News

A new article in Renew Economy talks about a new Deloitte study showing the dropping costs of renewable energy and uses Peña Station NEXT as an example. Below is an excerpt with a link to the full article.

On the supply side, a bunch of interesting things are happening. Communities are looking to renewable energy supplies and storage through micro-grids and min-grids, and corporate customers are increasingly turning to renewables. Already, 140 of the world’s biggest companies have committed to sourcing 100 per cent of their electricity needs from renewables.

There is also something called Smart Renewable Cities.

“SRCs can be defined as cities with solar and/or wind power and a smart city plan that includes a re- newable energy component,” the report says.

It cites San Diego as a global leader, with solar and wind already accounting for over a third of its electricity mix, and the city has a 100 percent renewables target by 2035.

And their are “greenfield” SRCs, new city developments that are unencumbered by legacy development, entrenched interests, and red tape, and can built a model city that showcases and tests the latest technology.

It cites Peña Station Next, an “aerotropolis” that seeks to capitalize on a strategic location at a train station between the booming city of Denver and its growing airport. The 382-acre community is powered with an islandable rooftop solar-plus-storage microgrid owned by Xcel Energy and operated by Panasonic.

This an other developments, it notes, can provide proofs of concepts for technologies and business models that can then be scaled in big cities.

the entire article can be read here.