Montgomery County’s rooftop solar mandate, changes at Green Mountain Power: pvMB 10/1/19

Rooftop solar mandate to be introduced in Maryland – “Solar panel mandates, a dramatic and hotly debated environmental policy with roots on the West Coast, could be coming to a suburb of the nation’s capital. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) plans to introduce legislation requiring all new single-family houses — and possibly apartments and commercial buildings — to include rooftop solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity, starting in 2022. If Elrich’s measure is approved by the all-Democratic county council, the wealthy suburb of 1 million would be the first major jurisdiction outside California to adopt such a mandate, experts say.” Source: Washington Post

Changes at Green Mountain Power – Mary Powell, president and CEO of Green Mountain Power (GMP) for the last 12 years will be leaving the company at the end of the year. Senior Vice President Mari McClure, a 10-year veteran of GMP, will take over as the next president and CEO of GMP. McClure joined GMP in 2010, and has served in leading roles in nearly every aspect of GMP operations, including information technology, regulatory, legal, fleet, facilities, workforce development, and cultural transformation. Source: Green Mountain Power

POWERHOME Solar expands into and hiring in Illinois – “Residents of Illinois soon will have another supplement to grid power with the recent expansion of POWERHOME Solar (POWERHOME) into the state. Illinois marks the ninth state in the company’s footprint, and its new office will be in St. Charles. POWERHOME plans to hire up to 100 people in the coming months in the areas of sales, installation and administrative functions for its new office, located at 505 S. Tyler Rd., in St. Charles. To begin building its local workforce, POWERHOME will have open interviews for sales consultants in its St. Charles office on Thursday, Oct. 3 and Friday, Oct. 4 from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. CT each day. Those interested can apply for jobs at: http://powerhome.com/solar-jobs, or they can send an email to careers@powerhome.com. Applications for installers will be taken in person throughout the week starting Sept. 30.” Source: POWERHOME Solar

BPA to enter Western EIM – The California Independent System Operator is celebrating a new member into its Energy Imbalance Market (EIM), the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). BPA signed the implementation agreement at its headquarters in Portland, OR yesterday following more than a year of study and stakeholder engagement to evaluate the benefits of joining the body. BPA announced its intent to explore joining earlier this year, as part of a strategy to control energy costs and give the utility a competitive edge in the electric industry. Source: CAISO

California reaches one million solar roofs – “California has hit a significant milestone this year: more than one million rooftop solar installations on homes, schools, businesses, and farms. With California leading the way, the U.S. reached two million installations this year. The growth has been rapid, nearly all of it in the last decade. In 2006, there were only about 20,000 installations statewide—solar was still too expensive. Thanks to a federal tax credit, a California rebate, and lower installation costs, solar power suddenly became affordable. Another financial incentive has been net metering: A home that produces surplus solar power sends that energy back to the grid and receives a credit on the utility bill. To further sweeten the deal, research by Zillow has found that solar panels increase a home’s value 4.1%” Source: NeoVolta