Residential PV

The residential solar company’s move in one of America’s most complicated solar markets may be a key to getting ready for a more complex future.

Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility has gotten rid of net metering and lowered the rate paid for excess solar produced electricity. Concurrently, the utility is pushing larger scale solar and energy storage programs.

This year’s version of Berkeley Lab’s Tracking the Sun report saw residential installs fall 6% to $3.50 / W, small business fall 11% to $2.90 / W and large business fell 5% to $2.20 /W in 2017, with light changes in early 2018. However, these averages cover wide price variances in different markets.

In the same meeting that they rejected a discriminatory grid access charge, Arizona regulators have moved PV system owners in TEP and UNS’ service areas to a value of solar methodology which creates long-term uncertainty for the market.

California’s Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program has a 2030 goal of installing 300 MW of solar power, and Sunrun’s 100 MW commitment aims to satisfy one-third of that by 2028.

New Mexico regulators have killed the standby fee that critics say has paralyzed rooftop solar in the territory of Southwestern Public Service.

The power company says that this will allow time for a more careful crafting of a successor program.

As Utah’s net metering market declines, it is unclear if a successor program is picking up the slack.

If passed, SB 700 will extend the Self Generation Incentive Program for another five years and add up to $700 million in funding. It now has eleven days to pass the Assembly before the session ends.

The IQ8 will allow off grid solar power without the need for energy storage by instantly recognizing local load demands and meeting them with available solar-generated electricity.