Sunrise brief: Solar generated 5.5% of U.S. electricity in 2023, a 17.5% increase
Also on the rise: Grid operators in California and Texas earn “B” grades, others score poorly. Calculating potential impact of EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All program. And more.
Calculating potential impact of EPA’s $7 billion Solar for All program
Solar for All can jumpstart the solar market and expand the benefits of solar far beyond the initial five years of the program. Clean Energy States Alliance notes that after the award decisions are announced, additional states will be evaluating strategies and more households will benefit from this funding over time.
South Dakota solar up 3600% in 2023, doubling again in 2024
South Dakota had a solar energy surge with the activation of its first utility-scale facility, an 80 MWac project. The state anticipates a doubling in capacity by 2024, with the addition of a second 128 MWac utility-scale solar facility.
New Hampshire seeks $70 million to expand low-income community solar
The state’s Department of Energy requested a federal grant under the EPA’s Solar for All program.
New York State hits a milestone with 2 GW of community solar installed
This top community solar market has a total of 5 GW of distributed solar and another 3.3 GW in development.
D.C. area targets 250,000 solar rooftops by 2030
There are currently about 72,000 solar rooftops in the target region that includes Washington D.C., Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland.
IRA one year later and the future of community solar
Achieving the Inflation Reduction Act’s goals and working through the clean energy transition is going to require innovative program designs and lots of them. The demand is enormous and bipartisan, coming from 45 red and blue states across the country; this diversity highlighting the importance of effective program design and selection by federal implementers.
Community solar to exceed 6 GW in 2023
Following a suppressed 2022, community solar is expected to have an upward trajectory, boosted by new state laws, the implementation of billions in grant money from the Inflation Reduction Act, and the smoothing of bumps in the supply chain.
EPA announces two grant opportunities for clean tech projects
Two Notices of Funding Opportunities total $20 billion and aim to mobilize private capital into clean tech projects to create jobs and lower energy costs.
Utility ordered to repay customers for illegal community solar metering
Pepco was found to undercount solar generation and failed to credit its customers in a timely fashion.
