Could the United States decarbonize most economically by steering trillions in little increments to help homeowners solarize single sites? One model says so.
A Massachusetts Senate proposal to set aside funding for solar projects in low-income neighborhoods will do little to improve access without bigger changes to the state’s solar incentive program, advocates say.
In California, the nation’s most populous state, every newly-built home must now come with enough solar panels to satisfy its electricity needs. It’s a quiet revolution tucked into the building codes approved unanimously by the California Energy Commission in 2018.
Though Vivint sales representatives knock on “millions of doors a year,” CEO David Bywater said on the company’s Q3 earnings call that recent power outages have pushed many potential customers to reconsider renewables and storage.
Los Angeles has been sitting on a contract for record-cheap solar power for more than a month — and city officials declined to approve it because of concerns raised by the city-run utility’s labor union, which is still fuming over Mayor Eric Garcetti’s decision to shut down three gas-fired power plants.
With so much sunlight on tap, solar power has begun to boom in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria. Across the island, individuals, communities and businesses are installing solar panels and battery systems.
The market’s rapid growth has “reshaped the energy conversation in this country,” says Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.
