SolarCity has been awarded a power purchase agreement (PPA) as part of the Federal Aggregated Solar Procurement Pilot (FASPP) program that combines multiple mid-sized PV installation projects in northern California and northern Nevada. The first-ever joint project was awarded by several agencies, including U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection …
Congress Votes to Extend ITC for Wind, Solar
The renewable electricity industry got an early holiday present this week as Congress included a five-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for renewable energy projects that provides a 30 percent federal tax credit for commercial installations of solar PV systems and new wind energy projects in the tax extenders package. The ITC was set to expire at the …
Tax Extenders Package Includes Renewables
The broad spending and tax legislation compromise unveiled by House Republicans Tuesday night includes federal tax incentive extensions for renewable energy, including biodiesel, wind and solar. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) commended congressional leaders for reinstating the expired biodiesel tax incentive in the tax and spending proposal released late Tuesday but continued pressing to reform the incentive as a domestic …
Shell Uses Football + Solar to Create Energy
Shell has been working on some creative ways to create renewable energy and one of their latest projects has been unveiled in Africa using human energy and solar power to create electricity. Music star Akon helped to bring attention to the project at the Federal College of Education in Akoka, Lagos. The new pitch is part of Shell’s #makethefuture program. …
Biodico Westside Bioenergy Facility Begins Production
The Biodico Westside bioenergy facility is now in production in San Joaquin Valley, California. Biodico President and Rounder Russ Teall says the 20 million gallon-per-year biodiesel facility is the first world’s first fully sustainable liquid biofuel facility. “Biodico Westside Facility is a result of years of research and development to produce biofuels that make good environmental, social and business sense,” …
U.S. Solar Market Shines Brighter Than Ever
The U.S. solar market is shining brighter than ever according to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, Q3, 2015. Installed solar PV capacity in the U.S. was 1,361 MW, marking the eighth consecutive quarter in which the U.S. has installed more than a gigawatt of capacity. It also sets the stage for the best year in history for solar installations. …
PG&E Service Centers to be 100% Solar Powered
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has launched a new renewable energy initiative. The company plans to power all its operations service centers – nearly 100 in Northern and Central California – with solar energy. In addition, through the Solar Choice program, customers will have the choice to choose 50 or 100 percent of their electricity from solar sourced from …
Poll: Illinois Voters Support Clean Energy Credits
According to a new poll, three out of four (74 percent) Illinois voters support continuing to provide tax incentives for renewable energy. The poll comes out as Congress considers renewing a number of energy tax credits including the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Both of these federal incentives are designed to spur renewable power development for …
Companies Embrace Solar
A new report finds growth in the use of solar energy has surged 183 percent among America’s top companies in the four years. “Solar Means Business 2015,” also found 59 percent growth in solar installations since last year. The study, the first in four years, was released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). For the fourth year in a …
Gates Launches Breakthrough Energy Coalition @ #COP21
In Paris this past weekend, leading up to COP21 and the World Climate Summit, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame, launched a new clean energy initiative, The Breakthrough Energy Coalition. Gates announced the news on his blog, “Gates Notes,” where he wrote that a global group of investors are taking innovative clean-energy ideas out of the lab and …