By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

The news today about the fight over saving failing coal and nuclear plants is that Energy Secretary Rick Perry won't take into account the importance of low electricity prices in favor of creating mythical "energy security" based on the outdated concept of baseload power. It's a frivolous, short-sighted idea, fueled by coal barons and fossil-fuel interests. And yet, in a state as far removed from Washington as one can imagine, officials are preparing to build the state's largest utility-scale solar plant in a tacit admission that the future of coal is dim. Wyoming is currently the country's largest coal-producing state. It accounts for 41% of the country's coal production and mines more coal than the next seven coal states combined (remember that next time the national media imply the country's only coal miners work in West Virginia). And yet even in this deeply coal-steeped state, solar is about to bloom. As the Associated Press reports:

The first major solar energy plant in the nation's top coal-mining state cleared a significant regulatory hurdle Tuesday when the U.S. Bureau of Land Management determined it will cause no environmental harm.

The 80 MW Sweetwater Solar plant, which could power approximately 17,000 homes, could begin production as soon as the end of this year. Rocky Mountain Power will purchase the electricity from the plant. To say this development in Wyoming is startling is an understatement. After all, this is the state whose legislature in January 2017 passed a "reverse RES (Renewable Energy Standard)" and decided to penalize utilities who sold electricity generated from solar in a misguided and failed attempt to protect the coal-produced electricity in the state. And Rocky Mountain Power was begging the state's regulators to slash reimbursement rates under PURPA, the federal law designed to encourage renewable energy development. So the decision to build the Sweetwater plant - and for RMP to be purchasing the electricity - is a clear sign that even in coal country, solar is quickly becoming king. Now if only the policymakers in Washington were listening.

More Solar For Low Income Consumers. It is not news to anyone in the solar industry that low income families spend a much larger portion of their income on electricity that their higher earning fellow ratepayers. California recognizes that low solar prices with no fuel volatility should be available to all families. This was also a topic covered in detail at SolarWakeup Live! Chicago last week which has a nice summary in the top post today.
Privatizing Puerto Rico’s PREPA. Last week, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed a bill to partially privatize PREPA and at least one solar developer is concerned about what this means to their offtake agreement. The challenge is that PREPA should roll that contract forward and continue satisfying the agreement. PREPA says that the privatization has to decide the fate of the agreement. More to come about this.
More PACE On C&I Solar. The good folks at CleanFund have outlined their vision for how solar can be installed on more C&I buildings. With the SolarPACE calculator and their partners program, the ability for more people to access capital is becoming reality. If you are coming into town for Intersolar, make sure to say hello and learn about where PACE is today. While it was an exotic capital tool a few years ago, the cost and availability has gone into solar’s favor in a big way.
South Carolina Solar Setback. Yesterday, South Carolina state senate members of the budget conference committee decided that raising the net metering cap through a budget proviso would violate Senate procedural rules and decided to remove the proviso from the budget bill. Vote Solar’s Thad Culley says “It is deeply disappointing that clean energy progress in South Carolina will be delayed another year, putting at risk 3,000 local jobs in the state’s once-thriving solar industry and limiting South Carolinians only true alternatives to monopoly utilities.”
Presented by Pfister Energy – Pfister Energy is a turnkey design-build renewable energy provider for commercial, industrial, utility, and community projects with an emphasis on energy efficiency and energy management. We possess 25 years of project experience with over 120 MW of solar installed on rooftops, carports and on unused land nationally. Clean energy is not limited to solar and as part of our smart building-integrated energy plan, we provide holistic solutions by stacking solar, LED lighting, wind, daylighting and other energy efficiency systems combined with storage.  Visit www.pfisterenergy.com for more information.

Have a great day!

News

 

Have a great day!
Yann

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

CleanFund, a national property assessed clean energy (PACE) purveyor, announced they will be partnering with SunPower to extend the reach of its commercial SolarPACE programs. Commercial companies looking to finance solar improvements or other clean energy and energy efficiency upgrades without any upfront costs can now access CleanFund's tools through SunPower's network of solar installers. The announcement heralds at least three significant developments within the solar industry: 1) It broadens the reach of commercial PACE programs, an increasingly attractive option for companies that want to add solar to their businesses but balk at the sometimes significant upfront outlay of cash; 2) It means commercial financing in general is becoming easier, which is important because the commercial segment itself has lagged behind other industry segments in financing options; and 3) It shows SunPower is looking to move beyond its upscale residential market and move more strongly into the commercial segment of the industry. In states where PACE programs exist, they are popular. Under commercial PACE programs, businesses can finance upgrades like solar installations with no money down and pay back the investment through their property taxes. In a segment where financing is hard to come by, PACE gives business owners an easy way to do what many of them want to do anyway. Communities like it because it's a way for them to collect more property taxes to fund schools and other municipal priorities. What may be most interesting in the announcement, however, was the SunPower connection. Traditionally, SunPower has focused on upscale residential installations. With the purchase of SolarWorld earlier this year, they already indicated they may be considering a move into less upscale residential solar. The deal with CleanFund indicates they are also looking to move into the commercial segment in a more significant way. CleanFund also has an arrangement with Jinko Solar.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondentthey

When California decided last week to revise and extend its Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) program with a 12-year rebate program for disadvantaged citizens who want to take advantage of solar, it marked another step forward in the democratization (small "d") of electricity generation. It also continued the national trend toward the inclusion of low-income solar in statewide solar legislation, much of which is being modeled on California's original SASH program. As Elsie Hunger from GRID Alternatives put it:

California has been a leader nationally in providing solar access to families in disadvantaged communities. We are thrilled to see the commission’s continued efforts to expand access and ensure that our transition to clean energy includes all our communities.

The new rebate program, Disadvantaged Communities - Single Family Affordable Solar Homes (DAC-SASH), provides additional long-term funding for the SASH program, which has reduced the cost of going solar for more than 7,000 households and provided over 100,000 hours of solar job training for individuals seeking employment since 2009. In addition to adopting DAC-SASH, the Commission Order also makes modest improvements to the utilities’ Green Tariff programs with the goal of helping low-income customers receive bill discounts through participation. The decision did not go as far as coalition members had hoped in creating community-based shared solar opportunities like those that have been used successfully to increase low-income consumer access in Colorado and other states. At the same time California's Public Utilities Commission was making its decision, Illinois solar advocates were meeting in Chicago at SolarWakeup Live! to discuss the importance of the job creation elements of the Solar For All program created in Illinois' Long-Term Renewables Resources Procurement Plan (the Plan). "This is how we will be judged by the legislature when we come back to them for future expansion of the program," said Becky Stanfield, senior director of Western States for Vote Solar. "If we miss these targets, we will lose support for solar in the Illinois legislature. That can't happen." Eya Louis, contractor development coordinator for Chicago-area nonprofit Elevate Energy, said the key to successful job creation is not just the training of future solar workers but making sure they have jobs once they finish the training. She said her organization is about to graduate its first class of solar workers, and it will hold a job fair to make sure they connect with contractors looking to hire. "You can't forget about that step," Louis said. "You can do all the training you want, but unless you are able to put them in positions to get jobs, the training aspect goes to waste. It's easy to forget that step, but it's imperative that we as an industry do not."