Policy

National Renewable Energy Lab researchers hourly modeled the whole of the United States, and when more than half of all electricity is coming from solar power, there would be no technical deal killers, but many spring days with free electricity that we would have to learn to use, and a need to financially recognize the predictability and grid stabilizing attributes of solar and storage.

in this op-ed for pv magazine, David Lazerwitz and Linda Sobczynski of Farella Braun + Martel examine the levels of precaution necessary to ensure fire risk mitigation in project development.

Regulators voted to cut the avoided cost rate paid to PURPA solar power projects in the state by ~33% to 2.134¢/kWh, while also shortening the length of the contracts to 10 years – which represents the lowest rates and contract lengths in the nation.

Hello wonderful readers and welcome to this week’s Hump Day morning brief. on this most wonderful of Wednesdays we have Target’s 500th rooftop installation, big procurement by Facebook and a NextEra project in South Carolina.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) has signed three bulls which will together reinstate the property tax abatement that residential solar installations have been missing in the state since 2012.

Hello one and all and welcome to the pvMB! Today we’ve got a big project approved in Michigan, a battery discussion at UMass Lowell, developments on the Buckthorn Westext solar lawsuit and more!

Four California CCAs have combined to release a joint RFP in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties for developers to build out distributed energy storage at local homes, multifamily properties, and commercial buildings that can keep the locations running when the grid is powered down.

The utility has proposed to state regulators a measure to decrease the rate that solar owners receive for their excess solar generation by 50% under the argument that net metering has failed to properly recover the costs incurred to serve customers with on-site generation.

The legislation is expected to propose extending the credit under terms similar to those that have been enjoyed for the last five years.

An analysis by a utility backed group suggests that the competitive market for solar power is producing better rates than the legally required PURPA marketplace, suggesting revisions to the pricing mechanism. Market activity suggests the political lever of the tool is still needed though, and the report has some issues.