Sunny places could see average solar prices of $0.01 or $0.02 per kilowatt-hour within 15 years
New research models that the price of solar will continue to drop faster than previous predictions. This would mean that building new solar would be routinely cheaper than operating already-built fossil fuel plants, even in today’s world of ultra-cheap natural gas.
Distributed storage could save Texas $344 million per year by deferring transmission and distribution costs
Adding enough distributed storage to reduce peak demand by 20% could defer up to one-fifth of the transmission and distribution expenditures in Texas for about 10 years, a study found. Other states may find the study’s analytical insights to be useful.
Analysis: California’s report on RPS costs and savings needs an update
A new report from the California PUC documents the uneven workings of the state’s 100% renewable portfolio standard — and the need for better data on cost savings.
The financial and social struggles of getting large solar projects financed
The pre-life of the Spotsylvania solar energy project has been riddled with financial and societal difficulties. As much as these issues have made a quagmire of development, it also provides a case study on the logistics of getting such a large project built.
Vivint beats on revenue — but losses widen in Q1 as residential solar hunkers down
Vivint beat estimates with $91.2 million in revenue in Q1, though, like with most other third-party solar companies, that was outweighed by $51.9 million in losses from operations. Installation figures fell during the quarter and are only expected to fall further, as Covid-19 runs its course on residential solar.
Morning Brief: Renewable prices reach record low in California, rural Georgia meets big solar and jobs
Also in the brief: DOE to invest more than $5 million in tribal energy infrastructure
SunPower accesses $1 billion in residential solar and storage loan capital from Tech CU
Despite the pandemic, capital is still pouring into solar.
Investor-owned utilities pay top executives millions — are they worth it?
Energy and Policy Institute has tracked the past three years of CEO compensation at 41 investor-owned utilities across the country. And, while the numbers are eye-popping, a well-paid CEO does not necessarily reflect company success.
Texas could add 3.5 GW of solar this year
Additional solar could help the ERCOT grid region in Texas meet its summer peak, after it faced “tight grid conditions” last summer. New task forces aim to improve ERCOT’s markets for ancillary services and battery storage.
Philadelphia-area transit agency expects six-figure annual savings from 44 MW solar project
The transit agency expects to save “several hundred thousand dollars a year, on average” through its fixed-price contract for solar power. The agency’s sustainability program “is a platform not just for environmental improvements, but for financial improvements,” said an executive.
