How Canadian hydro could save New England and New York $5.4 billion
MIT researchers model how 4 GW of powerlines connecting the northeast USA to Quebec hydroelectric facilities eliminates the need for up to 60 GW of wind, solar and storage as the two regional power grids approach 100% clean energy.
Morning Brief: How clean is energy storage? New York clean energy and California solar mandate under attack
Also in today’s brief: New Hampshire solar wildlife access, Iowa solar compromises
California Solar Mandate weakened by Commission’s new definition of community solar
Does the update to California’s solar mandate undermine residential solar and storage, as advocates claim? Or does the new definition of “community solar” provide more choice to builders and low-income homeowners? The answer might be “yes” to both questions.
First Solar announces surprise Q4 loss, considers sale of its development business
“First Solar, at its core, is a technology and module manufacturing company,” said Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar. “Given the significant evolution of developing utility-scale PV projects in the United States, we believe now is an appropriate time to evaluate our options with respect to our U.S. project development business line.”
Tesla can continue to cut trees for German ‘gigafactory’
Tesla has secured approval from the Berlin-Brandenburg administrative court to start clearing 91 hectares of forest for its first European “gigafactory,” which is scheduled to start operations in summer 2021.
Americans want renewables and are willing to pay for them
U.S. renewable energy use has grown significantly in the last decade, yet data from a new survey suggests many Americans may not fully understand the importance of solar and wind.
Solar development on farms can save farmers and farmland
At Solar and Storage Northeast in Boston, panelists comprised of solar experts, policy directors and national community solar leaders sat down to discuss what can be done for the symbiotic relationship between community solar projects and agricultural landowners.
Solar electronics leaders Enphase and SolarEdge post strong Q4 and massive 2019
The leaders in solar module-level power electronics are profitable and making enormous jumps in revenue. All signs point to a strong 2020 for residential solar — which could keep the momentum going.
Morning Brief: Google’s airborne wind turbine ‘moonshot’ closes, SEIA on Black History Month, solar under storm
Also in the morning brief: Maine’s renewable procurement, Scatec Solar’s big South African solar plant, Silfab Solar’s manufacturing expansion in Washington, plus the NABCEP conference is next month.
Rocky Mountain Power, a Warren Buffett-owned utility, is again seeking to kill off residential solar power
Rocky Mountain Power has proposed an almost 80 percent cut to the rate paid to net metered solar electricity, dropping it from the current 9.2¢/kWh to a rough average of about 2.0¢/kWh.
