Differentiate your installation business by becoming a solar and storage solutions provider

Change usually means opportunity for savvy business owners in every industry — including residential solar.

June 26, 2023

Opponents chip away at clean energy policies

Renewable energy policy in the U.S. has faced threats recently from both sides of the political aisle.

June 26, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

The Energy Transition to Renewables

New policy and business actions are giving a significant boost to renewable energy in the U.S., but opposition is growing and grid interconnection, permitting, labor and other challenges remain.

By Utility Dive staff

IRA implementation heats up as Treasury clarifies rules for billions in clean energy incentives

The Treasury Department has released proposed rules on everything from transferring tax credits to domestic component requirements to qualify for certain IRA incentives, with more rules to come.

By Larry Pearl • June 23, 2023

Cleantech M&A activity expected to grow, driven by ESG investing and federal funding: West Monroe

ESG is an “unstoppable long-term trend,” according to the report released Thursday. “Much of this wall of capital will be sunk into cleantech.”

By Ethan Howland • June 22, 2023

False promises: As states tackle residential solar complaints, how companies can avoid problems

Misrepresentations have spurred the ire of state AGs when solar companies exaggerate their systems’ potential to save consumers money, despite financing that may end up costing the consumer more.

By Clayton S. Friedman, Ryan Strasser, Mackenzie W.J. Jessup and Carson Cox • June 22, 2023

DOE’s Jigar Shah details the operations of the Loan Programs Office handling IRA funding

Deals made by the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office are typically confidential, but Shah discussed details of some recent projects at a Resources for the Future policy leadership event on Tuesday.

By Emma Penrod • June 22, 2023

Hydropower, America’s first renewable industry, could help achieve net zero — if Treasury allows it

Requiring energy producers to source electricity only from newly built clean power would negatively impact the United States’ ability to rapidly scale its clean hydrogen industry.

By Malcolm Woolf • June 21, 2023

Four non-transmission solutions for clean energy with new power lines in the permitting ‘Valley of Death’

Smart technologies, storage, overbuilding and distributed resources can move the energy transition ahead until workable reforms bring new transmission online, stakeholders agreed

By Herman K. Trabish • June 21, 2023

NYISO picks $3.3B transmission project to deliver 3,000 MW of offshore wind power from Long Island

The transmission project is a “critical step forward as the state works to meet its ambitious climate mandates,” said Rich Dewey, NYISO’s president and CEO.

By Stephen Singer • June 21, 2023

Solar installations had a record Q1, but market volatility expected to persist through 2024, SEIA reports

Solar companies posted a record first quarter earlier this year, but slowing sales data could suggest a temporary contraction is on its way, a Wood Mackenzie analyst said.

By Emma Penrod • June 20, 2023

First Solar, 10 other companies urge IRS to adopt hourly time-matching rules for green hydrogen tax credits

As more companies agree that hourly matching would reduce emissions and encourage growth, timing the transition to that standard is now the key area of debate, a legal officer for Electric Hydrogen said.

By Emma Penrod • June 20, 2023

Partnering with consumers in the wake of climate disaster

How utilities can use consumer-focused tech to fight climate change.

By Devrim Celal, CEO of KrakenFlex, part of the Octopus Energy Group • June 20, 2023

Proposed update to public land rules could provide 80% reduction in renewable project fees, says Interior

The Department of the Interior said it hopes to increase the economic certainty of renewables projects sited on public land by reducing costs for developers, and pass along savings to ratepayers.

By Diana DiGangi • June 16, 2023

DOE launches 7th round of solar innovation competition, offering $4M in prizes

The prizes for hardware and software solutions are intended to spur innovations in the solar sector and address challenges to deployment.

By Diana DiGangi • June 15, 2023

IRS guidance on renewable tax credit transferability, direct-pay provisions of IRA, garners mixed reviews

Inflexibility around the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic content requirements threatens nonprofits’ ability to own and develop renewable energy, Large Public Power Council President John Di Stasio said.

By Emma Penrod • June 15, 2023

How the debt ceiling bill’s permitting deal hurt the outlook for deeper reforms, transmission legislation

With prospects for legislation reduced, the focus on transmission turns to FERC. Acting Chairman Willie Phillips aims to issue final interconnection reforms soon and will push for increased transfer capacity between regions.

By Ethan Howland • June 14, 2023

California’s urban roofs provide more value for community solar+storage than rural areas: report

State and federal incentives could help “ensure that not all of our community solar is getting built in the cheapest areas out in rural locations,” said a solar developer’s Western policy director.

By Ysabelle Kempe • June 13, 2023

Duke Energy sells 3.4-GW commercial renewables business to Brookfield for $2.8B

The utility company said it plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and focus on growing its regulated business.

By Diana DiGangi • Updated Oct. 26, 2023

Regulators are changing the game just as ESG investing gets its bearings: ACORE panel

ESG funds have exploded in popularity in recent years, but their success has attracted backlash from politicians and increased oversight from regulators, finance experts said.

By Emma Penrod • June 9, 2023

An IRA renewables boom amid economic uncertainty will require reimagining financing, say bankers

Financing the number of proposed renewable energy projects “is going to stress the entire banking system unless we start to bring in other investors, like insurance companies,” said Wells Fargo executive Alok Garg.

By Diana DiGangi • June 9, 2023

Consumer groups, R Street urge FERC to expand interconnection reform proposal to increase savings

“Rapidly escalating interconnection costs are being heavily incurred by consumers,” the R Street Institute’s Devin Hartman said.

By Ethan Howland • June 9, 2023

Washington regulators conditionally approve Puget Sound Energy’s 63% clean electricity by 2025 target

The interim target is part of Puget Sound Energy’s first-ever clean energy implementation plan, required by state legislation passed in 2019.

By Kavya Balaraman • June 9, 2023

Post-IRA optimism continues for renewable energy developers, but have expectations soared too high?

Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act is proceeding apace, but unrealistic expectations for how quickly the U.S. can develop transmission and a domestic supply chain abound, experts say.

By Emma Penrod • June 8, 2023

As states differ on the benefits of Bitcoin, is there a solution to its climate and power-system impacts?

Bitcoin miners’ 24/7 electricity need and financial focus raise red flags for climate activists about increased fossil fuel use, but some miners are starting to see a new solution in clean energy.

By Herman K. Trabish • June 8, 2023

Offshore wind news and policy: Tracking the latest US developments

Updates include the removal of three canceled offshore wind projects from our map of facilities operating or under construction.

By Diana DiGangi and Jasmine Ye Han • Updated June 20, 2024