President Joe Biden delivers remarks at an Earth Day event, April 22, 2024, at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz) Earth Month has been full of solarized news from the White House. First and foremost, President Joe Biden announced $7 billion in federal grants for the Solar For All program. In addition, the Biden administration announced a host of clean energy manufacturing investments, while Reuters has reported that the White House is expected to reverse tariff exemptions on bifacial solar panels. Let’s break it down. $7 billion for S ..read more

Intersolar & Energy Storage North America (IESNA) is a premier US-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure — and this year it is adding a new regional event slated for November 19-20, 2024, at the Austin Marriott Downtown in Austin, TX. “Ranked second in the nation for both total installed solar and battery storage capacity, Texas will soon account for the largest share of new utility-scale solar and new battery storage as well,” said Wes Doane, Vice President, Intersolar & Energy Storage North America. The Texas version of the I ..read more

By Sara Weaver, CWB, PhD, Principal and Natural Resources Director for Bowman When it comes to solar power, there’s little question that producing clean energy benefits the environment. A rarely talked about consequence of the solar parks, however, is the adverse effects they can have on ecosystems if not developed responsibly. Solar parks take up a vast amount of land and more will be needed to meet sustainability goals. According to a study from the United States Department of Energy, more than 10 million acres of land would be needed for utility scale solar energy development to generate o ..read more

We mentioned the need for solar installers to reach out to their local fire departments and AHJs to explain the nuances of rapid shutdown systems and UL 3741-lised PV Hazard Control Systems (PVHCS). Global inverter manufacturer Fronius USA took the lead last week, inviting fire department officials to its U.S. Headquarters in Portage, Ind., for fire safety training on solar power equipment. “Fronius was the first place that we considered to contact for solar training needs especially since Fronius has been manufacturing inverters for over 20 years, with Fronius being a pioneer in the solar in ..read more

New research reveals virtual power plants (VPPs) could meet 15% of peak demand – 5x the existing capability – by using commercially available technologies to provide affordable and reliable power. That analysis comes via GridLab, a non-profit that provides comprehensive technical expertise to policy makers, advocates and other energy decision makers. The group’s latest report, California’s Virtual Power Potential: How Five Consumer Technologies Could Improve the State’s Energy Affordability, conducted by The Brattle Group, is a deep dive into market potential for VPP deployment in California ..read more

Financing is a big challenge in the current residential solar market, so Soligent and Sungage are launching new flexible financing equipment options via PowerUp. This is an enhanced version of their Direct Pay program that will be unveiled this week at SolarCon, a North American solar networking conference hosted in Salt Lake City, Utah. “We know margins are tight for our partners given the recent fluctuation in financing rates and escalating business expenses,” said Michael Gilroy, CEO of Sungage Financial. “We are constantly looking for ways to help our partners save money and streamline th ..read more

Due to the challenging regulatory and economic conditions within the residential solar market, Nelnet Renewable Energy announced a strategic shift in its solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) operations to focus exclusively on the commercial solar market and discontinue its residential solar operations. “Nelnet is committed to being an industry leading commercial solar EPC contractor and consultant with resources, knowledge, and people to deliver high quality projects and solutions for our customers,” said Jim Kruger, Nelnet chief financial officer. Nelnet is a publicly trade ..read more

Seneca Environmental president Jeff Ellis being presented with the Preferred Provider acknowledgment at the 2024 Tribal Energy Equity Summit. Seneca Environmental has been selected as the first Preferred Provider for the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization offering no-cost capacity-building support to tribal nations based on a strong foundation of Native American culture and values. Advancing the self-determined efforts of Native American Tribes to transition toward clean energy, the Alliance is currently supporting over 75 tribes with nearly 8 GW of ..read more

MCE has partnered with Renewable America to bring online a 1 MW solar farm in Marin County, California. The 4.5-acre Fallon Two Rock solar farm is MCE’s latest project, generating an estimated 2,300 MWh annually and powering 400 homes each year. To celebrate this milestone, MCE and Renewable America (RNA) hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site in Petaluma on April 15. “We’re thrilled to celebrate Fallon’s commercial operation and toast the partnership with MCE at the ribbon-cutting,” said Ardeshir Arian, president and CEO of RNA. “Renewable America’s motto ‘Think Local. Act Local,’ driv ..read more

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