Solar and Tesla shine amid weak Q1 for clean energy investment
BNEF cites financing for a massive solar plant in Mexico and Tesla’s billion-plus capital raise as running counter to the trend of falling clean energy financing during Q1. Investments in distributed solar also rose.
Solar corporate funding activity increases by 100% in Q1, finds Mercom Capital
Total corporate funding across the global solar industry reached $3.2bn in the first quarter of the year, which is a 100% increase on Q4 2016. This rise is largely due to increased debt financing activity, said Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu.
News Analysis: Installations crater in Hawaii after incentives gutted
In 2015, Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission eliminated the state’s net-metering incentive. Since then, the number of permits pulled on Oahu for solar installations has plummeted, reaching a new low in 2017 of only 449.
Spending less, getting more: renewables more cost-effective than ever in 2016, finds UN report
The latest Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2017 report by the UN Environment, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre finds that while investment in clean energy fell last year, annual installations rose, revealing the cost-competitiveness of the sector.
Massachusetts expected to add 400 MW in community solar
Over the next two years, a backlog of community solar projects, driven by a desire to be grandfathered under more generous net-metering rates, will allow more than six times the megawattage already installed in the state to be completed.
Leading analysts forecast global solar growth in 2017
Figures published today by both IHS Markit and GTM research forecast annual growth in the global solar market in 2017, albeit at a slower rate than was seen in 2016. The analysts predict continued demand from the four largest markets, particularly China and India, as the key drivers behind this growth.
Top solar cities struggle with policy changes
The latest report by Environment America shows San Diego moving to second-place in per-capita solar PV and first place in overall watts, just as Net Metering 2.0 slows down its residential solar market.
Florida Power & Light plans 1.5 GW more solar by 2023
The new capacity would add to the 600 MW that the company expects to have online by early 2018 and the 335 MW already operational.
Sisyphus had nothing on Boulder/Xcel solar deal
For nearly 10 years, the city of Boulder, Colorado, has been pushing to free itself from Xcel Energy and create a municipal utility, and Xcel has pushed back. But an end to the dispute may finally be in sight.
NREL: Solar + storage costs twice as much as solar (with chart)
The National Lab’s latest report uses its renowned cost modeling to find that even a PV system with small batteries costs nearly twice as much as a standalone PV system.
