Off-grid solar funding concentrated in just three companies
With a previous 50-50 split between equity and debt investment funding for the off-grid market shifting to 84% debt, and commentators stating most of this year’s backing was agreed before the onset of Covid-19, fears are mounting about the prospects for the sector.
US residential solar set for a record-breaking year — despite and because of 2020
Over the course of this strange year, American residential solar companies such as Sunrun, Vivint, SunPower and Tesla claimed they could weather the Covid storm with remote selling and new online strategies. It turns out they were right. BloombergNEF forecasts that Americans will install 3 gigawatts of solar on residential rooftops in 2020.
Regulators question Ameren’s math in net metering case
The utility is looking to move forward with a new rebate structure worth half the value of net metering, despite regulators’ orders to keep the rate in place until questions about the calculations Ameren is using to justify the new rate can be answered.
Community solar under attack in Colorado
Solar advocates appeal to the courts as the state’s utilities and Public Utilities Commission move to cut bill credits to community solar subscribers — and potentially open the door to further reductions.
Nuclear ‘not an effective low carbon option’
Researchers in the UK have analyzed 25 years of electricity-production and carbon emissions data from 123 countries. Their findings show renewables are considerably more effective than nuclear in reducing carbon emissions from energy generation and that the two technologies tend to get in each other’s way when considered in a joint approach.
Morning Brief: Solar going to the dogs, How clean energy can prepare for the next attack
Also in the brief: L3Harris Technologies and Lightsource bp are bringing a 135-MWac solar farm to Ellis County, Texas, California Governor Gavin Newsome considering the Salton Sea for lithium exploration.
Morning Brief: 39 GW of new solar generation likely online in US by end of 2024
Also in the brief: 6 practical steps to improve community safety near lithium-ion energy storage systems, plus Electriq Power, LS Power and building solar on old mining sites.
Standardization: The sign of a maturing solar industry
The model of industry-wide standardization is one that the solar industry should look to achieve. A set of reliable rapid-shutdown standards will provide installers with the same level of choice and simplicity that other industries enjoy.
Morning Brief: Revenue streams of CAISO batteries, Entergy still on the gas, New Hampshire NEM
Also in the brief: EPA raises legal questions about California’s plan to ban new gas-powered cars starting in 2035
What is distributed generation’s real worth for the grid?
A thought experiment by Severin Borenstein suggests how much rooftop solar could reduce transmission and distribution costs.
