Tag Archives: Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Federal Legislation Will Streamline Solar Permitting, Grow Clean Energy Economy

SEIA News Release

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and industry leaders commend U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Susan Collins (R-ME) for introducing the American Energy Opportunity Act, which will provide voluntary assistance and tools to local governments to simplify, standardize, and automate clean energy permitting for their residents and businesses while enhancing safety.

The legislation builds on the Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP) initiative launched by SEIA and The Solar Foundation last year. The goal for both SolarAPP and the American Energy Opportunity Act is to simplify the process for permitting and inspecting distributed solar and battery installations through a free, universally-available online permitting portal for local governments. Continue reading here.

States March toward 100% Clean Energy–Who’s Next?

By Jeff Deyette, Director of State Policy & Analysis, Clean Energy,
Union of Concerned Scientists Blog

Eight states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico (not pictured here) have committed to 100% Renewable or Clean Energy Standards. Another 13 states are actively considering similar measures.

One year ago this week, the California legislature passed landmark legislation committing the state’s power providers to supplying 60% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and setting a target of 100% clean, or carbon-free, power by mid century. It was a bold action that significantly raised the bar for other states considering policy action. And over the last 12 months, another six states (bringing the total to eight states) plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have answered the call with various obligations toward 100% clean energy over the next few decades. What’s driving this surge in state-level clean energy leadership? And which states will be the next to step up? Read more here. 

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING

ENERGY NEWS NETWORK ARTICLES

SEIA NEWS RELEASE

Solar Industry Calls on FERC to Enforce PURPA, Increase Competition
The proposal provides utilities with a new framework for offering competitive solicitations based on their integrated resource plans, while also complying with PURPA’s requirement to purchase energy and capacity from small renewable and cogeneration facilities. SEIA’s competitive bidding solution is designed to prevent utility self-dealing while opening the market for new capacity to independent developers.

PACE FINANCING

  • Green builders lean on a juggernaut loan program, The Philadelphia Tribune
    Developers grappling with the cost of new laws enacted to combat climate change are taking advantage of a little-known finance tool to help pay for green-building requirements. In Omaha, Nebraska, for instance, the Capitol District, a $205 million mixed-use entertainment development, has become the latest milestone in a long-running effort to revitalize the downtown area. The project’s developer, Shamrock Development, tapped a PACE program to pay for LED lighting, heat pumps, low-flow water fixtures, and other building materials and equipment to enhance energy and water efficiency.
  • In Chicago, a new financing tool for clean energy and efficiency upgrades, Energy News Network
    Advocates see strong potential in Chicago and surrounding areas for property assessed clean energy financing to boost investments.

RECYCLING EV BATTERIES

MORE ON UTAH’S SONNEN & RMP VIRTUAL POWER PLANT

Rocky Mountain Power prepares to operate largest US residential battery demand response project, Utility Dive. “In my opinion, this is the most transformative project we’ve worked on in the United States,” Sonnen CEO Blake Richetta told Utility Dive. That’s coming from a company that has installed more than 40,000 batteries globally and already developed multiple Virtual Power Plants that combine residential energy systems into grid resources. But Richetta, who took the helm at Sonnen earlier this year, said the Utah project stands out for multiple reasons.

Rocky Mountain Power is a division of PacifiCorp, a fully-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Previously Posted

Fertile Ground for Community Solar Gardens

By Kennedy Maize, Power Magazine

Community solar is on a roll. Bringing solar photovoltaic power to consumers who, for a variety of reasons, can’t put solar panels on their roofs—apartment dwellers don’t own roofs, many roofs aren’t oriented to catch the sun’s rays, or the roofs are obscured by natural and manmade obstacles—is gaining momentum and attracting investment.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reports that 1,387-MW of community solar have been installed through 2018. SEIA says, “Shared renewable energy arrangements allow several energy customers to share the benefits of one local renewable energy power plant. The shared renewables project pools investments from multiple members of a community and provides power and/or financial benefits in return.” The terms community solar, solar gardens, and solar farms are interchangeable. Continue reading here.

News stories about Nebraska Community-Scale Solar projects and developers.

SoCore Energy Photo: Kearney’s 5.7-megawatt solar farm on 53 acres of the city’s technology park, Tech oNE Crossing. It is currently the largest community-scale solar installation in Nebraska until Norfolk’s 8.5-MW array, coupled with a demonstration battery project, is built.

Also in the News
Council to consider letter of intent for solar project, York News-Times
The council will hear more information about the project during their regular meeting, Aug. 1, in the council chambers. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., and as always, is open to the public.

Corporate Solar Investments Surge in United States, Report Finds

Solar Energy Industries Association News Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tech giant Apple is now the leading procurer of corporate solar in the United States with nearly 400 megawatts (MW) of total installed capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association’s Solar Means Business 2018 report. This report puts the power of corporate commitments to clean energy on display, as the world’s largest and most-recognizable companies turn to solar energy in historic numbers.

This 7th edition of the Solar Means Business report notes that each week 6.6 million people visit a Walmart store with onsite solar, Amazon’s solar installations offset the CO2 equivalent of more than 200 million miles of truck deliveries, and Apple’s solar facilities generate enough electricity each year to charge more than 60 billion smartphones. For more key takeaways, graphics, rankings and the report’s underlying data, go to SEIA’s digital Solar Means Business 2018 page at www.solarmeansbusiness.com. Read the entire news release here.

Also In The News
The billion-dollar battery boom, PV Magazine
Corporations are buying up batteries and investing in their companies like it’s going out of style.

SEIA Leads National Effort to Extend the ITC: Nearly 1,000 Solar Companies Rally Behind Proven, Bipartisan Investment Tax Credit

SEIA News Release

Nearly 1,000 companies from across the U.S. solar industry supply chain sent a letter to Congress calling for the extension of the Section 48 and Section 25D solar investment tax credits (ITC). The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is leading a national coalition to extend the ITC, one of the most successful clean energy tax policies ever created. The ITC was passed by a Republican-controlled Congress in the 2005 Energy Policy Act and enacted by George W. Bush. It was extended in 2015 with bipartisan support.

“If you want to show a commitment to addressing climate change, you extend the solar ITC,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “Supporting this proven policy is the first clear victory that lawmakers can deliver to Americans on climate change. As we debate long-term solutions, now is not the time to abandon the single most successful policy on the books to deploy clean energy in the near-term.” Read more here.

ADDITIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AND STORAGE NEWS

SOLAR SCHOOLS NEWS

GREEN TRANSPORTATION

FEATURED REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE RESOURCE

Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change: A Down-to-Earth Solution to Global Warming, Rodale Institute White Paper

MORE ON TRI-STATE 

Tri-State announces ‘transformative’ plan to provide cleaner, cheaper power, Utility Dive

Cost of Rooftop Solar Power Set for Another Steep Plunge

Written by Tina Casey, Triple Pundit

Rooftop solar arrays can be a valuable asset for businesses seeking clean power, and new financing tools make it easier than ever to avoid up-front costs. However, the process of buying a rooftop solar array can still be intimidating. It is not unusual for solar customers to lose interest after their project gets bogged down by long processing times for permits, inspections and grid connections. That’s about to change, if the new “SolarApp” program goes according to plan. Continue reading here.

About Tina Casey

Tina writes frequently for TriplePundit and other websites, with a focus on military, government and corporate sustainability, clean tech research and emerging energy technologies. She is a former Deputy Director of Public Affairs of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and author of books and articles on recycling and other conservation themes. She is currently Deputy Director of Public Information for the County of Union, New Jersey.

Read more stories by Tina Casey.

Image credit: Biel Morro/Unsplash

U.S. Solar Market Sees Best Q1 in History

SEIA News Release

BOSTON, Mass. AND WASHINGTON D.C., (June 18, 2019) – In the first three months of the year, the U.S. installed 2.7 gigawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV), making it the most solar ever installed in the first quarter of a year. With the strong first quarter, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables forecasts 25% growth in 2019 compared to 2018, and it expects more than 13 GWdc of installations this year.

This data comes from the new U.S. Solar Market Insight Report from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), whom together announced in May that the U.S. hit the 2 million solar installation milestone during the first quarter of 2019. Read more here.

Additional Recommended Reading
The Sunshine State finally delivers on its name, by Christian Roselund, PV Magazine 

OPPD sells out of shares for Community Solar program

By Sydnie Holzfaster, Fox42

In less than two months OPPD sold out of their shares to provide renewable energy to their customers through the Community Solar program. Sunday the environmental group Green Bellevue welcomed Cliff Mesner of Mesner Development Company and Tricia McKnight from OPPD to talk about community solar programs across Nebraska. McKnight said OPPD sold over 8,400 shares for renewable energy. The program will pull solar energy from OPPD future solar farm in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska later this year . . . Don Preister, Bellevue city councilman for the fifth ward, said the concept of a solar share program isn’t new. He has been working to bring a solar share program to Bellevue for the last eight years. Read more here.

To be placed on OPPD’s community solar waiting list, call customer care at 402-536-4131.

Bellevue’s Proposed Landfill Solar Project – Previously Posted 

Given the dramatic decrease in solar energy’s costs over the past several years since Bellevue’s landfill solar project was first proposed, it would be good to see an up-to-date analysis of the project’s levelized costs through a twenty-year power purchase agreement.

About Power Purchase Agreements

  • Solar Power Purchase Agreements, Solar Energy Industries Association 
    A solar power purchase agreement (PPA) is a financial agreement where a developer arranges for the design, permitting, financing and installation of a solar energy system on a customer’s property at little to no cost. 
  • Power purchase agreements, by Jason Kuiper, The Wire, OPPD Blog
    Currently, OPPD utilizes PPAs for the output of five wind farms: Grande Prairie, Prairie Breeze, Flatware, Petersburg, as well as Sholes, which is under construction. Also, OPPD has signed power sales agreements with NPPD for the partial output of five other wind farms. Those farms are Ainsworth, Broken Bow 1, Broken Bow 2, Crofton Bluffs and Elkhorn Ridge. The normal term of OPPD’s PPAs is 20 years. The new community solar project near Fort Calhoun is under a PPA, with NextEra Energy Resources.

About N-Solar

 

 

 

Sol Systems News Release
With a long history of serving Nebraska communities, Mesner Development assembled a team of solar energy experts, including GenPro Energy Solutions for site development and construction and Sol Systems for project development and power purchase agreements. To date, the companies comprising N-Solar have developed, constructed, or financed a combined 17.6 megawatts of solar electric generating capacity across Nebraska.

Top Photo by N-Solar: Central City’s 499-kW Municipal Solar System

NPPD’s SunWise Community Solar


Request Community Solar: If you are an NPPD customer and would like to request community solar for your community, click here to submit the SunWise Community Solar Interest Form.

SEIA Adds Storage, Manufacturing Divisions as Part of Planning for the Solar+ Decade

SEIA News Release

“These changes in our structure emphasize the massive overhaul the electricity system is undergoing,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. “Adding board seats for storage companies and manufacturers and creating policy committees to advance solar plus storage and community solar will help us build toward the Solar+ Decade and achieve our ambitious goals.” Read more here.

Solar Industry Lays Claim to the 2020s; Kicks Off the Solar+ Decade

SEIA News Release

As this decade nears a close, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has designated the next decade The Solar+ Decade. Constituting 2.5 percent of the nation’s electricity generation today, solar will account for 20 percent of all electricity generation by 2030, under SEIA’s aggressive target. To chart the industry’s course, SEIA is producing a roadmap to the Solar+ Decade that will lay out the policy, social, environmental and economic elements that will need to be in place to make solar a leading source of new power generation in the 2020s. Read more here.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING

  • AWEA’s Amy Farrell gives remarks at Politico’s Reinventing American Energy event, Into the Wind, AWEA Blog. Amy Farrell is AWEA’s Senior Vice President for Government & Public Affairs. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently ranked America’s power grid infrastructure an unacceptable “D+.” This neglect doesn’t position the U.S. to succeed in the competitive global economy. And we are asking more than ever from our outdated system.
  • Iowa Governor To Lead Midwestern Governors Association With Focus On Transmission, North American Windpower
  • A Regional Perspective: A unified voice for Midwestern Governors, Governor Kim Reynolds
    As Chair of the MGA for 2019, I look forward to working with my fellow Midwestern governors to create a more secure and modern electric grid in the Midwest by convening a diverse group of regional stakeholders to establish a long-term transmission grid vision for the Midwest.
  • Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds: 2019 Chair’s Agenda
    Governor Reynold’s agenda will focus on creating a more secure and modern electric grid in the Midwest. The effort was initiated because of the promise, and the related problems, in delivering more energy from source to load (i.e., energy consumers) in the region. Under Governor Reynolds, the association will bring together the energy policy and utility regulatory staffs, as well as, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and stakeholders, to establish a long-term transmission grid vision for the region.
  • Wind Solar Alliance’s Grid Campaign
    A main focus of A Renewable America is the Grid Campaign, which works on accelerating deployment of renewable energy by shaping market rules, utility procurements, and transmission planning. In PJM and MISO, we are working with industry leaders and other experts to develop an advocacy agenda on market rules that will increase the pace of wind and solar deployment by properly valuing the many benefits that wind, solar, and storage provide to the grid.

SPP’S INTEGRATED TRANSMISSION PLAN & NEBRASKA’S R-PROJECT

Nebraska’s R-Project Overview, Nebraska Public Power District
NPPD plans to construct a 345,000-volt transmission line from NPPD’s Gerald Gentleman Station near Sutherland to NPPD’s existing substation east of Thedford. The new line will then proceed east and connect to a second substation to be sited in Holt County. NPPD is a member of the Southwest Power Pool, a regional transmission organization. The SPP conducted a study, also known as the Integrated Transmission Plan, to assess the needs of the entire transmission network with the SPP region over the next 10 years. The R-Project is one of numerous projects to come out of that study. If NPPD did not build the R-Project, the SPP would find another entity to do so.