Policy

The state of California and U.S. federal officials have released the latest draft of their plan for renewable energy in the California desert, which environmentalists say does not go far enough to protect biologically sensitive areas.

The 110,000 square meter plant in Buffalo will produce PV cells and modules based on Silevo’s high-efficiency technology, as the largest solar manufacturing facility in the Western Hemisphere.

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill which advocates say will greatly simplify and standardize local permitting in the state, removing a key market barrier for residential solar in some areas.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will join France and the EU in supporting a PV project in Burkina Faso, as one of the largest in the continent outside of South Africa to receive funding to date.

Regulators at the California Energy Commission have recommended approval of a new plan for the Palen solar CSP project with a single solar tower and reduced acreage. A final decision on the controversial project will be made on October 29.

The U.S. state of Massachusetts has proposed not setting aside any capacity in 2016 for traditional solar PV projects larger than 650 kW under the new SREC II program. The state’s solar industry warns that this will have major impacts.

As outlined in an initial draft, the ambitious program will work with state governments to set up a series of solar parks and mega-solar projects. Mercom Capital says that the announcement is good sign for solar policy under the Modi Administration, but questions remain.

The city council in the capitol city of the U.S. state of Texas has passed a sweeping resolution to strengthen solar policies and goals for its municipal utility. This includes procuring an additional 600 MW of utility-scale solar, another 100 MW of local solar and deploying energy storage.

A new report by Environment America looks at the top 10 U.S. states for solar electric installations, and finds that while California’s installed solar capacity is impressive, other states have greater densities.

Dr. Rodrigo Sauaia serves as executive director of ABSolar, the Brazilian Solar Industry Association. The following interview was conducted at the Intersolar South America trade show, and addresses the barriers and promise of Brazil’s solar market.