“We can unlock the potential of the commercial and industrial (C&I) solar market if we only had form legal documents!” says everyone, all the time. If only it were that simple. Rule number one: commercial solar is not residential. The residential sector often utilizes boilerplate offtake agreements. These “take-it or leave-it” form documents are st
North Carolina’s number-one ranking in the Southeast for solar energy investment confirms the state is a national leader in attracting clean energy companies and creating jobs. But a top ranking does not fully reflect the broad range of benefits North Carolina’s large-scale solar industry is delivering to the state’s manufacturing sectors and rural communities.
“Capacity factor” refers to a measure of actual output over a period of time. Capacity factors for various types of energy systems, as recorded by DOE and NREL, are given in the visual above. The capacity factor of geothermal power facilities is very efficient and is usually at or above 90 percent. This is on par with or higher than other baseload
OORAH! The room echoed with excitement from the 20 Marines and Sailors who were getting ready to embark on a multi-week intensive training program through a new technical solar training program for transitioning military personnel. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Solar Energy International (SEI) was selected as the trainin
The Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is set to expire at the end of 2016 — and if it does, residential solar may be in trouble. “The ITC is the swing factor for homeowners — the plunge from 30 percent to zero will dramatically slow down sales for customer-owned systems,” opined Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Cinnamon Solar.
The renewable energy industry has come a long way in relatively little time. The costs of renewable technologies continue to go down, while renewable capacities at many utilities continue to go up. Although, in many cases, renewable technology is matur…
Read MoreSolarEdge Technologies Inc., a maker of power optimizers for photovoltaic systems, filed for a $125 million initial public offering on the Nasdaq.
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Origin Energy Ltd., Australia’s largest electricity retailer, plans to expand its solar business in the country amid forecasts for a fivefold increase in installations through 2030 and declining costs.
Earlier this year, Minnesota became the first state to formalize dozens of studies by adopting a “value of solar” formula that would fundamentally change the relationship between solar energy producers and their utility. It’s designed to have the utili…
Read MoreCalifornia has announced a major new set of initiatives and finalized two agency decisions that will bring increasing amounts of weatherization and solar benefits to low-income residents of affordable multifamily properties, which represent one-third o…
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