Markets & Policy

Also on the rise: 300MW Bighorn Solar Project is complete. To achieve DOE’s goal, we need 700% more community solar in the next four years. MIT scientists develop PV cleaning system based on electrostatic repulsion. Solar drone data assessment shows rise in PV anomalies. Kentucky utility adds more solar as Solar Shares Program gains customers.

To achieve the DOE’s goal of powering the equivalent of five million households by 2025 with community solar and creating $1 billion in energy savings would mean an increase of more than 700% of installed community solar in the next four years.

Over 20GW of solar array aerial visual data was processed by RaptorMaps, and roughly 2.6% of capacity was found to have anomalies that affect power production.

Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company begin construction on fifth section of solar facility that, when complete, will provide 4MW of electricity to Solar Share subscribers.

Also on the rise: Indiana ruling paves the way for HOAs to allow solar. Shoals opens manufacturing facility in Tennessee. NASA announces advances in space solar and thin films. Majority of homeowners want solar but need help with upfront financing. Rocket Lab unveils space solar cell with 33.3% efficiency.

A look at the interconnection queue of California’s grid operator shows that the state’s market has already shifted to batteries—sometimes with solar, and sometimes without.

House Bill 1196 establishes a process for residents of HOAs with existing bylaws against solar installations to petition for a system in a fashion that cannot be denied once a certain level of community support has been attained.

Rocket Homes found that 66.5% of homeowners surveyed would like to go solar–and they know it saves on the electric bill and increases resale value–but they need financial incentives to handle costs.

Also on the rise: Solar advocates oppose Duke’s proposed NEM 2.0 in North Carolina. Indiana enables renewable-ready communities. In Virginia shared solar customers could see fixed charge. Solar+food in ethanol fields could fully power the United States. Federal support needed for US to reach 39% of carbon-free energy sector by 2035. RMI Study suggests charging EVs at work not home, to put daytime solar power to work.

With the passage of SB 411, Indiana communities can opt to voluntarily adopt regulations that will qualify them as a wind- or solar-ready community. The standards are expected to significantly cut project development time, lower costs, and create thousands of jobs in the clean energy industries.