SB 49 authored by Senator Becker encourages solar canopies over parking lots and direct California to plan for solar power along its highway.

New California bill aims for more solar over parking lots and along highways

On March 15, Environment California submitted a letter of support signed by 64 environmental, consumer and other community groups to Senator Josh Becker declaring support for Senate Bill 49. SB 49, authored by Senator Becker and sponsored by Environment California, would encourage solar canopies over parking lots and direct California to plan for solar power along its highway rights-of-way.

The organizations applauded Senator Becker’s leadership in addressing the climate crisis with a common sense clean energy solution: encouraging more solar power and battery storage that will power communities throughout the state.

Existing developed areas like parking lots and highways should be used to their fullest extent to capture large amounts of solar energy. These groups agree that it’s time to use the state’s plentiful parking lots and highway rights-of-way to produce more clean energy now and help California reach its 100% clean energy goals.

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Source: Solar Power World

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Dozens of groups will tell the CPUP to revise the new rooftop solar plan to make solar more affordable for low-income communities.

More than 100 groups ask CPUC to delay NEM 3.0

California regulators should revise a new rooftop solar plan to make solar more affordable for low-income communities, dozens of groups will tell the California Public Utilities Commission at its meeting Thursday. The commission’s plan drastically slashes the credit new solar users would get for sharing their extra solar energy with the grid.

More than 100 groups are urging the commission to delay implementation of the plan until it can resolve issues raised in an administrative appeal for rehearing filed in January by the Center for Biological Diversity, Protect Our Communities Foundation and the Environmental Working Group.

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Source: Solar Power World

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Aptera confirmed the award of the $21 million grant, which will support its Solar Mobility Manufacturing Project in California.

Aptera awarded $21M grant from CEC to help bring solar EVs to production

Solar electric vehicle startup Aptera Motors shared encouraging news today as it has been awarded a grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to the tune of $21 million. The grant comes as welcomed news for Aptera as it looks to reach scaled production of its namesake solar EV as one of the few startups left trying to successfully scale the sustainable technology for the masses.

While we’ve seen other solar electric vehicle startups shutter or pivot their businesses away from EV manufacturing, Aptera Motors continues to push forward with hopes of achieving what its competitors could not – scaled SEV series production.

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Source: electrek

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Kelsi Thorud looks at the push to make sure solar panels stay green all the way through their life cycle.

New push to create solar panel recycling program in California

While there’s been a lot of talk about the adoption of solar, there hasn’t been as much focus on what happens when all those panels age out. Kelsi Thorud looks at the push to make sure they stay green all the way through their life cycle.

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Source: yahoo!life

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The Netherlands today has an average of two solar panels per inhabitant - and installed capacity of more than 1 kilowatt (KW) per person

Floating solar and trash mountains: How the Netherlands became Europe’s solar power leader

In the Dutch countryside, about 130 km east of Amsterdam, an unusual-looking hill towers and glistens above farmhouses, leafless trees, and muddy grassland.

The hill – 25 metres tall – is built from 15 years’ worth of household and business waste. What’s remarkable is what’s covering it: 23,000 solar panels.

Dutch solar developer TPSolar opened the array, which can produce up to 8.9 megawatts of power, in Armhoede, in the east of the Netherlands, in mid-2020. The former landfill now generates enough electricity for about 2,500 households.

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Source: Euro News

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San Diego Community Power provides at least 55 percent of its power from renewable sources such as hydroelectric, solar, wind and geothermal

Some San Diego County residents given option for cleaner, cheaper power

Residents and businesses in unincorporated areas of San Diego County are being offered an alternative to San Diego Gas & Electric.

By default, SDG&E customers in Ramona, Julian, Wynola, Jamul, Valley Center, Descanso and Borrego Springs will automatically be enrolled in San Diego Community Power’s services unless they opt out by April 1. Opting out will be allowed before and after that date by entering SDG&E billing information online at https://sdcommunitypower.org/your-choice/opt-out/.

San Diego Community Power, based in Liberty Station in San Diego, provides electricity generation services for its customers, not gas services. If customers opt for the new service, SDG&E will continue the transmission and delivery of gas and electric power as well as billing for customers, said Jen Lebron, San Diego Community Power director of public affairs.

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Source: San Diego Union Tribune | Ramona Sentinel

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Italy deployed 2.48GW of new PV systems in 2022, with the residential solar segment accounting for almost 50% of the total installed capacity.

Italy hits 25 GW milestone

Italy reached 25,048 MW of cumulative installed PV capacity, spread across 1,221,045 installations, by the end of December, according to new statistics released by Italia Solare, the nation’s solar energy association.

The largest portion of this capacity is represented by PV systems ranging in size from 200 kW to 1 MW, accounting for 8,270 MW or 33% of the total. The second-largest segment is installations with outputs ranging from 20 kW to 200 kW, with a share of 5,057 MW, or 20% of the total.

Solar arrays with capacities of less than 12 kW account for 4,949 MW, or 20% of the total, followed by systems with capacities of 1 MW to 10 MW, for a 16% share, or 3,942 MW.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Rooftop solar advocates opposed to the CPUC's recent decision are petitioning for a chance to be heard again.

Rooftop solar advocates request new CPUC hearing

Rooftop solar advocates opposed to the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) recent decision to cut the amount new solar users will be compensated for supplying power to the grid are petitioning for a chance to be reheard.

Following months of hearings in 2022 that included hours of public comment mostly against the CPUC’s decision, attorneys for two groups filed requests with the CPUC for a chance to argue again. Tri-Valley advocates of rooftop solar agreed that the CPUC should revisit its decision.

In a 25-page application for rehearing filed Jan. 17, Michael Boyd, president of Californians for Renewable Energy (CARE), accuses California Gov. Gavin Newsom of conspiring with CPUC board members to violate state and federal antitrust measures that benefit the state’s three largest public utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric, which serves Northern California.

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Source: The Independent

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Community solar is poised to become much more common thanks to a new $7 billion fund tied to the Inflation Reduction Act.

Community solar is about to get a surge in federal funding. So what is community solar?

On a farm field east of Faribault, Minnesota, a 1.3-megawatt solar array provides electricity to serve about 180 subscribers.

The project, which occupies about six acres, is an example of community solar—also called “shared solar” or “solar gardens”—a kind of development in which subscribers receive credits on their monthly utility bills for the solar electricity produced.

Community solar is poised to become much more common thanks to a new $7 billion fund tied to the Inflation Reduction Act. The EPA began the process of setting up the fund last week.

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Source: Inside Climate News

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Almost one-third of homes have panels in Australia, the highest in the world, says SunWiz, and will soon outpace capacity from coal.

Solar to soon offer grid more capacity than coal in Australia

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Australia’s rooftops now boast 20 gigawatts of solar panels and will soon have the capacity to produce more electricity than the country’s entire coal industry, according to the industry consultancy SunWiz.

Almost one in three Australian households have solar photovoltaics – or solar panels – the highest penetration in the world. Queensland had the highest share of solar panels installed on dwellings deemed suitable for the technology with an 82% penetration, ahead of South Australia’s 78%, New South Wales’ 51% and Victoria’s 43%.

The take-up of solar PV has quickened. It took about 11 years for Australia to reach its first 10GW of capacity, while the second 10GW took just four years, according to SunWiz.

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Source: The Guardian

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