California farmers developing 20 GW solar-plus-storage plan
The Golden State recently signed AB 2661, granting the Westland Water District authority to develop transmission lines that will enable solar energy and storage projects on 130,000 acres of drainage-impaired farmland.
Californians across party lines voice support for solar, distrust of utilities
Despite broad support for rooftop solar, the state’s Governor Newsom, the Public Utilities Commission, and the state’s investor-owned utilities are making it harder for homeowners, schools and farms to install solar.
California utility offers bidirectional EV charging at dynamic hourly rates
Customers of California utility PG&E who own certain models of electric vehicles may enroll in a pilot program for bidirectional EV charging. The program aims to show how improving distribution circuit utilization can keep customer costs down, by reducing the need for distribution upgrades.
Illinois energy storage legislation may save ratepayers $30 per month
A pair of proposed bills aimed at improving grid reliability through installing distributed energy resources like rooftop solar is expected to save the electric bill payers $3 billion through 2050.
In case you missed it: Five big solar stories in the news this week
pv magazine USA spotlights news of the past week including market trends, project updates, policy changes and more.
Californian city introduces temporary moratorium on battery storage sites
While the San Diego County Board of Supervisors had unanimously rejected a proposed moratorium on battery energy storage systems (BESS) only a month ago, Escondido has now officially passed an interim urgency ordinance prohibiting new commercial BESS developments within the city.
Sunrise brief: IEA forecasts over 4,000 GW of new solar by 2030
Also on the rise: Form Energy raises $405 million for its multi-day iron-air batteries. Bipartisan initiative to accelerate deployment of distributed energy resources in U.S. And more.
Sunrise brief: Over 60% of surveyed Trump voters in Texas said they support solar tax credits
Also on the rise: Heliene receives $54 million investment to boost U.S. manufacturing. Enabling distributed battery owners in every state to earn compensation. And more.
Analyzing countervailing duty tariff rates on solar cells
Import tariff rates range from 0.14% to nearly 300% of the cost of shipped goods on certain solar cells and modules shipped from Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
SEIA: IRA tax changes will leave energy storage in the cold
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says a low-income tax credit “adder,” which is part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Investment Tax Credit (ITC), will be replaced by a regime that does not apply to energy storage systems.
