News
Bipartisan bill aims to help solar producers take advantage of tax credit
The Hill – November 12
A new bipartisan bill aims to help the solar energy industry take advantage of a tax credit. The House legislation introduced this Thursday by Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and Dave Schweikert (R-Ariz.) would temporarily make the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) refundable, meaning that the amount of money that solar producers receive from the tax credit may exceed the amount that they owe in taxes. It would also slow the credit’s phasedown, under which the maximum amount solar producers could receive under the tax credit gradually reduces, by one year.
Judge extends order halting federal tariffs on bifacial solar panels
Greentech Media – November 6
The U.S. Court of International Trade last Friday extended a temporary block on the Trump administration’s bid to expand Section 201 tariffs to include two-sided solar panels. The extension means imported bifacial solar panels can continue to enter the United States tariff-free, despite numerous attempts to charge duties on those products. The latest intrigue in the back-and-forth on Section 201 tariffs concerns a presidential proclamation released in October. That proclamation extended Section 201 tariffs to bifacial solar products and increased the level of the tariffs from 15% to 18% in their final year while also opening the door to a possible tariff extension.
Nevada voters back 50%-by-2030 RPS constitutional amendment
S&P Global – November 5
Nevada residents voted to amend the state’s constitution to require electric utilities to source 50% of their power from renewable resources by 2030. The constitutional amendment prevents a future legislature from reversing the existing renewable portfolio standard without the additional say of voters. The vote on Question 6 marks the second and final approval needed for the amendment. The state already has an RPS standard of 50% by 2030, signed into law by Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak in 2019. Legislators extended the requirement to all electricity providers in an effort to sweep in large companies exiting from NV Energy.
APS offering $144M to Arizona tribes and others affected by coal plant closures
Arizona Republic – November 6
Arizona Public Service (APS) is proposing to offer $144 million in help to three coal-country and tribal communities where the company eventually will close its remaining coal-burning power plants. The plan would not only provide large investments in the Navajo Nation, Hopi tribe, and Joseph City area, but also includes plans to retain workers, electrify regions of the Navajo reservation that are off the power grid, and develop renewable energy projects like solar and wind plants.
With energy deal, Ocean Winds now behind Mayflower Wind project
WBUR – November 10
EDP Renewables, the co-owner of the 804-megawatt offshore Mayflower Wind project in Massachusetts, which is slated to begin operating in late 2025, has combined forces with another developer to form Ocean Winds. The project was formerly a joint venture of Shell and EDP Renewables Offshore North America. EDP Renewables on Monday announced the launch of Ocean Winds’ North American arm, OW North America, which will take the place of EDPR North America as 50% owner of Mayflower Wind. OW North America will also assume EDPR North America’s role in the public-private partnership that is working to develop a wind farm on floating platforms off the coast of Humboldt County, California.
|