Montana maintains net metering (for now)
In the first general rate case in 10 years, Montana regulators have rejected NorthWestern Energy’s proposal to change the way net metering customers would be charged. Would these charges have been as catastrophic as they seem?
Biased capacity markets accelerating gas over solar, storage
Regional markets for energy capacity favor new gas generation over solar and storage, at a high cost to consumers. Eight U.S. Senators have taken notice, while a new report marshals the evidence.
Vermont letting homeowners sell solar power direct to business
Green Mountain Power has launched a real time blockchain tracked peer to peer platform, starting December 2, to allow businesses to purchase solar power from customers who own the rights to the renewable energy credits via a phone app, using LO3 Energy’s backend software.
Solar bridges the political divide
A study released by nature energy has found that residential solar installations are dispersed nearly equivalently among democrats and republicans and that solar households are more politically active than their generation-naked neighbors.
Solar capacity could soar with electrified transport and heating
With wide adoption of electric vehicles and heat pumps, Colorado’s least-cost grid would reach 21 GW of solar capacity, 12 GW of wind, and 7 GW of storage by 2040, while electric rates would decline. These modeling results apply to other states as well.
No property tax for residential solar in Michigan
Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has signed three bulls which will together reinstate the property tax abatement that residential solar installations have been missing in the state since 2012.
‘Economic Curtailment’ – what it is and how to embrace it
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Morgan Putnam outlines a five-step process for renewable developers, environmental advocacy organizations and state agencies to embrace economic curtailment.
Massive solar project(s) in Florida, Enphase to supply Sunrun with inverters: pvMB 11/19/19
Hello one and all and welcome to the pvMB! Today we’ve got a big project approved in Michigan, a battery discussion at UMass Lowell, developments on the Buckthorn Westext solar lawsuit and more!
Calling all California solar and storage developers – 6,000+ systems, 32 MW+ request for proposals
Four California CCAs have combined to release a joint RFP in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties for developers to build out distributed energy storage at local homes, multifamily properties, and commercial buildings that can keep the locations running when the grid is powered down.
Idaho Power renews attacks on net metering
The utility has proposed to state regulators a measure to decrease the rate that solar owners receive for their excess solar generation by 50% under the argument that net metering has failed to properly recover the costs incurred to serve customers with on-site generation.
