Solar Energy News
2016
Here's how solar roofs fit into Elon Musk's master plan; David Roberts, Vox, Aug 23, 2016
Solar Delivers Cheapest Electricity 'Ever, Anywhere, By Any Technology'; Joe Romm, ThinkProgress, Aug 23, 2016
California ISO generated 8 GW of solar, topping last year's record by 2 GW; Robert Walton, Utility Dive, Jul 18, 2016
California Solar Generation Grew 1,378% In 5 Years; Joshua S Hill, CleanTechnica, Jul 5, 2016
Minnesota utility to triple residential solar rebates, build first solar garden; Robert Walton, Utility Dive, Jun 3, 2016
Fannie Mae's Financing for Solar: A Game Changer for the Solar Industry; Jamie Johnson, Laurie Guevara-Stone, Rocky Mountain Institute, Jun 1, 2016
On the Path to Sunshot: Executive Summary; Solar Energy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy, May 2016
On the Path to Sunshot: Full Reports; U.S. Department of Energy
Super solar plan for Arden Hills moves forward; Jessie Van Berkel, Star Tribune, May 24, 2016
Utilities, greens still miles apart on solar valuation, new report shows; Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, May 12, 2016
Conservation Groups Hail New "Smart from the Start" Solar Report; Defenders of Wildlife, YubaNet, May 10, 2016
SunEdison Is Not Solyndra: Why 2016 Looks So Different From 2011; Clint Wilder, Clean Edge, May 1, 2016
DTE Energy, City of Detroit partner to convert blighted land into solar array and neighborhood park; PennEnergy, Mar 30, 2016
The 3 factors that determine solar plant performance; Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, Apr 21, 2016
How arguments on solar power affect public support in the US and Germany; Alexander Franke, Energiewende, Apr 19, 2016
Sharply Higher Rooftop Solar Potential Increases Opportunity for Energy Self-Reliance; John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Apr 11, 2016
Solar farm developers target New York with lease offers; Mary Esch, Associated Press, Apr 3, 2016
New NREL study details US rooftop solar PV potential at 1,118GW plus; Mark Osborne, PV Tech, Mar 28, 2016
NREL Raises Rooftop Photovoltaic Technical Potential Estimate; National Renewable Energy Laboratory News Release, Mar 24, 2016
Seeing no end to power crisis, Gazans turn to the sun; Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Reuters, Mar 9, 2016
Buffett Says He Loves Renewables, So Why Is His Company Trying To Kill Solar Energy?; Joe Romm, Climate Progress, Mar 7, 2016
The WTO Just Ruled Against India's Booming Solar Program; Ilana Solomon, Ben Beachy, Sierra Club Blog, Feb 25, 2016
Solar plant capable of generating night power goes online near Tonopah; Henry Brean, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Feb 22, 2016
The Koch Brothers' Dirty War on Solar Power; Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, Feb 11, 2016
US solar industry now employs more workers than oil and gas, says report; Jana Kasperkevic, The Guardian, Jan 12, 2016
The Conservative Case for Solar Subsidies; Ben Hojan, New York Times, Jan 5, 2016
WA's rooftop solar so popular power privatisation not an option, says expert; Calla Wahlquist, Jan 6, 2016
Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Technical Potential in the United States: A Detailed Assessment; Pieter Gagnon, Rober Margolis, Jennifer Melius, Caleb Phillips, and Ryan Elmore, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Jan 2016 [REPORT]
2015
Massive US Utility Scale Solar Group Dives Into Small Scale Solar; Tina Casey, CleanTechnica, Dec 30, 2015
Nevada regulators approve new net metering policy, creates separate rate class for solar users; Krysti Shallenberger, Utility Dive, Dec 22, 2015
Solar energy blotting out nature, farms in California; Morgan Lee, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct 19, 2015
In Hamburg, New Ideas For Making And Conserving Energy; Erica Peterson, WFPL News, Oct 2, 2015
SolarCity touts its new rooftop solar panels as most efficient in the world; Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, Oct 2, 2015
Utility-Scale Solar Reaches Cost Parity With Natural Gas Throughout America; Katherine Tweed, greentechMedia, Sep 30, 2015
How cheap can solar get? Very cheap indeed; Ramez Naam, Energy Transition, Sep 14, 2015
Why the installed price of distributed solar keeps dropping; Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, Sep 10, 2015
U.S. Distributed Solar Prices Fell 10 to 20 Percent in 2014, with Trends Continuing into 2015; Jon Weiner, Berkeley Lab, Aug 12, 2015
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Own 'Em—Utilities Muscle in to Rooftop Solar Market; John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Aug 11, 2015
US Solar Electricity Production 50% Higher Than Previously Thought; Jason Kaminsky & Justin Baca, greentech: solar, June 30, 2015
Cheapest Solar Ever: Austin Energy Gets 1.2 Gigawatts of Solar Bids for Less Than 4 Cents; Stephen Lacey, greentechSolar, Jun 30, 2015
Solar Net Metering a Subsidy to Utilities?; John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Jun 25, 2015
Report: Solar's value is nearly 17 cents/kWh, utilities under-compensating; Robert Walton, Utility Dive, Jun 25, 2015
How utilities are leveraging new software to help customers go solar; Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, June 25, 2015
New York's Solar State of Mind: Resilience Through Community Engagement; Alexandra Longo, Solar Energy Power Association, Jun 25, 2015
Japan to implement solar module recycling and recovery measures; Andy Colthorpe, PV Tech, Jun 25, 2015
Report: Shining Rewards: The Value of Rooftop Solar Power for Consumers and Society; Environment America Research & Policy Center, Jun 24, 2015
Why are US Residential Solar Soft Costs So High?; Deep Chakraborty, SolarNovus, Jun 22, 2015
Maine lawmakers propose groundbreaking way out of net metering wars; Herman K Trabish, Utility Dive, Jun 8, 2015
Public Rooftop Revolution Report; Rebecca Toews, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Jun 1, 2015
What's solar worth? Inside Arizona utilities' push to reform net metering rates; Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, Jun 1, 2015
Solar panels may last for 30 years; Craig Morris, Renewables International, June 1, 2015
Solar panel manufacturing is greener in Europe than China, study says; Louise Lerner/DOE-Argonne National Laboratory, May 29, 2014
Assuring Solar Modules Will Last for Decades; Bill Scanlon, Renewable Energy World, Apr 14, 2015
Solar made up 32% of all new U.S. generating capacity in 2014; Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, Mar 10, 2015
The US Installed 6.2GW of Solar in 2014, Up 30% Over 2013; Mike Munsell, GreenTech Media, Mar 10, 2015
Solar Parity Coming Faster Than Expected; John Farrell Mar 6, 2015
What Apple Just Did in Solar Is a Really Big Deal; Tom Randall, Bloomberg (via renewableenergyworld.com, February 11, 2015
Solar Power Can Spark a New Energy Economy; John Farrell, Renewable Energy World, Feb 11, 2015
The Great Solar Panel Debate: To Lease Or To Buy?; Jeff Brady, National Public Radio, Feb 10, 2015
Australia installs over 800 MW in small-scale solar in 2014; Jonathon Gifford, PV Magazine, Jan 15, 2015
US: Solar better investment than stocks, study finds; Ian Clover, PV Magazine, Jan 14, 2015
Rooftop solar is now cheaper than the grid in 42 American cities; Herman K Trabish, Utility Dive, Jan 14, 2015
2014
How the HECO-SolarCity partnership is turning rooftop solar into a grid asset; Gavin Bade, Utility Dive, Dec 2, 2014
First 'plug and play' rooftop solar system installed in US; Edgar Meza, REnewEconomy, Nov 26, 2014
Rooftop solar electricity on pace to beat coal, oil; Lucas Mearian, ComputerWorld, Nov 18, 2014
Cisco, 3M, NatGeo illuminate solar as an employee benefit; Garrett Hering, GreenBiz, Nov 12, 2014
Why Haven't Cities Covered Their Buildings in Solar?; John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Oct 31, 2014
Walton Family Undermining Rooftop Solar, ILSR Report Finds; Stacy Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Oct 9, 2014
SolarCity to Finance Rooftop Panels in Shift From Leasing; Christopher Martin, Blomberg, Oct 8, 2014
The International Energy Agency predicts solar power will supply nearly 30 percent of the world's electricity; Kristine Wong, Take Action, Sept 30, 2014
Solar Power Could be the World's Main Energy Source by 2050; Michael Casey, Fortune (via Clean Energy Collective), Sept 30, 2014
How solar energy could be the largest source of electricity by mid-century; International Energy Agency, Sept 29, 2014
Environment California's New Report: Lighting the Way; Roy Hales, CleanTechnica, Aug 11, 2014
California Flexes Its Solar Muscles; James Montgomery, Renewable Energy World, March 14, 2014
Solar Plan for Oregon; Chris Robertson, OR Solar Energy Industries Association, January 8, 2013
2013
FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff: Solar 'Is Going to Overtake Everything'; Herman K. Trabish, greentechgrid, August 21, 2013
How Much Land Does Solar Take? Not So Much NREL Finds; Chris Meehan, Renewable Energy World, August 08, 2013
Solar Power's New Allies Named Bubba and Goldwater; Clint Wilder, CleanEdge, August 5, 2013
New Community Projects Provide Solar Energy in Minnesota; Christopher Minott, Renewable Energy World, July 25, 2013
Solar panels can protect you from terrorism; John Upton, Grist.org, April 26, 2013
America now has more solar energy workers than coal miners; Michael Graham Richard, Mother Nature Network, Apr 26 2013
Produce More, Use Less: Solar Now A Net Energy Producer; Nora Caley, Solar Industry E-Feature, April, 25, 2013
Solar Energy: This Is What a Disruptive Technology Looks Like; Brian McConnell, Armchair Economics, April 24, 2013
Germany-Next new solar & wind power record; Craig Morris, Renewables International, April 19, 2013
The US Solar Industry Puts People to Work in All 50 States; Jennifer Runyon,, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, April 18, 2013
Harnessing Citizen Power to Fund a U.S. Solar Revolution; Todd Woody, Yale Environment 360, April 17, 2013
Growing a Solar Park in California's Central Valley; Carl Zichella, NRDC Switchboard, April 17, 2013 (via RenewableEnergyWorld.com)
What Does Warren Buffett See in Solar?; Elisa Wood, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, April 11, 2013
How can we boost distributed solar and save utilities at the same time?; David Roberts, grist.org, April 11, 2013
Solar panels could destroy U.S. utilities, according to U.S. utilities; David Roberts, grist.org, April 10, 2013 (download EEI report that this and 04/11 article from grist refers to)
Solar Cooperative Gets Panels on 1 in 10 Roofs in Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood of DC; John Farrell, March 28, 2013
City and County of Honolulu Photovoltaic Permits on Fire!; Edgar A Gunther, Gunther Portfolio, March 25, 2013
100 GW of Solar PV Now Installed in the World Today; James Montgomery, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, February 12, 2013
7,604 MWp: Another Solar Record in 2012 Triggers 2.2% Feed-in Tariff Reduction From February; Matthias Lang, German Energy Blog, February 1, 2013
New York Governor Announces $1 Billion Green Bank And $1.5 Billion Solar Program; Stephen Lacey, ThinkProgress, January 10, 2013
435 MWp of New Solar Capacity in November 2012 – More Than 32 GWp Total; German Energy Blog, January 3, 2013
2012
Federal Report Quantifies PV Solar 'Soft Costs'; Ucilia Wang, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, November 9, 2012
30-Year-Old Solar Module Performing to Factory Specs; Tom Jackson, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, October 26, 2012
Treasury Dept. Fingers Solarcity in Exploration of the Dark Underbelly of Solar Leasing; John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, October 10, 2012
TREIA Releases Policy Statement on Solar Electric and Other "Distributed" Renewable Energy Technologies; Debrah Dubay, RenewableEnergyWorld.com, April 20, 2012
Ground-truth: Do We Need To Destroy the Desert To Fight Climate Change?; Ceal Smith, Renwewable Energy World, February 16, 2012
Clearing Up the Record on Solar Energy on Public Lands; Johanna Wald, Renewable Energy World, February 14, 2012
Hourly Electricity Pricing Boosts Value of Distributed Solar by 33 Percent; John Farrell, Renewable Energy World, January 31, 2012
2011
Here Comes the Sun - The Chart Paul Krugman Left Out; John Farrell, Renewable Energy World, Dec 13, 2011
Why America Will Still Win the Solar Race; Dana Blankenhorn, Renewable Energy World, Dec 2, 2011
Anatomy of a Solar PV System: How to Continue "Ferocious Cost Reductions" for Solar Electricity; Stephen Lacey, Climate Progress, Jul 6, 2011
Tracking the Sun II: The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the U.S. from 1998-2008, from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, October 2009