IREC’s paper, Unlocking DG Value: A PURPA-based approach to promoting DG growth, explores benefits that can be quantified and incorporated into the development of PURPA-based avoided cost rates.  It also describes several recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decisions that have provided the needed justification to value the benefits of DG facilities and it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach. 

Review the full concept paper on IREC’s website.

The “How to Cut Through Red Tape and Grow Your Solar PV Business” workshop will be offered in 40 cities across the United States between May and August 2013. The workshop is developed and presented by a team of experienced solar professionals and has been approved for four hours of credit under the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners‘ Continuing Education Provider program.

A wide range of sponsorship options are available, from packages with local appeal to those with national reach. Don’t miss your chance! Locations and dates are being confirmed, with the first event scheduled early June in Walnut Creek, Calif. To learn more about upcoming cities and confirm your sponsorship, contact SolarTech today.

Each workshop features one or more solar experts from Solar 3.0 as well as guest presenters from local government or business organizations. The workshop will provide “how to” guidelines for tackling solar permitting and inspection, financing, customer acquisition, and codes and standards. Participants will also receive guidance on working with local governments to efficiently execute solar projects.

Participants of “How to Cut Through Red Tape and Grow Your Solar PV Business“ are  eligible for four hours of credit under the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners‘ (NABCEP’s) Continuing Education Provider program.

The first event will be held the week of June 5 in Walnut Creek, Calif. (Exact date and venue will be updated shortly.) Registration is free and requires completion of a short survey related to solar soft costs.

Sponsorships are also available.

Highlights include successes in financing, net metering and rate design, and wholesale distributed generation. The report also discusses newly enacted solar programs in New York, Minnesota, and Florida, and describes Vote Solar’s efforts to help promote shared solar in California.

Read the full report here.

Under Sebastopol’s ordinance, all new homes are required to include solar systems that either provide 2 watts of solar photovoltaic power per square foot of insulated building area, or offset at least 75 percent of the building’s total annual electric load. Homes and businesses constructed in areas where shade or other factors limit solar must pay a fee or employ other means of alternative energy.

Sebastopol’s Solar Sebastopol program supported the city’s solar growth to its current capacity of over 1 megawatt. Solar Sebastopol is now part of Solar 3.0 partner Solar Sonoma County.

The study uses APS data, including the utility’s 2012 Integrated Resource Plan, to examine costs incurred and benefits generated by distributed solar over the 20-year life of a solar system. Research concluded a $1.54 benefit to APS customers for every dollar of cost related to distributed system.

Arizona’s solar capacity of 1,097 megawatts ranks second in the United States in installed solar and first in solar per capita. SEIA estimates 9,800 Arizonans are employed in the solar industry.

The full study report is available on SEIA’s website.

Solar gardens is a shared renewable energy program through which solar power can be sold and sent to any individual or business in the community. Such programs provide an option through which residences and businesses can purchase solar power, even if they are unable or unwilling to install solar themselves.

The minimum power buy-in on the Breckenridge gardens is 1 kW, which carries a price tag of $3,700. A 1 kW purchase is expected to provide $260 in savings in the first year for residential subscribers, and possibly more for commercial subscribers. Local governments have also indicated plans to buy into the Breckenridge installations.

A second project on the north side of Breckenridge is expected to secure approvals in late May. Plans are for both gardens to be completed by August 2013. The gardens are being developed through partnerships between the town and Boulder-based Clean Energy Collective. 

• Note from the Editor - Interconnection: A Foundational Policy for Solar Market Expansion
• Maine seeking comments on interconnection
• Massachusetts reaches a solar milestone, but is looking to reconcile net metering and interconnection conflicts
• Delaware and Maryland electric co-operatives increase their solar footprints
• Arizona 
• …and more

The IREC monthly newsletter provides state- and regional-level updates on interconnection. Sign up to receive the newsletter via e-mail.

Project: Permit – Cutting Red Tape for Solar Energy: Wednesday, June 5 at 10 AM PT
Register here.

Recordings from Vote Solar’s previous webinars on topics including Property-Assessed Clean Energy Financing, solar soft costs, storage and smart grid, and net metering are available on the Vote Solar website.

The 2013 report, which will be released in late June, compiles and analyzes public data on U.S. solar installations by technology, state, and market sector for 2012. According to IREC, 2012 saw more than a 75% increase in solar installations completed vs. 2011. Webinar presenter Larry Sherwood will review installation details, highlight growth trends by sector, and discuss state rankings for installations.

Previous year’s trends reports are available on IREC’s website.

The webinar is free, but registration is required.