Commercial Net Metering is a Thing

 Usually when you hear net metering it is in the context of residential solar installations. But here is an interesting discussion on the topic of commercial net metering. The interview also touches on differences of policy in some key populous states. Where some like New York and California are favorable environments, others like Florida are...

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Solar Power Weekly Roundup EP9 :: Saint Lucia Goes Solar, Cost-Competitive Solar, Energy-Efficiency Revolution, EBRD on Sun-Wind-Solar, US Gov Big Solar Purchase, Vote No on Amendment 1

 Some of our favorite stories from around the web this week in the solar power industry. Solar Power Comes to Saint Lucia Island in the Sun: Saint Lucia Goes Solar The installation team prepare to install the final panel.     Cost-Competive Solar Power on the Way Cost-Competitive Solar Is Coming Soon to a Grid...

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$5B solar project planned for Nye County Nevada

 3,000 construction jobs and 250 operational jobs are at stake in a major solar panel project proposed for southern Nevada. While the final location has not been identified, the proposed project is 5 times the cost of the recently completed Crescent Dunes solar plant, also in Nye County. The 10-tower project could take up as...

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Solar Power Weekly Roundup EP8 :: Stanford Solar Project, Tesla Powerpack Capacity, New Solar Panel Tech, Solar Cost and Payback Improve, Solar Agriculture in the Desert

 Some of our favorite stories from around the web this week in the solar power industry. Stanford Solar Project Expansion Stanford’s solar expansion project moves ahead – Stanford University News Stanford’s solar expansion project moves aheadIn addition, more rooftop solar panels are being installed on campus. Sixteen additional campus buildings – including Maples Pavilion and...

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Solar-Powered Venue is New Home For NBA Sacramento Kings

Innovation meets modern architecture in another beautiful example of solar energy powered venues.

The new home of the Sacramento Kings NBA Basketball team will be a 100% solar powered facility. 1.2 MW comes from roof mounted solar generation. Coupled with 11 MW from a nearby partner project solar farm, the entire facility will operate on solar power.

California’s capital city just completed the world’s most environmentally sustainable arena, and Inhabitat was in town to tour the LEED Platinum solar-powered home of the Kings NBA basketball franchise. PHOTOS: Sacramento Kings’ new LEED Platinum solar-powered arena

thumbnail courtesy of inhabitat.com

 

By soliciting community input there was a lot of local influence brought into the project in areas like the food menu. The site also incorporates tons of high-tech feature from robust wi-fi access to UHD screens on the world’s largest indoor scoreboard.

The $556.5M project is nearing completion as the NBA season gets ready to kick off in a few weeks.

Solar Panel Installations Nearing Critical Mass

Solar panel installations in select states like California have reached a 15% adoption rate. A figure which several analysts believe is a tipping point that will spur even more consumers to take a hard look at renewable energy options.

With installed costs dropping nearly 70% in the last decade while tax credits and other incentives have largely remained, there has never been a better time to consider solar.

 

Solar power stands at the precipice of explosive growth, according to Brewster McCracken, CEO of Pecan Street, a research institute located in Austin, Texas, that focuses on the utility industry. He bases his prediction on the economic theories of Everett Rogers first published in 1962. Rogers postulated that when 15% of people accept an innovation, it will quickly spread to 60% of the target population. McCraken says that in some markets — like Hawaii, California, and Arizona — residential solar power has already achieved that 15% level of acceptance. He thinks that means it is about to see explosive growth. via solarlove.org

Image from solarlove.org

But it may not be all sunshine(pun intended) as utility companies will be forced to quickly react to changing market conditions. New infrastructure will be required for feeding excess solar production into the grid. Utilities will also be facing reduced revenue as their existing customer base transitions to self-generated electricity.

No question, a lot of uncertainty to come in the next 10-15 years as the solar adoption continues. But it’s a trend that is likely to accelerate in more areas of the US in the coming years.

 

 

Solar Power Weekly Roundup EP7 :: Vets Build Greener Future, Transparent Solar Panels, Reshaping California Climate, Community Scale Solar, Oakland Co to Build China Solar Farm

Some of our favorite stories from around the web this week in our solar power weekly roundup Episode 7.

US veterans build a greener future at home In a 2015 survey of post-9/11 veterans living in Orange County, California, many said they “were generally … U.S. Army veteran and co-founder of solar energy investment platform CleanCapital, in a phone interview.

Transparent Solar Panels Your phone could soon charge itself! WEBSITE: http://futurism.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/futurism

 
 

Climate change law has reshaped California in 10 years It marks the amount of renewable electricity surging onto the system as the fierce sun fires up solar power plants scattered across the state.

 
 

Community-scale solar can power corporations, too – GreenBiz Community-scale solar can power corporations, tooIn states with a virtual net metering policy, this classification includes community or shared solar, where corporations can credit some or all of an off-site solar PV array’s electricity production to their utility bill if the array is sited in the…

 

China to Build Solar Mirror Farm Using Oakland Company’s Technology China is turning to alternative solar technologies to fill its insatiable appetite for energy from the sun. Solar company BrightSource Energy, based in Oakland, Calif.

 
 
 
Images from mic.com, youtube.com, sfchronicle.com, greenbiz.com, fortune.com, fastcoexist.com

Go out and enjoy your weekend!
Solar Solutions Team
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@SolarSolnsTeam