What are the similarities between Ace Hardware and the solar industry? Many more than you might think after the recent announcement that the nation’s only solar purchasing cooperative, Amicus Solar Cooperative, chose Locus Energy as the preferred monitoring provider for its 30 members throughout the country. Amicus, meaning “friend” in Latin, is a group of… Keep reading →
SB 594, a law that went into effect in PG&E utility territory February 2014, now allows property owners to aggregate the electricity load of multiple utility meters scattered throughout a single parcel or multiple continuous parcels and credit the bills with a single “Net Metered” installation. This new program is called ‘Net Meter Aggregation’ and… Keep reading →
Elon Musk’s decision last week to invite other car manufacturers to use Tesla Motors’ technology was bold. But the Tesla CEO, putting on his SolarCity chairman’s hat and working with company leadership partners Lyndon and Peter Rive, might have surpassed that move on Tuesday. The trio announced that SolarCity – heretofore a solar power financier/installer… Keep reading →
Last week Barclays downgraded the high-grade bond market for the entire electric utility sector because “we believe that a confluence of declining cost trends in distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and residential-scale power storage is likely to disrupt the status quo.” While this is not the first statement about vulnerability of electric utilities to competition from new technology… Keep reading →
Trade sanctions on Chinese solar panels – established two years ago and broadened last week in a preliminary decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce – are a matter of fierce debate in the solar community. But given the results of a new study on the energy use efficiency and carbon footprint of Chinese solar,… Keep reading →
Louisiana’s coastline is getting washed out to sea and a lawsuit designed to make oil and gas companies pay for the damage now rages. Some believe a creative financing solution – that involves federal, state and private funding – is needed to foot the more than $50 billion dollar bill over 50 years. “Companies will… Keep reading →
Solar is increasingly providing clean, sustainable energy for our nation’s homes, businesses and industries. Clocking record-breaking growth and reaching a total of more than 4,700 megawatts of new installed capacity, 2013 was a big year for solar photovoltaic systems. But we’re also excited to watch 2014, which will mark a major milestone for a different… Keep reading →
The Energy Department today announced $10 million for six new research and development projects that will advance innovative concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies. The projects will develop thermochemical energy storage systems to enable more efficient storage of solar energy while using less storage material, cutting the cost for utility-scale CSP electricity generation as a result.… Keep reading →
The energy industry – oil & gas sector in particular – is bracing itself for a massive wave of retirements over the short to medium term, which has been dubbed “The Great Shift Change.” As the industry prepares for this turnover, companies are looking to the next generation of candidates with skills ranging from finance,… Keep reading →
The final solicitation under the 2012 NY-Sun initiative has made $60M available for 200kW+ solar PV systems. On May 13, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $60M in funding under the third round of NY-Sun Competitive PV initiative for solar projects at business, industry, and institutional sites that are large energy users. The funding opportunity,… Keep reading →
