Proposal Extending Rooftop Solar to Apartments Rejected by Utility Regulators

Renewable energy advocates and lawmakers of both parties have for the past year touted the returning rooftop solar industry after slashed favorable reimbursement rates resulted in a year-long hiatus for solar businesses.

But even as the number of rooftop solar installations continues to grow, not all Nevadans have equal access — rooftop solar and other forms of distributed generation remains largely out of reach for the nearly half a million state residents who live in apartments and other non-single family residences throughout the state.

In Australia, Victoria Rooftop Solar Rebate to be Extended to Renters, if Labor Re-elected

Victoria’s Labor government has announced plans to extend its rooftop solar rebate to the state’s tens of thousands of renters, if re-elected in the state poll two weeks from now.

The announcement – released alongside a proposal to extend the Victorian renewable energy target to 50 per cent by 2030 – builds on the Andrews government’s Solar Homes program, which aims to install 2.6GW of solar PV on 650,000 rooftops in the state through a generous rebate.

Rooftop Solar Costs Fall 5% in Latest French Tender

Fifth rooftop auction sees farmers taking 40 percent of 230 megawatts.

France’s latest rooftop solar auction saw prices dropping 5 percent compared to a previous round in April, according to the government.

The tender, for 230 megawatts of rooftop solar across 392 projects, saw costs falling from an average of €80.80 (USD $92.77 at current exchange rates) in April to €76.80 ($88.22) per megawatt-hour. 

Larger projects within the tender went as low as €72.20 ($82.87) per megawatt-hour, marking a record for the French market, the government said. 

Arizona Regulators Freeze New Gas Plants, Demand More Clean Energy Planning From Utilities

Arizona’s energy future took an unexpected turn this week.

At a hearing Tuesday for the routine assessment of major utilities’ long-term resource plans, regulators rebuked the proposals and instituted a nine-month moratorium on new gas plants larger than 150 megawatts.

The commissioners are in the midst of examining an energy system overhaul to pursue 80 percent clean energy with a focus on energy storage to meet peak power with clean sources. The building freeze will prevent near-term investments in gas infrastructure that could become stranded assets if the grid overhaul comes into force.

Rooftop Solar PV Market in Thailand 'Largely Untapped'

Rooftop solar in Thailand faces several challenges that have left the industry “largely untapped,” according to a recent report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

According to IRENA’s outlook for the country, the residential rooftop solar market has suffered the most, due to market dynamics that make installation unattractive to homeowners.

Solar Advocates in Maine Get Reprieve From Controversial Rule in Advance of Lawsuit Ruling

Maine’s rooftop solar installers won a four-month reprieve Tuesday when the Maine Public Utilities Commission voted to delay implementation of a rule on how people who install new systems next year will be compensated for electricity they feed into the grid.

The current net-metering rule requires utilities to pay small energy generators the full retail price for the electricity they send into the grid. But under the new rule, systems installed after Dec. 31 would have seen the credit on their electric bills reduced over time.

Nevada PUC Approves Net Metering Rules Expected to Reboot the State’s Rooftop Solar Industry

The draft order approved Friday puts an end to many months of contentious deliberation.

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) unanimously approved a draft order on Friday that establishes new rules and regulations for how net-metered solar customers will be compensated in the state, bringing an end to nearly two years of policy debate.

“Sometimes the best way to move forward is to take a step back, adjust direction, and restart again,” the order states. “That is what Nevada is doing with rooftop solar and net energy metering.”

New Solar Laws Expected to Boost Florida Commercial Installations

Mike Mahmoudi, owner of the 32-room New Sun Gate Motel on South Federal Highway in Lake Worth, is pleased that he invested $115,000 in a 40.2 kilowatt rooftop solar system that generates power whenever the sun is shining.

“My electric bill was expensive. It’s saving me some money, and I helped create jobs. I feel good. My property value will go up, and I get a federal income tax break,” Mahmoudi said.

Nevada Governor Signs Law to Revive Rooftop Solar Industry

Public pressure prompts reversal of unfriendly solar policies.

A year and a half after Nevada virtually shut down its thriving rooftop solar industry, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill last week designed to bring it back. It was among eight clean and high-tech energy bills recently considered by the state legislature. Sandoval also signed laws crafted to install charging stations for electric vehicles and incentivize energy efficiency. 

But Sandoval also vetoed a widely supported bill that would have increased the state’s requirement for renewable energy in its electricity supply from 25 percent by 2025 to 40 percent by 2030. And he rejected a bill designed to establish community solar projects, where renters and low-income Nevadans could participate in generating solar power. 

More NC Homeowners Could Have Rooftop Solar Panels With Leasing Deals

North Carolina homeowners and businesses could soon be able to install rooftop solar panels without prohibitive upfront costs under a sweeping energy proposal moving through the state legislature this week.

The bill would let residents lease solar panels on their rooftops rather than owning them outright, a financing arrangement popular in other states but long considered a nonstarter here. The leasing arrangement would remove a major financial barrier to solar energy by eliminating the down payment for homeowners – typically ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.

Bills to Expand Solar Incentives in Maine Ready to Launch

Two frontrunners intend to enhance solar incentives, and could supercede recent changes from the state's utilities commission.

The near-term future of rooftop solar energy in Maine is likely to be decided this spring, as lawmakers consider changes to a widely criticized rule approved in January by the Public Utilities Commission.

Two major bills are pending that would supersede the PUC’s approach to compensating homeowners for the solar power they generate, an incentive called net energy billing or net metering. If nothing happens, the PUC rule goes into force in 2018.

Net Metering Is Under Attack: Here's What You Need to Know

Two states are leading a charge to undermine rooftop solar. If successful, the attack could spread to other states.

Utilities across the country are trying to find ways to undermine rooftop solar, and some states are giving them some help. This month alone, Wyoming's legislature introduced a bill that would effectively ban both wind and solar in the state, including rooftop solar. Indiana's legislature is also considering a bill that would force rooftop solar owners to sell all of their energy production to the utility while buying all of their energy from the utility. 

The States Most Friendly to Rooftop Solar, Ranked

There’s been some jockeying at the top in the latest rankings from Solar Power Rocks.

For those of you sick of those year-end lists of best movies and music, here's a slight change of pace.

Solar research and advocacy group Solar Power Rocks released its 2017 ranking of the states most friendly to rooftop solar Friday, based on a compilation of state renewables policies and incentives. 

Massachusetts retained top honors, shaking off New York and New Jersey, which had split the gold three ways last year. Eleven states earned failing grades, with Oklahoma, Alabama and Mississippi rounding out the bottom three.

10 States Blocking the Power of the Sun

Some of the sunniest states in the country are actively blocking rooftop-solar development through overtly lacking and destructive policy landscapes, according to a Center for Biological Diversity report.

10 states that are blocking distributed solar potential through overtly lacking and destructive distributed solar policy.

These 10 states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia — account for more than 35 percent of the total rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) technical potential in the contiguous United States, but only 6 percent of total installed distributed solar capacity, according to a March 2016 report released by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

Why Rooftop Solar Advocates are Upset About California's Clean-Energy Law

California's aggressive push to increase renewable energy production comes with a catch for people with solar panels on the roof: You don't count.

If a home or business has a rooftop solar system, most of the wattage isn't included in the ambitious requirement to generate half of the state's electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind by 2030, part of legislation signed in October by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Georgia Power Set to Make Push into Hot Ga. Rooftop Solar Market

Southern Co.'s Georgia Power is poised to take advantage of a new state law that would allow the utility and other solar providers to get into the rooftop solar market more easily.

The move comes shortly after the state Legislature passed a law that lets Georgians enter into long-term financing arrangements with independent solar power providers, propping open the door for a competitive solar market. For Georgia Power, it marks an opportunity for the dominant utility to get into the rooftop solar business.

Rooftop Solar Power Units to Get Boost in Maharashtra, India

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has finally come out with a draft notification for allowing grid connectivity to rooftop solar power generation sets. The notification published on March 9 has cited recommendations of the working committee which was formed on MERC's directives. The committee had submitted its report seven months ago.

Governor Brown Signs California’s AB 327 Into Law

Today, Governor Brown signed into law AB 327,  a comprehensive rate reform bill authored by Assemblymember Perea.  AB 327 creates more certainty for Californians who want to go solar, ensuring rooftop solar is here to stay in California! We applaud Governor Brown for his vision and leadership in helping to make good on our state’s solar promise.