By Kelsey Misbrener Advocates are raising concerns about a proposal from Idaho Power Company that would increase utility bills and uncertainty for many businesses and farmers that want to use solar energy to meet their own electricity needs. The utility’s application to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, which was filed Friday, seeks to immediately suspend…
By Kelsey Misbrener After unanimous support in the South Carolina House of Representatives, the SC Energy Freedom Act (H. 3659) moves to the South Carolina Senate at a vital time for the state’s solar industry. As net metering cap deadlines approach, the bill is more important than ever. With overwhelming public support, as well as…
By Kelsey Misbrener The National Regulatory Research Institute has released a new study of actions by U.S. states to change distributed energy resources rate designs for the customer side of the meter. “Review of State Net Energy Metering and Successor Rate Designs” is a summary of the activity among state public utility commissions in finding…
By Kelsey Misbrener Encore Renewable Energy announced the commissioning of a 198-kW solar array on the roof of the UVM Medical Center on Holly Court in Williston, Vermont. The project began generating solar electricity in December 2018. UVM Medical Center will receive net metering credits at a discount, along with a steady stream of lease…
By [email protected] California is an undisputed clean energy juggernaut. Californians have developed the country’s most ambitious cap and trade program, own more electric cars than any other state, and have created 542,000 clean energy jobs. They have created Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs), to accelerate the adoption of renewables. And the entire state affirmed its commitment…
By Frank Andorka By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Nevada has long had a love/hate relationship with the rooftop solar industry. Despite having one of the highest insolation rates in the nation, it’s rooftop solar segment experienced a near-death experience when the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (NPUC) decided to eviscerate net metering at a December meeting…
By [email protected] You won’t have to look far to find a renewable energy market worth tracking next year. As more countries establish gigawatt-scale markets for renewables and storage, the global picture is getting much more diverse. Experts helped GTM identify at least 29 countries where wind, solar and energy storage prospects will be worth keeping…
By Frank Andorka By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent New England is one of the hottest solar areas of the country, with New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts getting all the attention. Unfortunately, New Hampshire may not be joining them after their governor vetoed a bill designed to raise an arbitrary 1 MW cap on net…
By Kelsey Misbrener The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its Q3 2018 edition of The 50 States of Solar. The quarterly series provides insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions on distributed solar policy, with a focus on net metering, distributed solar valuation, community solar, residential fixed charges, residential demand and…
By Frank Andorka By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent For all of Nevada’s struggles with solar energy – the inexplicable, precipitous shutdown of net metering that destroyed the rooftop industry for almost two years comes to mind – they are trying hard right now to bring about its renaissance. First, they reinstated net metering. Now they’re…
By Lisa Rosen Thursday, October 18, 2018 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT New utility rate structures like time of use (TOU) rates and net metering variations like California’s NEM 2.0 are becoming the new norm in many markets. To remain competitive, solar contractors need to understand how to maximize their customers’ savings under nontraditional rate…
By Kelsey Misbrener The Arizona Corporation Commission rejected a request today by two Arizona utilities to subject new solar customers to large monthly fixed charges that would undermine the economics of rooftop solar. As part of their recent rate cases, Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) and UNS Electric sought to stifle the growth of rooftop…
By Frank Andorka By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Duke Energy is asking the South Carolina Public Services Commission to reinstate retail net metering until a compromise can be reached on raising the current 2% cap, an issue that has roiled the South Carolina solar industry over the past 12 months. The utility has joined a…
By Kelsey Misbrener Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) hit its 2% net metering cap for the year in early July. Now, the utility has requested that the SC Public Service Commission revive net metering in DEC territory until a permanent solution can be worked out. Below is a press release from Ryan Mosier at Duke Energy:…
By Frank Andorka By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Could the Utah solar market be cratering just one year before Solar Power International heads to Salt Lake City. No. The answer is no. Despite breathless reporting over the weekend that implied that Utah’s market has hit the skids, most observers believe the market is simply correcting…