Sunrise brief: Bipartisan group of eight US Senators urge President Biden not to extend solar tariffs

Also on the rise: LBNL report looks at increased panel density and electrical generation in utility-scale plants with trackers and fixed racking. Mississippi net metering rules boost low-income incentives. Microgrid on Prince Edward Island moves forward. NREL’s REopt platform helps optimize energy use in buildings. Learn how AI helps find defects in solar panels. CIT arranges $50 million New York community solar investment with Amp Energy. And more.

January 21, 2022 Anne Fischer

Image: Standard Solar

Mississippi boosts low-income incentives in updated net metering rules Under the new rules, all public utility customers are eligible for a $3,000.00 upfront cash rebate for any 3 kW-6 kW that is used, at least in part, for self-supply, while all customers at or below 250% of the federal poverty line can receive a 2 cent/kWh adder to their net metering rate.

Pine Gate secures $500 million for utility-scale solar development The loan will be used to expand the company’s solar portfolio through both originated and acquired projects, as well as allow the company to move towards its long-term growth goals, according to Pine Gate.

Bipartisan group of eight US Senators urge President Biden not to extend solar tariffs US Senator Jacky Rosen led the group in writing a letter today to President Biden, asking him not to extend Section 201 tariffs on imported solar panels and cells.

More solar per acre: 50% more panels and 30% more electricity over the past decade LBNL researchers have found that since 2011, utility-scale solar facilities have increased panel density by 43-52%, and electricity generation 25-33%, for single axis tracking and fixed racking systems, respectively.

Microgrid project will move Prince Edward Island one step closer to net zero goal The 10 MW solar plus storage project on Prince Edward Island is under development by Ameresco.

NREL’s REopt platform models site-specific renewable energy plans, calculates emissions REopt is a techno-economic decision support platform for optimizing energy use of buildings, campuses, microgrids, and more. More advanced emissions impact tracing is now available as part of the tool.

How artificial intelligence can be used to identify solar panel defects To speed up the inspection process and improve accuracy, solar farm operators are turning to AI-powered inspection, using algorithms that can automatically detect solar panel defects from images.

CIT arranges $50 million New York community solar investment with Amp Energy The company announced it served as lead arranger in $50.5 million in financing for Amp Energy’s construction of 34 MW of solar in the state.

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