Category Archives: The Vote Solar Initiative
Shared Solar Lands in California
Solar is already a huge California success story. The Golden State is leading the nation in new installations, helping to drive costs down and reaping economic and environmental benefits as more and more of our power comes from the sun. Now momentum is building in Sacramento for a new approach that will let the state [...]
The Hawaiian Electric Company: Utility Solar Done Right
Our 2013 Utility Solar Champion Award goes to … drumroll please … The Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO). Here’s why. The Hawaiian solar market is taking off. Just skyrocketing. Check this article out: “In 2012, a total of 16,715 PV permits were issued [in Oahu], a figure more than 170 percent of the previous 10+ years’ [...]
U.S Solar Permitting Costs: Bringing Them Down
It used to be — way back in history, like 2008 — that the biggest barrier to growing solar markets was the cost of the modules. Since then, module costs have come down around 80% — to the point that hardware costs are no longer the largest part of the overall cost of a solar [...]
Feed-In Tariff Approved in Los Angeles
We’re thrilled to see that the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is adopting a Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program. We’d like to congratulate all the folks who, after three years of hard work testifying and developing the research and policy, made this victory possible (looking at you, LABC, Environment California, Sierra Club, Global Green, [...]
New York Announces Big Solar News
Some BIG solar news from New York! Today, in his 2013 State of the State, Governor Andrew Cuomo made some significant solar proposals. Proposals that will work to fundamentally transform the state’s solar market while broadening access to solar, enabling the industry to scale and reducing the cost.The Governor called for a major expansion of [...]
Infographic: Solar’s 5 Year Climb
It’s been a wild five years for U.S. solar power. Record growth. Incredible price declines. A backdrop of economic recession. Intense global competition. Messy election politics. The growing pains of any maturing industry. Through it all, solar innovators and entrepreneurs in all 50 states kept making big inroads into one of the most entrenched industries around: energy. [...]
New York’s Solar Blueprint
Amid the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy, we’re glad to share some good news from New York . . . The Empire State is at it again, making moves towards ensuring that solar energy is a significant part of its energy landscape. Having increased the state’s commitment to solar development with the NY-Sun Initiative in [...]
What We Can Learn from Germany’s Solar Dominance
Solar has never been more affordable for more Americans – with residential prices dropping an impressive 14% over the last year alone. But global solar leader Germany is still beating the U.S. in the race to low-cost PV. The Lawrence Berkeley Lab released a fascinating study that shows that the total the price of a [...]