Solar Energy

New Laws Require All New Roofs To Contain Solar Panels Or Green Space

November 29, 2019 By Rose Adams, Brooklynpaper.com Create! Brooklyn, Infrastructure, New York (NY), Reform, Solar Energy

Two laws requiring new property owners to build solar panels or green spaces on their roofs went into effect on Nov. 15 — marking a major step towards Brooklyn’s environmental sustainability, according to local green thumbs. “It’s important and very valuable,” said environmental activist Pete Sikora from the New York Community for Change, a local nonprofit. “It’s a critical step for New York City to meet the Green New Deal goals.” The legislation — which Councilman Rafael Espinal (D-Bedford Stuyvesant) first introduced to the City Council in July of 2018...

Excluding Nuclear, Fossils With Carbon Capture, & Biofuels From The Green New Deal Makes Financial & Climate Sense

January 27, 2019 By Mark Z. Jacobson, Mark A. Delucchi, Clean Technica Create! Green New Deal, Solar Energy, Wind

The Green New Deal and multiple proposed laws and resolutions in the U.S. House and Senate call for the United States to move entirely from fossil fuels to clean, renewable electricity and/or all energy. A new bill was just introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), calling for the U.S. to produce 100 percent of its electric power from renewables by 2035. Recently, though, some vocal advocates have pushed back, claiming that the only way prices will stay low with large amounts of renewables on the power grid is to use nuclear power, fossil fuels with carbon capture, and biofuels, which they claim are “zero carbon.” Here is why nuclear, fossils with CCS, and biofuels should be excluded.

This Co-Op Solar Project Will Be Owned By The Community Members It Benefits

November 14, 2018 Eillie Anzilotti, Fastcompany.com Create! Cooperatives, New Economy, Solar Energy

In Sunset Park, a waterfront neighborhood in central Brooklyn, nearly 30% of residents live below the poverty line. The neighborhood has dealt with a history of environmental burdens, particularly due to an expressway that runs above one of its main streets. For residents, high energy costs compound the air quality concerns produced by passing traffic and the presence of three nearby fossil fuel plants. A new initiative, though, is working to bring renewable energy to the neighborhood–and following a cooperative ownership model that’s helped stabilize energy prices in rural America. Across rural America, it’s not uncommon for people to own their energy sources.

Wave Of Renewable Energy Resistance Puts Solar Panels In Path Of Tar Sands Pipeline

October 4, 2018 Staff, Gofossilfree.org Resist! Pipelines, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy

Keystone XL is a proposed tar sands pipeline that would connect Alberta, Canada with Gulf Coast refineries carrying around 800,000 barrels per day of tar sands oil across the United States. President Obama rejected the federal permit for this project in 2015 because of the impact Keystone XL would have on our climate. One of Trump’s first moves in office was to reverse Obama’s decision and give TransCanada the federal permit for construction. In November 2017, the Nebraska Public Service Commission voted to give a “conditional” approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, mandating TransCanada use a different route. TransCanada is now scrambling to buy out politicians to move the project forward.

U.S. Utility Solar Contracts ‘Exploded’ In 2018 Despite Tariffs: Report

September 14, 2018 Nichola Groom, Reuters.com Create! New Economy, Solar Energy, Utilities

(Reuters) - Procurement of solar energy by U.S. utilities “exploded” in the first half of 2018, prompting a prominent research group to boost its five-year installation forecast on Thursday despite the Trump administration’s steep tariffs on imported panels. A record 8.5 gigawatts (GW) of utility solar projects were procured in the first six months of this year after President Donald Trump in January announced a 30 percent tariff on panels produced overseas, according to the report by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and industry trade group the Solar Energy Industries Association. As a result, the research firm raised its utility-scale solar forecast for 2018 through 2023 by 1.9 GW. The forecast is still 8 percent lower than before the tariffs were announced. A gigawatt of solar energy can power about 164,000 homes.

How Much Damage are Trump’s Solar Tariffs Doing to the U.S. Industry?

August 21, 2018 Dan Gearino, Insideclimatenews.org Educate! New Economy, Solar Energy, Tariffs, Trump Administration

The tariffs on imported solar panels imposed by the Trump administration six months ago have done little to dampen the booming solar market in the United States. Company executives and industry analysts say that the effects of the tariffs—increased prices for installations that could depress demand for solar projects and lead to thousands of job losses—have largely been cancelled out by other factors. Many developers had stockpiled cheap panels in anticipation of the import fees. China slowed the pace of domestic installations, creating a surplus of cheap panels that could spill into global markets. And U.S. consumers have a big incentive to install solar panels in the next 18 months, before U.S. tax incentives begin to phase out. So far, there's not enough data to tell how much the import fees are altering project costs, although it is clear that there has not been a dramatic shift.

Navajo Nations First Solar Project Now Producing Electricity For 13,000 Homes

July 12, 2018 Staff, Whitewolfpack.com Create! Indigenous Peoples, Solar Energy

The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, which owns the solar plant, touted the project as a major clean energy advancement on a reservation long known for fossil fuel development. A giant array of solar panels near the famed sandstone buttes of Monument Valley has begun producing electricity for the Navajo Nation at a time when the tribe is bracing for the loss of hundreds of jobs from the impending closure of a nearby coal-fired power plant. The Kayenta Solar Facility is the first utility-scale solar project on the Navajo Nation, producing enough electricity to power about 13,000 Navajo homes. The plant comes at a time when the area's energy landscape is shifting. The coal-fired Navajo Generating Station near Page is set to close in December 2019, leaving a site that both tribal and private entities say has the potential for renewable energy development.

Solar Investment Down Nearly 20% From The First Half Of 2017

July 11, 2018 Emma Foehringer, Greentechmedia.com Create! Investment, Solar Energy

Despite the drop, overall investment remains stable, with wind and other clean energy technologies picking up the slack. New data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows a 19 percent reduction in solar financing in the first half of 2018, compared to the same period last year. Continued declines in project costs, along with a policy shakeup in China, drove the drop. BNEF expects the ramifications from both to build in the second half of the year. But where investment in solar faltered, other clean energy technologies made up the difference. Wind saw a particularly sharp 33 percent increase in investment over the first half of 2017, rising to a total of $57.2 billion. While lower relative to previous years, solar investments still outperformed wind so far this year at $71.6 billion. Overall, clean energy investment dropped just 1 percent and totaled $138.2 billion in the first half of 2018.

Solar Is Saving Low-Income Households Money In Colorado. It Could Be A National Model

July 3, 2018 Dan Gearino, Insideclimatenews.org Create! Affordable Housing, Colorado, New Economy, Solar Energy

Low-income households in Colorado are getting a new question during visits from energy assistance agencies: Have you considered solar panels? It's an innovative approach to solving two challenges at once: reducing greenhouse gas emissions as the effects of climate change appear across the state, and lowering low-income families' electricity bills. The results can make a big difference for residents like Joe Anderson, whose power bills have been cut by two-thirds since 13 solar panels were installed free-of-charge on his ranch-style house under one Colorado program. "I felt like I kind of got the luck of the draw," he said. Colorado is emerging as a national model for how to expand renewable energy to low-income homes. The state has been pursuing low-income solar programs since 2015, and it's on track to have 20 megawatts installed by the end of 2019 as those programs ramp up.

Cooperatives Lauded As ‘Trailblazers’ In Community Solar

May 23, 2018 Michael W. Kahn, Electric.coop Create! Cooperatives, New Economy, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy

Looking for community solar? Your best bet is in electric cooperative territory. “In terms of the number of community solar programs, cooperative utilities have been trailblazers,” states a new report from the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). The report finds 160 co-ops have a program, though NRECA puts the number at nearly 200. “This far exceeds the total in investor-owned utilities (31 programs) and public power utilities (37 programs) combined,” SEPA noted. Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association in Rockford, Minnesota, is among the co-ops offering community solar, and CEO Tim Sullivan said it’s a big hit. “We have almost 400 kilowatts of community solar in four different arrays and our members love it.

How Solar Panels On A Church Rooftop Broke The Law In N.C.

May 15, 2018 Dan Gearino, Insideclimatenews.org Resist! Law, North Carolina, Solar Energy

A North Carolina environmental group that tried to challenge the state's utility monopoly by installing solar panels on the roof of a predominantly African-American church and selling the church cheap, clean power has lost its appeal to the state's highest court. Advocates say they are disappointed in the ruling, but they aren't giving up the fight to lift restrictions on clean energy. The case involved an attempt to bust through restrictions that solar advocates face in much of the Southeast. The region has a history of maintaining strong utility monopolies while other states have opened their markets to competition. The result, advocates say, limits rooftop solar in a region with some of the strongest solar power potential.

California Becomes First State Requiring All New Homes Be Built With Solar

May 10, 2018 Rob Nikolewski, Sandiegouniontribune.com Create! California, Legislation, Solar Energy

Environmental groups hailed the decision, pointing to estimates that energy use in buildings account for about one-fourth of greenhouse gas emissions in California. The state’s four investor-owned utilities — including San Diego Gas & Electric — also came out in favor of the measure. A representative for the Utilities Codes and Standards statewide team said the rule is “a cost effective way to help customers reduce energy use, lower greenhouse gas emissions and represent(s) a significant milestone in the continued effort to achieve California’s long-term energy and climate goals.” Under Senate Bill 350, passed in 2015, the state must double statewide energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas end uses by 2030. California also calls for at least 50 percent of state’s electricity to come from clean-energy sources by 2030. The updated code, which includes an option to promote solar paired with battery storage systems, figures to give the solar industry a big boost.

Utilities Kill Solar Bill Despite Majority Support In SC House

April 14, 2018 Sammy Fretwell, Thestate.com Educate! Legislation, Solar Energy, South Carolina, Utilities

Under pressure from the state's major utilities, the S.C. House killed a solar bill Tuesday that was intended to protect thousands of jobs and save customers money on their monthly power bills. The bill's defeat, a stunning reversal from a House vote last week, brought withering criticism from many lawmakers, who said the House caved in to opposition by Duke Energy and SCE&G, derailing the legislation. Utilities have expressed concern about how competition from solar could affect them. State Rep. James Smith, the bill's chief sponsor, also blamed Republican Gov. Henry McMaster. Smith, a Democratic candidate for governor and potential opponent to McMaster in November's general election, said the Republican urged some lawmakers not to vote for the bill — a point McMaster's office hotly disputed.

Solar Foundation Presents Solar Jobs Maps, Local Data

April 3, 2018 John Weaver, Pv-magazine-usa.com Create! Solar Energy, Workers Rights and Jobs

The U.S. lost just under 10,000 solar jobs in 2017 versus 2016. And while it is difficult to say exactly what caused each job loss, analysts state that a majority came as a result of the “hangover” following the boom in installations in 2016 in advance of the expected drop-down of the U.S. Investment Tax Credit (ITC). However, the Section 201 tariffs and in particular the uncertainty in the Section 201 process have also been factors. And despite predictions of U.S. job growth by Suniva and SolarWorld, the U.S. has seen announcements of less than 500 new jobs in solar cell and module manufacturing. The report showed that California lost more than 13,000 total solar power jobs – a total greater than the decline in the entire nation. In fact, if the jobs lost in California, Massachusetts and Nevada were excluded, the United States would have seen a net increase of 8,600 jobs.

US Solar Installers Report Increased Optimism—Except In California

March 1, 2018 By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Greentechmedia.com Educate! California, Solar Energy

EnergySage said its annual survey indicates “solar installers have much to look forward to in 2018 and beyond.” Even as U.S. solar faced a tumultuous year, installer confidence "improved significantly" over 2016, according to a survey conducted by EnergySage and the installer certification organization the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. "From speaking with our installers across the country, we believe there are several reasons for continued optimism,” said Vikram Aggarwal, EnergySage’s CEO and founder, in a statement. “Given that prices remain competitive and the solar tariff is expected to have only a limited short-term impact, solar installers have much to look forward to in 2018 and beyond." EnergySage collected the data on December 14, 2017 and January 13, 2018.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 »

Daily movement news and resources