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.
From the editor: Carbon pricing is not a substitute for concrete policies
The time for passive market action has passed.
Philadelphia finds a new way to support low-income solar
In this op-ed for pv magazine, Bentham Paulos examines how Philadelphia is using Solarize to bring the benefits of solar to low-income residents.
Denver sets a course for 100% renewable electricity by 2030
The city’s bold 80×50 plan also covers the decarbonization of transport and a reduction in building energy use, with municipal buildings, fleets and energy use leading the charge.
One blockchain to rule them all
Utility regulator Andy Tobin of the Arizona Corporation Commission has filed a docket to explore the potential role of blockchain technology on the power grid, suggesting that we are entering an age of energy technology convergence.
EQ Research: Utilities aren’t getting the fixed charges they seek
The latest quarterly update from EQ shows that while utilities in many states saw fixed charge increases in Q2, it was not a vast majority, with almost half of all decided cases ending in a wash or no increase for utilities.
