Establishing a single national policy and regulatory standard for residential solar energy systems that grants “homeowners the right to install a standardized, under 10 kW system, using UL-listed components, following National Electrical Code standards, installed by a qualified contractor subject to a single local inspection,” should be the first step taken, SFN contends.
This article was originally published on RenewEconomy (image added). Auctions of solar power contracts in the Indian state of Rajasthan have produced some remarkably low bids, with the lowest bid coming in at Rs6.45/kWh, equivalent to A11.6c/kWh, according to press reports in India. The tender of 100MW of solar power is … [continued]
2012 was a record year for third-party residential solar leasing, adding more than $938 million to the Golden State’s economy, according to a Sunrun-PV Solar Report..
Group buying programs have caught on fast in the US, helping reduce the up-front cost of installing solar PV systems. Via HGACBuy, municipal and state government agencies are getting in on the act.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have come up with a low-cost way to manufacture high-grade silicon, based on a concept familiar to anyone who has tried to make rock candy at home. If the breakthrough can be translated into a commercially viable process, it would make ultra-cheap solar tech … [continued]
Home clean energy project financing in Riverside County is surging higher with the launch of an innovative public-private PACE partnership, HERO (Home Energy Renovation Opportunity). HERO is boosting job creation and the local economy, along with helping consumers cut energy costs and helping the state meet its GHG emissions reduction targets […]
SMPA customer interest in buying solar PV panels at the Paradox Valley site has been “a bit overwhelming,” according to project developers. Due for completion in October, the 1-MW project should be able to supply clean, renewable electricity for some 200 average homes. […]
A “race to the top” or a “race to the bottom”? China-US ties have reached a a pivotal point as China’s economy has rapidly grown to be one of the largest in the world. The US-China solar energy trade dispute highlights inherent tensions, which have profound implications in terms of climate change, as well for energy, food and national security .
How often we hear of a nuclear plant or a coal plant having been delayed, and with cost overruns, for which the ratepayer must foot the bill. But those projects plow on, costing more and taking longer, as more things go wrong. By contrast, we are not hearing about … [continued]
Yes, that’s right: grid parity is here, well in California at least…and a lot faster than most ever thought possible. The weighted average highest cost of solar and other renewable power contracts accepted by California utilities in the state’s Renewable Auction Market (RAM) auction amounted to 8.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 20-year power purchase contracts, the Vote Solar Initiative reported March 30. Though this doesn’t include transmission costs, $0.089/kWh is well below the average residential electricity cost of 15 cents per kWh in California in 2011, and that’s the weighted average highest cost of the accepted offers to the state’s electricity distributors.
