California home solar mandate tightened, community solar definition needed
The California Energy Commission has delayed a decision on a utility proposal to use large-scale solar to meet pending solar home mandate requirements, with commissioner comments suggesting a refinement of the community solar aspect of the mandate is coming.
Montana utility wants gas units; Sierra Club suspects biased modeling
In developing its resource plan, NorthWestern Energy apparently used modeling assumptions that favor gas-fired generation, says the Sierra Club. The group has filed a legal motion requesting access to the modeling inputs, and to the model itself.
PG&E, but run by the people
California Governor Gavin Newsom, in expressing his dissatisfaction with PG&E, has proposed that it is not out of the question that the state could intervene in the restructuring of the utility. But what would this kind of government intervention look like and what would it mean for solar?
Sacramento utility proposes eschewing rooftop mandate with community solar
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District has created a proposal which would allow homeowners to opt-into community solar programs in lieu of installing systems on their roofs.
Utility barriers to rooftop solar in Georgia
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Cesar Prieto and Seth Gunning of Creative Solar USA explore the barriers to rooftop solar put up by utilities in Georgia, a state with top-15 solar capacity, but a lagging residential market.
Lake Olympia solar co-op selects Sunfinity, more renewables do not lead to more air pollution: pvMB 11/4/19
Hello one and all and thank you for starting your workweek with the pvMB. Today we’ve got TVA contract drawbacks outweighing benefits for Knoxville, a Delaware solar farm expansion, the Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee calling out utility obstruction to rooftop solar and more!
Power shutoffs cause a battery boom in California
Contractors across California are seeing greater demand for battery storage than ever before in response to PG&E’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs. With the threat of blackouts on the 10-year horizon, customers have decided to take their power into their own hands.
Navy engineer wants infrared scanning and disciplined data to stop solar fires
Lawrence Shaw says understanding solar module hotspots via infrared scans can help quell residential rooftop fire risks, while suggesting missing data represents missing work. Shaw also found the missing USA solar fire data.
Vivint settles allegations of illegally obtaining customer credit reports
Vivint Solar has settled on a case in New Jersey which contained accusations that the company would illegally acquire customers’ credit reports as well as force them to sign purposefully misleading contracts.
We told you so: Massachusetts regulators question utility “surprise”
Massachusetts regulators have opened an investigation into electric utility National Grid’s handling of the SMART solar power program, which has led to 1 GW of projects being put on hold after many of them were given utility approval.
