Tag Archive for: california

California’s three largest utilities are actively working to stop state regulators from issuing an equitable community solar program.

Utilities’ misguided opposition to community solar in California

With billions on the line from the federal government and the potential for renters and disadvantaged communities to finally access clean, affordable solar energy, California’s three largest utilities are actively working to stop the California Public Utilities Commission from issuing an equitable community solar program.

In their decade of opposition to a viable statewide community solar program, the utilities have succeeded by sowing fear, uncertainty and doubt — we can’t let them get away with it this time. AB 2316 bill author Assemblymember Chris Ward and a diverse coalition of climate and environmental justice groups, consumer advocates and the solar industry delivered this message at Vote Solar’s recent stakeholder briefing.

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Source: Utility Dive

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Three environmental groups challenging CA's recently adopted solar rules are going back to court in an effort to roll back the regulations.

Legal fight over California solar rules not over

Three environmental groups challenging California’s recently adopted solar rules are going back to court in an effort to roll back the regulations.

The Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Working Group and San Diego’s Protect Our Communities Foundation are asking the court to take a second look at the issue.

A three judge panel at the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco agreed to hear the issue this past summer.

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Source: kpbs

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One of the largest battery storage projects in Southern California opens this week, a commercial facility capable of storing 68.8MW of power.

New battery facility in Stanton supports California’s transition to renewable energy

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With California increasingly relying on renewable energy, how can we keep the lights on even when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow?

One key to avoiding those dreaded rolling blackouts is batteries, which can store energy harnessed by solar panels and wind turbines and then dispatch that electricity when and where it is needed. So, along with a need for new solar and wind farms to generate electricity, and new power lines to distribute it, California also is projected to need 52,000 megawatts of storage capacity to meet its goal of running entirely on clean energy by 2045.

We’re only starting to reach that goal. The state has 6,617 megawatts of storage capacity, according to an online dashboard the California Energy Commission launched in October. But that number is rising quickly, the agency said, with a nearly eight-fold jump over the past four years.

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Source: The Orange County Register

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The new 7,500 capacity venue, Frontwave Arena, partners with Baker Electric for a renewable energy project, featuring solar array and storage

New California arena will sport 797-kW solar project

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Frontwave Arena, the new 7,500 capacity venue in North San Diego County, California, has inked a local partnership with Baker Electric, for a renewable energy project that includes a fully integrated rooftop solar system array with a large-scale battery energy storage system for the sports and entertainment venue, and has signed a power purchase agreement with DSD Renewables to use the renewable energy produced at the site.

“We are focusing on excellence in every aspect of development – from sustainable design to fan experience, from technology to community engagement,” said Josh Elias, COO of Frontwave Arena. “The solar installation is part of Frontwave Arena’s broader sustainability efforts to minimize the environmental impact of the arena. We have also committed to reducing water consumption, waste production and greenhouse gas emissions.”

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Source: Solar Power World

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Symbium signed up 22 CA cities to try out its software, which uses automation techniques to slash the time it takes to process solar permits.

AI-powered permitting is speeding up solar deployments in California

At the start of September of this year, John Caprarelli, a city building official for Santa Clarita, California, had a deadline to meet. By the end of the month, his city of about 220,000 people had to start issuing ​“instant permits” for all residential solar and solar-battery projects — as did every city and county in California with more than 50,000 people under state law.

Santa Clarita had planned to use SolarApp+, a solar permitting software platform developed by the Department of Energy, to hit that target. But on the advice of a colleague, Caprarelli called up Leila Banijamali, CEO of San Francisco–based startup Symbium, to look into her software as an alternative.

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Source: Canary Media

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New projects have cratered and job losses are mounting in the six months since California regulators slashed the value of home solar systems.

California’s rooftop solar policy is killing its rooftop solar industry

It’s been six months since California regulators slashed the value of home rooftop solar systems — and the market crash that the state’s solar industry warned would result is now well underway.

On Thursday, the California Solar and Storage Association unveiled data showing a 77 to 85 percent drop in rooftop solar projects since April. That’s when the California Public Utilities Commission’s controversial ​“net metering 3.0” decision, which cuts about one-third to one-half of the compensation value of newly installed solar systems for households compared to what they could have received under the state’s prior net-metering regime, went into effect.

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Source: Canary Media

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CALPIRG Students at UCSB hosted a campus event as a part of the organization’s Statewide Celebration of Clean Energy

Students host clean energy celebration calling on UCSB to commit to 100% clean energy by 2035

SANTA BARBARA, California – CALPIRG Students at UCSB hosted a campus event as a part of the organization’s Statewide Celebration of Clean Energy in support of getting UC Santa Barbara to commit to 100% Clean Energy by 2035.

The event featured speakers from the office of State Senator Monique Limon,the Associated Students Senate,  and CALPIRG Students, as well as a game and information station to engage the student body to learn about UCSB’s LEED Certified buildings and existing renewable energy.

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Source: Independent

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Representatives from Gov. Newsom’s administration will attend and speak on the Golden State’s progress toward clean energy goals, zero-emission vehicles and nature-based solutions.

From decarbonization to electric cars, California hopes to showcase climate leadership at COP28

World leaders are gearing up for COP28, an annual U.N. climate conference that will begin this week in Dubai, and California is expected to play a sizable role in the proceedings.

Representatives from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration will attend and speak on the Golden State’s progress toward clean energy goals, zero-emission vehicles and nature-based solutions, officials said. California will also engage in continued diplomacy at the subnational level after Newsom’s recent trip to China, where he engaged in climate talks with local leaders.

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Source: Los Angeles Time

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Having rooftop solar is very important. Here are a few letters to the editor regarding cutting incentives for rooftop solar.

Cutting incentives for rooftop solar makes no sense. Speak up, Gov. Newsom

To the editor: As a resident of California who is concerned about the effects of climate change, I am totally baffled by the debate over how the state should address replacing fossil fuel power generation with solar energy. (“California strikes another blow against rooftop solar,” Nov. 16)

It appears that Gov. Gavin Newsom has mixed feelings on the issue. He recently went to China and discussed climate change, and after he returned every one of his appointees to the California Public Utilities Commission voted to approve reducing incentives for installing rooftop solar.

This is a survival issue, not a monetary one. I am currently installing power with battery storage at my home, and the cost is extremely high. By my math, the payback would never meet any corporate rate of return hurdle. I am doing it because it is my small contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Source: Los Angeles Times

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Once only accessible to the well-off, solar power is making inroads to low-income households thanks to federal and state programs

California program brings clean energy to Oakland

Joseph Wang and his wife have figured out a way to stay warm and efficient during northern California’s winter nights: layering.

“We bundle up during the day, and at night. We use two blankets,” said Wang, 87, in Mandarin, explaining how he and his wife, Meng Rou Lan, 84, dealt with trying to save money on their electricity bill last winter. When he and his wife were hit with a $130 electricity bill, they decided to use their heater sparingly. But soon, due to a publicly funded statewide solar program in California, their bill may go down as much as $40 a month.

Wang is a resident of St Mary’s Gardens, an affordable housing complex with 100 units for low-income seniors in Oakland, California.

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Source: The Guardian

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