SO CAROLINA REVALS SUN’S NET METERING

South Carolina Considers Lifting Cap On Solar Power

William Pentland, June 29, 2013 (Forbes)

“South Carolina may soon join the ranks of states that have reconsidered the wisdom of imposing restrictive caps on net metering for customer-sited solar power systems…[T]he South Carolina Public Service Commission said it would convene a public workshop to evaluate changes to the 100-kilowatt net metering cap for solar…[which] has prevented customers, including Furman University, from installing more solar power…” click here for more

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TRUST IN UTILITIES FALLING

Warning: Survey Says Consumers Are Losing Trust In Their Utilities

July 1, 2013 (Renew Grid)

“[J]ust 24% of consumers trust their utility to inform them of actions they can take to optimize energy consumption - a decrease of nine percentage points from 2012…[According to an annual survey by Accenture], this is the lowest level of trust since [the] multi-year global research program was launched four years ago. Furthermore, customer satisfaction has drifted lower globally, falling from 59% to 47% over the past year…” click here for more

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NEW MEXICO ADDS NEW ENERGY

PNM plans to add more solar, wind to portfolio

July 1, (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

"New Mexico's largest electricity provider says it has a plan for adding more solar and wind power to its portfolio…[The Public Service Company of New Mexico proposal] must be approved by state regulators…[It] calls for building three solar generating stations in the Albuquerque area and purchasing more electricity from a wind farm in Cibola County…With the proposal, 83 cents would be added to the average residential monthly bill starting in 2014…” click here for more

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WORLD’S BIGGEST SOLAR TEST CENTER

A&M’s Killeen campus announces partnership on solar testing facility

Laylan Copelin, June 126, 2013 (Austin American Statesman)

“Texas A&M-Central Texas and a California company, PPA Partners, are announcing a partnership… that officials say will create the world’s largest solar testing site…The Center for Solar Energy will include a 50-megawatt solar farm on 500 acres that will be capable of testing 100 different solar technologies simultaneously under the same conditions. An additional 300 acres is set aside for offices and labs…” click here for more

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AUSTIN, TEXAS, APPROVES 570 MW OF NEW WIND

Austin Energy receives approval to purchase 570 MW of wind power

Bryan Schutt, June 29, 2013 (SNL)

“The Austin City Council…approved three new wind contracts totaling 570 MW, a decision that will push Austin Energy well ahead of its goal to use 35% renewable energy resources by 2020…Even with a short-term wind contract expiring in 2015, the new contracts will bring Austin Energy's total wind portfolio to 1,225 MW. The contracts have terms up to 25 years and fixed pricing between $23/MWh and $33/MWh…[T]he wind farms that will be supplying the electricity are in south Texas, where coastal wind patterns are more closely aligned with peak customer demand…” click here for more

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BIG MONEY IN HIGH POWER NETWORKS

Direct Current Distribution Networks; Remote and Grid-Tied Systems for Data Center Microgrids, Telecom/Village Power, Commercial Buildings, and Military Applications: Global Market Analysis and Forecasts

2Q 2013 (Navigant Research)

“The market for direct current (DC) distribution networks is not a single, cohesive sector. Rather, it consists of several disparate opportunities…Navigant Research forecasts that, under a conservative forecast scenario, revenue from DC distribution networks will grow from $2.8 billion annually in 2013 to $24.1 billion by 2025…” click here for more

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A CLOSER LOOK AT FUTURE SOLAR

Harvard Project Crunching Numbers On New Organic PV Materials

Michael Puttre, 27 June 2013 (Solar Inudustry)

“Borrowing a process used to discover new drugs and a networking technique used to search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, a team of researchers at Harvard University has published an initial material properties database for organic photovoltaic (OPV) applications…” click here for more

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