Community solar is open for business in the small state of Delaware. Credit: Ken Lund
House Democrats push for increased solar incentives in budget package
Washington, D.C.
A handful of Democrats are working to include a new Production Tax Credit for solar projects in the budget reconciliation package currently being debated by the House of Representatives. The draft package also includes an ITC extension and direct pay for solar incentives.
DOE Secretary asks all U.S. mayors to speed rooftop solar permitting process
Washington, D.C.
Dept. of Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm wrote an open letter to all U.S. mayors asking them to adopt NREL’s SolarAPP+ instant online permitting process. Granholm wrote that SolarAPP+ is a rare, easy way to cut red tape and empower more residents to go solar.
DOE releases blueprint for massive solar energy expansion in the United States
Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently published a study investigating the role solar power will play in the country’s urgent decarbonization. The department found that solar has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity by 2035, but bold policymaking is necessary to reach that goal.
Illinois sets goal of 40% renewables by 2030
Springfield, Illinois
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed an energy bill into law that sets an ambitious RPS of 40% renewable energy by 2030, which will spur construction of 4,000 MW of new utility-scale solar and 5,800 MW of new rooftop and community solar, according to Path to 100. The bill also sets requirements for diversity in deployment and hiring in the renewable energy industry.
Solar advocates sue California over solar licensing changes
Sacramento, California
The California Solar & Storage Association has sued the state over the new C-10 licensing requirement for installing solar + storage systems, according to The New York Times. CALSSA is arguing that it’s an unnecessary move that would seriously disrupt California’s solar industry.
Coalition of 347 diverse organizations sends letter to Gov. Newsom to preserve net metering
Sacramento, California
A coalition of nearly 400 organizations representing the business, housing, education and conservation sectors signed an open letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to preserve net metering in the state. The California Public Utilities Commission is currently working on updating the program.
SMUD plans to cut net-metering credits by 44% next year
Sacramento, California
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) adopted a policy to slash solar net-metering credits by 44% starting in March 2022. Solar advocates say the ruling undermines the utility’s prior commitment to climate relief since fewer customers will now be able to afford solar.
Study finds solar installation during new builds is highly economical
Sacramento, California
A study by BloombergNEF and Schneider Electric found that adding solar during new residential construction, as California now mandates, yields double the profitability over adding solar to existing homes. The extra returns can be contributed to lower soft costs as well as lower labor and construction costs.
New York governor sets huge solar goal during Climate Week 2021
Albany, New York
New York’s new governor, Kathy Hochul, kicked off Climate Week by calling for an expansion of the state’s solar program to reach at least 10 GW of distributed solar by 2030. NYSERDA is now tasked with creating a roadmap to reach that goal.
Delaware updates community solar rules to eliminate barriers
Dover, Delaware
Gov. John Carney signed a bill updating the state’s community solar rules to allow more development and subscriber access. The final legislation allows for multiple ownership models, increases the potential size of community solar projects, eliminates setup requirements and adds consumer protection measures.
“Dept. of Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm wrote an open letter to all U.S. mayors asking them to adopt NREL’s SolarAPP+ instant online permitting process. Granholm wrote that SolarAPP+ is a rare, easy way to cut red tape and empower more residents to go solar.”
That’s great and yet asking will not deter Mayors from using the permitting process from helping to fill their City coffers. What Granholm is asking these Mayors to do is reduce the soft costs and use a SolarAPP+ to make it ‘simple’ to install solar PV on one’s home. Like many politicians in the U.S. these Mayors are not looking to reduce permitting fees and try to generate money for the City by reducing permitting fees and “hope” volume will make up the difference.
” The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently published a study investigating the role solar power will play in the country’s urgent decarbonization. The department found that solar has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity by 2035, but bold policymaking is necessary to reach that goal.”
Take this so called “goal” and take a regional look at what each State of the Union is using right now for electricity generation and you will find in some places all decarbonized resources add up to 40% or more. Example: Arizona is in extreme drought and the amount of hydrogeneration was at 8% of the States needs, is down to around 2% now. But, Arizona has a combined solar PV generation capacity counting large utility and individual home solar PV systems installed is around 20%, utilities APS, SRP and TEP have solar PV farms and utility scale energy storage going in over the next four years, the Palo Verde Nuclear plant has been providing Arizona with about 35% of its energy needs each day. In Arizona this decarbonization has already happened and has been in place since about 2016.
” A study by BloombergNEF and Schneider Electric found that adding solar during new residential construction, as California now mandates, yields double the profitability over adding solar to existing homes. The extra returns can be contributed to lower soft costs as well as lower labor and construction costs.”
An article recently published has stated that the IRR of solar PV on new construction is right at 40%, solar PV installed on existing older homes is still at an IRR of about 20%, with green banks and interest rates what they are now, one can find something in the 5% loan range to combine many energy efficiency programs into one all encompassing loan.