In early June 2015, the UK Department for Energy & Climate Change (“DECC”) was expected to announce plans to close the existing subsidy scheme for onshore wind, the Renewables Obligation (“RO”), to new generating capacity a year earlier than expected. This announcement has been delayed amid concerns that it could spark potential legal challenges from
Solar
DoD Moves Forward with Stricter Sourcing Requirements for PV Devices
Earlier this week, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a proposed rule to revise (and make stricter) the unique sourcing requirements applicable to certain photovoltaic devices that are used in the performance of DoD contracts. Specifically, unless an exception under the Trade Agreements Act applies or a contractor secures a waiver based on public interest…
The Impact of Distributed Generation On Electric Utilities: How Big, How Likely and How Soon?
Technological advances in distributed generation and battery storage and their consequent falling costs have the potential to significantly change the electric utility business model and regulatory policies. While change seems likely, there are varying views on its scope, probability and timing. Two are presented here.
One perspective is that fundamental changes in the way electricity…
Federal Agencies Join Forces to Procure Solar Electricity
Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), U.S. Forest Service, Department of Energy, and General Services Administration (“GSA”) released a final solicitation for the Federal Aggregated Solar Procurement Project (“FASPP”). Through the FASPP, these agencies seek to acquire cost-effective solar electricity at nine federal sites located throughout northern California and northern Nevada. The…
A Spotlight on Solar Power in Africa
The new year may only be a few months old, but 2015 has already ushered in a number of exciting developments in the solar power space in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Solar projects coming online across the continent and more in the pipeline. Riding the momentum of 2014 in which it brought online the largest photovoltaic (PV)…
Comparing Externalities from Energy Sources
Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen recently decried “the failure to develop a framework for assessing the comparative costs of different sources of energy . . . inclusive of the externalities involved.” As if on cue, the European Union (EU) issued an interim research report by an outside consultancy last month that purported to do just…
Regulated Utilities Push into Residential Solar Market
Residential rooftop solar energy continues to expand at a rapid pace in many states. This growing market dynamic is affecting the business model of traditional electric utilities. Some utilities have sought to impose obstacles to the growth of competing solar rooftop providers, citing concern that as more homes produce their own electricity, the corresponding loss…
Construction Company on a Federally Assisted Project Pays Nearly $2 Million After Labor Department Investigation
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it has recovered $1,914,681.50 in back wages and fringe benefits allegedly owed to 147 workers of a Nevada-based company that provided construction services as a subcontractor at the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a federally supported solar power development located near Tonopah, Nevada. The DOL…
DLA Energy Issues Solicitation for New, Large-Scale Renewable Energy Generation Project
On October 17, 2014, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Energy issued a solicitation for proposals to construct and operate a large-scale renewable energy project at Fort Hood in Texas, the U.S. military’s largest active duty armored post. The Fort Hood project is part of the efforts of the Army Office of Energy Initiatives (OEI), which…
CleanEquity Monaco Recognizes Three Innovative Energy and Environmental Technology Companies
On March 28, His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco bestowed innovation awards for excellence in the field of environmental technology to three emerging technology companies — Mango Materials, Frigesco, and One Earth Designs — out of a field of 22 companies from 11 countries that participated in the annual three-day CleanEquity…