By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent One. Step. Closer. Nearly a year after SB 100, the California bill that would mandate a 100% RPS by 2045, failed to make it out of committee, the bill is now on its way to a vote in the full Assembly after passing out of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee this afternoon. The measure had received 38,000 messages of support, delivered to lawmakers ahead of the vote by a broad coalition of solar, environmental and social justice activists. [wds id=”3″] In what would be a historic decision, the California Assembly could pass SB 100 … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent It’s not double, but it’s close. The new net-metering statistics are out in Florida, and the number of PV installations increased 92% from 2016 to 2017, from 4,365 to 8,434. It’s amazing what can happen when you rationalize your solar policy. [wds id=”3″] Needless to say, the state’s installers are thrilled with the news. “Florida’s solar growth has been explosive and it’s all due to the citizens who have been asking for solar for years,” said Michael Vergona, president of UrbanSolar. “Everyone wants another option for producing their own power and harnessing our abundant sun.” … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent You know how some people claim to have the gift of seeing the future? Well, I’m lucky enough to know someone who actually does see the future, and his name is Yann Brandt. OK, Yann won’t be doing palm readings at the Quick Mount PV booth at Intersolar next week or anything like that (note to Yann: a side business, perhaps?), but he was prescient enough to foresee the largest solar + storage deal announced yesterday at Moss Landing in California two weeks before it happened. [wds id=”3″] On June 19, Yann wrote: What if, … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent One year after making its request, Interstate Power & Light, an Iowa utility, has backed off its plan to offer electricity from existing solar and wind project at higher prices to its customers, formally withdrawing the proposal from before the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB), according to a report in Midwest Energy News. Instead, the utility has issued requests for proposals for community solar projects ranging from 2 MW to 7 MW. It will take bids through July 25 and hopes to have a finalized plan before the IUB by September. [wds id=”3″] The premium pricing … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent No one knows exactly what progressive billionaire Tom Steyer hoped to accomplish with his pro-solar ballot initiatives. Taken on their face, his amendments in Nevada and Michigan are designed to accelerate clean energy development in those states. In the aforementioned states, the question is a little more clear: Steyer is not about putting ballot issues before voters simply for the sake of getting the vote. While the issue will go before Nevada voters, Steyer’s group in Michigan used the ballot initiative as a bargaining chip to extract clean energy promises from the state’s two largest … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Opposition to President Donald J. Trump’s policies seem to be falling away at an increasingly rapid pace – one more obstacle to his nuclear and coal bailout has gone by the wayside. Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Robert Powelson, who had steadfastly opposed the plans to prop up failing nuclear and coal plants unexpectedly announced that he will retire from FERC effective in mid-August. Powelson will be leaving to take over as the president and CEO of the National Association of Water Companies. [wds id=”3″] Losing a staunch ally in the fight over the bailout at … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent As the solar industry has continued to grow, it’s easy to forget that Burlington, Vermont, was the first city in the United States to go 100% solar. The Green Mountain State has quietly grown its solar industry somewhat below the radar, but there are signs that it’s beginning to mature as a market. One such indication is that Vermont-based Suncommon, a residential solar installer, just recently received a credit facility to fund its expansion into the Hudson Valley from Citizens Bank. Earlier this year, Suncommon acquired New York-based Hudson Solar and plans to use the … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent It’s easy to talk consumer protection, but it’s another thing to actually do something about it. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has taken it upon itself to be the most vocal advocate for consumer protection in the solar industry – and now they’ve got a residential consumer guide to match the rhetoric. The national solar organization has updated its SEIA Residential Consumer Guide to Solar Power to reflect a focus on creating a positive buying experience for residential solar consumers with a one-stop guide to the ins and outs of purchasing residential solar, including … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent Commercial solar is the most challenging segment of the solar industry in which to find low-cost financing. Open Energy, a commercial financing provider, is trying to fix that problem by creating the first lending exchange for commercial scale solar developers and installers. Called The Open Energy Finance Exchange, it allows more than 60 lenders to compete to fund a project, driving down costs and improving terms for project developers. The exchange reportedly will provide access to $5 billion in capital. [wds id=”3″] The key to the exchange is the loan quote tool, which helps project … Read More →

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent The utilities showed their muscle again in South Carolina, “persuading” legislators to remove two pro-solar provisions from the state’s budget bill and scuttling the chances of fomenting solar growth during this legislative session. Removing the state’st net metering caps and encouraging more purchases of solar electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) had been in the bill until the last moment, when they were removed because they allegedly didn’t meet the standards for being part of the budget process. [wds id=”3″] The move was reminiscent of a similar maneuver earlier this year when the net-metering provision … Read More →