Fact sheets | ACP

Agrivoltaics: Considerations for Co-locating Solar and Agricultural Practices

Will Sturgeon — Wed, 08 May 2024 16:00:45 +0000

Agrivoltaics refers to dual use areas with the careful integration of agricultural practices and solar energy generation on the same plot of land. Agrivoltaics is dependent upon site-specific environmental and economic considerations.

Download this fact sheet to learn about the necessary considerations for siting agrivoltaics projects.

Crux | Intro to clean energy tax credits

Knox O'Reilly — Wed, 01 May 2024 18:32:48 +0000

Most people are familiar with the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed Congress in 2022 and marks the largest action by any government in history to combat climate change. What many do not know, however, is that the IRA presents an opportunity for US companies across industries and of all sizes and types to support the energy transition while generating a positive return on investment. Learn more from our partners at Crux about how this opportunity is transforming the US clean energy economy.

Protect Private Property Rights to Site Clean Energy

Will Sturgeon — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:28:40 +0000

Since solar farms are often built on farmland, there have been concerns that solar is growing too fast and changing the fabric of rural America. In reality, very little farmland is needed for solar projects and only 0.6% of existing farmland would be required for solar farms to power 45% of the American grid. With this in mind, the federal government should protect the property right to siting clean energy projects on private land.

Pass Bipartisan Permitting Reform

Will Sturgeon — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 15:11:15 +0000

Currently, permitting takes far too long and delays attributed to permitting timelines obstruct the development of clean energy. This fact sheet highlights not only why commonsense reform to permitting is crucial to unlocking clean energy’s potential but also offers six concrete recommendations on how policymakers can reform the process while maintaining bedrock environmental protections.

For an energy project, the average review timeline today is 4.5 years.
For transmission projects, the average is 6.5 years—and often can take over 10 years.

Preserve Clean Energy Tax Incentives

Will Sturgeon — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 14:24:32 +0000

Clean energy is growing the American economy and revitalizing American manufacturing while reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources and improving the resiliency and reliability of our grid. Last year, a record 33.8 GW of clean power came online—but to continue to fuel this growth it is critical to protect investment and production tax credits.

The U.S. is positioned to secure our energy independence and become a global leader in the buildout of clean energy, but changing the tax code could risk everything.

Clean Power Annual Market Report 2023: One-Pager

Will Sturgeon — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 16:48:41 +0000

Download this one-pager containing top highlights from ACP’s Clean Power Annual Market Report | 2023.

Wind, solar, and batteries were the top choice of utility-scale power generation in 2023, representing 77% of new power additions.
Utility solar shines in a record year with nearly 20 GW of new additions.
Storage deployment surges with operating capacity growing by 86% in 2023, with nearly 8 GW of new energy storage commissioned.
New York signed deals for over 4 GW of offshore wind across three projects in 2023; first ever Gulf of Mexico offshore wind lease awarded.
The pipeline is strong. The clean power pipeline grew 26% in 2023 and now stands at more than 170 GW.
Clean power is red, white, and blue with projects or manufacturing facilities in 93% of Congressional districts. Projects can be found in all 50 states.
34 GW of clean power was installed in 2023, enough to power 540 billion LED lightbulbs.
The U.S. has enough installed utility-scale wind and solar capacity to power 69 million homes and enough battery storage to power 5 million homes during peak demand.
Wind, solar, and energy storage employ 443,000 Americans with good paying jobs across the country with more on the way.
Across the United States, there are over 500 manufacturing facilities dedicated to producing components and parts for wind, solar, and storage projects in the clean power industry.

Grid Reliability 101

Will Sturgeon — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 17:18:22 +0000

This ACP fact sheet lays the groundwork for a better understanding of today’s grid and how clean energy benefits reliability.

Solar Energy & Farmland FAQ

Will Sturgeon — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 23:59:04 +0000

Solar generated electricity is one of the most affordable types of energy sources.

Operating solar facilities do not produce pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, odors, smoke clouds, or vapor that lead to poor air quality. Additionally, solar facilities represent a stable source of revenue for localities and impose few costs on public services.

Large-scale facilities are being built across the country to meet the nation’s electricity needs.

Landowners are exercising their personal property rights to lease their land to solar developers, helping ensure their family has a stable revenue stream over the life of the solar facility, which can be thirty or more years.

Neighbors may ask: What will this new facility mean for my community? Will it affect our farmland?

This FAQ addresses these questions.

NFPA 855: Improving Energy Storage System Safety

Will Sturgeon — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 04:20:17 +0000

NFPA 855—the second edition (2023) of the Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems—provides mandatory requirements for, and explanations of, the safety strategies and features of energy storage systems (ESS). Applying to all energy storage technologies, the standard includes chapters for specific technology classes.

The depth of this standard makes it a valuable resource for all Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs).

The focus of this fact sheet is on how the standard applies to electrochemical (battery) energy storage systems in Chapter 9 and specifically on lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.