Renewable Energy Focus
Solar Industry Magazine - Feb 9 President Barack Obama’s 2017 budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) includes a significant increase in clean energy research and development needed to drive economic growth, ensure energy security, and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the DOE. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says the fiscal year 2017 budget reaffirms President Obama’s commitment to Mission Innovation, an agreement made at COP21 by the U.S. and 19 other countries to double clean energy R&D over five years. Specifically, the request puts forward $5.85 billion in discretionary funding for clean energy R&D at the DOE – a 21 percent increase over the prior fiscal year.
Bloomberg - Feb 10 The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily halt President Barack Obama’s plan for cutting power-plant emissions may hobble one of his signature environmental efforts. It’s unlikely to smother renewable energy. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan is not scheduled to take effect until 2022, yet for the past two years clean energy has been the biggest new source of electricity in the U.S., adding more capacity than natural gas. Wind and solar accounted for 5.4 percent of the nation’s total energy mix in 2015, with growth driven primarily by renewable-energy targets set by individual states, federal tax credits, and the falling costs of producing green power. Even if the Supreme Court ultimately strikes down the Clean Power Plan, those incentives will remain.
Greentech Media - Feb 10 As installation costs continue to decline and retail electricity rates climb, residential solar economics have become increasingly attractive across the U.S. According to a new GTM Research report, 20 U.S. states are currently at grid parity, and 42 states are expected to reach that milestone by 2020 under business-as-usual conditions. When accounting for current net metering rules, rate design, and incentives, California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii lead the nation in residential solar attractiveness; in each state, solar can reduce an average customer’s electricity bill by 20 percent to 40 percent during the first year of system life. GTM Research found that North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Washington are the least attractive states for solar today.
New York Times - Feb 10 Just two years ago, SolarCity and other rooftop solar providers were Wall Street darlings, and prospects for growth were flying high, as enthusiasm for solar power was seemingly boundless. After all, they had built a better mousetrap, allowing the masses to install environmentally minded solar power systems at little or no cost to them and to reduce their electricity bills at the same time. But in two years, the landscape has drastically shifted. Nevada recently rolled back the generous support it gave rooftop solar systems; 20 other states are rethinking their policies, as well. Additionally despite the extension of an important federal tax credit last year, losses by rooftop solar companies have accelerated. SolarCity, the nation’s largest provider of rooftop systems, is but the most visible of a cluster of companies, built with the aid of government subsidies and utility incentives, now facing deep uncertainties, despite unflagging consumer interest and surging growth in renewable energy.
Los Angeles Times - Feb 10 California led a record-breaking year for solar power in 2015 that included the addition of more than 20,000 new jobs within the state – more than half of the positions the industry created nationwide, according to a new report. The California Solar Jobs Census report released last week found that roughly one out of three employees in the solar industry works in California. By the end of 2015, that total number of solar workers in the state exceeded 75,000. That's more than all the jobs held at the state's five largest utility companies combined, according to the California Solar Energy Industries Association.
KPBS - Feb 10 A new report shows reduced hydroelectricity generation, due to the drought in California, has increased costs to electric ratepayers and increased greenhouse gas pollution. The increase in electricity costs was more than $2 billion from October 2011 to September 2015. During that time period, the additional combustion of fossil fuels for electric generation also led to a 10 percent increase in the release of carbon dioxide from California power plants.
CleanTechnica - Feb 10 SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy developer, has signed a solar Power Purchase Agreement with the Stockton East Water District in Northern California. SunEdison will install 2.2 megawatts of solar panels atop the water district's property, which is expected to save the district more than $9.5 million in energy costs over the next 20 years, as well as 20 million gallons of water each year.
Press-Enterprise - Feb 10 The Palen solar project sought for public lands in eastern Riverside County is off again – this time indefinitely. The California Energy Commission on Wednesday rejected a request by a San Diego-based development firm to extend a deadline to start construction, and that meant the project’s state license retroactively expired. The decision kills the commission’s 2010 approval of the eight-square mile project near Desert Center. That approval came with a December 15, 2015 deadline to break ground. To go forward, the project now must start over with new environmental reviews, hearings, and decision-making.
