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North American Leaders Unite To Make Clean Energy Pledge

U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto have come together for the “North American Climate, Clean Energy, and Environment Partnership,” which puts forth a goal of achieving 50% clean power generation in North America by 2025.

The agreement was signed during the North American Leaders’ Summit in Ottawa, Ontario, at the end of June. A press release from the Obama administration explains that North America has the capacity, resources and the moral imperative to show strong leadership building on the Paris Agreement, which includes a goal of limiting temperature rise this century to well below 2°C.

The administration says the 50% by 2025 goal will be reached through a combination of clean energy development and deployment, clean energy innovation, and energy efficiency, including as follows:

• Scaling up clean energy through aggressive domestic initiatives and policies, including Mexico’s Energy Transition Law and new clean energy certificates, the U.S.’ Clean Power Plan and five-year extension of production and investment tax credits, and Canada’s actions to further scale up renewables, including hydro.
• Collaborating on cross-border transmission projects, including for renewable energy. At least six transmission lines currently proposed or in permitting review - such as the Great Northern Transmission Line, the New England Clean Power Link and the Nogales Interconnection - would add approximately 5 GW of new cross-border transmission capacity.
• Conducting a joint study on the opportunities and impacts of adding more renewables to the power grid on a North American basis.
• Enhancing trilateral collaboration on greening of government initiatives, including the purchase of more efficient products, cleaner power and clean vehicles.
• Strengthening and aligning efficiency standards across all three countries in order to facilitate the seamless movement of products, reduce pollution and cut costs for consumers. The countries are committing to promote industrial and commercial efficiency through the voluntary ISO 50001 energy performance standard and to align a total of 10 energy-efficiency standards or test procedures for equipment by the end of 2019.
• Building on North American leadership in international forums, such as Mission Innovation, to accelerate clean energy innovation. Energy researchers will identify joint research and demonstration initiatives to advance clean technologies in priority areas, such as electricity grids and energy storage; the reduction of methane emissions; carbon capture, utilization and storage; and advanced heating and cooling.

In a press release, Tom Kimbis, acting president of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), says SEIA applauds “this historical and attainable set of clean energy commitments.”

“Together, they represent a significant growth opportunity for solar energy across the continent,” he continues. “SEIA’s members stand ready to deliver on the promise this clean and affordable energy resource offers to improve the economy, the environment and the energy security of all three nations.”

 

Maryland PSC Moves Community Solar Forward

The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved final regulations to establish a community solar pilot program in the state, with an emphasis on providing renewable energy benefits for low- and moderate-income customers.

In 2015, state legislators passed H.B.1087, which required the creation of the pilot program. PSC Chairman W. Kevin Hughes says the regulations advance lawmakers’ “desire to increase access to solar electricity for all Maryland ratepayers.”

“In addition, it will encourage private investment in Maryland’s solar industry and diversify the state’s energy resource mix to meet the state’s renewable portfolio standard and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act goals,” notes Hughes.

The PSC says the three-year community solar pilot program will allow renters to contract for solar energy with the same benefits as rooftop owners; set aside program capacity for each area of the state with a statewide cap of over 200 MW and about 60 MW set aside for projects focused on low- and moderate-income customers; create separate program capacity for small systems and systems built on brownfields, parking lots or industrial areas; allow smaller and rural service territories to make use of existing solar facilities while encouraging construction of new systems in the urban and suburban areas of Maryland; include significant consumer protections, such as prohibition against unreasonable fees and clear contract disclosure requirements; and allow the PSC staff to collect necessary data and study the impact on Maryland’s electricity grid over the three-year pilot.

Jeff Cramer, executive director of the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), comments, “CCSA is pleased to see that the commission’s final approval preserved key aspects of the draft regulations that will ensure a successful pilot program.

“Preservation of the program size and subscriber credits at a full retail rate credit will ensure a sufficiently large and economically robust pilot,” continues Cramer. “Additionally, the set-aside for projects reaching low- and moderate-income participants will encourage development of projects that can benefit all of the state’s citizens.”

 

After Veto, Vt. Governor Signs Revised Siting Bill

Days after lawmakers worked to assuage his concerns, Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., signed legislation designed to help improve renewable energy project siting in Vermont.

Legislators had met to come up with S.260, a replacement bill for S.230, which Shumlin earlier rejected because the legislation contained “unintended changes [that] were made at the last minute,” he said. His main issues with S.230 related to sound standards for wind turbines.

“I am so pleased that the legislature was able to address the concerns I raised and get the language in this bill right,” says Shumlin.

According to the governor, the siting legislation was based, in large part, on the recommendations of the Solar Siting Task Force. He says it provides regional planning commissions and towns with “substantial deference” before the Public Service Board when their plans have been determined to be consistent with state energy and climate goals.

Funding and training to support planning efforts will be available through the Regional Planning Commissions working in concert with the Department of Public Service and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns. The new law requires planning across sectors to include electricity generation, electric and thermal efficiency, and transportation.

“This new law provides a road map for how we continue to transform our energy system in Vermont while improving opportunities for our communities to have a say in the process,” says Shumlin. “This comprehensive legislation brings to conclusion a sometimes challenging but necessary discussion about how to best plan for the locally produced clean energy we need.”

Adam Lougee, executive director of the Addison County Regional Planning Commission, comments, “Solar siting has been and remains a controversial topic in Addison County and Vermont. This bill, S.260, stands as an important piece of legislation for Addison County, its municipalities and its citizens because it recognizes the importance of planning and citizen involvement. Government works most efficiently, thoughtfully and effectively when it is crafted by citizens that have an interest in the outcome.”

Among other provisions, the legislation includes a one-year pilot within the Standard Offer program to site renewable energy projects in preferred locations, such as parking lots, rooftops, brownfields, closed landfills, gravel pits and town-designated areas; a simplified permitting process for group net-metered systems that are majority-owned by customers, as well as for rooftop systems; and the creation of a working group to assess ways to increase the ease of citizen participation in energy permitting proceedings.

 

SDG&E First In California To Enter Solar NEM 2.0

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has reached its allotted cap under California’s original net energy metering (NEM) rules, making the investor-owned utility (IOU) the first in the state to officially transition to the new rules, known as NEM 2.0.

Daniel Sullivan, president and founder of San Diego-based installer Sullivan Solar Power, has touted the continued rise of solar in the city.

“We’ve known that San Diegans have been leading the solar revolution for over a decade, but reaching this landmark highlights the dedication our region has to clean and renewable energy,” says Sullivan in a press release. “Homeowners and businesses are realizing that not only can they save money by going solar, but solar increases property value, decreases our dependence on fossil fuels, improves air quality, lessens our carbon footprint and supports the local economy.”

As Sullivan Solar Power explains, California’s A.B.327 established a NEM cap at 5% of peak energy demand for each of the state’s three IOUs in 2013, allowing a limited amount of solar power to be connected under the existing set of solar rules and costs. In January, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued its final decision on the state’s successor NEM program, NEM 2.0, and the solar industry hailed the ruling as a major victory in the face of strong opposition from the IOUs.

Now that SDG&E has reached its 5% cap under the original program, the utility has to move over to NEM 2.0. The other two IOUs, Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, have yet to hit their caps as of press time.

In a press release, SDG&E says it has reached a “significant milestone in renewable energy.”

“Transitioning new private solar customers to the next phase of the net energy metering program is another sign that our region is a leader in the clean energy movement,” says Caroline Winn, chief energy delivery officer at SDG&E. “Advancing clean energy solutions, like solar and electric vehicle adoption, is one way we’re working hard to provide our customers with more sustainable energy choices.”

All three IOUs were openly against NEM 2.0 and argued that NEM, which compensates rooftop solar customers for their excess energy, is a subsidy that unfairly burdens non-solar utility customers. Nonetheless, each utility maintained that it supports solar.

In its release, SDG&E notes customers who are in the process of installing solar were notified of the transition ahead of time, and per the CPUC decision, customers who installed rooftop solar prior to the limit being reached are grandfathered in under the NEM 1.0 rules for 20 years from the date they installed solar.

 

D.C. Renewables Legislation Includes Solar Focus

Washington, D.C., has taken another major step toward climate action, as the District of Columbia City Council unanimously approved legislation to expand the city’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) from 20% by 2020 to 50% by 2032. At press time, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) says it expects Mayor Muriel Bowser to sign the bill, which also includes a 5% solar carve-out.

CCAN, a grassroots nonprofit group, estimates that the legislation will create incentives for 1.5 GW of new solar and wind power and quadruple jobs in D.C.’s solar industry, which currently employs 1,000 people.

CCAN says that on top of expanding D.C.’s RPS, the legislation establishes a “Solar for All” program that aims to cut the electric bills of 100,000 low-income D.C. households in half by 2032 using clean energy and energy conservation.

“The D.C. Council is setting an example of strong climate action that leaders on Capitol Hill and across our region should follow,” comments Mike Tidwell, director of CCAN. “Solar and wind are the fastest-growing sources of power, and D.C. is positioning itself to capture the benefits of cleaner air, thousands of new jobs and a better future for all residents.”

Atta Kiarash, construction manager at D.C.-based Solar Solution LLC, adds, “Washington, D.C., is already seeing a solar boom, and it’s about to get a whole lot bigger.”