It seems that soap operas did not, in fact, go away after the 80s.  Because the ongoing saga of efforts to establish Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs play like an energy wonk’s version of ‘As the World Turns’.

We’re writing with an update, and a request to take action to help clean energy solutions in America. » Read the rest of this entry «

In response to a petition from SEIA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated a process to reform the rules for small projects to connect to the grid.  Earlier in the process, Vote Solar testified at a hearing (pdf).  FERC just released a Proposed Rule that looks like it will be quite helpful.  Details here.

And that’s how progress is made.

Both Grist and AWEA cover the recent Michigan ballot initiative to raise the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 25%.  It was a promising, important measure…and despite seeing similar renewable energy ballot measures pass in Colorado, Missouri, and Washington, this one failed.  The question is, why? » Read the rest of this entry «

Every year we celebrate and encourage exceptional solar and renewable leadership by giving Solar Champion Awards.  Our 2012 winners are…drumroll, please…:

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Remember PACE, the popular and promising energy financing model that was launching nationally–until Fannie & Freddie and the Federal Housing and Finance Authority derailed it?

Well, here’s your chance to get it back on track.
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As a result of a lawsuit, a federal judge has required FHFA to conduct a public rulemaking on their actions to derail PACE energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofit programs. This is a great chance to 1. make the case on the merits of PACE, 2. defend local government rights to establish PACE programs, and 3. propose new guidelines that get these job creating, bill saving programs back on track. Interested parties have until March 26 to weigh in.  » Read the rest of this entry «

News in the ongoing effort to restore PACE, the promising clean energy financing program that ran into hurdles put up by FHFA.

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The story of American solar power has been one of stunning success by just about any metric. Just yesterday, SEIA reported that the industry had a whopper of a third quarter: 449 megawatts of new solar capacity was installed in just 3 months! That’s the best quarter ever for U.S. solar. It brought us to more than 1,000 MW already installed in 2011 – the scale of a couple of coal power plants – with strong growth expected to continue in this last part of the year.

But this growing piece of our national economy is also experiencing unprecedented political uncertainty. Take the case of the highly successful 1603 Treasury Grant Program, set to expire at the end of the year (Do you ever get deja vu?). Simply extending the existing program would provide the firm policy footing needed to help keep American solar growth on track – and yet it’s highly unclear whether Congress will act in time. Can you help speak up in support? » Read the rest of this entry «

We spend our days advocating for smart solar policy because we believe that harnessing the sun for more of our power is the better path forward. Turns out plenty of our fellow Americans feel the same way.

Polling released today by SEIA and Schott shows that an impressive 9 out of 10 Americans think it’s important for the United States to develop and use solar energy. 8 out of 10 think that the federal government should be incentivizing that solar development, just as we’ve done for traditional sources of energy like oil, natural gas and coal for decades. And that support remains strong regardless of party affiliation. Republicans, Democrats and Independents all agree that we need more solar. » Read the rest of this entry «

For weeks now we’ve seen the Solyndra bankruptcy being used as a political punching bag. Now the overblown hype around one solar company is putting real industry growth and viable projects at risk. Enough is enough.

Last last week, SolarCity was informed that the DOE would not be able to move forward on its conditional loan guarantee for Project SolarStrong – a shining example of American military leadership on clean energy. The project sought to install solar panels on 160,000 military housing units across as many as 124 bases and 33 states, making it the country’s largest residential solar project by a long shot. In addition to generating secure homegrown power, SolarStrong would create sorely needed jobs in military communities across the country. The project is about as low-risk as it gets. It combines proven technology, a trusted solar developer, and strong private capital to deliver reliable returns to a highly credit-worthy customer. And yet SolarStrong has become a collateral damage in the DC political game. (See SolarCity’s appeal to Congress here). The military isn’t backing down from its support for renewables, and neither should federal or state policymakers. » Read the rest of this entry «