March 2017

It seems like just about every other day, I come across a new report highlighting how great the solar industry is doing, both in the U.S. and globally. For example, the latest stats released by SEIA verify the U.S. market broke installation records by a wide margin in 2016 – a year during which the [...]

The U.S. solar industry is made up of more than 9,000 companies, most of which interact with customers every day. Word-of-mouth recommendations are vital for our companies and their reputations, and the emphasis the industry places on consumer protection is one of the reasons solar has such strong approval ratings. The Solar Energy Industries Association [...]

As projections for utility-scale solar energy development continue to skyrocket, project developers have become more sophisticated in reducing environmental and regulatory risk, thereby making projects more attractive to potential financiers and buyers. In North America, Phase I environmental site assessments (ESAs) are conducted to identify contamination at a site and are a critical component of [...]

The rapid growth of distributed solar in a number of states has raised questions about its potential effects on retail electricity prices, prompting concerns about cost-shifting between solar and non-solar customers. These concerns have led to a proliferation of proposals to reform retail rate structures and net energy metering (NEM) rules for distributed solar customers, [...]

2016 was a banner year for most aspects of the U.S. solar industry, perhaps none as meaningfully as for solar serving low-income communities. Multiple states enacted policies expanding solar access, but action in three states and the District of Columbia, in particular, could pave the way for new capacity, lower utility bills, and expand workforce [...]

The second half of 2016 was a roller-coaster ride for the global solar PV industry. Although the third quarter of 2016 was marked by oversupply with slow demand, strong price decline, and high inventories throughout the module supply chain, the fourth quarter presented more balanced supply and demand with higher module shipments, stabilized pricing and [...]

It’s Official! U.S. Solar Market Shattered Records In 2016 It’s no surprise that the U.S. solar sector broke records in 2016 – analysts long expected it to be a boom year – but newly released data highlights just how wildly successful the market was. In its biggest year to date, the U.S. solar industry nearly [...]

Veto Override: Md. Lawmakers Enact Clean Energy Jobs Maryland state lawmakers have proven that even a governor’s veto can’t keep them from their desire to support solar and wind power. In late January, the Maryland House of Delegates voted 88-51 to override Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of the Clean Energy Jobs Act, legislation to increase [...]

NRG Revives SunEdison Solar Projects In Hawaii NRG Energy Inc. and utility Hawaiian Electric have reached agreements to revive solar projects that were originally proposed by now-bankrupt renewables firm SunEdison. NRG and Hawaiian Electric have signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the utility to buy electricity generated by two Oahu grid-scale solar facilities. The 14.7 [...]

Utility Tucson Electric Power Turns To Energy Storage Tucson Electric Power (TEP), a utility that provides electricity to approximately 417,000 customers in southern Arizona, says it is enhancing the resiliency of the local electric grid with new large-scale energy storage facilities. According to the utility, a subsidiary of Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources recently completed construction [...]