Generation Guide: Monthly Digest of Insights Shared by Your Peers in the Energy Central Generation Network – September 16, 2022

Welcome to the Generation Network roundup, Generation Guide. As always, your fellow network members are paying close attention to generation and clean power trends and sharing their insights. This month’s selection includes information about solar energy helping to meet power demand, the role of minerals in renewable power generation, and more. Be sure to like and comment on your favorite posts. Happy reading!

Record Solar Energy Helps Con Edison Meet Demand During Heat Waves

Allan Drury

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cp/record-solar-energy-helps-con-edison-meet-demand-during-heat-waves

In this post, Allan Drury, Media Relations Manager at Con Edison notes that Con Edison customers installed more than 4,000 solar electric systems in the first half of this year, totaling nearly 40 MW of generating capacity. These additions are playing a significant role in meeting the demand for energy in and around New York City. Solar energy also helps customers lower their bills, brings jobs to the community, and reduces carbon emissions.  

Combined Cycle Overhaul With Our One-stop Shop

Jay Eldridge

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/o/mda/combined-cycle-overhaul-our-one-stop-shop

A recent project completed by Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis (MD&A) was the largest implemented at the customer site since the combined cycle plant was commissioned. In this article, Jay Eldridge, Vice President Sales & Marketing at MD&A describes what went into the plant overhaul, which included gas and steam turbine majors, a steam turbine generator minor inspection, and a gas turbine generator major inspection. In this detailed project description, Jay notes that coordination and communication were key to its success.

Rooftop Solar Increasingly Comes With Batteries, Berkeley Lab Study Says

Staff

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/pip/rooftop-solar-increasingly-comes-batteries-berkeley-lab-study-says

The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab recently completed its annual report that tracks pricing and design trends for grid-connected, distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems in the U.S. In this piece, staff at Berkeley Lab list some of the key findings from the report, which is called Tracking the Sun. The findings include that residential systems are getting larger, more PV systems are being paired with storage, storage sizes are increasing for paired residential systems and decreasing for non-residential systems, and PV system prices have continued to fall.

Why Minerals Play an Essential Role in Renewable Energy

Jane Marsh

Link to original article: https://energycentral.com/c/cp/why-minerals-play-essential-role-renewable-energy

Minerals play a critical role in making the switch to renewables as the primary source of energy. Here, Jane Marsh, Editor at Environment.co helps readers understand why. The main reason is that renewable energy generation requires the use of minerals, such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, more than conventional energy sources do. She observes that many of these minerals are concentrated in specific locations, such as China, which is the largest source of these critical minerals. To meet the expected demand, the U.S. Department of Energy has launched a $140M program to create a mineral refinery.

Thanks again for reading this edition of Generation Guide! The authors listed above are eager to hear your thoughts and questions, so don’t hesitate to engage them. And if you want your content to be featured in this spot in future issues, be sure to publish your posts within the Generation Network Community.

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