Colorado

Competition was fierce in Xcel Energy’s Colorado community solar RFP, and UX Solar is now building 8 MW of capacity to serve commercial and residential subscribers.

One of the state program’s main goals is to “support communities feeling the impacts of the transition from coal.”

The newly combined independent power producer brings to the table a 4.2 GW generation portfolio, including 543 MW of solar.

Utility regulators approved Xcel Energy’s plan to spend $102 million over three years to build charging stations, incentivize homeowners to install charging equipment and provide support for converting school buses, government and business fleets to electric.

“Determining how many years a solar panel will last can take, well, years.”

A number of important clean energy initiatives were on the ballot across the country: Boulder, Colorado’s effort to form a municipal utility, Denver’s clean-energy-focused sales tax increase — plus one major utility in Wisconsin’s unprecedented commitment to solar.

Also in the brief: Iberdrola’s deal worth $8.3 billion adds PNM Resources to its Avangrid business. The value of energy storage for military resilience. And Also emotional ownership is the key to delivering community solar.

Dean Solon, CEO of Shoals: “A lot of people thought that the 100 MW fields were all dead, but those suckers are coming back with a vengeance.”

Solar advocates appeal to the courts as the state’s utilities and Public Utilities Commission move to cut bill credits to community solar subscribers — and potentially open the door to further reductions.

The iron and steel sector is the “world’s largest industrial source of climate pollution.” This steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado will be the first in North America to rely on solar power.