By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Like Puerto Rico, Haiti is a country that often only finds its way into the U.S. consciousness if something bad happens on the island nation. But one year after its new president launched his “Change Caravan,” there is potentially good news coming about the rural electrification of the country – and solar has played a critical role.

More than 7,000 individual solar systems have been provided since May 2017 to households in 11 of the most rural areas of the country. The government’s press released notably does not say installed, so it’s unclear how many of the systems are actually producing electricity at this time.

The country’s central solar power plant has also been reinforced and multiple community solar plants have been installed.

The push for solar electricity is part of President Jovenel Moïse’s major initiatives to electrify the country’s rural areas and provide everyone in the country 24-hour electricity by the end of his term.

Moise’s “Change Caravan” is his attempt to improve the country’s infrastructure more rapidly than ever before, to improve the country’s independence and resilience in the face of natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes.

As Steve Hanley reported in CleanTechnica earlier this month, “a study by Worldwatch calculated that Haiti receives about the same amount of sunlight annually as Phoenix, Arizona. Much of Haiti’s electricity comes from diesel generators. With the high cost of imported diesel … solar costs less than electricity from the grid the first day it is installed.”

Hanley added:

The government is fully supportive of the effort to bring renewable solar power to the country. Last September, parliament eliminated all import duties and tariffs on solar equipement, Forbes reports. Economy and Finance Minister Jude Alix Patrick Salomon stated in an interview with Haiti newspaper Le Nouvelliste, “we wanted to encourage, as part of this budget, the acquisition of equipment from alternative sources of energy.”

More:

10Power Leads Haiti Toward A Sustainable Future Powered By Solar Energy (CleanTechnica)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

If it feels like deja vu, you’re not the only one.

On Wednesday, Vivint Solar followed its fellow residential solar installer Sunrun in filing a petition with the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) for a declaratory statement assuring their customers they won’t be regulated as utilities if they install solar on their homes.

Sunrun broke the floodgates with the FPSC’s decision a little more than a month ago to issue, on a 5-0 vote, a statement declaring that neither Sunrun nor its customers would be considered regulated utilities once they had installed solar on their rooftops. The decision surprised some, who said the utilities – which wield significant power at all levels of politics in the Sunshine State – would never allow it.

No timetable has been set yet for hearing Vivint Solar’s petition, and just because the FPSC issued a statement for Sunrun does not mean they will do the same for Vivint.

Still, the precedent has been set.

Though other states have certainly been down this road before, the issues pending before the FPSC seem particularly important, given the state’s slow move toward solar in the first place. Low electricity prices, combined with the stranglehold the utilities have had on politics in Tallahassee, kept solar from growing in the state for the longest time.

That started to change during the 2016 elections, when utilities tried a ham-fisted maneuver to keep rooftop solar from becoming mainstream through the ballot process. Called Amendment 1, the effort cost the utilities millions of dollars and, when the truth about the amendment came out, Florida voters rejected the constitutional amendment overwhelmingly.

Since then, the utilities – or at least Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest – have been building their own solar farms hand over fist. But with the Sunrun decision last month, the market is primed for third-party rooftop solar providers to enter the state and compete directly with the utilities for the right to provide power to Florida consumers.

Only time will tell how it will all play out, but based on Vivint Solar’s filing, they’re betting on the future of third-party solar in the state.

More:

Florida Public Service Commission OKs Sunrun’s Petition – So It’s Full Speed Ahead

You can read the entire petition below.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

It’s easy to say the solar-focused publications are making a mountain out of the molehill when it comes to the negative effects of the solar tariffs. But it’s a whole different ballgame when the mainstream press starts taking notice – and they’ve started taking notice.

For example, Public Radio International (PRI) assigned reporter Jason Margolis to examine the issue for a five-minute segment that aired yesterday on public radio stations around the country. You can listen to the report, titled “The early impact of solar tariffs: Fewer American projects, fewer American jobs,” below.

For most of us inside the solar industry, the story sounds familiar and is replete with numerous names with which we are all extremely familiar. Cypress Creek. Abigail Ross Hopper and SEIA. Tom Werner and SunPower. MJ Shiao (who I will forever attach to GTM Research, even though he is now officially with Hanley Wood).

And, of course, the bete noires for most of the tariff stories in the past year: SolarWorld and Suniva.

Honestly, listening to the PRI story gave me a little interim hit of what I won’t get again until SolarWakeup Live! in Chicago next month, and then not again until Intersolar North America – some good solar experts talking about issues that matter to all of us.

So what? I hear you saying. This is old news. Why are we rehashing this story? Give us something new and shiny.

But here’s what it’s always important to remember: Not EVERYONE knows the story. That’s why I’d like to find out who pitched the story to PRI (if anyone – maybe Margolis did his own research and came to the story on his own). Because it’s this kind of outreach that is critical to getting solar’s story into the public consciousness even more firmly.

The story is only five minutes long and is worth the listen. Take the time, and then share it.

More:

The Tariffs Are Taking A Devastating Toll

11 States To Feel Sting Of Cypress Creek Retrenchment

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Mr. Matté

That was fast. Within 24 hours of Governor Phil Murphy signing two bills to expand solar electricity in the state, Black Bear Energy announced a 2.4-MW solar project in Cranberry, N.J., in conjunction with USAA Real Estate and EnterSolar.

OK, the two probably had nothing to do with each other, but the project is real and continues USAA’s longstanding commitment to sustainability, according to its website.

“We are pleased that this solar project will allow our site to generate clean, renewable energy,” said Jason McIntyre, director of real estate operations and sustainability at USAA Real Estate. “The installation will help us continue to build the business case for sustainable, energy-efficient operations.”

The project will consist of a solar array on top of the company’s building and produce enough electricity – more than 3,100,000 kWh during its first year of operation, in fact – to provide more than 85% of the building’s annual electricity use.

EnterSolar will build, own and operate the project.

“Partnering with Black Bear Energy and USAA Real Estate has enabled a win-win for landlord and tenants alike,” said Paul Ahern, president of EnterSolar. “This project will optimize environmental and financial benefits to USAA Real Estate while also providing the benefits of solar energy to the tenants on site.”

Black Bear Energy says it is excited to be working in the New Jersey market.

“We have enjoyed working with USAA Real Estate and EnterSolar and are excited to see this project break ground,” said Drew Torbin, Black Bear Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. “The New Jersey solar market provides great opportunity for commercial property owners to realize additional value from their existing portfolio and this project is just one such example.”