Policy

Interview: In December Energy Democracy, a book telling the story of Germany’s Energiewende from the perspective of citizen ownership of renewable energy, hit the shelves. The book is the latest collaboration of Political Scientist Arne Jungjohann and renewable energy writer Craig Morris, currently a senior fellow at the IASS in Potsdam, who worked together on the German Energy Transition website (energytransition.de). pv magazine caught up with Jungjohann to talk about the book, and why citizen involvement in energy is important.

Under the guise of creating “consumer protections” from unscrupulous installers, two companion bills in the state place such onerous requirements on solar companies that it could significantly slow down the industry’s progress in the state. Other legislation moving through New Mexico’s legislature would boost solar. Will the real New Mexico solar policy please stand up?

Can solar be moved from a must-take contract to a dispatchable resource – and provide grid services as well? Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) has a look at how this could work.

With lawmakers claiming the solar income-tax credit was costing the state $60 million per year, the solar industry agreed to a phase out of the credits by 2021 in lieu of severe caps that would have limited the number of Utahns able to take advantage of it.

Standard Solar’s Tony Clifford says yesterday’s veto override of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of the Clean Energy Jobs Act was a great (though not entirely unexpected) start to growing the state’s solar industry, it can’t be the end game. In this essay, he discusses what he thinks the next Maryland solar industry goal should be.

The Maryland Senate, following the lead of the House, completed the expected veto override this afternoon, sending Gov. Larry Hogan a stunning rebuke and reflecting the will of the overwhelming pro-solar Maryland population.

The state has unveiled the latest version of its next solar incentive program, and will extend eligibility for larger projects under the SREC 2 program until the new program starts.

Current solar customers are grandfathered for 15 years, but customers who sign up next year will see their net-metering benefits decline over time.

After President Donald J. Trump announced plans to close the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), most solar observers assumed the Sunshot Initiative was dead, too. But an announcement yesterday of a new round of funding proves the vital program isn’t quite dead yet.

In the latest 50 States of Solar Report from the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, net metering once again topped the list of actions of policies that states tried to change in 2016.