http://www.rtcc.org/2014/04/30/us-solar-power-installed-costs-on-course-for-2020-target/

The installed cost of US solar power has fallen quarter by quarter for the past three years, putting them on course for an ambitious 2020 target, show the world’s most comprehensive cost data.

Installed costs fell 27% in the first three months of this year alone, compared with the corresponding quarter last year, shows an RTCC analysis.

The country is on track to achieve a very ambitious target, set by the previous administration under US President Barack Obama, to slash solar costs by the end of the decade, under a so-called “SunShot Initiative”.

Costs for all installations, regardless of size, averaged some $3.3 per watt installed this year to date, across 40 installations.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/04/wind-power-emissions_n_5087308.html

WASHINGTON -- The growth of wind power in the United States is putting a significant dent in emissions, according to a forthcoming report from the American Wind Energy Association. Wind generation avoided 95.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2013, which is equivalent to taking 16.9 million cars off the road.

That's a 4.4 percent cut to power sector emissions, when compared to the level of emissions that would have been generated if that power had come from fossil fuels. Wind proponents say that's evidence that the wind industry is playing a major role in meeting U.S. emissions goals. "Every time a megawatt of wind power is generated, something else is not generated," said Elizabeth Salerno, AWEA's vice president for industry data and analysis.

There are now 61,000 megawatts of wind power installed in the U.S., with turbines in 39 states. Another 12,000 megawatts of wind power are currently under construction, and power projects for which contracts are signed but construction has yet to start are expected to produce another 5,200 megawatts. AWEA says those additional projects should cut another 1 percent of power sector emissions, putting the country closer to the Obama administration's goal of cutting total U.S. emissions 17 percent by 2020.

The switch to natural gas for power generation, spurred by lower prices in recent years, is usually given most of the credit for reductions in emissions from the power sector over the last nine years. But plants now burning gas could switch back to coal if prices go back up, said Salerno, so "those aren't fixed, permanent reductions." With wind, she says, "those reductions are locked in."

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http://www.pressherald.com/news/Fans_of_solar_power_rally_against_CMP_rate_plan_.html

HALLOWELL — Around two dozen solar power proponents rallied outside the Maine Public Utility Commission office Wednesday to protest proposed electricity rate changes they say will discourage individuals from investing in renewable energy sources.

Supporters of solar energy put on yellow t-shirts Wednesday outside of the Public Utility Commissions offices in Hallowell before a hearing for Central Maine Power’s request for a rate increase. About two dozen people attended the gathering.
yellow “Solar for ME” T-shirts handed out by members of out-of-state advocacy groups before filing into the building for the public hearing on the proposed changes.

Advocates and users of renewable energy – from homeowners with solar panels to larger institutions such as private colleges – have objected to a part of Central Maine Power Co.’s proposed new rate plan that would levy a charge for customers who generate their own power.

CMP also is trying to raise the fixed monthly fees it charges residential and small-business customers, while lowering the variable price.

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http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/03/vermont-boosts-solar-by-nearly-quadrupling-net-metering-cap/

Is the Green Mountain state about to become the green power state? As the battle over net metering policy is being fought in state legislatures across America, one small state has given solar advocates a big win – Vermont.

Governor Peter Shumlin signed legislation into law yesterday that will nearly quadruple the net metering cap utilities have been using, from 4% to 15% of peak load. The bill enjoyed bipartisan support, passing 136-8 in the state house and unanimously in the state senate.

Vermont may rank among the middle of the pack in America’s solar industry, but the new law is a significant validation of the value of solar energy for consumers and the overall economy, and shows utilities can work with distributed generation without falling into the “death spiral” fueling so many state-level fights.

The new cap means retail electric customers will now be compensated for sending solar energy they don’t consume back onto the grid, up until net metering payments surpass 15% of peak demand from the previous year or from 1996, whichever amount is greater. Vermont currently has 3,600 net metering projects.

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