Voters Support Net Metering

Poll: 77% of Florida Voters Support Net Metering

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new poll, commissioned by The Alliance for Solar Choice, finds that more than three out of four Florida voters (77%) support net metering, a successful renewable energy policy that gives residents, schools and businesses full retail credit for the excess solar energy they put back on the grid. Utilities sell that clean energy to the customers’ neighbors at the retail rate even though they paid nothing to generate, transmit and distribute it.

Harstad Strategic Research Inc surveyed 801 likely Florida voters from February 6-11, 2014. Poll results show that broad, bipartisan support for net metering and rooftop solar energy exceeds 75 percent across all key voter groups in the state. Only 13 percent of voters oppose net metering, with 10 percent unsure.

“Preserving net metering and alleviating barriers to financing will keep the Florida solar industry poised for growth,” said Dr. Stephen Smith with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

“Turns out that Floridians really do want to put the sun in the Sunshine State. That slogan isn’t just for license plates – it’s a call to action,” said Adam Browning, Executive Director of Vote Solar. “People are looking for leadership to tap into a powerful source of energy for the state.”

Seventy-one percent of Floridians oppose changing the existing rooftop solar policy by imposing a new fee on net metered solar customers. This policy change has been proposed by large utilities companies in other states as an effort to boost their profits and kill customer choice.  More

78,600 Clean Energy Jobs Created in 2013

WASHINGTON (March 12, 2014) — More than 78,600 clean energy and clean transportation jobs were announced in 2013 at 260 projects tracked by the nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

Solar power generation was the year’s top sector with more than 21,600 jobs announced. Other strong sectors included building efficiency and public transportation. Job announcements were made in 46 states, with California’s roughly 15,400 jobs topping the list. Rounding out the Top 10 states for the year were: TX, HI, MD, MA, IL, NV, OR, NY and MO. The Top 10 states for the fourth quarter were: TX, AZ, NY, CA, IA, RI, HI, GA, ND and NM.  More

California Solar Hits 4 Gigawatts – 18% of the Electric Load

FOLSOM, Calif. (ISO release) – Solar power production hit a new record of 4,093 megawatts on Saturday, March 8, 2014. The previous record was 3,926 megawatts (MW) set the previous day on March 7.

Electricity generated from solar has more than doubled from June 7, 2013 when the California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) recorded 2,071 MW of peak production — and output has more than quadrupled from the summer of 2012. The new record generation can instantaneously power about 3 million homes.

Meanwhile, when combining ISO wind resources of 5,890 MW* and solar resources of 5,231 MW, the two resources now account for 11,121 MW interconnected to the ISO grid. In total, all renewables (including geothermal) make up about 15,000 MW of the ISO generation mix. The current wind production record stands at 4,302 MW set June 23, 2013.

“This shows that California is making remarkable progress in not only getting new resources approved and connected to the grid, but making meaningful contributions in keeping the lights on as well,” says Steve Berberich, ISO President and Chief Executive Officer. “The milestones illustrate that we are well into a new era when clean, renewable energy is shouldering its share of our electricity needs — and that is exciting.”

California remains the largest producer of solar power in the nation. Meanwhile, only Texas surpasses California in wind resources installed, and California was among the top five states nationally for adding wind capacity.  More

SolarCity Partners with Best Buy

SolarCity has used the retail environment before. The company put sales reps into Home Depot stores starting in 2010. On Wednesday, the solar leasing leader announced it would sell through 65 Best Buy stores in Arizona, California, Hawaii, New York and Oregon. Find a list of stores on the SolarCity website.