Texas experienced a series of devastating power outages in February 2021 that some are blaming on its instability caused by its deregulated electricity market. However, proponents of deregulation say that it can help cut down on costs and improve services to customers. Given this recent discussion, we will explain what having a deregulated electricity market means, how Texas’s electric choice affects customers, and how it can impact your savings with solar.
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Climate change is no longer something in the distant future: from severe storms to wildfires to rising sea levels, we’re already experiencing the deadly side effects of a warming planet. While there’s nothing we can do to stop climate change in its tracks immediately, there are actions we can take to mitigate.
So, as an individual, what can you do? Here are five ways that you can help fight climate change:
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From the street, Shiloh Temple in North Minneapolis looks like many other houses of worship across the country. But a birds-eye view of the church reveals the unique connection Shiloh has to the heavens – a connection that allows Shiloh to make an outsized impact on the lives of its congregants and other residents of this historically Black community.
Shiloh Temple has a rooftop solar array that generates enough electricity for the church to lower its energy bills – freeing up money for other critical community needs. The installation and maintenance of the panels also provide good-paying jobs for a diverse workforce. And because the church and its congregants actually own the system, it ensures that decisions about the energy Shiloh generates are retained in the community (it’s literally local power!)
Now, a group of organizations, businesses, and local officials are engaged in a campaign to bring the benefits of local solar to millions of Americans. In a letter sent to Congress earlier this year, the group – which represents millions of Americans – is calling on Congress to embrace the goal of 30 million solar homes powered by solar in five years.
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Earlier this month, leaders from nations across the world gathered in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss a critical subject: climate change. While COP26 was originally scheduled for last fall, due to COVID-19, it was pushed out to this year. But, there were still some notable figures missing from the summit: President Xi Jinping of China, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil all decided to skip the trek to Scotland this year. Although some have deemed the conference a success, others have noted that while it contained many promises, it lacked plans for concrete actions. So, what were some of these key initiatives discussed at COP26?
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The California solar market is facing one of its biggest periods of upheaval ever and the next few months will set the fate of the industry for the next decade as the state decides the future of “net metering”. The stakes could not be higher for this 75,000 worker, $4 billion industry so let’s take a deeper dive into the forces bombarding the industry, the trials ahead, and how the industry can defend itself to make it through this challenging time.
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On September 8, 2021, President Biden made a big announcement for the solar industry: solar has the potential to power 40 percent of U.S. electricity by 2035, and 45 percent by 2050 – an increase of over 1,000 percent from where it stands today. Produced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Technologies Office (SETO) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Solar Futures Study served as the basis for Biden’s announcement, explaining the role that solar will need to play in decarbonizing the electric grid and how we can achieve these targets in a cost-effective way. In this article, we’ll answer some of the major questions you might have about this study and what this solar transition could look like.
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On Earth Day 2021, the Biden Administration announced its goal “to reach 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035”– but, until recently, no legislation had been passed to actually meet this target. This all started to shift in August 2021, when the Senate passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and then immediately advanced a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that will lay the framework for a reconciliation bill. So, what’s the status of these bills? And how will they advance the U.S.’s clean energy transition?
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If one state leads the rest of the country in setting the bar for solar, it’s California: the Golden State consistently tops the Solar Energy Industries Association’s list for the best states for solar, having more than four times the installed capacity than the runner up (North Carolina).
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In today’s current era of renewable energy targets, action is not just limited to political entities such as the federal government, states or individual cities. In fact, many corporations are getting in on the act by promoting corporate sustainability programs or contracting directly with renewable energy developers to build solar and wind farms specifically for their company. As the solar and wind industries continue to grow, corporate renewable procurement and targets will play a substantial role in driving renewable energy to greater and greater heights.
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Following the 2018 elections, there was a flurry of state-level action on climate change and clean energy to begin the new year. Outside of proposals at the federal level for a Green New Deal, many states proposed and passed a suite of climate-related legislation, from emission reduction goals to clean energy procurement targets. Perhaps the most common policy instrument for growing clean energy at the state level is the renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
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