Great strides for solar occurred in Massachusetts last week with the passage of the 2012 Energy Act. This comprehensive energy bill expands an important solar program called net metering that gives customers credit for the valuable clean power they send to the grid. (more…)

A fresh edition of GTM Research`s five-year report on the costs of solar photovoltaics has just been published (PV Technology, Production and Cost: 2012-2016 Outlook). To say that the reduction of costs in the last couple of years is surprising is an understatement. (more…)

Last week, the Vote Solar team got some news, and when we heard it, our jaws dropped. We heard that opponents are working hard in Sacramento to undo our huge solar victory at the CPUC; a victory that we worked so hard with alongside 350.org, CREDO Action, Solar Energy Industries Association, Union of Concerned Scientists, and 60,000 Californians to win. (more…)

With a PUC vote on the horizon, the final tally is in! Solar, environmental, public interest and science groups banded together to help Californians send nearly 60,000 messages asking the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to expand a popular clean energy program called net metering. (more…)

Excellent news for solar in Arizona: late last week, the State Legislature put the final kibosh on a bill that would have permanently capped the amount of clean energy used by Arizonans. With your help we’ve been working to defeat the dangerous and misguided HB 2789, which would have prevented any future increase in the state’s clean energy standard. (more…)

Just over a week ago, the largest solar park in New England was inaugurated by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, when he switched on Westford Solar Park, a 4.5 MW solar farm in Westford, developed by Cathartes Private Investments and Nexamp.

The park, spreads across 22 acres and features (more…)

Today we’re celebrating an interim win for California rooftop solar along with our partners at SEIA, IREC and the Sierra Club. Together we have been working to encourage the utility regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to clarify the methodology being used to calculate the cap on the state’s net metering program, that billing (more…)

Good news in the desert Southwest: on Tuesday, Governor Jan Brewer signed two solar-friendly bills supported by Vote Solar and our Arizona partners. HB 2830 removes the 2013 sunset date on school districts’ ability to install solar and other energy-saving measures. SB 1229 clarifies that the sale of Renewable Energy Credits is not taxable – and also (more…)

California’s schools, libraries and prisons are going solar in droves to take control of their energy bills – and they’re saving taxpayers billions of dollars in the process. But the size of solar energy systems that qualify for the bill credit benefits of California’s net metering program is capped at 1 megawatt – that falls well short of the amount of solar power our public (more…)

Earlier this week, solar supporters from the Fresno area highlighted the job-creating, cost-saving benefits of the region’s solar power boom and urged policymakers to defend the California net metering program that has played such a large role in that success story.

The group gathered in front of the Unitarian (more…)