SolarCity brings in head Obama campaigner, preps major customer acquisition drive

Former Obama organizer Jon Carson, SolarCity’s new sales ambassador, believes connecting people will get more solar on the grid.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 21, 2014

Study: Minnesota could get over half its power from renewables by 2030

The potential is even bigger if newer estimates of the state’s solar potential are included

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 18, 2014

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

Companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.

By Utility Dive staff

CA clean energy loan program grew 10 times bigger in 2014

Getting energy efficiency and distributed generation loans for homes and businesses has never been easier in the state.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 17, 2014

U.S. imposes tariffs on Chinese and Taiwanese solar panels

Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers taxed for dumping and price cutting, the Commerce Department said.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 17, 2014

'Storage is here': Solar-plus-storage market will surpass $1B by 2018

Falling battery prices and access to ancillary value streams make the solar-plus-storage systems economical for commercial customers. Residential customers are still waiting.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 17, 2014

Austin, Texas, commits to 950 MW of solar by 2025

Plan would cut electricity generation emissions by 75% to 80% by 2025.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 17, 2014

SunPower drops $20M into Tendril to connect solar, energy management

Smart products and services will interface with utilities to streamline solar and efficiency.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 17, 2014

National Grid to triple its solar in Massachusetts

19 new arrays totaling 16 megawatts will be online by June 2015, the utility says.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 15, 2014

New Mexico utility floats monthly solar fees in rate case

A $6 per kilowatt per month charge aims to cover what the utility says is a "cost shift."

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 15, 2014

New York approves 5 REV initiatives

The state raised its cap on net metering to allow double the amount of rooftop solar.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 15, 2014

Xcel launches Minnesota community solar program

The program allows customers to buy shares in community "solar gardens" located in their county or an adjacent county.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 14, 2014

Showdown at the PSC: Inside the battles for Florida's energy future

Florida's utilities and environmentalists are feuding about how to quantify solar and efficiency.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 14, 2014

New SC net metering agreement: Full retail rate, no solar fees

Utilities and renewable energy advocates have reached a landmark decision for rooftop solar in the state.

By Gavin Bade • Dec. 12, 2014

SolarCity partners with BofA for $400M solar financing program

Funding is expected to boost SolarCity’s sector-leading one-third market share of residential solar.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 11, 2014

FERC plans conferences on EPA Clean Power Plan

The conferences will focus on reliability, wholesale electric markets and operations, and energy infrastructure. 

By Robert Walton • Dec. 11, 2014

First Solar buys into CEC, the leading U.S. community solar developer

The move puts one of the world’s biggest utility-scale developers into distributed solar.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 10, 2014

Colorado PUC nixes Xcel solar proposal

The utility had proposed purchasing 50 MW of solar and allowing customers to subscribe to portions of the clean power.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 10, 2014

U.S. solar grew 1.3 GW in Q3 to 16.1 GW

Q3 2014’s 1,354 megawatts, a 41% jump over Q3 2013, took U.S. PV to 16.1 gigawatts

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 9, 2014

Regulators approve Duke proposal to invest $500M in solar

Duke will build 128 MW of solar and contract for 150 MW to meet the NC renewables mandate.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 9, 2014

How virtual net metering will save low income Massachusetts residents $60 million

SunEdison is working with 16 housing authorities to supply solar energy below the prevailing cost of electricity.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 9, 2014

Investing in the Future of Your PV Power Plant: Solar Operations and Maintenance

Sponsored by: Don Buck: Director, Global Service Business Development, SMA Solar operations and maintenance (O&M) has become one of the most talked about and fastest-growing segments of the PV industry, and for good reason. A properly maintained solar plant can increase energy yield b...

Dec. 9, 2014

Navigant: Distributed generation will nearly double by 2023

In Western Europe, utilities are losing hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalization. Could it happen here?

By Robert Walton • Dec. 9, 2014

HECO inks contracts for its biggest solar buy ever

Hawaii’s utility starts the NextEra age with a bang. 

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 8, 2014

After contentious decisions, Florida lawmakers file bill to reform PSC

Legislators propose reforms including term limits and making regulators stand for election.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 8, 2014

Can North Carolina utilities unlock the state's solar potential?

The big utilities have led impressive solar growth – but what about residential rooftops?

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 7, 2014