Xcel Flip Flop on Rooftop Solar Policy Net Metering

Last week in Denver, Coloradans packed into the Public Utilities Commission meeting rooms to support the cornerstone rooftop solar policy net metering. Meanwhile, a new finding shows that Xcel also knows the true benefits of net metering. A Denver Post article from 2007 says "Xcel officials maintain that all customers benefit because solar systems delay the need to build expensive power plants and reduce prospective future taxes on carbon emissions from fossil-fuel power." Xcel's current attacks on net metering are a flip-flop meant to protect the utility monopoly from competition. "Xcel supported net metering when it served their political purposes," said Bryan Miller, TASC President and Vice President of Public Policy for Sunrun. "Now that rooftop solar is a true form of competition, they oppose it." As indicated by the large turnout at last week's net metering panel, Coloradans will continue to stand strong for net metering. They support rooftop solar for Colorado's energy future, and don't want Xcel to succeed in stifling it. The Xcel flip flop affirms that their current opposition to net metering is a thinly-veiled profit protection plan.

EPA Holding Public Hearings on Carboon Emission Plan

DENVER—Hundreds of people will tell the Environmental Protection Agency what they think of proposed rules to cut pollution from power plants during public hearings Tuesday and Wednesday in Denver. With just five minutes each to make their case to the EPA, opponents and supporters also are staging rallies around the city. Besides Denver, the EPA is holding hearings this week in Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Washington on President Barack Obama’s plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2030, with 2005 levels as the starting point. The rules are intended to curb global warming. The Denver hearings are the only ones in the West, where the topic of air pollution traditionally sets off a loud debate over environmental values and economic vitality. Three of the top 10 coal-producing states are in the West — Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. Wyoming is No. 1, producing nearly 40 percent of the U.S. total and more than three times as much as West Virginia, the No. 2 state, according to the National Mining Association. Coal mines, electric utilities, labor unions, environmental groups, renewable energy companies, government agencies and religious and civil rights organizations are sending representatives to the Denver hearings. Mark Fix, a Montana rancher signed up to speak Tuesday, called the rules a “good step in the right direction.” He blames climate change for a tornado, flooding and other extreme weather he has witnessed on his ranch. “There’s things out there we need to develop — the hydro, the wind, the solar, a lot of the renewables,” Fix said Monday. Fix ranches southwest of Miles City, Montana, and is a member of the Northern Plains Resource Council. Jonathan Downing, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, plans to argue against the rules. “I think they need to go back to the drawing board,” Downing said Monday. “It takes time to develop those (anti-pollution) technologies and have conversions on power plants,” and U.S. competitiveness could suffer during the transition, he said. EPA technical experts will listen to the comments, and a transcript will go into the EPA record, agency spokeswoman Lisa McClain-Vanderpool said. The EPA plans to release the final rules next year. The agency expects 400 people to speak in Denver and a total of 1,600 in all four cities. Written comments will be accepted until Oct. 16. Former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said hearing testimony can range from serious questions to political theater. “People ask some ridiculous ones, which means that they don’t care about the answer,” said Whitman, a former New Jersey governor who headed the EPA from January 2001 to June 2003. But the hearings are a legitimate part of the agency’s decision-making process, she said.

Government Report Forecasts Big Gains For U.S. Solar

The Solar Industries Association (SEIA) says a new U.S. federal study forecasts that solar energy will play a big role in the coming years. Citing a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), SEIA notes that the government agency predicts most new electric generation capacity in the U.S. through 2040 will come from natural gas and renewable energy. Of the 83 GW of renewable capacity additions being forecast, nearly half is expected to come from solar photovoltaic systems. “Solar is the fastest-growing source of renewable energy today - and, as this report bears out, it will continue to be for years and years to come,” says Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. “The continued, rapid deployment of solar nationwide will create thousands of new American jobs, pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy and help to significantly reduce pollution. Just as importantly, it will also provide Americans with the freedom to decide how to power their homes, businesses, schools and government facilities in the future. “This report predicts that 60 percent of all new PV installations in the years ahead will be rooftop solar, creating significant savings when it comes to future energy costs,” continues Resch. “But this progress could be jeopardized if smart public policies, such as the solar investment tax credit (ITC), net energy metering and renewable portfolio standards, come under renewed attack by entrenched fossil fuel interests. “Of immediate concern, we are strongly urging Congress to adopt ‘commence construction’ language this year, allowing project developers to take full advantage of the highly-successful solar ITC and giving Americans access to new, affordable clean energy sources.” According to SEIA, applying the "commence construction" standard across the renewable energy sector would drive the installation of an additional 4 GW of solar capacity in 2017 and 2018.

Xcel Energy Offers Solar*Rewards 'Bridge' For Colorado Solar Installations

As part of its 2014 Renewable Energy Standard Plan, Public Service Co. of Colorado, an Xcel Energy subsidiary, filed a plan with the Colorado Public Service Commission (PUC) to add 36 MW of customer-sited solar capacity to its Solar*Rewards program. Xcel's Solar*Rewards offers customers incentives to install solar panels on their homes and businesses. The rebate program, which started in 2006, has helped to install more than 200 MW of capacity through 19,800 PV systems. The program has paid more than $297 million in incentives to Colorado customers. Solar*Rewards provides incentives across three tiers: the small program (for installations of less than 10 kW), the medium program (more that 25 kW but less than 500 kW) and the large program (for installations exceeding 500 kW). Since May 2013, Xcel Energy has been operating under a settlement that called for 33.6 MW of installed solar capacity. However, by June 2014, the capacity for the Solar*Rewards program had been exhausted. "We're looking at the options to keep the Solar*Rewards program open," says Robin Kittel, director of regulatory administration for Xcel Energy. "In order to re-open the plan, we have agreed to advance a certain amount of capacity." Under the agreement, Xcel has agreed to advance 4 MW per month - capped at 20 MW - for the small program and 7 MW for the medium program. Kittel says the agreement is intended to serve as a "bridge" until the PUC approves the utility’s 2014 plan that includes 24 MW of capacity for the small program and 12 MW of capacity for the medium program. Advancing capacity, she says, will keep pushing Colorado solar development forward. "It's the middle of July, and the solar industry has been clear that the stopping and starting [of policy] has hurt them," explains Kittel. "We recognize that the summer is a busy time." According to Kittel, a decision by the administrative law judge examining the case is expected sometime this month. However, a decision does not necessarily mean the matter is resolved. Kittel explains that once a decision is rendered, interested parties can file exceptions with the PUC. Therefore, she does not anticipate a final ruling for a few months at the earliest. This is not the first time that demand has exceeded supply. In 2012, for example, the allotment for the program sold out in 30 minutes. And to further illustrate the program’s popularity, Kittel says the 7 MW advanced from the medium program have already been exhausted.

Colorado and Denver Clean Edge Ranking

Clean Edge, a leading clean-tech research firm, released its 2014 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index today. The Index tracks the clean-tech activities of all 50 states and the 50 largest metro areas in the United States. Colorado is in fourth place among the 50 states, and Denver ranks tenth out of 50 American cities. The Index includes all clean energy activities from electric vehicles and renewables to patent and investment activity. Colorado placed a very close fourth with a score of 66.8, up one place from the 2013 Index. Strong renewable energy deployments and its performance in energy intelligence/green buildings helped it place fifth in Technology, but Colorado’s best category is a #4 rank in Capital. Golden is home to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory which is an increasingly vibrant ecosystem for clean-tech startups. The good news is that clean energy is gaining market share. Clean Edge points out that eleven states now generate more than 10 percent of their electricity from non-hydro renewable energy sources, with two states — Iowa and South Dakota — exceeding 25 percent. New solar installations climbed more than 40 percent year-over-year in the U.S. last year and registrations of all-electric vehicles more than doubled between the 2013 and 2014 indexes, to nearly 220,000 nationwide. The top 10 overall states in the 2014 State Index, ranked from one to ten are: California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Colorado, New York, New Mexico, Washington, Illinois, Vermont, and Connecticut. The top overall metropolitan areas, ranked from one to ten are: San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Portland, OR, Sacramento, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Austin, and Denver. Not surprisingly, four of the top ten cities were in California. What is somewhat surprising is that Austin ranks in the top ten given its location in the middle of oil country. Eight of the top 10 metro areas are located in the top four states. Clean Edge points out that over the past year, states and cities continued to be where most of the clean tech action is in the United States due to a total lack of action by Congress. Supportive policies and aggressive technology deployments from Connecticut to California have made clean-energy generation, in particular residential and commercial solar PV, increasingly a popular energy choice for mainstream America. “Climate disruption and the growing availability of market-competitive clean-energy technologies are driving many states and cities to tackle climate issues head-on,” Clean Edge founder and managing director Ron Pernick said in the release rolling out the new Index. “More than ever, this year’s Leadership Index highlights how some top regions are taking climate action seriously, with double-digit clean-energy adoption rates, new policies like California’s energy-storage mandate, and the deployment of clean-energy investment vehicles such as New York’s green bank.” “Net-zero building and energy-storage mandates and new public-private investment vehicles are just a few of the emerging policies that are dramatically shifting the energy landscape,” Clean Edge senior editor Clint Wilder said. “While there have been some regional attacks against clean-tech supportive policies, such as net metering and renewable portfolio standards, for the most part, the clean-tech industry and its allies have successfully fought off such efforts.”