Morning Brief: Which US state produces the most carbon-free power?
Also in the brief: FERC and CAISO drama. Plus, U.S. solar PV system costs fell across all market segments from 2019 to 2020. And — the solar boom arrives in Ohio.
Virginia’s legacy coal country looks to solar for economic growth
Pro-solar groups have developed a guide for how municipalities and counties can encourage solar projects in Southwest Virginia, and The Nature Conservancy is eyeing the value that solar can bring to one of its big landholdings.
Illinois’ small-scale solar incentives are tapped out, leaving developers in the dark
The final incentives from the state’s 2017 Future Energy Jobs Act have been awarded. With no emergency funds or new legislation pending, thousands of jobs could be at stake.
Aggressive new fees for South Carolina solar customers draw fire
The proposed fees could end up costing the solar average homeowner more than $700 annually. Critics call the fees an attempt to take away consumer control over their power bills.
Is FERC Order 2222 enough to push virtual power plants into the energy mainstream?
Aggregating DERs via virtual power plants has customers, utilities and financiers all ready to buy in. With FERC Order 2222, the question for two California aggregators is whether their models will play in less DER-friendly markets.
Extreme weather is causing solar insurance premiums to explode
Catastrophic weather events in Texas and California have led to steep insurance premium cost increases, according to a new analysis by Norton Rose Fulbright.
California plans for summer 2021 with 2,000 MW of new storage
CAISO’s new CEO says that rolling blackouts last August were a pivotal moment for the state. For 2021, he is focused on ensuring the grid has ample resources — including DERs — and well-functioning markets.
Solar 2020 year in review: Thriving markets despite a pandemic, import tariffs and expensive PV
We cover residential resilience, tariff trouble, big Texas solar, storage everywhere, IPOs, interconnection queues and more in a review of this difficult, ridiculous, successful year. Next year will be better.
Another week, another wave of solar PPAs
Unsubsidized solar keeps moving forward in Germany, the US, Egypt, the Philippines, and South Africa.
Low solar costs are bringing new customers to the market. We need to treat them fairly
With solar energy more accessible than ever before, the industry has a responsibility towards new customers to steward them to the solution that delivers the best value and reliability.
