We get very excited about the idea of a next-generation approach to power markets that takes full advantage of the suite of clean energy technologies available (what can we say, we’re electricity geeks). We want solar and renewables to work Read more…
If you’d like to develop a microgrid for your business, campus or community, but don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. In the US, the race is on to build these mini-grids that can keep the power flowing when Read more…
Vote Solar recently intervened in a proceeding (pdf) on electric vehicles (EVs) at the California Public Utilities Commission. Why EVs and why are we — a solar organization — so excited about this effort? Couple of reasons. The first has Read more…
California’s much-watched utility rate reform bill cleared its final major hurdle in the Legislature Monday, gaining approval on the Senate floor with a resounding 33-5 vote. This follows months of negotiations and amendments that resulted in the bill – AB Read more…
Residential rates always seem to be in the news for one reason or another. These days, residential rates are the subject of pending legislation (AB 327) and an ongoing rulemaking at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (R.12-06-013). To help Read more…
Interconnection standards are the legal rules and procedures for “plugging” a renewable energy system into the power grid. With oversight from their regulators, utilities have traditionally determined which systems may connect to the grid and how arduous that process is. Read 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 Read 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 Read more…
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has filed two proposals with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that, if approved, may allow you to choose electricity generated by solar energy instead of fossil fuel-based energy, whether you own a home Read more…
The California Public Utilities Commission approved a batch of solar contracts yesterday — up to 544 MW worth, of which 294 MW are coming in at prices below that of building a new natural gas combined cycle gas turbine. That’s Read more…
The California Public Utilities Commission voted down proposals by PG&E that would have been a big step backward for solar customers. The two major victories were 1) the CPUC opted to maintain its 4 tier rate structure, wherein high usage Read more…
California’s energy-efficiency policies will create over 200,000 jobs by 2020, but the state could be creating more and better-quality jobs. The Don Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy, part of the University of California-Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Read more…
Before energy became a hot topic, no one cared about the electric meter. It was the box on the house we all ignored except the guy from the utility who dodged the barking dogs to take a reading from it Read more…
Is renewable energy more cost effective than fossil fuels? Or is it more expensive? Well, a recent Los Angeles Times article reported that, according to the results of a draft report issued by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in Read more…