A new approach to unlocking the corporate solar market without virtual net metering
In this guest post for pv magazine USA, Soltage Senior VP Marc Miller looks at the Contract for Differences (CfD) model as a way to further expand corporate adoption of solar, particularly in states that do not have Virtual Net Metering policies.
Cheap gas and renewables are making merchant power untenable (w/ charts)
A new report by Power Research Group and Wilkinson Barker Knauer finds that cheap natural gas, wind and solar make it impossible for merchant plants to recover invested capital, and threaten the basic operation of wholesale power markets.
Business as usual: Energy Department awards $32 million in small-business grants
Despite having the sword of Damocles hanging over the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), it is still doing its job – encouraging small businesses to innovate in the clean-energy economy so that if the industry is ever no longer under siege, it will not have fallen irreversibly behind the rest of the world.
Optimism and concern at the REFF Wall Street conference
While there were many good indicators at ACORE’s 14th REFF Wall Street conference, there are worries around the Suniva Section 201 trade case.
PURPA finds itself under siege in Wyoming
Rocky Mountain Power is asking the Wyoming Public Service to slash severely the reimbursement rates it is required to pay to qualifying facilities under the 1978 law, arguing falling solar and natural gas prices mean those rates are too high to sustain long term. (READ THE FULL FILING HERE)
Nevada Governor Sandoval vetoes RPS increase, community solar bills
After authorizing the return of net metering earlier in the week, Sandoval quietly killed two important pieces of renewable energy legislation.
Could a moderate influence be coming to the EPA?
Axios reporters Jonathan Swan and Amy Harder are reporting Scott Holmstead could be appointed as the deputy to Climate Change denier EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and that he might curb some of Pruitt’s worst instincts – but solar advocates shouldn’t be jumping for joy just yet.
Florida Governor Scott lifts tax burden on leased, C&I solar with bill signing
Florida’s solar market is finally truly open for business with the reduction in taxes on leased solar and C&I installations, as the utility-scale market also booms.
SEIA warns of potential job impacts of Section 201 petition
While the national solar association warns that 88,000 jobs will be lost in the event that Suniva’s proposal is approved, SolarWorld argues that the dismal outcomes predicted in the last round of trade action never materialized.
Updates to energy related bills in the 2017-2018 California legislative session
Stoel Rives’ Energy Team provides the latest update on the many solar and energy-related bills moving their way through the California legislature.
