Focus
Santa Cruz Local – January 14
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors gave a thumbs up to revised draft rules for battery energy storage facilities at its January 13 meeting amid resident dissent. Now the draft ordinance needs environmental review and approvals from the county Agricultural Policy Advisory Commission and Planning Commission. County staff said they aim to bring the ordinance back to the board for final approval by November. County leaders began drafting rules to guide the development of battery energy storage systems, or BESS, after New Leaf Energy Inc. submitted plans for a 200 MW project in December 2024. While the company is currently seeking approval from the county under these yet to be finalized rules, it could instead apply for permits from the California Energy Commission. Supervisors are developing the ordinance in part as a bid to maintain local control over the project’s approval.
News
OffshoreWind – January 13
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has granted the preliminary injunction sought by the joint venture between Ørsted and Skyborn Renewables for the Revolution Wind project, which was ordered to pause construction by the federal government. When the stop-work order was issued on December 22, the 704 MW project had seven wind turbines left to install.
Associated Press – January 9
New York’s attorney general sued the federal government on January 9 over its decision to halt two major offshore wind projects expected to power more than 1 million homes in the state. State Attorney General Letitia James said in legal challenges filed in federal court in Washington that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Dec. 22 order suspending construction on the projects off Long Island, citing national security concerns, was arbitrary and unwarranted.
Projects
The Bakersfield Californian – January 13
California’s single-largest solar energy project is scheduled to come up for a vote next month by the Kern County Planning Commission before proceeding to final consideration by the Board of Supervisors. Proposed by Avantus, the nearly 12,000-acre Buttonbush Solar and Storage project would generate 2 GW of electricity, enough to power almost 1 million homes. It is planned to include batteries allowing it to deliver as many as 16 GWh of energy.
Renewables Now – January 8
Renewable power producer Terra-Gen has achieved commercial operations at its 128.7 MW/515 MWh Lockhart CL I and II battery storage project in San Bernardino County. The battery energy storage system (BESS) will be capable of delivering electricity to meet the demand of over 128,000 homes for four hours.
Recycling Today – January 13
Comstock Metals LLC has received its Written Determination Permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Bureau of Sustainable Materials Management for the processing of end-of-life solar panels and photovoltaics for its industry-scale material recovery facility in Silver Springs, Nevada. Many of the U.S. solar panels have been deployed in the southwestern U.S., primarily California, Arizona, and Nevada, with decommissioning of these solar panels occurring now, accelerating supply and increasing the demand for environmentally responsible end-of-life solutions, Comstock says.
Data Center Dynamics – January 12
Global data center operator Switch has signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Ormat Technologies for 13 MW of geothermal power from its Salt Wells geothermal power plant located near Fallon, Nevada. The deal, which is Ormat’s first with a data center developer, includes an option to expand through the use of an on-site 7 MW solar farm, which serves as an auxiliary power option for the geothermal plant. Power delivery is expected to commence in Q1 of 2030.
Solar Power World – January 13
Verogy, a West Hartford, Connecticut-based solar energy developer, has initiated a seven-project solar portfolio of solar installations at Kohl’s stores in four states. The projects, located at Kohl’s stores in California, Delaware, Illinois, and Ohio, will consist of more than 9,100 solar panels. Once energized, the projects produce enough energy to power more than 600 homes each year.
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