News
Solar companies warn Department of Commerce that proposed import tariffs would devastate solar sector
PV-Tech – September 16
In a letter sent to Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, more than 190 U.S. solar companies said that proposed duties on imports of modules and cells from three Southeast Asian countries represent an “immediate and serious threat” to America’s solar sector. Signed by manufacturers, developers, installers, financiers, and service providers across the U.S. solar supply chain, the letter urges the Department of Commerce to decline a request to initiate circumvention investigations recently filed by an anonymous group.
California grid limits may worsen inequitable access to solar energy: study
The Hill – September 13
California grid constraints could exacerbate the existing racial inequities tied to solar energy adoption, a new study in Nature Energy has found. The prohibitive upfront costs associated with solar installations have already driven a wedge between those who can and cannot afford to integrate such clean technologies on their rooftops, according to the authors. But the structural limitations of the state’s electricity grids leave disadvantaged populations with less grid capacity to host renewable energy.
Longest-operating solar thermal facility retires nearly entire capacity
Solar Industry Magazine – September 20
The Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) facility in California’s Mojave Desert recently retired five of its solar plants and plans to retire a sixth this month, leaving only one solar thermal unit in operation, based on information submitted to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. SEGS, which began operating in 1984, is the world’s longest-operating solar thermal power facility.
Los Angeles County proposes agency to support microgrids
Microgrid Knowledge – September 14
Los Angeles County last week made an eye-opening proposal — a $41 million program that includes a regional microgrid agency to serve an area that encompasses roughly half of California’s population. The county hopes to do for microgrids what a similar initiative, Southern California Regional Energy Network (SoCalREN), did for energy efficiency. The microgrid proposal came in response to Governor Newsom’s July 30 emergency climate proclamation, where he warned that the state faces an electric capacity shortfall this summer and next.
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