Tag: rooftop solar
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U.S. added 6.4 GW of small-scale PV last year
Small-scale PV additions last year exceeded additions in 2021 by 1 GW, and additions in 2020 by 2 GW.
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RMI says utilities should model and plan for distributed solar adoption
Some utilities are using models to project the adoption of distributed solar and storage, and counting distributed resources in their planning process. Others should do the same, says the nonprofit RMI.
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To make room for more distributed solar and storage, New Mexico to require smart inverters
Requiring smart inverters will enable more customers to install rooftop solar and storage without paying for grid upgrades. New Mexico also enabled interconnection of more storage by following guidance in the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s BATRIES report.
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Utility shortcuts on residential solar applications contribute to delays, researchers find
Researchers aimed to find better screening shortcuts that could fast-track more residential solar, while meeting utility concerns. Of nine utilities surveyed, three rely on smart inverters to integrate residential solar, an approach that has expedited interconnection in Hawaii.
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Rooftop solar adoption rises sharply as system value to homeowners increases
Annual rooftop solar installations more than double when each homeowner’s long-term “profit” on a system increases from zero to $1,000, a study found. Based partly on that study, a Minnesota utility must now evaluate distributed solar incentives as a means to save all customers money.
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Green Banks may compete for $27 billion from fund set up by Inflation Reduction Act
$15 billion of the funds appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act will support low-income and disadvantaged communities, including $7 billion for zero-emission technologies such as rooftop solar. The other $12 billion will support additional investments in low- and zero-emission projects.
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States that enable distributed storage will make room for more rooftop solar
In half the states, interconnection procedures for distributed energy resources do not yet mention energy storage. To help states remove that hurdle, and several others, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council is providing guidance on a detailed toolkit.
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Sunrun says better policy is needed to add “vast” amounts of distributed solar and storage
“Given our climate crisis, state utility commissions must act with urgency and prioritize innovation in the way utilities are regulated,” says the Sunrun policy team in a paper. Noting great progress by Hawaii and Vermont, they also call for state regulators to “rethink” how utilities make money.
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3 GW distributed solar and 2.1 GW distributed storage in Michigan by 2035, under a low-cost scenario
A Vibrant Clean Energy study commissioned by Vote Solar found that GW-scale investments in distributed solar and storage would yield the lower cost between two approaches studied for Michigan to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050.
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US added 5.4 GW of small-scale PV in 2021
Some northern states added as much small-scale PV per capita as the top states in the Southwest, taking advantage of solar irradiance in northern states that’s about 70% as high as that in the desert Southwest.