-June 17, 2021 at 6:22 a.m. Pacific Time
In today's Electrek Green Energy Briefing (EGEB):
According to a new report released today by the US Center for Environmental Research and Policy and the PIRG Education Fund of the United States, "Preventing Rooftop Solar Energy", U.S. special interest groups are working hard to prevent the growth of rooftop solar energy.
The report reviewed case studies from across the United States. These strategies were promoted by pro-fossil fuel lobby groups and then adopted by many utility companies. This includes charging new fixed fees for rooftop solar, or restricting or canceling net metering plans to ensure that solar panel owners receive fair compensation for the clean energy they provide to the grid.
In order to finally achieve these changes, special interest groups created artificial turf frontline groups to try to influence decision makers to support anti-solar legislation or regulations. (For example, the founder of the Common Name Consumer Energy Alliance is Michael Watley, who is the chairman of the Republican Party of North Carolina and a major supporter of the now-defunct Keystone XL Pipeline.)
The executive summary of the report explains why utilities have adopted these regulations:
Utilities are increasingly worried that the price drop and increased availability of clean solar will threaten their business model, which links profits to the amount of capital investment they make in the grid, and sometimes to electricity sales. Therefore, in all states across the country, utility companies are using their funds and influence to push policy makers to weaken solar energy and make it more difficult for homeowners and small business owners to produce their own clean energy.
The report states that to prevent these actions, the following measures need to be taken:
State policymakers, including governors, legislators, public utility supervisory committees, and others, should resist the efforts of public utilities and other special interest groups to limit the popularity of rooftop solar.
States should also promote and defend policies that support the growth of rooftop solar and accelerate the nation’s transition to 100% renewable energy.
The report details the more specific steps that decision makers need to take to support homeowners investing in rooftop solar. You can read the report here.
The 2021 Department of Energy (DOE) University Wind Energy Competition-conducted remotely this year-has ended. Since the first competition in 2014, Pennsylvania State University has participated eight times (and won five times), and is the overall champion among 11 universities this year.
In the words of the U.S. Department of Energy, the annual competition includes three categories:
A multidisciplinary team that challenges undergraduate students to design, build and test model wind turbines according to a set of strict performance standards; formulate wind energy project plans based on market and site selection considerations; and interact with wind energy industry experts to raise local communities’ awareness of wind energy.
The team with the highest overall score in all three categories will get the highest total score in the game. Penn State’s team is a student club composed of three sub-teams that score high in all categories.
Dr. Mark Miller, assistant professor at Penn State University and the lead researcher of the team, explained to Electrek their achievements:
The Turbine Technology Group at Pennsylvania State University has developed a new and optimized two-blade wind turbine design that is expected to provide higher performance in the race wind speed range.
The project development team with Dr. Susan Stewart as a consultant won the first place in the first category, and its comprehensive plan for wind farm development in western South Dakota impressed the judges.
The connection creation sub-team conducted extensive interviews with industry professionals and used social media platforms to connect with a wider audience of renewable energy.
Dr. Robert C. Marlay, Director of the Office of Wind Energy Technology of the U.S. Department of Energy and the head of the competition, said to all participating teams:
Their dedication and perseverance convinced me that the future energy workforce will be properly handled, and we can expect everyone to have a clean, affordable and fair energy future.
Photo: mjmonty's "Bayview House" has been licensed by CC BY 2.0
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Electrek Green Energy Briefing: Daily technical, financial and political commentary/analysis of important green energy news
Michelle Lewis is the writer and editor of Electrek and the editor of DroneDJ, 9to5Mac and 9to5Google. She lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. She previously worked in companies such as "Fast Company", "Guardian", "Depth News", and "Time". Leave a message for Michelle on Twitter or via michelle@9to5mac.com. Check out her personal blog.
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