By Billy Ludt Renewable energy company Green Lantern Solar has completed the construction of a 150-kW solar array in Bristol, Vermont. Bristol will be the off-taker of net metering credits generated by this array, providing a direct benefit to the town’s bottom line by reducing its electricity bills. “The Bristol South project is a great…
By Kelsey Misbrener Energy + Environmental Economics, an energy consulting firm commissioned by SMUD to study the value of solar in its service territory, released an independent study that evaluated the value of solar in the Sacramento area. The study evaluated the value of solar, the value of solar + storage when managed by SMUD…
By [email protected] The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday unanimously rejected a plea to declare all state solar net-metering policies illegal, a victory for solar industry groups and state policymakers. All four FERC commissioners voted to dismiss the April petition from the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA), which argued that FERC, not states, should have…
By Kelsey Misbrener Today the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) signaled that it will extend net metering through January 2022 for current customers based on the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on the solar industry. In addition, the NYPSC established modest changes to net metering that will impact future rooftop solar customers in 2022….
By Kelsey Misbrener The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today dismissed a controversial petition to end state and local jurisdiction over net metering programs. The petition was brought by the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) and drew significant bipartisan pushback from around the country. Solar and clean energy advocates celebrated the dismissal. “As the leader of…
By [email protected] The group claiming status as a ratepayer advocacy group in its attempt to get federal regulators to override state net metering regimes has finally revealed the identity of one of its members. But that revelation appears to strengthen claims by its opponents that it is representing energy industry interests rather than those of…
By Billy Ludt More than 450 environmental and energy-justice, faith and labor groups from more than 30 states urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the New England Ratepayers Association’s petition seeking federal jurisdiction over state solar policies. An April petition filed by the “ratepayers association” claims that retail net metering should be under…
By Kelsey Misbrener The Center for Biological Diversity filed a brief today urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject a pending petition aimed at gutting net metering for distributed-solar power by putting it under federal control. A declaratory order petition filed in April by the secretive New England Ratepayers Association claims that retail net…
By [email protected] The Edison Electric Institute has battled against solar net-metering policies for years. But on Thursday the primary industry group for U.S. investor-owned utilities confirmed that it is staying neutral on a controversial petition asking federal regulators to declare net metering illegal. On June 15, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will close comments on…
By [email protected] A recent petition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could trigger nationwide changes to solar net metering. On April 14, the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) petitioned FERC to assert jurisdiction over any on-site, behind-the-meter generation that injects energy onto the grid. If FERC asserts such jurisdiction in the manner requested by NERA,…
By Billy Ludt Encore Renewable Energy received permitting approvals to begin construction on a 5-MW array on underutilized land in Oakland, Maine. Once completed, the new solar array will produce enough clean electricity to power nearly 10,000 Maine homes. Encore was selected by Competitive Energy Services (CES) of Portland, Maine to provide net metering credits…
By SPW By Adam Gerza, COO of Energy Toolbase Energy storage net energy metering (aka NEM paired storage) allows a customer with a behind-the-meter solar + storage system to discharge their battery, exporting stored energy back to the grid and receive a net energy metering credit, if the battery can verifiably charge 100% from solar….
By [email protected] Solar net metering, the backbone of the U.S. rooftop solar market for the past two decades, may be facing its most important legal challenge in years — and it’s coming at a time when the industry is already reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A nonprofit group that’s spent years fighting…
By Kelsey Misbrener Governor Ralph Northam is accelerating Virginia’s transition to clean energy by signing the Virginia Clean Economy Act and by amending the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act that requires Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. “These new clean energy laws propel Virginia to leadership among the states in fighting…
By [email protected] The solar-plus-storage market is evolving rapidly and will look completely different a decade down the road. What can we expect on the way to 2030? Here are 10 predictions. All-in-one systems will be the new normal 1. Lots of storage Batteries will be incentivized or mandated for practically every new solar PV system…