Enphase begins tariff-free shipments from Mexico, TVA caps solar in final plan: pvMB 07/01/19

In today’s brief we also feature conditions on Dominion’s future IRPs and some tax benefits recognized from Georgia solar.

July 1, 2019 Christian Roselund

Image: Enphase

Enphase begins microinverter shipments from Mexico – Enphase has finally delivered on its promise to re-route manufacturing from China to Mexico through manufacturing partner Flex, which allows it to avoid tariffs on Chinese inverters, with its first shipment of its IQ7 microinverters. Source: GlobeNewswire

Dominion delays – Although Virginia regulators accepted Dominion’s resource plan that bypassed solar-plus-storage, saying the plan is “legally sufficient,” they required the utility in future resource plans to “model battery storage using the most updated cost estimates available,” and meet other requirements. The State Corporation Commission said its rejection of Dominion’s initial draft resource plan last December resulted in an amended least-cost plan that is “nearly $8 billion less expensive over 15 years, compared to the originally-filed least-cost plan.”

Solar slammed in TVA resource plan – The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has issued a final resource plan in line with its “solar sandbagging” draft plan that used high projected costs for solar and low costs for natural gas, and capped solar installations at 500 MW per year—modeling flaws identified by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. The Alliance said that TVA’s final plan does not follow its recommendations for greater use of renewables and energy efficiency, and more transparency, and that “TVA has consequently left their most vulnerable customers behind.” Source: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Georgia’s big solar benefits – A single Georgia solar park will yield $8 million for county schools and other services over 25 years. “There’s no downside,” said June Merritt, chair of the Early County Board of Commissioners, in an NPR interview, because with the 102.5 MW solar park, “We don’t have pollution. We don’t have smell. You know, there’s just nothing. They’re just there.” In North Carolina, solar parks developed through 2016 alone are bringing in $1.6 million per year in local property taxes.

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