SMUD withdraws anti-solar Grid Access Charge
The municipal utility has withdrawn its controversial charge and says it will launch a separate stakeholder process to examine ways to alter its rate design, but is still claiming that other ratepayers are subsidizing solar.
One more state, two more utilities pledge 100% clean power
Yesterday Washington became the fourth state to mandate 100% carbon-free electricity, with promises to meet mandates early by Avista and PNM in New Mexico.
Facebook brings more solar to Virginia & North Carolina
Dominion is building three solar projects and acquiring two more completed plants. Add in one recently completed, and the utility will be supplying 350 MWac to feed the tech giant’s desire for emissions-free electricity.
California just made more clean energy than it needed
The state’s grid operator has shown that for most of the period between 1:50 PM and 3:05 PM on Sunday April 21, more CO2-free electricity than users demanded was generated in the region it covers.
Solar+storage can outcompete “mid-merit” gas units, not just peakers
Solar plus storage can deliver, at lower cost, the same generation profile as “mid-merit” gas generating units in a number of cases studied, per an analysis published by Fluence.
Sunrun: 2, paperwork: 0
A federal ruling granting waivers to generator filings for distributed PV systems could open the door for Sunrun and other companies to sell power from rooftop solar into wholesale power markets.
New York’s VDER gets a few tweaks
New York State regulators have issued an order that advocates believe will increase the ability of large solar power projects to get financing, including allowing anchor tenants on community solar projects, increased compensation for upstate projects, more predictable compensation, and small commercial net metering for those that install before 2020.
Nearly half of utilities globally exploring distributed energy management systems
A “virtual power plant” can aggregate distributed solar and storage to help balance supply and demand, and provide grid services. Nearly half of the utility executives interviewed by Deloitte said their firm is considering such a solution, also known by the acronym DERM system, or DERMS.
50% renewable energy mandate passes Nevada Senate
SB 358 would require utilities to source 50% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2030, and set a goal for the state to generate enough electricity with zero-carbon sources to meet its own demand by 2050.
Duke is going to get a lot more solar
In the largest single-day announcement to date, Duke Energy has announced 14 projects to be built across the Carolinas, totaling 602 MW in capacity.
