Vote Solar hosted a webinar this week on a very hot topic – how to assess the costs and benefits of net metering.  The well attended webinar focused on efforts completed to date to assess the value of net metering in various utility territories. The speakers discussed best practices in these studies, and offered a generalized approach that other states or utilities can employ to assess the rate impacts of net energy metering policies in their areas. » Read the rest of this entry «

In this economic climate, every state wants new jobs. And harnessing the sun for electricity creates more of those coveted jobs per megawatt-hour than any other energy resource. These are high quality jobs across a broad range of education requirements, salary levels and fields. The majority (about 75%) are related to construction and installation, representing local solar jobs that are by their nature virtually non-outsourceable – a quality that we think is mighty valuable. But it’s that remaining 25%, the manufacturing jobs, that really captures the American imagination. » Read the rest of this entry «

Photo credit: DaveNeukirch via Flickr

On a recent Get Some Sun webinar, our own Kelly Foley was joined by Thomas Hoff of Clean Power Research and Dr Richard Perez of SUNY–Albany discussing their cutting-edge research on PV output variability and its impact on the grid. Full video of the presentation is available here.

It’s an issue that’s becoming increasingly critical as grid operators and utilities plan for high levels of PV penetration. Unlike the fossil fuel generators around which our existing energy infrastructure has been designed, solar generation fuel is inherently variable. The sun rises and sets. Clouds happen. » Read the rest of this entry «