A new report from Duke University, The Solar Economy: Widespread Benefits for North Carolina, found that public policies such as North Carolina’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard and Investment Tax Credit have made North Carolina first in the south and fourth in the nation for installed solar investment, creating jobs and boosting the economy across the state. Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, applauded the study’s findings.- The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) has filed comments (PDF) with the California Energy Commission (CEC) regarding its Draft 2015 Integrated Energy Policy Report Scoping Order. GEA highlighted some of the lesser known economic values geothermal power provides to the State of California, which should be considered as the CEC continues its efforts to study how a 50% RPS can be achieved.
- First Solar and SunPower Corp. are in advanced negotiations to form a joint YieldCo vehicle to which they each expect to contribute a portfolio of selected solar generation assets from their existing portfolio of assets. Upon the execution of a master formation agreement, the parties intend to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of limited partner interests in the YieldCo.
- In a few years, solar energy plants will deliver the most inexpensive power available in many parts of the world. By 2025, the cost of producing power in the U.S. will have declined to between 4.5 and 11 cents (USD) per kilowatt hour, and by 2050 to as low as 2.1 to 7.8 cents, according to a study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems commissioned by Agora Energiewende.
