Renewable Energy Focus
Greentech Media - Mar 1 More than half of new U.S. utility-scale solar in 2016 will be built outside of obligations to meet state-mandated renewable energy requirements, according to a new GTM Research report. Two factors are driving this growth. The first is the falling cost of solar. Utility-scale projects are now economically competitive with other generation sources and are meeting utilities’ peak power needs. Second, utility-scale arrays lock in multi-year pricing agreements, offering stability compared to more variable natural-gas prices.
Bloomberg - Feb 29 U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey plans to introduce legislation “soon” to extend a federal tax credit that will spur wind-farm development in coastal waters. The Massachusetts Democrat is seeking to extend the investment tax credit until 2025, he said at the U.S. Offshore Wind Leadership Conference in Boston. The policy grants a 30 percent credit for the costs of developing renewable-energy projects.
CBS Local - Feb 26 New legislation introduced last week by San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener would require all new construction within the city, including residential and commercial buildings, to have solar panels installed. The renewable energy ordinance would make San Francisco the first and only major city in the country to require the installation of solar panels on new buildings.
New legislation introduced last week by San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener would require all new construction within the city, including residential and commercial buildings, to have solar panels installed. The renewable energy ordinance would make San Francisco the first and only major city in the country to require the installation of solar panels on new buildings.
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New legislation introduced last week by San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener would require all new construction within the city, including residential and commercial buildings, to have solar panels installed. The renewable energy ordinance would make San Francisco the first and only major city in the country to require the installation of solar panels on new buildings.
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New legislation introduced last week by San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener would require all new construction within the city, including residential and commercial buildings, to have solar panels installed. The renewable energy ordinance would make San Francisco the first and only major city in the country to require the installation of solar panels on new buildings.
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Reuters - Mar 2 In California, regulators voted in January to preserve so-called net metering, which requires utilities to purchase surplus power generated by customers with rooftop solar panels. But neighboring Nevada scrapped the policy, prompting solar companies to flee the state. The decisions foreshadow an intensifying national debate over public support that the rooftop solar industry says it can't live without. More than 25 of the 40 U.S. states with net metering policies are reconsidering them, according to the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University. Opponents raise fairness concerns and argue that the industry no longer needs generous incentives, citing its rapid growth and solar panel prices that have fallen about 40 percent in five years.
In California, regulators voted in January to preserve so-called net metering, which requires utilities to purchase surplus power generated by customers with rooftop solar panels. But neighboring Nevada scrapped the policy, prompting solar companies to flee the state. The decisions foreshadow an intensifying national debate over public support that the rooftop solar industry says it can't live without. More than 25 of the 40 U.S. states with net metering policies are reconsidering them, according to the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University. Opponents raise fairness concerns and argue that the industry no longer needs generous incentives, citing its rapid growth and solar panel prices that have fallen about 40 percent in five years.
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In California, regulators voted in January to preserve so-called net metering, which requires utilities to purchase surplus power generated by customers with rooftop solar panels. But neighboring Nevada scrapped the policy, prompting solar companies to flee the state. The decisions foreshadow an intensifying national debate over public support that the rooftop solar industry says it can't live without. More than 25 of the 40 U.S. states with net metering policies are reconsidering them, according to the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University. Opponents raise fairness concerns and argue that the industry no longer needs generous incentives, citing its rapid growth and solar panel prices that have fallen about 40 percent in five years.
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Solar Industry Magazine - Feb 26 San Francisco-based utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) announced that nearly 30 percent of the power it delivers to its customers now comes from renewable energy. California state goals called for an average of 23.3 percent renewables between 2014 and 2016. PG&E says it surpassed that target, serving 29.5 percent of its retail electricity sales with renewable power in 2015. Additionally, PG&E says it is well ahead of schedule in meeting the state’s 33 percent by 2020 renewable portfolio standard.
ABC News - Mar 2 Oregon lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to pioneering legislation that will eliminate coal from the state's energy supply by 2030 and provide half of customers' power with renewable sources by 2040. The measure passed by the Oregon Senate underscores a leadership role on environmental issues the state has staked out over the years. The state House of Representatives approved the bill Tuesday. It makes Oregon the first state to eliminate coal by legislative action, and places it among a handful of other states with renewable energy standards 50 percent or higher.
North American Windpower - Feb 29 President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the largest single investment in clean energy in history, has provided more than $90 billion in strategic clean energy investments and tax incentives to promote job creation and the deployment of low-carbon technologies, as well as leveraged approximately $150 billion in private and other non-federal capital for clean energy investments, according to a new report released by the White House Council of Economic Advisors. According to the report, the Recovery Act increased the country’s capacity to manufacture wind turbines, electric vehicles, batteries, and other clean energy components domestically. It authorized a 30 percent tax credit for investments in more than 180 advanced energy manufacturing projects and provided $2.3 billion for renewable energy generation, energy storage, advanced transmission, energy conservation, renewable fuel refining or blending, plug-in vehicles, and carbon capture and storage.
PV-Tech - Feb 26 SolarCity, the largest residential solar PV installer in the U.S., has created a new tax equity fund to finance $249 million of solar projects. The fund covers the capital cost of solar equipment and installation. There is also an option to double the fund to a total of $498 million once allocated. SolarCity has not disclosed its funding partner, a Fortune 100 company, although the two entities have already worked together on three other solar project funds.
