Regulators question Ameren’s math in net metering case
The utility is looking to move forward with a new rebate structure worth half the value of net metering, despite regulators’ orders to keep the rate in place until questions about the calculations Ameren is using to justify the new rate can be answered.
Rhode Island economists attempt to put a price on NIMBYism
Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have suggested homeowners are prepared to pay $279 per year to avoid living within a mile of a large-scale solar plant. Other research has contrary findings.
State solar news: Net metering attacked in Vermont and Utah, Maine goes big in PV
In Vermont and Utah, net metering is under attack — in danger of being significantly devalued or eliminated. In Arizona, the state’s rooftop solar export rates have been saved for at least another year. Outside of policy, Maine has announced the winners of the state’s largest-ever renewable solicitation.
NREL’s solar cost projections plummet in new forecast
The lower projected costs for PV could help guide some utilities to plan for more PV capacity, as the utilities develop their long-term resource plans.
Rooftop solar in Indiana worth 13¢/kWh, not 3¢/kWh, says expert witness
A high level of distributed solar in Indiana would reduce utility costs by up to $540 million per year, a national lab has found. Fair compensation for rooftop solar power in southern Indiana would be 13¢/kWh, an expert calculated—not the 3¢/kWh proposed by a utility.
WattBuy launches address-level electricity cost and carbon footprint calculator
The tool is intended to help solar developers show customers their potential electricity cost savings and their carbon footprint reductions, making that customer more likely to consider the switch to solar.
For lower-cost Southeast power, double the solar and add wholesale power trading
A lower-cost grid would reach 22% renewable generation in 2040, compared to the 5% currently planned by Southeastern utilities, says a study from Energy Innovation and Vibrant Clean Energy. Wholesale power trading through an independent system operator would also help reduce costs.
Lawsuit challenges TVA’s anti-solar “never-ending contracts” with its utility customers
The utilities that buy power from TVA, and the 10 million people they serve, will be limited in accessing low-cost solar power unless a federal court invalidates what a lawsuit calls TVA’s “never-ending contracts.” Three citizens’ groups brought the lawsuit, claiming TVA violated a federal environmental law.
Sunrun and GRID fight California blackouts with free batteries for low-income households
“Storage is critical for equity,” says Sunrun CEO Lynn Jurich — and putting more standalone storage on the grid means less electricity going through wires in wildfire-prone areas.
Money Talks: California residents earn big bucks for easing grid strain
As California’s energy crisis rages, one company has been paying customers handsomely to to power down in times of peak strain on the grid.
