California approves solar permit streamlining
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.
EIB to provide loan for 30 MW PV project in West Africa
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.
California calls for scaled-down version of Palen CSP project
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.
Massachusetts utility-scale PV sector in danger
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.
India reveals draft of new program to support 20 GW of large PV projects by 2020
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.
Austin, Texas increases solar goals by 700 MW, solar to be new default source of power
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.
Arizona, Hawaii lead the U.S. in per-capita solar
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.
A complex market: An interview with Dr. Rodrigo Sauaia of ABSolar on Brazil's PV market
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.
US lowers anti-dumping tariffs on Taiwanese solar cells, modules
Citing a ministerial error, the U.S. Department of Commerce has cut in half duty levels for solar products made in Taiwan by Motech, and has reduced tariff levels for most other Taiwanese solar PV makers as well.
Chile's Bachelet administration touts progress in the solar sector
The Bachelet government has announced a large number of land concessions and modest policies to encourage distributed generation. However, much of the progress in Chile has been without government support, and the current administration has a lot of work to do to improve policies.
