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As part of a collaborative effort with Sage Energy Consulting, the district has issued an RFP for 4.5 MW of solar capacity and 6 MWh of storage across 15 sites.

Customers now have two options in home battery programs, while also agreeing to pledge some of their stored power for peak reduction.

Also in the brief: GOP Senators seek help for renewables, Engie is among those chosen in Hawaii’s largest renewable tender.

Now that the two-year tax holiday enjoyed by solar and wind projects operating on federally-owned lands is over, project owners and developers are facing back rent with more expensive leasing costs looming in 2021. With federal land being critical to a renewable future, what can be done?

Also in the brief: Amazon has announced its first solar energy facility in China, the Borough of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and Sun Tribe have agreed to a PPA, Michael Moore has given climate deniers a platform and more.

China’s cumulative installed PV capacity topped 208 GW at the end of March, thanks to 3.95 GW of new projects completed in the first quarter. JinkoSolar and Longi both joined the 500 W-plus module race, with their new panels offering 580 W and 530 W of output, respectively. Ginlong, meanwhile, has revealed plans to raise funds to increase its annual inverter production capacity to 20 GW, and Xi’An Solar has claimed a 23.2% efficiency rate for its N-type TOPCon modules in mass production.

Also in the brief: Consumers Energy is providing 100,000 Google Nest thermostats to Michigan households, Tesla has quietly made Model 3 ready for bidirectional charging, SolSmart adds new partners.

The surge in storage revenue due to specific grid conditions in Australia was one of the main factors behind a 61% year-on-year increase in revenues that Neoen saw in the first quarter of the year.

According to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 58% of global passenger vehicle sales in 2040 will come from electric vehicles, yet they will make up less than 33% of all cars on the road.

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.