Policy

Victory in the economic realm (increasingly the case with solar, solar-plus-storage and wind) is no guarantee of market victory if the regulations are stacked against renewables.

Also in the brief: A New Mexico regulator has recommended denial of El Paso Electric’s planned expansion of the Newman Generating Station, Gemserv has launched a digital platform aimed at helping businesses transition to electric vehicles and more.

Also in the brief: how the Clean Energy Equity Act can help NJ rebuild better, Dominion signs a power contract for a 75 MW project in Virginia and more.

As of today, the dumb world of solar module tariffs is currently subjecting imported bifacial modules to a 20% penalty, the same tariff as almost all other crystalline silicon solar modules.

Also in the brief: SolaREIT is focused on acquiring the land underpinning solar assets, plus, engineering services company Solar Support has unveiled a tiered customer-service solution for inverter and power electronic manufacturers.

Researchers from Clean Kilowatts and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed software that predicts the most important business model interventions for closing the gap of residential PV adoption between high-income and low-to-middle-income areas.

Also in the brief: Utah lawmakers push to block cities from banning natural gas. Climate risks are accelerating. Here’s what Duke, PG&E and 16 other utilities expect to pay, plus Invenergy signs up customers for $1.6 billion, 1,310-megawatt Samson solar energy generation facility.

As the U.S. economy continues to recover from its Covid-19-induced recession, it’s likely that Congress and the president will put together a multi-trillion dollar relief package, similar to the one that lifted the economy out of its doldrums following the 2008 economic crisis.

A change is coming in 2021 U.S. clean energy policy — SEIA has a wish list for the new administration ranging from tariffs to public lands to the investment tax credit.

The new-look discussions dove into all things shaping the solar industry and renewable energy as a whole in 2020, including the global pandemic, extreme weather and natural disasters, the election and more, all presented in the light of rapidly-changing technologies and materials.