Kansas

Long seen as a slow region for solar deployment, the U.S. Midwest has seen an explosion of project development in recent years. And while there is still a lot of speculation and uncertainty, one way or another this region is going to see major development.

Enel acquired renewable developer Tradewind’s 13 GW portfolio of wind and solar plus storage projects in the United States, and then immediately sold the 6 GW portion of the portfolio that is solar+storage projects to Macquarie.

Good morning and welcome to the pv magazine USA morning brief. Today we also bring you Kansas’ solar advocates pushing back against discriminatory fees, NREL getting testing uncertainty down to 1.1%, a new CMO at JinkoSolar, and more…

In part 2 we look at more of some of the action in 2018, from the dramatic growth of the 100% renewable energy movement to California’s mandate for rooftop solar on new homes.

A new analysis by Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables finds that the renewable energy and climate ambitions of governors elected on November 6 could increase the total market for solar in five states by 17.7 GWac, if all five pass 50% by 2030 mandates.

The latest report from North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center finds a surge in proposed fees for distributed generation solar customers, as increasingly complicated structures are proposed to replace net metering.

A recent analysis from the U.S. Department of Energy shows the Midwest and Plains States in the lead, but the coasts are on a track to catch up thanks to mandates.

A group of eight Republican senators has sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative and other federal agencies calling for utility-scale solar panels to be exempt from the Section 201 tariffs.

Another Plains State will add a solar farm under the auspices of Lighthouse BP, the result of BP’s acquisition last year that heralded its return to the solar market.

Sean Gallagher of SEIA comments on the burgeoning regional solar market at the Solar Midwest conference in Chicago.