Big oil going big solar
MMEX Resources has begun negotiations for additional acreage at the site of its distillation plant and refinery to add 75-100 MW of solar power. The company already has 1 MW installed.
Facebook and Pacific Power plan 437 MW of solar in Utah, Oregon
Two projects totaling 100 MW will be built by Invenergy to serve the company’s data center in Prineville, Oregon
Regulators shoot down Indianapolis Power & Light’s extreme fixed charge increase
Indianapolis Power & Light and the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor have reached a settlement that avoids an increase in fixed charges to $27 per month.
Tesla Powerwalls and PowerPacks save Vermont $500,000 during heatwaves
Green Mountain Power suggests 500 distributed Tesla Powerwalls plus two larger energy storage facilities have saved its customers $500,000 this summer during peak demand hours.
pv magazine & Kiterocket bring the party to Intersolar North America
Nearly 200 professionals including some of the top names in solar attended the Kiterocket/pv magazine afterparty last Wednesday.
Trio of bills introduced in New York City to mandate solar, wind or plants on new buildings
The three bills introduced in the City Council would require new buildings to host solar PV, small wind turbines or “green roofs” of plant covering, however rooftop solar still faces unique barriers in the city.
Smart residential solar inverters prepping to run the grid
PG&E has filed an interim report on customer-sited behind-the-meter smart inverters. The utility sees strong potential benefit for the grid with this technology, but says more standardization and reliable communication protocols must be established before a broad roll-out can occur.
REC Silicon hit by falling demand in Q2
The polysilicon maker has been a casualty of the trade war between the United States and China. Following layoffs, the company expects its plant in Washington to run at only 25% capacity until the trade war is resolved.
LONGi to supply $600 million in modules to the U.S. market
The Chinese ingot, wafer cell and module giant has signed a significant sales contract for the shipment of solar PV modules to an unidentified customer in the United States.
APS spends $11 million, can’t keep renewable initiative off the ballot
The utility has poured money into dirty tricks to keep a referendum on increasing Arizona’s renewable energy mandate to 50% by 2030 off the ballot. But with more than double the needed number of signatures needed, it looks like APS is losing this round.
