitive all-source RFP deliver the best new resources the West has to offer and will enable our customers and communities across the West to benefit from low-cost clean energy to grow their economies and run their businesses and homes," said PacifiCorp Vice President of Resource Planning and Acquisitions, Rick Link.