The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) has started a project to install a network of around two dozen weather stations scattered around it’s service territory to provide high resolution real-time measurements to study cloud formation and movement and to help with development of intra-hour forecasting in support of integrating increasingly greater amounts of solar PV into […]
Bill filed would expand Florida property owners’ rights to install and use solar PV
On Jan. 3rd, Senator Jose’ Javier Rodriguez (District 37, Miami-Dade) introduced Senate Bill (SB) 222, to allow property owners more latitude in the installation and use of solar PV. Specifically, the bill changes the definition Excerpts of some of the language capturing the essence of the bill are as follows: —— “An act relating to […]
Commissioner Nikki Fried Inaugurated as 12th Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Nikki Fried was inaugurated today as the 12th Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In Florida, the Office of Energy (a key FAASSTeR project partner) is located within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Ensuring Florida does its part to build a sustainable future is a priority for Commissioner Fried, including increasing renewable energy […]
NREL Releases Report Benchmarking Costs of Utility-Scale Solar PV and Energy Storage
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently released the the report “2018 U.S. Utility-Scale Photovoltaics-Plus-Energy Storage System Costs Benchmark”. The report provides results of NREL’s first bottom-up study to model and benchmark the installed costs of various standalone lithium-ion storage (with storage connected to the grid only) and PV-plus-storage (with storage connected to PV and […]
Utility Crews Restoring Power Following Michael
Hurricane Michael made landfall Wed., 10/10/2018 at 12:15 CDT near Mexico Beach, FL, as the strongest storm on record to hit the Florida Panhandle, a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds and pressure of 919 mbar. In the aftermath, over 1 million utility customers in the Southeastern U.S. were estimated to have lost power, […]
The 50 States of Solar Report Released by NC Clean Energy Tech Center
The 50 States of Solar Report: Q2 2018 Update – released today by NCCETC Raleigh, N.C. – (July 25, 2018) The N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its Q2 2018 edition of The 50 States of Solar. The quarterly series provides insights on state regulatory and legislative discussions and actions on distributed solar policy, […]
OUC Engineer Among IREC 2018 3iAward Recipients Announced at Intersolar
Young Clean Energy Innovators of the Year Rubin York, Orlando Utilities Commission As an emerging technology engineer at Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Rubin researches technologies, designs experiments and tests new products and materials in renewable energy and energy conservation. While at the University of Central Florida (UCF) he analyzed wind data, then created his own vertical […]
FMPA and Florida Muncipal-backed Solar Project – One of Largest in the Nation
Major Solar Energy Project Announced by Florida Municipal Utilities Project will be one of the largest municipal-backed solar projects in the nation. Contracts have been signed for 223.5 MW of solar PV generation at 3 sites, to come online in 2020. Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), in conjunction with 12 Florida municipal electric utilities and […]
Residential Solar Equipment Leases in Florida – FL PSC Ruling on Sunrun Petition
Today, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) granted Sunrun’s Petition for a Declaratory Statement regarding offering its solar lease product in Florida. Essentially this declares that Sunrun can offer residential solar equipment leases in Florida without it being considered a retail sale of electricity. In this way Sunrun is not subjected to regulation as a […]
President Trump Approves 30% Tariff on Solar PV Imports
Yesterday, it was made public that President Trump has approved a tariff of 30% on imported solar PV cells and modules. The tariff is in effect for four years, declining by 5% per year after the first year, with the first 2.5 gigawatts of imports each year being exempt from the tariff. The announcement comes […]