20 MW coming to Rhode Island, Georgia residents demand abolishment of solar fee: pvMB 7/16/19

We Energies and RENEW Wisconsin have settled their case against a potential 24% solar tax: “With the agreement, We Energies will no longer pursue a solar fixed-cost recovery charge as part of its rate review with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, and RENEW Wisconsin agrees to support an upcoming We Energies utility-scale solar project.” Source – We Energies & RENEW Wisconsin

19.1 MW of community solar to come online in Rhode Island – Two plants have officially finished construction in Rhode Island, totalling just over 19 MW in capacity. Developed by TurningPoint Energy and Nautilus Solar, these projects are the 6.6 MW Hopkins Hill project in West Greenwich and the 12.4 MW King project in North Smithfield. The Hopkins Hill project is fully expected to be operational in the opening weeks of Q1 2020, while the King project is expected to be operational by the end of 2020. Source: TurningPoint Energy

Cubico invests in 100 MW solar plant in South Carolina – The 100 MW Huntley solar PV project in Orangeburg County, South Carolina has a new owner, as the project has been sold from Cypress Creek Renewables to Cubico. The installation marks the final phase of a five-project, 580 MW purchase agreement between Cubico and Cypress Creek. The project is expected to come on-line in the summer of 2020. Source: Cypress creek Renewables

Covington City self-generators want $400 solar fee removed – “Customers using solar power as their main source of energy are asking the Covington City Council to do away with an annual “solar standby fee” of $400. The customers say the fee cuts their savings almost in half and discourages others from converting to solar power. The standby fee is charged to all users of alternative energy sources, such as solar, to ensure conventional city-provided power is able to be supplied in case of an alternative energy source failure. Several people spoke to the City Council during the public comment portion of the council’s meeting on July 1. Sara Vinson and her husband have a business office in Clarks Grove and pull five kilowatts of energy from their solar panels, which saves them approximately $900 a year on electricity.” Source: Rockdale-Newton Citizen

Sun Pacific installs solar powered bus shelters in RI – in what may be a morning brief first, we have two items of Rhode Island news. This bit comes from Street Smart Outdoor, the company which has just commenced the installation of 20 solar powered bus shelters for the company’s Rhode Island Bus Shelter Contract. All 20 are expected to be in service within the next two months. Source: Sun Pacific

CPS “BundleFlex” plan – “CPS Energy President & CEO, Paula Gold-Williams announced another step in the company’s Flexible Path, called the Power BundleFlex.  As the foundation, the Flexible Path was previously introduced by Gold-Williams in early 2018 to the CPS Energy Board of Trustees and at that point the executive team launched an extensive education and public comment program… Broadly, the Flexible Path is a fresh, strategic approach that the CPS Energy executive team is using to thoughtfully discover, explore and implement new power generation solutions over the next 20 years and beyond.  It is a straightforward framework that is helping CPS Energy conceptualize how to skillfully manage its existing assets, while incrementally and purposefully transitioning to newer power generation technologies.” Source: CPS Energy