New Mexico will be the third state to go 100%
With the passage of the Energy Transition Act in both houses of New Mexico’s legislature, the state is poised to join California and Hawaii in setting a mandate to fully decarbonize its electricity system by 2045.
PG&E and the future of U.S. utilities
California utility Pacific Gas & Electric’s bankruptcy points to a crisis not only at the company, but in the business model for utilities in the United States. And it is far from clear what will come next.
Trump yet again proposes slashing clean energy R&D funding – and the ITC
The annual, futile attempt to cut funding at DOE and eliminate ARPA-E contains a new twist, all of which is even less likely to happen with a House controlled by the Democratic Party.
Courts reject FERC’s bid for jurisdiction in PG&E bankruptcy
A district court has ruled that the bankruptcy court will be where the decisions are made as to what happens to power contracts, ending a push by developers to give FERC a greater say.
Michigan regulators pump the brakes on DTE’s plans to increase customer charges (again)
The utility keeps trying to kill distributed solar, one way or another, and regulators just keep rebuffing them.
pvMB 3/7/19: PanelClaw Partners with Yotta, China plans a space-based solar station…and more!
Hey evrybody, the weekend is nearly here, but what’s already here is your Thursday edition of the pvMB. Today we’re taking a look at San Diego Gas and Electric’s time-of-use billing, Microsoft purchasing 74 MW of solar energy in North Carolina, HellermannTyton releasing First Solar module-specific wire hardware and everything else that matters today in solar.
Uncle Sam supporting cheap gallium arsenide, 30% efficient perovskite, and more
The DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy has awarded $50,000 to 20 teams that advanced to the semifinal stage of the American Made Solar Prize. The teams will now have 90 days to design a proof of concept.
100% zero-carbon energy policies advance in three states
Bills to move to 100% carbon-neutral electricity by 2030 and 2045 advanced in Washington and New Mexico, while Minnesota’s governor announced a plan to move his state to 100% zero-carbon by 2050.
pvMB 3/6/19: Hawaii stays at 27% renewables, GameChange Solar ups production capacity
Happy Hump Day and welcome to your Wednesday edition of the pv magazine USA morning brief. Today we’ll check out a GreenPeace co-founder comparing the Green New Deal to the End Times, ASU dominating the Solar Energy Technology Office awards, GRID Alternatives’ “Solar Spring Break” program and everything else interesting in the industry today.
North Dakota finally embraces big solar
For the first time, North Dakota will have a solar installation at least 1 MW in size. Actually, that’s an understatement, as state regulators have approved Geronimo Energy’s bid for a 200 MW project outside of Fargo.
