An integrated microgrid infrastructure project in Rockville, Maryland will be the largest renewable energy-powered bus depot in the nation and the first on the East Coast to produce green hydrogen on-site, according to developer AlphaStruxure.

The microgrid will be constructed at Montgomery County’s David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance & Transit Operation Center (EMTOC), which is the County’s fifth largest energy user. With the depot eventually powering 200 zero-emissions buses, it will support the County’s climate goal of reaching 100% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035.

The 7 MW microgrid will consist of 5 MW of Sunpower solar modules, a 2 MW/7.35 MWh Schneider Electric battery energy storage system, and 4.5 MW of charging capacity. It will also use SMA inverters and feature EV chargers from Heliox and PowerCharge.

The integrated microgrid, which is expected to be operational in the fall of 2025, will be interconnected to the utility, but engineered to operate indefinitely in island mode, according to AlphaStruxure. Once built, it will be able to power not just electrolysis but the depot’s five existing buildings and battery electric bus charging. As a self-sufficient microgrid, it will do so with or without utility electricity, and can export up to 2 MW back to the grid, the company reports.

Unique to this microgrid is the 1 MW hydrogen electrolyzer that will be powered by the on-site solar energy and used to support fuel cell electric buses and enhance the county’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network.

The County’s 2024 fleet transition plan calls for replacing 100% of its nearly 400 fossil-fuel-powered buses with a mix of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses, while also scaling the entire fleet to about 600 buses by 2035. With this microgrid, the County is planning in advance how to power these zero-emissions vehicles by strategically coupling procurement of both the vehicles and the infrastructure.

“What you don’t want is to get these vehicles on site and have no way to charge them. It’s a balance between infrastructure done and the fleets in at the same time,” said Michael Yambrach of the County’s office of energy and sustainability.

Montgomery County created a public-private partnership with AlphaStruxure to design, build, finance, own, and operate the microgrid. The Counted used AlphaStruxure’s Energy as a Service agreement under which AlphaStruxure designs, builds, owns and operates the infrastructure, and taps an investment firm for financing.

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Solar-friendly Maryland passes the Brighter Tomorrow Act  Hailed as landmark legislation, SB 783 empowers municipalities to speed permitting, raises net metering cap, supports a payment in lieu of taxes program and more.

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Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the Brighter Tomorrow Act (SB 783) into law, making solar accessible to all, regardless of income.

What the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is hailing as “landmark legislation” is expected to bring the state closer to its solar energy targets while also expanding solar access to low- and moderate-income Marylanders. A year ago Maryland’s governor announced the state had set a goal of 100% clean energy by 2035.

“The Brighter Tomorrow Act is one of the most consequential pieces of clean energy legislation ever passed in Maryland. The new law will significantly boost solar deployment by lowering installation costs and making rooftop solar accessible for Marylanders of all incomes,” said Leah Meredith, mid-Atlantic senior manager for SEIA. “Empowering localities to adopt automated solar permitting will also go a long way to save local governments money and resources that can be spent on other important public services.”

Maryland has long been a solar-friendly state with both supportive and forward-looking policies. For example, last year the state passed a new community solar program that allows projects to exceed certain size limits if they’re built on specified site types, such as rooftops, brownfields, or industrial areas. Not surprisingly the state has made great strides in solar capacity, jumping from a ranking of 30^th in 2023, according to SEIA, to 19^th in 2024. The state currently has 2 GW of solar installed and gets over 6% of its electricity from solar.

One way of moving the needle on solar energy adoption in the state is to facilitate faster solar permitting, and the Brighter Tomorrow Act empowers municipalities to expedite permitting through SolarApp+.

SolarApp+ was released in 2021 by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). The free web-based platform was developed for the purpose of lowering the costs and timeframe associated with solar permitting, and is said to cut about 12 days off the permitting process.

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) received $4.48 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) to support adoption of SolarAPP+. Municipalities can also use SolarAPP+ to permit other forms of clean energy including home battery storage storage systems.

The Brighter Tomorrow Act raises the cap on net metering  and implements a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) multiplier as a bridge to long-term reforms. It had included support for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) structure for ground-mounted solar installations, but this was amended out.

“This achievement is a direct result of Maryland’s statewide taskforce to study solar incentives, and it will play a critical role in facilitating the state’s transition to clean energy and strengthening the electric grid for our communities,” said Meredith. “The solar and storage industry greatly appreciates the partnership from Governor Moore, state lawmakers, environmental advocates, and community organizations for delivering this win for Maryland’s economy and environment.”

This was amended on May 14, 2024 to state that the PILOT structure was not a part of the final bill that passed.

The U.S. power grid in use today was built in the 1960s and 70s and is hard pressed to handle the extreme weather events caused by climate change, let alone the renewable energy needed to meet energy goals.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 70% of transmission lines are over 25 years old and approaching the end of their typical lifecycle. Grid upgrades that deploy modern grid technologies are sorely needed, and federal funding is available through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program, which recently closed applications for up to $2.7 billion in DOE grant funding under a second round.

Grid modernization has been underway in some states more than others, and the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center recently released The 50 States of Grid Modernization: Q1 2024 Quarterly Report, which looks at legislative and regulatory action related to smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure, utility business model reform, regulatory reform, utility rate reform, energy storage, microgrids, and demand response.

In Q1 2024, according to the report, 49 states plus DC and Puerto Rico took a total of 567 policy and deployment actions, the most common related to policies (133), financial incentives (108), and utility business model and rate reform (93).

Five top policy developments

Maryland: Lawmakers passed the Distributed Renewable Integration and Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE) Act in Maryland that directs the Public Service Commission to develop a program for utilities to establish virtual power plant (VPP) pilots to compensate owners and aggregators of distributed energy resources for distribution system support services.

Massachusetts: Eversource, National Grid and Unitil filed final electric sector modernization plans in January 2024. The plans include a variety of programs and investments, such as VPP programs, advanced distribution management system and distributed energy resource management system investments, resilience upgrades, heat pump integration, and non-wires alternative

Connecticut: The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) issued a set guidelines for utilities’ advanced metering infrastructure plans, including a directive to include advanced time-of-use rates and to use Green Button Connect functionality. Later in the quarter, PURA filed a straw proposal on performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs), which includes four PIMs based on non-wires solutions, equitable reliability, distributed energy resource interconnection, and avoided service terminations.

Colorado: The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved guidelines and directives for VPP implementation in Xcel Energy’s service territory.

Maine: The Governor’s Energy Office in Maine released its final long-duration energy storage (LDES) study that identifies policy considerations and actions for the state to support LDES. The PUC also released a study that examines utility control or ownership of energy storage, finding that utility ownership of storage should only be allowed under certain circumstances.

Top trends

Grid-enhancing technologies can boost the use of any existing transmission system, according to a study by The Brattle Group, which looked specifically at advanced power flow control, topology optimization and dynamic line ratings. The NC State report said use of grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) is a notable trend and noted the following actions:

• Virginia lawmakers enacted a bill requiring utility integrated resource plans to include a comprehensive assessment of the application of GETs and advanced conductors. In
• Maine legislators enacted a bill requiring the PUC to conduct a review of available GETs that large investor-owned utilities may use to reduce investment needs in grid infrastructure.
• Minnesota lawmakers introduced bills requiring utilities to file plans regarding the implementation of GETs to prevent grid congestion at the transmission level.
• New York legislators introduced bills that would allow the Department of Public Service to approve requests from distribution companies to develop GETs.

Other states considering legislation initiating studies on GETs include Connecticut and New Hampshire.

Virtual power plants

VPPs give grid operators a utility-grade alternative to new generation and system buildout by automating efficiency, capacity support and offering non-wire alternatives, according to Jigar Shah, director of the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office. “By deploying grid assets more efficiently, an aggregation of distributed resources lowers the cost of power for everybody, especially VPP participants,” Shah said in an article in pv magazine USA.

According to the NC State report, a state policymakers and regulators are taking steps to develop frameworks for VPPs in their states:

• Pennsylvania regulators issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking seeking input on VPPs as a potential resource for the state.
• Maryland lawmakers passed a bill directing the Public Service Commission to develop a program for utilities to establish VPP pilots, with each investor-owned utility required to propose a pilot or temporary tariff by July 1, 2025.
• Colorado PUC issued a decision outlining rules for VPP pilots and acquisition.
• California and Hawaii regulators are also advancing expansive programs to promote VPPs.

Microgrids

Microgrids are groups of distributed energy resources, such as solar modules on a home, connected to a battery system, that can disconnect from the grid and operate independently during a power outage. The U.S. Department of Energy has a vision that 30% to 50% of electricity generation will come from distributed resources by 2035, with microgrids playing a key role in the transition.

The NC State report found that a growing number of states are evaluating the potential for microgrids to provide resilience or other benefits in their states.

• Colorado Energy Office is currently developing a microgrid roadmap, which will examine how microgrids can improve grid resilience and reliability in the state.
• New Hampshire lawmakers recently passed a bill requiring the state’s Department of Energy to study the potential benefits, risks and other factors of developing a microgrid framework.
• Rhode Island PUC issued request for proposal for a study related to microgrid program design.
• Puerto Rico Energy is examining revisions to its existing microgrid revisions.
• Arizona regulators issued a decision prohibiting Arizona Public Service from providing microgrid services.

Lawmakers in California, Iowa, New Jersey, and New York also considered legislation related to microgrid studies during the quarter.

PureSky Energy announced the acquisition of a 2.47 MW community solar project in Potomac, Maryland from the project’s developer, Chaberton Energy.

Over 4,500 ET Solar modules will be mounted on an Erthos mounting system, and because of the unique qualities of Erthos, the project will take up just 4 acres of land and is expected to take just nine weeks to install. Chaberton told pv magazine USA that being in a suburban setting, the project is significantly land constrained.

“The Erthos solution provides the highest electricity production per acre and also provides a low-profile solution relative to conventional racking systems, which helped us secure the support of the surrounding community,” Chaberton said.

The project is expected to be built this summer using what Erthos calls Earth Mount Solar, because it installs solar on the ground with no mounts or trackers below. While most utility-scale solar installations use single-axis trackers, Erthos said that with the drop in solar module prices, it is more cost-effective to buy additional solar modules to make up for the loss of efficiency from foregoing trackers.

The company said the design also increases panel density, which reduces the amount of land needed. Visual impact is minimal because the modules sit on the ground. And the company says it can install the modules in about half the time.

“This project is not just a step towards expanding our footprint; it’s a leap into the future of solar energy,” said Jared Donald, president and CEO of PureSky Energy. “By utilizing the Erthos mounting system, we are setting a new standard for solar installations that are both community-friendly and efficient.”

PureSky Energy, based in Denver, Colo., is a developer, owner, and operator of community solar, C&I and storage projects. The company entered the U.S. market in 2016 and now has approximately 233 MW installed across 44 sites or under-construction projects expected to be completed in the short term.

Chaberton Energy, based in Maryland, is a public benefit corporation focused on developing sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Its work ranges from site conception to full operations. After four years of growth, Chaberton reports it controls 650+ MW of community solar sites in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, New Jersey and Italy.

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Baltimore Gas and Electric installs battery storage system to manage winter peaks The 2.5 MW/9.74 MWh Hitachi Energy facility helped the utility avoid distribution upgrade costs and also participates in the PJM Interconnection.

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Maryland’s largest utility, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), has turned to a 2.5 MW/9.74 MWh battery energy storage system to meet high electricity demand during the winter months in Fairhaven, located just south of Annapolis.

The battery system, which is installed at the Fairhaven substation near Chesapeake Bay and began operating in November, is built largely with Hitachi Energy products. It has two battery containers with 48 racks of lithium-ion batteries, the company said, as well as a control system and two new distribution transformers. 

The Fairhaven energy storage system was installed to solve a very specific reliability challenge in BGE’s footprint – unlike the rest of Maryland, which tends to see peak electricity demand during the summer, Fairhaven experiences a winter peak due to the usage of electric heaters. Because of this, the area’s total electricity load sometimes topped the capacity of the 34.5kV line in the region. 

The new storage system helps address that issue by absorbing energy during times of low electricity demand and then discharging it back to the grid when demand increases. The battery system also allowed BGE to avoid the costs of upgrading some 10 miles of electric distribution infrastructure, according to Hitachi. And after the winter months, when it’s most needed, it can also participate in regional transmission organization PJM’s footprint.

“Participating in these sorts of markets can also help companies align with broader energy goals. Battery projects like the Fairhaven BESS contribute to grid stabilization, offering rapid response capabilities that are crucial for balancing supply and demand,” a Hitachi Energy spokesperson told pv magazine USA. 

More broadly, energy storage plays an important role in ensuring reliability throughout different U.S. markets, including the PJM region, which includes 65 million people spread across 13 states and the District of Columbia, the spokesperson said. 

“As the energy landscape evolves, the strategic deployment of [battery energy storage] technologies not only optimizes existing infrastructure but also fosters a resilient grid capable of adapting to changing demands, unforeseen events such as extreme weather, and the increasing prominence of renewable energy sources,” they added. 

Maryland is aiming to deploy 3,000 MWh of energy storage resources by 2033, and the Fairhaven project is part of this goal, per the 2019 Maryland Energy Storage Pilot Project Act. BGE also deployed a separate battery project in the region – a 1 MW/2 MWh battery located in Chesapeake Beach – in January, 2023, also aimed at shifting energy to times when electricity demand is highest, especially in the winter months. 

Both residential and grid-scale energy storage installations are growing across the U.S. A recent report from Wood Mackenzie and American Clean Power Association (ACP) found that the industry installed 13.5 GWh of storage in the first three quarters of 2023, compared to 12 GWh for all of 2022. This figure that could have been much higher, were it not for some 80% of projects in the pipeline being delayed. 

Arcadia, a company that builds utility data technology to serve consumers in the community solar market, released its inaugural report on the community solar sector in 2023. The State of Community Solar report highlights the anticipated growth in an industry designed to serve all.

Community solar offers access to clean solar energy to the nearly two-thirds of Americans who do not have access to residential solar, whether it is because the don’t own their home, their roof is not positioned for solar or they cannot afford the up-front cost.

Challenges to its growth include high interest rates, increased local opposition to projects, interconnection delays, workforce issues, unfriendly regulatory environments and ongoing tariff issues between the United States and its trading partners, according to the report.

Despite these challenges, a Wood Mackenzie report expected community solar to exceed 6 GW by the end of 2023, estimating that existing community solar projects in the U.S. generate enough electricity to power 918,000 homes. The WoodMac report forecasts 118% growth over the next five years, with the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) setting a target of 30 GW by 2030, which Arcadia said is an important baseline for the growth of community solar in the years ahead.

In addition to providing clean energy to ratepayers, the growth in community solar is spurring investment in American-made products. The report points to the recent Nexamp order of 1.5 GW of Heliene solar modules to support Nexamp’s growth in the community solar sector.

Federal programs 

In August 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most significant climate bill in U.S. history, giving a boost to community (and other forms of solar) through federal tax policy. Arcadia expects to see the IRA drive more innovative business models, and cites as an example the recent nationwide partnership between Arcadia, Google, and EDP Renewables NA, a collaboration that prioritizes direct community investments. According to the Arcadia report, it will deliver utility bill savings to low- to medium-income households by connecting an estimated 25,000 households in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic with 500 MW of distributed solar energy.

At the federal level, community solar also got a boost through several programs including : National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP), Low-Income Clean Energy Connector, Community Power Accelerator, and the American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar.

• NCSP focuses on disadvantaged communities by providing resources, technical assistance, and peer networking opportunities to its partners to help overcome barriers to broadening community solar access.
• Low-Income Clean Energy Connector, established by the NCSP, intends to make community solar more widely available for those participating in government-run low-income support programs.
• The Community Power Accelerator helps smaller community solar projects get off the ground, especially in underserved communities, by providing the resources and network to support the equitable distribution of capital needed to develop these projects.
• American-Made Sunny Awards for Equitable Community Solar is a prize competition that recognizes community solar projects and programs that use best practices to increase equitable access to community solar.

State programs

The Arcadia report notes important activity at the state level, including New Mexico, which adopted its first program, Maryland and New Jersey made pilot programs permanent. Other states, including Minnesota, dropped geographic restrictions that hobbled their community solar programming. California is expected to adopt a program this year.

Jobs

With the growth in community solar comes job growth, and Arcadia notes that this clean energy option creates “sustainable, good-paying jobs that can provide economic boosts to towns that need it”. The report cites a study by the University of New Mexico that predicts that its new program will generate over 1,500 jobs, totaling $58 million in labor income and $206 million in total industry economic output. The community solar industry supports 16,785 jobs as of 2022, and this number is expected to increase

Arcadia was founded in 2014 on the belief that everyone deserves access to clean energy, and reports that it manages the nation’s largest community solar portfolio with more than 2 GW of solar under management.

After four years of very strong growth, Chaberton reports it controls 650+ MW of community solar sites in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, New Jersey and Italy.

Headquartered in Maryland, Chaberton Energy is a public benefit corporation focused on developing sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Its work ranges from site conception to full operations. The company launched in 2020 with community solar projects in the mid-Atlantic region but has since broadened its portfolio to include commercial and industrial installations. Due in part to favorable solar policies that continue to emerge in states across the country, Chaberton quickly expanded its market.

Community solar installations have grown overall from 85 MW cumulative in 2015 to 6.2 GW in 2023, according to Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, the market is expected to grow 8% annually between 2024 and 2028.

“Chaberton will be busy this year offering valuable solar options for communities and for businesses that recognize the benefits of generating their own electricity, cutting costs and reducing their carbon footprint,” said Chaberton Energy CEO and founder Stefano Ratti.

Recent projects

A few of its recent projects include Friendship, Crestone, Greyrock and Fuji.

Friendship is made up of two community solar projects in West Friendship, Howard County, Maryland, which, combined generate 6.5 MW. They came online early 2023 and serve local community residents and small businesses, via the Community Solar Maryland program, and Loyola University Maryland, via the Aggregate Net Energy Metering program. Like all of Chaberton’s projects in the mid-Atlantic, they feature a pollinator habitat.

Crestone is a community solar project in Harrington, New Kent, Delaware, totaling 6.4 MW. This is the first project to participate in the newly revamped Delaware Community Solar program.

Fuji is two installations in one. Located in Franklin, NJ, it has a combined capacity of 5 MW. What is unique is this is a floating solar installation, which will be installed on the surface of an industrial pond. The installation will serve both industrial and community solar needs, as the first phase of the project involves installing a behind-the-meter system to meet on-site energy requirements of an aggregate material production site. The second phase of the project is a community solar installation with local residents as subscribers.

Greyrock, in Pittsville, Md is a 2 MW community solar project on a 34-acre parcel of land, which will serve residents and businesses within the Delmarva service area. Its pollinator habitat was designed following recommendations set forth in the Maryland Pollinator Protection Plan. The project is expected to be operational in the summer of 2024.

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The YMCA in Frederick County, Maryland is expected to save $100,000 on its electricity bills over the next 25 years after installing a 222 kW rooftop solar array. The organization entered a 25-year service agreement with solar installer Secure Solar Futures.

The array is installed on the Natelli Family Y in Ijamsville, Maryland. It is comprised of 544 monocrystalline panels from JinkoSolar. It is expected to produce 294 MWh in its first year of operations, covering roughly 18% of the facility’s electricity usage. YMCA will continue to source the rest of its electricity from the local utility.

The YMCA location is expected to abate 2,997 metric tons of carbon emissions and save $97,226 on electricity over the 25-year power purchase agreement. At the end of the service agreement, YMCA can take ownership of the solar array, which can continue to produce electricity for another decade beyond the agreement.

Secure Solar Futures also installed an electric vehicle charger on site. The Level 2 charging station is manufactured by ChargePoint, offering two charging ports for members and nonmembers. The first two hours of charging are offered for free, and after that the fee is $3 per hour and $0.25 per kWh of power used.

“The YMCA of Frederick County is generating solar power at its facility for use on the electricity grid while making clean energy available to local drivers simultaneously,” said Secure Solar Futures CEO, Ryan McAllister. “It’s an increasingly popular approach among our customers, and we expect to see even more integration of on-site solar and electric transportation as our company expands into the state of Maryland.”

In 2023, Secure Solar Futures announced the Coalfield Solar Fund in partnership with Intuit and the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) to offer up to $5 million in grants to public schools and community colleges that sign solar power purchase agreements (PPA) in coalfield regions of West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. The company also partnered with the Virginia Community College System, signing several solar PPAs.

The company was also involved in the development of West Virginia Senate Bill 544, sponsored by Senator Ben Queen, which increased the solar PPA cap from 500 kW to 1 MW in the state of West Virginia.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) passed a goal of installing solar panels on 250,000 rooftops in the metro D.C. area by 2030. The region includes D.C., Northern Viriginia, and parts of Maryland. Currently, there are about 72,000 rooftops that have solar panels installed, meaning that 178,000 more rooftops are targeted in the 2030 goal.

In 2020 MWCOG passed a climate and energy action plan to reduce emissions by 50% from 2005 levels. The climate plan also calls for about 2% of the region’s energy to come from local, distributed renewable energy sources like rooftop solar.

“It’s super ambitious, there’s no doubt about it,” said Robert W. Lazaro Jr., executive director for the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. “When you look at contributors to greenhouse gases, buildings are going to be [among] the biggest drivers.”

One of the initiatives in the region that is expected to help achieve the 250,000 target is Solar For All. The Department of Energy funds the program, which partners with organizations across the District to install solar on multi-family buildings. Program managers of Solar For All said participants should receive roughly 50% savings on their electricity bill for 15 years under the program.

The program is funded through the District’s Renewable Energy Development Fund. At the state level, Maryland’s community solar program has a low-income “carve-out,” meaning that about 125 megawatts (MW) of the total 418 MW statewide cap is set aside for projects focused on low- and moderate-income customers.

The D.C. area’s ambitious goal would represent about 24% of single-family homes adding rooftop solar, a level of market penetration only approached by Hawaii today. MWCOG’s energy procurement target also calls for a 10% compound annual growth rate in clean power purchases through 2030.

MWCOG’s climate action plan also recognizes the need for pairing intermittent generation sources like solar with energy storage. The 2030 goal establishes that roughly 10% of on-site solar installations will need to be paired with energy storage systems.

“COG will continue to work with its regional partners to evaluate project-level feasibility and cost-effectiveness of measures to meet the 2030 goals of reducing GHG emissions 50 percent below the 2005 levels,” said the climate action plan. “The next ten years of action will set the stage for the 2050 vision for achieving 80% [greenhouse gas] emission reduction and a resilient metropolitan Washington.”

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Commercial solar and energy storage company Summit Ridge Energy celebrated the construction of six rooftop community solar projects in Maryland, totaling over 17 MW.

The projects are part of the Maryland Community Solar program – an effort to provide local residents with low-cost, renewable energy – and are expected to generate over 25 million kWh of power annually. They will be sited on the rooftops of industrial assets owned by LBA Logistics, a real estate investment and management firm. 

The first project is expected to come online in the third quarter of this year, according to Summit Ridge Energy. The projects are all rooftop solar, and no trackers were used, Leslie Elder, Summit Ridge Energy’s vice president of political and regulatory affairs, told pv magazine USA. While they won’t be paired with energy storage at this time, “as the Maryland market evolves to incentivize storage, we will be very excited to consider adding storage to these systems,” Elder added. 

Summit Ridge Energy – along with LBA Logistics and commercial buyer’s representative Black Bear Energy, which facilitated the collaboration between the two companies – held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Rosedale, Maryland.

The company has also expanded a partnership with HASI, a climate solutions investor, to build and operate a 250 MW community solar portfolio. The two companies entered a joint venture in 2019, and this transaction doubles the size of that. Under the new agreement, HASI will help finance Summit Ridge’s pipeline of community solar projects in Illinois and Maryland over the next two years. Summit Ridge estimates that this portfolio of projects will help avoid more than 51,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

“Our programmatic, client-centric approach delivers long-term value to our partners, and we look forward to supporting the rapid growth of Summit Ridge Energy’s solar pipeline,” said Susan Nickey, chief client officer at HASI. 

Summit Ridge Energy,  launched in 2017, has a development pipeline of more than 2 GW and has deployed over $1.6 billion into clean energy assets over the last six years. The company expects to have more than 400 MW of PV online by the end of this year. 

Community solar could play a key role in the energy transition. Three out of four Americans want to switch to solar, but rooftop solar panels aren’t an option for many residents, either because they live in apartment buildings, are tenants, have shaded roofs, or don’t qualify to finance them, noted Elder. 

“Community solar is solving this issue. Community solar programs allow customers to ”subscribe” to local solar farms and receive the benefits from solar generation. Customers are matched with a local energy project, lowering their utility bills and guaranteeing that more clean energy is generated locally,” said Elder. 

But while community solar is growing rapidly – Wood Mackenzie has forecasted existing markets will grow by an annual average of 8% with nearly 14 GW of cumulative capacity expected by 2028 – not all states are on board yet, Elder said. 

“The US Department of Energy cites a lack of supportive policy and interconnection issues as key barriers,” Elder added. 

Nautilus Solar Energy, LLC acquired two community solar portfolios in Maryland totaling 23 MW, comprised of six projects spread across the state. Expected to be operational by 2024, the projects will serve over 5,000 Maryland subscribers residing in the Pepco and BG&E utility territories.

Currently about 75% of Maryland households lack the ability to deploy rooftop solar systems based on inadequate roofing or shade conditions, as well as rentals or condominiums prohibiting access to solar systems, according to the Sierra Club. Community solar projects can offer a solution to that suitability problem. These small to mid-scale solar facilities typically sited on private land, commercial rooftops, landfills, industrial sites and other preferred areas in proximity to the utility customers they’re intended to serve.

Maryland was an early adopter of community solar, with a community solar pilot program launched in 2018. Maryland recently became the 23rd state with a permanent community solar program that became law when HB 908 was voted on in May of this year. HB 908 requires at least 40% of solar capacity dedicated to benefit low-to-moderate income (LMI) customers, intended to ensure that historically disadvantaged Marylanders have equitable access to electric bill savings at a time when inflated energy prices are driving up household energy costs.

The new community solar bill replaces the pilot program and eliminates the pilot’s cap of 580 MW of community solar. The new program incentivizes the development of projects on a greater variety of sites, including commercial and industrial rooftops, brownfield sites, as well as on farmland.

Nautilus is no stranger to community solar in Maryland, having been an early participant in the community solar pilot program. The company owns and manages nearly 90 MW of operational and late-stage development projects in the state, which provides clean renewable power to tens of thousands of Marylanders.

“Our focus is not just on producing clean energy but ensuring that the benefits, particularly the cost savings, reach every Marylander, especially those from low-to-moderate income backgrounds and historically disadvantaged communities,” said Eric Paul, vice president of partner development at Nautilus.

Nautilus Solar Energy specializes in community solar, managing solar farms in 10 states. In January Nautilus reached an agreement to acquire a nine-project portfolio with 54 MW of community solar assets from Seaboard Solar, a Connecticut-based utility solar developer. In 2022 Nautilus acquired two community solar portfolios in Maine with five projects under development totaling 26.2 MW in total capacity. In June the company completed a 2.8 MW community solar project in Upstate New York, the first of three in the service area of Orange and Rockland and expects to bring the next two projects online in Q3.

Founded in 2006, Nautilus was acquired in 2019 by Power Corporation of Canada.

With the Inflation Reduction Act providing solar projects built in designated energy communities a 10% investment tax credit adder, city and municipal authorities are focused on getting community solar projects installed on the roofs of urban housing authorities.

Speaking at the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) Finance Forum in New York, Clark Conlisk, impact capital manager and vice president of business development, U.S. Bank, said a key challenge that statewide community solar programs do not yet address is how to unlock the opportunity of hundreds of thousands of rooftops for solar development.

To fully unlock the $20 billion or more in immediate energy communities incentivization under the IRA, “the challenge is now providing accessible clean power to renters who don’t have benefits that building owners might have for finding solar projects,” Conlisk said during an ACORE panel titled “Centering Equitable Investing Strategies.”

David Davenport, a managing director of the N.Y. Green Bank, echoed Conlisk’s observations, adding that the New York local project investment group recently unveiled a $250 million statewide fund, the Community Decarbonization Fund (CDF), to unlock new community solar and energy efficiency project opportunities around the Empire State for the $1 billion capital funded green bank.

“Normally residents did not want the smart sensors or controls products in their building when we came into housing authorities, they told us they have rodent problems first off,” said Davenport. Now with the IRA framework to incentivize disadvantaged communities, a collocated rooftop solar project that could drive 20% in monthly electricity savings is a topic that has been elevated in community discussions.

Lynn Heller, chief executive officer of the Climate Access Fund, a Maryland-based grassroots philanthropic and impact investor, said with the recent passing of Maryland’s community solar framework and adders from the IRA, her firm is spearheading the development of an 800 kW rooftop solar project in an East Baltimore, Md., low-income neighborhood.

In Maryland, Heller said the community solar market previously handicapped the low-to-moderate income community bracket, with 2 MW to 5 MW sized community solar projects historically being unavailable to LMI residents. Now her fund and statewide green banks are incentivizing housing authorities and urban authorities to look at rooftop solar as a beneficial tool for siting projects on urban rooftops and parking canopy arrays, as well, she said.

Davenport joked that with N.Y. Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious clean energy plan of deploying 10 GW of solar by 2030 and 6 GW of energy storage, the IRA incentives and the Green Bank’s new CDF fund, and the confluence of incentives and capital may require him to embark on a statewide bus tour to meet with constituents seeking to deploy solar, storage and efficiency projects.

The N.Y. Green Bank has a targeted allocation of investing about 35% of its $1 billion capital allocations into energy communities. The CDF platform encourages Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other specialty lenders to apply for funding of disadvantaged communities across New York. Financing of $2 million to $25 million or approximately 20% of an applicant’s total capitalization are the parameters of the CDF fund.

In Maryland, Heller said community engagement and education is vital to rapid deployment of community solar projects over the next decade. Her group has been educating schools as well as former anti-hydraulic fracturing or fracking groups in western Maryland about the economic gains for deploying rooftop and various small-scale solar projects with various state and federal financial incentives.

U.S. Bank’s Conlisk admitted the perception of a commercial bank going into a disadvantaged community with a highly capital intensive project commitment hasn’t always been an easy proposition. But banks coming in early to demonstrate the gains of community-sited projects with an Impact Capital fund driven by municipal, state and federal incentives has begun to change misperceptions of clean energy projects.

Andrew Williams, vice president of policy and corporate affairs at developer Sol Systems, said “It comes back intentionality. We have to show up, say we’re going to hire people of the community, and to say that people from the community can operate the projects.”

“Paying prevailing wage is a non-issue,” Williams said. “That’s a mainstage item now. Showing up, being open about what your goals are in that community are essential,” Williams said about stimulating a local workforce and partnership level for community solar development.

Heller said that community solar subscriptions to the U.S. apartment rental market among the LMI community sub-set is an area that has been overlooked in IRA’s structure. Whether it be a consumer lease or building ownership model, that gap is what various statewide agencies such as CAF and various state green banks are now looking at changing.

Suntuity Renewables, a Holmdel, N.J.-based residential solar installer, announced plans to go public this week through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Beard Energy Transition Acquisition Corp., a $249 million SPAC platform operated by Gregory A. Beard, a former investment principal from Apollo Global Management, a global private equity firm.

“Since 2017, Suntuity’s mission has been to support the transition to a 100% clean and renewable energy future by simplifying residential solar power,” said Dan Javan, president and chief executive officer of Suntuity. “In taking this next step to become a publicly traded company, we intend to accelerate our growth, broaden our focus to include comprehensive home electrification solutions and services across the country, and establish ourselves as a significant industry participant in the renewable energy transformation.”

New Jersey-based Suntuity provides residential solar installation solutions in 25 U.S. states and has deployed 9,500 systems to date. Since 2017, the company has originated more than 200 MW of aggregate solar and storage systems, as well as third-party financing solutions.

Suntuity’s industry relationships with top-tier suppliers and financing partners have contributed to its 26.7% installation compounded annual growth rate for the past three years, as well as a $55 million backlog for more than 1,152 projects whose cycle time from deal acceptance to installation is 59 days.

The company has forecast growth of 79 MW of installations in 2022 increasing to 125 MW of 2023 solar installations across its 25-state market. Suntuity breaks down its top state markets primarily in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets, such as New Jersey (33%), Pennsylvania (22%), Connecticut (6%), Massachusetts (6%) and Maryland (6%).

Suntuity uses a mix of in-house and outsourced solutions and capabilities to deploy home solar, storage and EV charging solutions. Outside of its key states, Suntuity has an outsourced installation crew in additional states in Ohio, Illinois, Nevada, California and Texas, among other states capable of installing the company’s systems, with outsourced crew hubs in Utah, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and across the Northeast.

Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Suntuity Inc. and its shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker, “STY.” The business combination has been approved by the boards of directors of both Suntuity and Beard, and is expected to close in Q4 2023, subject to regulatory and stockholder approval.

Citigroup and Roth Capital Partners served as underwriter and capital markets advisor on the SPAC transaction, while Loeb & Loeb LLP is Suntuity’s legal advisor. Vinson & Elkins advised Beard.

Suntuity’s senior management are expected to continue to serve in their existing roles following the SPAC transaction. Current Suntuity employees are expected to retain a 40% ownership of the company at closing, assuming no redemptions by the SPAC’s public shareholders.

“When searching for a potential partner in this transaction, we sought to identify a high-growth business in the renewable energy space with a clear path to scalability and a public-ready management team; we believe Suntuity satisfies each of these criteria and much more,” said Beard.

Beard formed his energy transition SPAC platform in March 2021 with $250 million of capital commitments. Other members of the SPAC team held prior roles across the energy market, including Riverstone, Intervale Capital, Athlon Energy and Caelus Energy, both of which are historic oil and gas producers.

Institutional shareholders in Beard include the Alberta Investment Management Corp. (2.8%), Cantor Fitzgerald (4.6%), Sculptor Capital (4.7%), Adage Capital Partners (5.4%) and Saba Capital (7.7%).

Maryland becomes the 23rd community solar state  With the signing of HB 908, Maryland becomes the 23rd U.S. state to implement a shared-access community solar framework without limitation to accessibility.

Puerto Rico cannot afford to repay any of utility PREPA’s debt, says analyst  To rebuild its grid with renewables, Puerto Rico cannot afford to repay the legacy debt of bankrupt utility PREPA through proposed higher electric rates, an analyst said.

People on the move: SunPower, Eagleview, Solar Landscape and more  Job moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy transition finance.

Energy justice bridges research, policy and social movement  Two papers from Lawrence Berkeley Lab and U.S. Department of Energy provide frameworks and real-world insight for integrating energy justice into policy and research.

ASU to receive $70 million to research clean energy industrial processes  Arizona State University will establish the Electrified Processes for Industry Without Carbon to electrify industrial heating processes.

50 states of solar incentives: Arizona  SEIA ranked the state fifth in the U.S. for solar deployments and the Grand Canyon State continues to shine with a robust growth pipeline of 7.27 GW of solar projects to be installed over the next five years.

Solar gazebo provides up to 4.3 kW of backyard generating capacity  The outdoor gazebo provides 2.4 kW to 4.3 kW of residential solar power via monocrystalline PERC mounted solar tiles.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) has signed the state’s community solar legislation, HB 908 into law, effectuating a state framework to provide clean energy to the state’s residents, including low- and moderate-income (LMI) households.

With Moore’s signing of HB 908, Maryland becomes the 23^rd U.S. state to implement a shared-access community solar framework.

To help the state achieve its clean energy goals of deploying 100% renewable energy by 2035, community solar projects represent a solid component to the Mid-Atlantic state’s goals.

In an August 2020 report by the Governor’s Task Force on Renewable Energy Development and Siting, up to 33,033 acres of farmland in Maryland will be needed to host small to mid-sized solar installations, representing up to 1.7% of all agricultural land in the state, and up to 2.9% of what the task force characterized as “prime” agriculture land in the state.

Nautilus Solar Energy, a Summit, N.J.-based community solar developer, has an active portfolio of projects across the Mid-Atlantic region and heralded Governor Moore’s signing of HB 908.

“As a leader in the Maryland community solar pilot program, Nautilus Solar is excited to continue working with our network of development partners to bring clean energy and financial savings to subscribers across Maryland,” said Eric Paul, vice president of development, Nautilus Solar.

Eric LaMora, executive director of community solar, Nautilus Solar, said: “With an early focus on providing LMI households with discounted solar energy, we are completely supportive of the 40% LMI requirement of the permanent community solar program. We hope to exceed that in our many future Maryland community solar projects.”

Nautilus was an early participant in Maryland’s community solar pilot program and opened the state’s first project in Kingsville, Md., with 51% of the energy dedicated to LMI residents. The company currently owns and manages more than 85 MW of operational and late-stage development projects in the state, providing clean energy to tens of thousands of Marylanders.

Kim Coble, executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, said: “We are grateful to Governor Moore for signing the community solar bill and Chairman Clippinger and Senator Brooks for sponsoring the bill. As Maryland marches towards its goal of achieving 100% clean energy by 2035, the community solar program will increase the availability of solar energy, reduce costs for those who most need the cost savings, and create jobs and apprenticeships.”

“This bill has the potential to reduce the energy burden on thousands of low- to moderate-income (LMI) Maryland households while generating clean and renewable solar power on developed land, such as rooftops and parking canopies in our cities and towns,” said Coble.

HB 908 was penned by state delegate Luke Clippinger and state senator Benjamin Brooks, who announced in April the passing of the legislation through the state’s offices.

The legislation, cross-filed with SB 613 from Brooks, will replace Maryland’s existing community solar pilot program with a permanent, less restrictive, and more equitable community solar program, according to a Coalition for Community Solar Access statement.

Maryland’s formal community solar framework eliminates an arbitrary cap on community solar projects at 580 MW, and allows community projects to be a permanent distributed generation option for consumers, alongside net metering.

Community solar projects are small- to mid-scale solar facilities typically sited on private land, commercial rooftops, landfills, industrial sites and other preferred areas in proximity to the utility customers they’re intended to serve. Currently about 75% of Maryland households lack the ability to deploy rooftop solar systems based on inadequate roofing or shade conditions, as well as rentals or condominiums prohibiting access to solar systems, according to the Sierra Club.

The new law propels Maryland’s solar market away from limits associated with the types of projects that can be developed and instead incentivizes the development of projects on a greater variety of sites, including commercial and industrial  rooftops, brownfield sites, as well as using agrivoltaics on farmland.

Just two months after the receivership and takeover of Silicon Valley Bank by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, now under the ownership of First Citizens Bank, SVB has reemerged as a lender to the solar development market.

The lender closed a $203 million debt financing to support construction of a 100 MW multi-state distributed generation solar portfolio of Pivot Energy, a Denver-based community, commercial and industrial solar development company.

Tax investor Foss & Company is committing an initial tax equity round in the portfolio, which comprises 35 community solar and C&I projects planned to reach commercial operation (COD) between mid-2023 and mid-2024.

Community solar subscribers in the portfolio include municipalities, healthcare facilities, food service, and retail companies, as well as 8,000 low-to-moderate income (LMI) residential households.

With community solar projects in Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Hawaii, Maryland, and California, the portfolio represents what the company said is one of the most extensive LMI solar portfolios developed to date in terms of diversity and geographic reach.

SunCentral, a community solar subscriber management and acquisition platform, will manage the community solar portfolio through operations.

The debt transaction led by SVB includes a construction loan, tax equity bridge loan, and term loan. SVB led the financing as coordinating lead arranger (CLA) and sole bookrunner.  Other lenders committed to the DG solar portfolio include J.P. Morgan, National Bank of Canada, Bank United, Cadence and Comerica. The debt facility also represents J.P. Morgan’s first debt issuance to the community solar market.

The SVB financing represents Pivot’s second debt syndication closed with the SVB-led lender group. In 2022, the developer raised $190 million in credit to finance a 90 MW community solar portfolio in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota, California, and New Jersey.

Bret Labadie, chief financial officer for Pivot Energy, told pv magazine USA that for the new financing, Pivot had been in the market since Q4 2022 and were set to close the second debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023, but the federal takeover of the commercial bank put the financing process on hold.

“Each of the banks in this syndicate worked with Pivot and we were able to navigate the temporary uncertainty to retain the initial terms of the deal,” Labadie said.  “It’s a testament to the leadership from each of the parties that we were able to stay the course and see this loan through.”

“We are pleased to have led and structured this portfolio of solar projects across 35 sites in 7 key markets,” said Bret Turner, head of project finance, Silicon Valley Bank. “We appreciate the confidence and trust placed in the team at SVB to continue moving this asset class forward.”

When combined with the Foss tax equity contribution, the total financing package enables Pivot to construct, operate, and own the multi-year and multi-state portfolio.

“This initiative will expand access to clean, affordable energy for small businesses and low-income households, reinforcing our commitment to invest in tax equity within under-served market segments,” said Bryen Alperin, managing director at Foss & Company.

CohnReznick Capital was Pivot’s financial advisor on the transaction. Stoel Rives was counsel to the company. Milbank represented SVB while Winthrop & Weinstine represented Foss.

The financing is Pivot’s second project development portfolio to be built, owned, and operated since the company’s June 2021 acquisition by Energy Capital Partners (ECP).

Safe asset class

Silicon Valley Bank, the 16^th largest U.S. commercial bank, was shuttered on March 9, 2023 and placed into receivership by the FDIC. After parent company SVB Financial filed for bankruptcy on March 17, First Citizens Bank entered an agreement on March 27 to acquire Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, effectively resuming the corporate debt financing platform of the bank.

SVB extended $56 billion of venture capital financing to climate-technology focused companies in 2021. Several solar development executives told pv magazine USA for the April print edition of pv magazine that the bank’s demise was not expected to create widespread challenges to development clients in the community and commercial and industrial (C&I) solar market, as well as utility scale solar companies.

“The biggest threat to the pace of project development is definitely not available capital, it’s the significant and ever-increasing pushback on project siting and land use at the local level,” said Mark Richardson, chief executive officer of U.S. Light Energy, a community solar developer in upstate New York, told pv magazine USA. “We are not even close to operating at full speed, because of local opposition, not because of a lack of financing,” he said.

(Read more: “Solar and the SVB banking crisis“)

High Impact Solar Solutions, an Irvine, Calif.-based solar developer for multi-family housing communities, sees Massachusetts and Illinois as solid new markets where it is undertaking expansion efforts, John B. Wood, founder and chief executive officer, tells pv magazine USA.

Wood said High Impact is looking to participate in community solar project development for low- and-moderate income (LMI) housing communities, which is an extension of its core competency for developing rooftop solar and car canopy projects for senior center communities, LMI housing customers and other residential groups primarily in southern California.

High Impact is currently planning on submitting applications for more than 65 projects for the anticipated Q3 2023 low-and-moderate income (LMI) communities adder, Wood said, even though the developer has yet to see the application yet based on the newness of the federal Inflation Reduction Act protocol.  About 40 of the 65 projects are within California LMI communities, and the remainder are in new markets like the Northeast, Maryland and Illinois, he added.

To date, the company has utilized the resources of about 70 regional sub-contractors and engineers to install rooftop and car canopies in its first market of California, and continues to use engineering, procurement and construction contractors in new markets as well, Wood said.

The company is working with Sunrun, SunPower and Grid Alternatives on construction of current and future projects, Wood said.

High Impact has contributed projects in LMI communities that qualify for statewide incentives from California’s Multifamily Affordable Housing (MASH) and Solar for Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) programs, Wood said. These programs date back to 2008 and 2017, respectively, and provide rebates for low-income solar projects to the tune of $1.10 per watt to $2.70/W if the system generates more than half the customer’s load. Under SOMAH, the state has awarded additional $100 million of rebates annually for solar systems deployed on multi-family affordable housing buildings, which amounts to a credit of $3.20 per watt (ac) on system installations.

Wood was quick to point out that the company is grandfathered into the net energy metering or NEM 2.0 standards in California.  For another nine years the company will not be subject to changes from the state’s changing rooftop solar framework imparted by the December 2022 NEM 3.0 decision by the California Public Utilities Commission to reduce the value of solar energy exported from rooftops.

The Inflation Reduction Act’s 30% solar investment tax credit combined with 20% of added credit for designated low-income community deployments of clean energy projects creates a tailwind for the project developer, and should facilitate High Impact’s expansion efforts in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic markets, Wood said.

Case study

High Impact is working with the Retirement Housing Foundation, a Long Beach, Calif., non-profit group that owns over 200 senior center assisted living and affordable housing units across the U.S., to deploy rooftop solar arrays, the solar executive said.

In 2022, the developer installed 20 solar systems for RHF, and this year the company expects to deploy about 30 new systems for the nonprofit housing group, Wood said.

High Impact is actively engaged in state markets with active climate change and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, where Wood said the turnkey developer saves building owners up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on energy consumption.

Project deployments range from 200 kW and smaller per rooftop array, and with multi-building customers can be deployed as much as 2 MW aggregate systems, he said.

High Impact’s development team uses its own proprietary internal review method for finding prospective project sites, but also uses Aurora’s HelioScope commercial PV software platform and Energy Toolbase for proposal generation, Wood said.

The company has identified a few hundred buildings out of its 1,000 building portfolio as candidates for Level 2 electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which Wood says the company expects to rollout this year as well.

To date High Impact has been largely self-funded, though project financing has been offset by tax equity arranged by various New York banking institutions active in the distributed energy market, Wood said.  The BQuest Foundation, a San Diego, Calif.-based nonprofit foundation formed by GoFundMe founder Andy Ballester, has recently provided development equity financing for High Impact’s LMI portfolio, he said.

Prior to forming High Impact Solar, Wood was a managing partner at One Planet Caribbean, which sold over 100 MW of Caribbean utility solar portfolio to several investors, including GCL New Energy Holdings.

Biden Administration establishes Office of Environmental Justice  Under a new executive order, environmental justice will be embedded into the work of federal agencies with special focus on communities most affected by toxic pollution and disproportionate environmental harms.

Biden to maintain solar tariff pause with veto  Legislators are moving to restore tariffs for the shipment of solar components from four major Southeast Asian nations, but the President will veto the move and maintain the pause on tariffs.

Green hydrogen production can be profitable in much of the U.S.  Green hydrogen projects can be profitable in “wide swaths” of the U.S., supported by new federal tax credits for clean hydrogen, according to a financial modeling analysis by the policy consultancy Energy Innovation.

Maryland community solar poised for take off  Maryland’s new community solar program provides a blueprint that other states can follow, helping to increase use of locally generated energy and offering numerous benefits to communities.

Google partners for 500 MW environmental justice-focused distributed solar portfolio  The largest corporate backing of distributed solar in the United States, in partnership with EDP Renewables, will be funded in part through Google’s purchase of renewable energy credits called the ImpactREC.

St. John’s Santa Fe college undergoes solar and energy efficiency makeover  Partnering with Ameresco, the college will install solar, electric vehicle charging and comprehensive energy efficiency measures.

Interactive map shows EV charging locations near National Parks  The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) developed a new interactive tool in collaboration with the National Park Service, showing where EV charging sites can be found at any of the United States’ more than 400 national parks, monuments and historic sites.

Maryland has a history of supporting solar and has set an ambitious goal of 100% renewable energy generation by 2035. Now the state is on track to expand a burgeoning solar market segment, community solar. Maryland’s new community solar bill provides an excellent opportunity to accelerate the state’s shift to renewable energy. Building on its 2015 Community Solar Pilot Program, House Bill 908 makes much-needed improvements to that program and makes the program permanent. This bill will allow Maryland to join the ranks of the 22 other states that have implemented community solar programs, offering access to solar power for both residents and businesses statewide.

The pilot program proved effective in kick-starting community solar initiatives in Maryland, and it is anticipated that it will provide energy to approximately 90,000 customers in the state before its expiration at the end of this year. The pilot also provided a valuable learning opportunity that has informed development of the new program.

Based on lessons learned during the pilot as well best practices employed by programs across the United States, the permanent program incorporates several upgrades that are formulated to revitalize Maryland’s community solar market. To avoid delays in permitting and getting projects built, the program calls for greater coordination between the Public Service Commission (PSC), utilities and the authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ) responsible for project queues. The program is expected to be more inclusive and less limiting than the pilot, ensuring that solar access is more equitable. Furthermore, establishing a permanent program will provide the essential policy certainty required for any solar initiative to thrive.

The new program will allow for broader participation by all customers, including low- to moderate-income (LMI) households. It will require community solar projects to dedicate 40% of their solar generation to LMI subscribers. To make this goal more achievable, the program allows LMI customers to provide self-attestation of their LMI status, making it easier for them to sign up for community solar projects. The program also introduces consolidated billing, simplifying participation in the program and lowering the entry barrier by allowing customers to get just one electricity bill.

In addition to helping customers, consolidated billing and self-attestation for LMI will simplify the process for owners of community solar gardens to gain subscribers.

The program also makes significant improvements in project requirements. There is now additional system size capacity allowed on rooftops, parking canopies, parking structures, industrial areas, brownfield sites and on or over transportation or public rights of way. Also included are clean fill sites — land previously zoned for industrial use or was ecologically compromised, provided the site is not targeted for mitigation or restoration. Agrivoltaics projects, which combine farming with solar panels, will now be authorized to utilize co-location on farms, facilitating greater economies of scale for developers.

The new program will also eliminate the restrictive programmatic structure within the pilot and remove project categories, project-generating capacity limits, yearly programmatic and utility-specific capacity limits and sunset dates. Whereas the pilot had an overall cap of 580 MW, the new program’s total capacity is subject only to the state’s overall net metering capacity limit, allowing developers like Standard Solar to bolster community solar development within Maryland.

The bill is particularly significant for Standard Solar, as our company’s presence continues to expand in our home state of Maryland, contributing to delivering affordable, reliable, clean energy to Marylanders.

But the bill’s significance could — and should — go beyond Maryland. Community solar is an important market segment because it increases access to solar with locally generated energy, offering numerous benefits to communities. Combining the best elements of successful programs around the country, Maryland’s new community solar program provides a blueprint that other states can follow. As more states see the value of community solar and enact their own programs, having an example of a robust program will make them more likely to succeed in supporting this crucial market.

Given the pressing need to move away from fossil fuels and the numerous incentives for clean energy provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, there is no better time than now for all states to establish programs like Maryland’s.

Trevor Laughlin is policy and regulatory affairs analyst with Standard Solar.

]]> https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2023/04/24/maryland-community-solar-poised-for-take-off/feed/ 0 91345 https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2023/04/19/sunrise-brief-chipotle-goes-green-with-all-electric-solar-restaurants/ https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2023/04/19/sunrise-brief-chipotle-goes-green-with-all-electric-solar-restaurants/#respond Wed, 19 Apr 2023 11:14:12 +0000 https://pv-magazine-usa.com/?p=91147 Also on the rise: American companies ask Congress to reject $1 billion in retroactive solar tariffs. Avangrid to build solar, wind and storage projects on Navajo land. And more.

Redflow receives California SGIP approval for non-lithium energy storage solutions  With SGIP approval Redflow expects its zinc-bromine flow batteries to be more economically attractive, as the state incentives support wider deployment across disadvantaged communities within the state.

Avangrid to build solar, wind and storage projects on Navajo land  The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority currently has 125 MW of active utility solar projects, with a new 200 MW project to be added near the Grand Canyon by the end of 2023.

American companies ask Congress to reject $1 billion in retroactive solar tariffs  More than 400 companies sent a letter saying that repealing the two-year solar tariff moratorium would eliminate 30,000 jobs, including 4,000 manufacturing jobs.

Rheem releases cold climate heat pump  Rheem has unveiled an air-source heat pump that reportedly provides uninterrupted heating under -22.9 F ambient conditions. It has successfully passed the U.S. Department of Energy’s Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge.

UL and NREL set cybersecurity standards for distributed energy, inverters  UL 2941 provides testable requirements for energy storage and generation technologies on the distribution grid. The new cybersecurity protocol provides a framework for photovoltaic inverters, EV chargers, wind turbines, fuel cells and other distributed resources.

Chipotle debuts all-electric and solar restaurant design  The all-electric design features rooftop solar, recycled materials, cactus leather chairs, and more.

Distributed solar project updates in California, Maryland and New York  Project updates for rooftop, commercial, industrial, and community scales for projects built by ForeFront Power, Genie Solar Energy, and Summit Ridge Energy.

Solar projects can come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from multi-thousand acre utility-scale projects to small residential rooftop installations and even mobile devices.

In this round-up, pv magazine USA takes a tour through three project portfolios, each of which has project sizes landing somewhere in the middle range, or just under 5 MW. This middle range occupies larger rooftop installations, commercial and industrial solar arrays, and smaller community solar projects. These projects often come with of the benefits of distributed energy, like a more flexible and resilient power supply, the opportunity to build on mixed-use spaces, and they often carry direct savings for the communities or businesses that invest in the project.

California 52.2 MW

Developer and asset manager ForeFront Power and its partner HASI have entered into a follow-on equity investment for a portfolio of distributed solar and solar-plus-storage projects across California. The portfolio is comprised of 48.5 MW of commercial and industrial solar projects, built on ground-mounts, carports, and rooftops, as well as 3.7 MW of distributed solar projects paired with battery energy storage.

Roughly 36 MW of the distributed assets are complete, while the rest of the projects will be funded upon completion before year-end. ForeFront will continue to manage customer relationships across the portfolio and provide its customers and co-sponsor with energy management services.

“Solar is a mature technology that provides long-term returns to investors, while reducing electricity costs for customers and eliminating carbon emissions from the power grid,” said Michael Smith, chief executive officer, ForeFront Power.

ForeFront Power has developed more than 1,400 behind-the-meter and community solar projects, totaling more than 1.1 GW of capacity.

Maryland 17 MW

Summit Ridge Energy and Black Bear Energy announced the commencement of construction of four industrial projects in Maryland. The projects, which include large rooftop installations, combine for 17 MW in capacity. Summit Ridge will develop, own and operate the assets, while Black Bear will facilitate the projects, which were built for industrial logistics specialist LBA Logistics.

The rooftop-hosted solar projects will participate in the Maryland Community Solar program, providing low-cost renewable energy to residents who subscribe.

“Delivering roughly 17 MW of solar to the Belcamp and Rosedale communities is a big accomplishment for LBA and we look forward to future opportunities,” said Michelle German, Vice President of ESG at LBA Logistics.

New York 4 MW

In New York, the nation’s strongest community solar market, Genie Solar Energy announced it broke ground on a 4 MW community solar project in Perry, N.Y. The project will be comprised of roughly 9,000 panels, producing the equivalent of 440 homes’ power needs, and offsetting over 3,500 metric tons of carbon emissions per year.

Genie Solar expects construction to be complete this year. To facilitate the construction, the company will pay for the project’s required grid interconnection upgrades. Project execution will be dependent on timely grid upgrade work performed by National Grid.

New York state’s community solar program enables households and businesses across the state to access the environmental and economic benefits of solar electricity generation without the need to install panels on their properties. Instead, the solar project developer constructs and interconnects a solar array to the grid while enrolling local subscribers.

“For the Perry project, we not only will lower electricity bills for hundreds of local subscribers, but we also plan to utilize highly-skilled, local personnel from Perry and its immediately surrounding areas for critical tasks during the project’s construction including land preparation, panel installation, and electrical work,” said Nathan Knapke, director of community solar, Genie Solar Energy.

Since IRA, $150 billion investment, 46 factories, 18,000 jobs in renewable energy  Since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in August, utility-scale clean power sector announced $150 billion in funding, 46 new manufacturing facilities, and nearly 20,000 new jobs, said the American Clean Power Association.

Interconnection delays threaten more companies each year, says GridStor VP  A GridStor VP challenged recent interconnection proposals by three grid operators, and the slow pace of federal regulators, while suggesting a $1 billion gift to grid operators to hire staff, and a digital twin of the nation’s grid to speed interconnection studies.

Maryland passes community solar bill  Maryland will become the 23rd U.S. state with a statewide community solar program offering subscription access to all residents.

Best practices in installing power optimizer MLPE systems  Three tips to help optimize commercial solar installations.

Solar panels on downed Chinese spy balloon powerful enough for advanced radar  The balloon, downed off the coast of South Carolina, contained 10 kW of solar generation capacity, similar to that of a typical rooftop installation.

Brut wine makers turn to solar-plus-storage microgrid  Long-duration energy storage technology from Energy Warehouse will power California wineries with clean, reliable energy and support resilient winery operations.

Growatt introduces LFP solar generator for portable, off-grid use  The company is taking pre-sale orders for the Infinity 1300, a lithium iron phosphate battery with 3,000+ cycle life.

Within days of voting for a 3 GW energy storage target by 2033, a Maryland delegate announced the passing of legislation that would solidify a community solar framework.

Maryland State Delegate Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) announced the passage of HB 908, which, once signed into law by Governor Wes Moore, will provide community solar access across the mid-Atlantic state of 6.2 million residents.  SB 908, cross-filed with SB 613 from State Senator Benjamin Brooks (D-Baltimore County), will replace Maryland’s existing community solar pilot program with a permanent, less restrictive, and more equitable community solar program, according to a Coalition for Community Solar Access statement.

Once signed into law by Governor Moore, Maryland will become the 23^rd U.S. state with a statewide community solar program offering subscription access to all residents. The law is expected to take effect on July 1, 2023.

“Since passing the pilot program’s enabling legislation in 2015, community solar in Maryland  has proven fruitful,” said  Clippinger. “By the time the program expires at the end of 2023, it will have brought enough solar capacity to support some 90,000 Maryland consumers. And with the passage of this legislation, we’re one step closer to achieving the state’s clean electricity goals in a way that ensures the financial and economic benefits of community solar reach the communities where they’ll matter most.”

HB 908 eliminates the pilot program’s arbitrary cap on community solar projects at 580 MW, and allows community projects to be a permanent distributed generation option for consumers, alongside net metering.

Community solar projects are small to mid-scale solar facilities typically sited on private land, commercial rooftops, landfills, industrial sites and other preferred areas in proximity to the utility customers they’re intended to serve. Currently about 75% of Maryland households lack the ability to deploy rooftop solar systems based on inadequate roofing or shade conditions, as well as rentals or condominiums prohibiting access to solar systems, said the Sierra Club.

“Community solar is an ideal tool for achieving clean energy and equity goals for the state, and this bill expands the program at a unique time where it can leverage the billions of dollars in funds recently made available by the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Senator Brooks. “Most importantly, the LMI subscriber and siting provisions of the bill strengthen the business case for targeting Maryland’s overburdened and underserved communities.”

Under Maryland’s legacy community solar pilot program, Marylanders are afforded the choice to enroll as “subscribers” to community solar projects, whereby they are credited savings on their utility bills that are based on their share of the revenue generated by the project’s energy sales.

HB 908 moves Maryland’s solar market away from limits associated with the types of projects that can be developed and instead incentivizes the development of projects on a greater variety of sites, including commercial and industrial  rooftops, brownfield sites, as well as using agrivoltaics on farmland.

Underlying all these projects is the Federal government’s goal, called the Justics40 initiative, to have at least 40% of community solar capacity dedicated to low-to-moderate income (LMI) customers. This will ensure that disadvantaged Marylanders have equitable access to utility bill savings at a time when electric prices are driving up household energy costs.

We know from the pilot program’s outcomes that small-scale, distributed solar can bring a wealth of local and state-wide economic, environmental, and public health benefits,” said Kristen Harbeson, political director at the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.  “And we’re confident that with this legislation, Maryland will continue to build on its success and drive an accelerated transition toward a more equitable, resilient, and affordable clean energy future, and we applaud the General Assembly for its passage.”

Solar friendly laws

In February, Maryland legislators introduced a bill to boost residential solar adoption. Sponsored by Maryland Senator Brian J. Feldman and Delegate Lily Qi, Senate Bill 664 and House Bill 1239, would increase Maryland’s residential clean energy grant from $1,000 to $5,000 to boost adoption of rooftop solar and create local clean energy jobs.

This bill would fund rooftop solar grants through fees and penalties paid by companies that do not meet the state’s clean energy requirements, minimizing the cost to taxpayers and ensuring those fees are directed toward promoting renewable energy. It would also enhance clean energy incentives for low- and moderate-income residents, as well as those living in overburdened and underserved communities.

In June 2022, the state passed a pair of community solar bills. HB 1039 and HB 440 create tax incentives for the development of agrivoltaic community solar projects which serve low- and moderate-income customers on rooftops, brownfields, landfills, and clean fills. The bills provided a pilot framework for the state’s community solar market, with the current HB 908 replacing the former with a long-term framework.

For more on Maryland solar incentives read 50 states of solar incentives: Maryland.

Maryland passes energy storage target of 3 GW in 10 years  It is now the 10th U.S. state to set a goal for energy storage procurement.

Robotic solution designed to address solar installer shortage  A robotic PV construction solution from Sarcos delivers, detects, lifts, and places PV modules in large-scale solar plants. It has recently field tested and validated the prototype solution in a pilot project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dominion Energy acquires utility-scale pollinator solar project in Virginia  The Longroad Energy’s 108 MW Foxhound Solar Project to be acquired by Dominion Energy was the first utility-scale solar project to receive Virginia Pollinator-Smart biodiversity certification.

50 states of solar incentives: Kansas  Kansas is expected to ramp up its solar buildout considerably over the next five years. The state sources much of its clean energy through the operation of wind turbines.

Flipping the switch on the Vanderbilt I Solar Farm  Developed and owned by Silicon Ranch, the solar facility is a significant step by Vanderbilt University toward its goal to power its campus entirely through renewable energy and become carbon neutral by 2050.

Legislators in the state of Maryland have voted to approve HB 910, establishing a target to install energy storage to support the proliferation of renewable energy statewide.

The target sets a goal of 750 MW by year’s end 2027, 1.5 GW through 2030, and 3 GW through 2033. Battery durations were not set in the legislation, however, typical PJM-interconnected storage projects often operate batteries with four-hour durations. The legislation includes electrochemical (battery) storage, thermal storage, virtual power plants, and hydrogen-based storage.

“Getting clean capacity is the next chapter in decarbonization, especially for restructured states,” said Jason Burwen, vice president of energy storage at the American Clean Power Association (ACP).

The target follows with recommendations made by ACP, which suggested the state will require 2.5 GW to 3.6 GW to meet the growing share of renewable energy on the grid. It said that the buildout would lead to a net system cost savings of $74 million to $100 million by 2033. 

Last year, Maryland increased its economy-wide emissions reduction target from 40% to 61% as compared to 2006 levels. It also targets carbon-neutrality by 2045.

“As storage is critical to meeting our nation’s emissions and energy goals, Maryland’s passage of this energy storage bill signals important progress toward building clean energy capacity,” said Moira Cyphers, eastern region state affairs director, ACP.

The state also passed legislation to require the Public Service Commission to develop a cost-effective procurement program for energy storage.

HB 910 now heads to Governor Wes Moore’s desk to be signed into law.

Solar friendly laws

In February, Maryland legislators introduced a bill to boost residential solar adoption. Sponsored by Maryland Senator Brian J. Feldman and Delegate Lily Qi, Senate Bill 664 and House Bill 1239, would increase Maryland’s residential clean energy grant from $1,000 to $5,000 to boost adoption of rooftop solar and create local clean energy jobs.

This bill would fund rooftop solar grants through fees and penalties paid by companies that do not meet the state’s clean energy requirements, minimizing the cost to taxpayers and ensuring those fees are directed toward promoting renewable energy. It would also enhance clean energy incentives for low- and moderate-income residents, as well as those living in overburdened and underserved communities.

“While we’ve seen growth in the utility scale solar market in Maryland since the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act passed in 2019, residential solar continues to lag behind despite playing a critical role in meeting the state’s climate goals,” said Ed Merrick, chair of MRSC. “We need to rebuild this industry and do it in a way that includes all Marylanders by leveraging our existing built infrastructure. Incentivizing the installation of residential rooftop solar through the state’s existing grant program will help make clean energy more accessible and affordable for all Maryland residents, regardless of their financial status.”

In June 2022, the state passed a pair of community solar bills. HB 1039 and HB 440 create tax incentives for the development of agrivoltaic community solar projects which serve low- and moderate-income customers on rooftops, brownfields, landfills, and clean fills. 

HB 1039, exempts community solar projects from both county and municipal corporate property taxes, so long as the 50% of the electricity generated by the projects go to serve low- to moderate-income individuals and families at a rate which is at least 20% lower than the base electricity rate that these customers would be paying otherwise.

As it stands, 30% of the pilot program capacity is still set aside for low-to-moderate income customers wishing to participate and another 30% is set aside for project development on brownfield sites.

HB 440 expanded the maximum capacity of a permitted community solar project from 2 MW to 5 MW, while also reducing the land requirements for siting projects. This provision pertains to projects developed on multiple, contiguous lots, rather than opening up new types of land zones for development.

“HB 1039 and HB 440 send a signal to the community solar industry that Maryland welcomes the private sector as a way to inject capital into grid modernization and build a new energy market that can bolster the state’s economy,” said Leslie Elder, Mid-Atlantic director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access. “We thank the Maryland General Assembly for passing these bills and Governor Hogan for his support.”

Energy justice and promoting the development of low-to-moderate (LMI) income solar projects were common community solar themes at the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Finance, Tax and Buyers Seminar this week in New York.

During a panel titled, “How to Create Successful Community Solar and LMI Projects,” panelists from community and residential development companies said following statewide community solar programs set up Maryland and New Jersey recently, the community solar market should see additional programs set up in two or three more states this year.

Moderator Anna Balzer, solar community engagement coordinator of Boston Government Services, which supports the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), opened the session by saying the National Community Solar Partnership has set a target to enable community solar to provide $1 billion in monthly electricity bill savings over the next five years to subscribers.

Eric LaMora, executive director of community solar at Nautilus Solar, said community solar is enacted by state legislatures around the country to allow solar energy to close to 50% of U.S. households and small businesses that don’t physically have rooftops equipped for solar arrays.

By subscribing into community solar programs, developers and owners of such projects operate within a state utility’s framework in order to generate on average 10% to 20% savings to residents and business owners each month in the form of electric bill reductions, LaMora said, adding that community solar is now in 22 states.

Geoff Johnson, head of distributed generation for Cypress Creek Renewables, said low-to-middle income (LMI) community solar programs serve about 20% to 50% of that demographic bracket’s population, with NextEra Energy’s Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy being two utilities with noteworthy LMI community solar access programs in the southeast utilities’ territory.

Susannah Churchill, western policy director of Solar Landscape, a community solar developer based in New Jersey, one of the latest community solar states, said that in New Jersey the state utility framework requires 51% of projects be available to LMI residents for subscription.

LMI risks

Balzer was keen on pointing out that with any consumer subscription model comes non-payment risk among residents of the LMI bracket, which poses a risk to developers of community solar in new state markets.

“There is a distrust of community solar initially in LMI communities as many have been burned before by retail energy false promises,” said LaMora. “People are suspicious but there really are no hooks with community solar.”

LMI residents are leery to provide tax records or much documents at all in order to sign up for community solar, LaMora said.  “We were surprised to see less of a default rate with LMI residents. We attribute this to the fact that they see significant savings on their electric bill, making it easier to pay each month,” he said.

The three community solar developers agreed that Census Track Data and Self Attestation are the best tools to navigate where to deploy new LMI solar projects.

With few low-income bracket residents willing to provide tax records in a utility framework, developers site new projects based on statewide census track data, which shows counties and municipalities with higher LMI demographics over others.

Ben Healey, chief commercial officer of PosiGen, a residential solar installer to LMI residents, said similarities between his company and the community solar project developers to LMI groups are plenty. New Orleans-based PosiGen’s residential rooftop customers still show a delinquency rate of about 10% on payments across a group of 1,200 customers, while the company quickly turns power back on if payments are made after 90 days of non-payment, he said.

“New Orleans customers still pay monthly electric bills in cash, while the energy burden in the south is still felt from the gas utility side of the energy market,” Healey said.

Solar Landscape’s Churchill said self attestation is a method of identifying LMI community solar communities that involves interested subscribers in community programs just providing a signed disclosure with minimal proof of residence and that the household qualifies by a certain income standard to receive community solar discounted from its electric bill.

While the majority of low-income consumers having a low or no FICO credit score to serve as a payment metric, the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides the utility market a framework for community solar subscribers to self-attest to their income as a means to more equitable solar deployment, Balzer said.

As was before, LMI solar subscribers continue to receive one electric bill each month under a community solar program. With consolidated billing, the subscriber pays the utility and the utility remits payment to the developer, Churchill said. Cypress Creek’s Johnson said the consolidated billing system employed by a majority of the community solar market is the best method to keep LMI customers enrolled in community solar, as it provides a hands-free method of providing the savings of solar energy to low-income residents without additional paperwork or billing.

Challenges to adoption

Despite community solar providing social responsibility from an environmental, social and governance (ESG) mindset in the U.S. energy market, Nautilus Solar’s LaMora and Solar Landscape’s Churchill agreed that public utilities continue to be opponents to the widespread adoption of community solar.

“Utilities don’t want this,” LaMora exclaimed. “They’re forced into it.  What we need is to outline the rules utilities have to follow to support community solar expansion.”

Speaking to pv magazine USA on the sidelines of the SEIA Finance seminar, LaMora said other states around the Mid-Atlantic region are primed for community solar, pointing to Delaware as a state with favorable demographics, after advancements in neighboring states New Jersey and Maryland.

Rural farmland in the U.S. is under attack from climate change and a suburbanizing landscape. Between 2001 and 2016, residential and commercial development consumed 11 million acres of farmland. Another 18 million acres could succumb to new developments by 2040. According to the American Farmland Trust, climate change and extreme weather events make farming and ranching more challenging, with AFT’s research showing a significant swath of rainfed agricultural land will be less likely to support current growing systems by 2040.

And if that was not enough, the U.S. is currently in the midst of an intergenerational transfer as millions of acres of farmland change hands as baby boomer farmers retire, making farmland vulnerable to development as not many children of farmers seek to take the reins on the family farmstead, said Ethan Winter, National Smart Solar Director of AFT at the first Solar Farm Summit, a U.S. agrivoltaics conference held on March 14 in Rosemont, Illinois.

Lightstar Renewables, a Boston-based community solar developer, is partnering with AFT in order to preserve rural farmland for agriculture and community solar development co-located on farmland, also known as Agrivoltaics.

Under the partnership, AFT will use its Smart Solar principles to guide Lightstar on policy, research, and farmer engagement initiatives “to accelerate agriculturally-compatible solar energy development” and promote sustainable farming and ranching practices.

Speaking with pv magazine USA at the Solar Farm Summit, Lucy Bullock-Sieger, vice president of strategy for Lightstar, said the four-year old company has developed 31 agrivoltaic projects out of a 208 MW active development portfolio consisting of community and agrivoltaic projects, while the Magnetar Financial-backed company has a multi-year portfolio of committed projects with 600 MW of total power capacity.

Under the AFT partnership, Lightstar aims to empower farmers with regenerative agricultural practices that includes co-located agrivoltaic solar projects on farmland in New York, Maryland and Illinois. Bullock-Sieger said the northeast-focused developer is talking to scores of rural farmers about the solar opportunity to bolster their cash business and supplement crop yields at a higher growth rate in the coming decades.

The agrivoltaics market is establishing a “compliance mechanism between us and farmers,” Bullock-Sieger said. “We’re not going to put a hunk of steel in the ground and run,” Bullock-Sieger joked about a prior misperception rural farmers had about solar development.

“Five years from now, we don’t want farmers asking, ‘what do we do now that a turnkey project is in the ground?’” said Bullock-Sieger. Lightstar forges a relationship with host farmers by promoting and implementing new seed varieties for crop produce, and offering other vegetation management solutions that could improve the property’s resistance to erosion or climate change factors.   

Building trust with multi-generational family farm owners is based on tax compliance regulations, Bullock-Sieger said, while farmers typically iron out a long-term plan to continue to cultivate from the land for decades to come. Farmers keen on agrivoltaics are often either near retirement age or whose children see the revenue potential from dual-use agrivoltaic applications, she said.  

Like community and utility solar projects, agrivoltaic projects assembled by Lightstar and other developers will typically take a 20-year contractual lifespan in which the developer will continue to actively maintain the facility and farmland property with the owner-operator, Bullock-Sieger said.

In upstate New York, Bullock-Sieger says Lightstar will be developing a 3.6 MW (DC) solar array by early 2024 on a 16-acre plot for DiMartino Farms, a 125-acre family-operated hay and small vegetable farm in Montgomery, N.Y., in the western Hudson Valley region. She said the Hudson Valley development involved children of the farm’s owners stepping forward to preserve the farm’s crop yield. The rural farm also stands to generate new income sources from Lightstar-grown vegetable crops, pumpkins to be seeded, as well as on-site solar arrays to lower the farm’s energy bill.

Dual-use agrivoltaic projects also provide tax revenue at the local municipality level, increase energy independence and grid security.

The AFT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 1980 by farmers, ranchers and conservationists Peggy Rockefeller, Patrick Noonan and William K. Reilly, to provide agricultural landowners with environmentally-sound resources, promote land conservation and utilize local solar power resources.

In August 2020, the AFT launched the “Farming Is Our Future” campaign with a goal to double the amount of permanently protected farmland and reduce current loss by 75%. At the same time the nonprofit adopted regenerative practices including Agrivoltaics at scale so that farmers capture more carbon than they emit.  Meanwhile, the AFT set out to bring 600,000 new farmers and ranchers into the market by 2040 based on the intergenerational shift away from farming culture in recent decades.

The AFT recently published a solar leasing guidebook for agricultural landowners for the Pacific Northwest market.

Brian Ross of the Great Plains Institute said the U.S. currently has 5 million acres of rural farmland whose land use is governed at the county level for solar development, presenting a large opportunity for the co-location of agrivoltaic projects over existing farm operations.

On a county wide basis, only 4% of Illinois land is currently utilized for solar development, Ross added.

Research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) looks at the role state program caps are playing in the community solar market.  Program caps limit the total capacity of community solar that can be installed in a particular utility service territory or the entire state.  In the past, state policymakers used program caps to pilot rapidly growing renewable energy programs.  For example, many states started with caps on net metering in the mid-2010s and increased the caps as distributed PV expanded.

According to the US Department of Energy, community solar refers to “any solar project or purchasing program, within a geographic area, in which the benefits of a solar project flow to multiple customers.”  The community solar market is rapidly growing, making up 6% of total solar installations, or 5.7 GWac in mid-2022.  This is up from 3.4 GWac in 2020 and 0.8 GWac in 2015.

As seen above, 22 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted enabling legislation for community solar as of May 2022 to further this growth.  Seven states have also introduced legislation that would enable or incentivize community solar. At the same time, 19 states and Washington, D.C. included caps on their community solar programs as of May 2022.

Five of the top 10 states use caps with the installed community solar capacity ranging from 10% to 40% of the program cap.  The program caps apply to all solar generation in New York and Massachusetts.

State regulators have used program caps in a variety of different manners and contexts to balance costs and incentivize development while developing best practices in an emerging market. These caps are often heavily negotiated between relevant stakeholders as part of enabling legislation for community solar. Solar developers may prefer more incentives with program caps and a lottery for a few lucrative projects, while others may prefer the certainty and scale that larger, uncapped markets offer.

These community solar caps are applied to suit each state’s individual market and goals. For example, Minnesota chose to have an uncapped community solar market based on the state’s existing NEM policy also being uncapped. While the success of Minnesota’s community solar program is evident, the lessons for other states are less clear. Pressures to add program caps have risen as de facto limits emerged due to long queues, land limitations, lack of subscribers in contiguous counties, the utility’s desire for certainty, and interconnection limits.

The state legislature in Maryland preferred a program cap after seeing the gold rush effect of community solar leading to long application queues in other states. As well, similar pilot program caps had also been used during Maryland’s restructuring of natural gas and electricity markets. The capacity-based program cap has been expanded over time from 196 MW over 3 years in 2017 to 583 MW over 7 years in 2021. As the market matured, Maryland was able to avoid a “boom-bust” cycle of development through program cap revisions and consultation with multiple stakeholders.

New York applied its NEM program cap to cap community solar, along with a funding cap on the incentives available to community solar via the NY-Sun program. A combination of state legislation and broad regulatory discretion from state agencies enabled successful community solar development. For example, the Value or Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) tariffs, also known as the Value Stack, created by the NY State Public Service Commission, compensate when and where distributed sources like solar provide electricity to the grid.  This has helped enable more than 1 GW of deployed community solar and provides important lessons for how states enable agency involvement with community solar.

In Illinois, the state took a different approach through a combination of funding and capacity-based program caps. The Illinois Shines, also known as the Adjustable Block Program, created renewable energy certificate incentives with 25% going toward the development of community solar with benefits also being extended to subscribers. This program initially ended up being more than 10 times over-subscribed by developers putting in applications for 1.8 GW of community solar with only around 164.5 MW being accepted.

The Illinois Shines program later expanded with the aim to deploy 400 MW of community solar projects by 2030. The equity-focused Solar for All program provides grants for building solar with a cap based on limited funding which rose from $30 million in 2016 to $50 million in 2021, with $16.5 additional allocations from alternative compliance and ratepayer funds.

Ten states with community solar program caps use them to set minimum carve-outs for low-moderate income (LMI) households.  For example, Oregon requires 10% of its total community solar capacity to go toward LMI households.  New Jersey requires 51% of its stage 2 pilot program to be set aside for LMI households. Washington D.C. requires all community solar projects to be dedicated to low-income customers.  These measures ensure that community solar is able to democratize access and address trends of inequity in solar penetration. The variety of state program cap applications offers important tools and lessons for the future as interest in community solar continues to rise.

Canadian manufacturer releases carbon-fiber solar panel for boats  Lightleaf’s new 110 W PV module features monocrystalline solar cells from SunPower Maxeon, with 25.1% efficiency. It has a rigid carbon-fiber foam foundation instead of glass, and weighs just 2.5 kg.

EV charging network receives $7.4 million in federal funding  An equitable clean transportation future includes expanding freight corridors and EV charging infrastructure in underserved communities.

$10 billion from the IRA to help clean up the industry  The IRS released guidance on how it will allocate $10 billion to grow recycling facilities, re-equip industrial facilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%, and establish new manufacturing facilities that reduce our carbon footprint.

Maryland bill to boost adoption of residential solar  If passed, the bill would increase Maryland’s residential clean energy grant from $1,000 to $5,000 to boost adoption of rooftop solar, create local clean energy jobs, and help meet the state’s climate goals.

IRS releases guidance on low-income solar tax credit booster  According to IRS guidance, 1.8 GW of solar is eligible for 40% and 50% tax credits via the IR, with the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program.

Three global trends for solar in 2023  Component cost declines, local manufacturing and distributed energy are trending in the renewable energy sector this year.

McDonald’s signs on for 180 MW of Louisiana solar  The restaurant giant signed a solar power purchase agreement equivalent to the energy demand of over 30,000 U.S. homes.

Sponsored by Maryland Senator Brian J. Feldman and Delegate Lily Qi, Senate Bill 664 and House Bill 1239, would increase Maryland’s residential clean energy grant from $1,000 to $5,000 to boost adoption of rooftop solar and create local clean energy jobs.

This bill would fund rooftop solar grants through fees and penalties paid by companies that do not meet the state’s clean energy requirements, minimizing the cost to taxpayers and ensuring those fees are directed toward promoting renewable energy. It would also enhance clean energy incentives for low- and moderate-income residents, as well as those living in overburdened and underserved communities.

“Maryland has set some of the nation’s most ambitious goals for reducing emissions and achieving climate equity. We cannot meet our state’s ambitious goals unless we make it easier for Maryland residents to enjoy the economic and environmental benefits of clean energy,” said Maryland State Senator Brian Feldman, sponsor of SB0664. “With this bill we have an opportunity to reboot Maryland’s rooftop solar industry and create thousands of jobs in the process, while providing incentives that make solar power more accessible to lower-income households.”

Incentivizing the adoption of residential rooftop solar will be crucial to achieving Maryland’s ambitious climate goals laid out in the Climate Solutions Now Act, which passed in April 2022. The plan speeds up Maryland’s current goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 40% of 2006 levels to 60% by 2031, and net-zero emissions by 2045. The Maryland Department of the Environment is currently is working on a conceptual road map due by t​he end of June 2023, with the final plan is ​due at the end of the year. 

Rooftop solar in Maryland has slowed down considerably since its peak in 2016, and the state is only expected to install just over 1 GW of solar in the next five years, which currently projects to be 31st in the nation over that time, according to Solar Energy Industries Association.

“Expanding residential solar is an opportunity for Maryland to address the climate crisis while creating jobs and boosting our state’s economic competitiveness,” said Maryland Delegate Lily Qi, sponsor of HB1239. “This bill moves us toward Maryland’s ambitious climate goals in a way that is inclusive of households of all income levels and makes clean energy accessible to the communities who have disproportionately been affected by rising energy costs.”

A coalition of rooftop solar advocates, workforce development groups, energy equity champions, and renewable energy companies launched a campaign to advocate for legislation that would make solar power more accessible and affordable for all Marylanders. One of those groups is the Maryland Rooftop Solar Coalition (MRSC), which is comprised of companies that finance, sell, design, and install solar systems with the objective of reviving the rooftop solar market in the state. Coalition members include Solar Energy World, Trinity Solar, GoodLeap, Sunnova, Dividend Finance, Lumina Solar, IGS, SunPower, Sunrun, ADT, Solar United Neighbors, and Solar Energy Services.

“While we’ve seen growth in the utility scale solar market in Maryland since the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act passed in 2019, residential solar continues to lag behind despite playing a critical role in meeting the state’s climate goals,” said Ed Merrick, chair of MRSC. “We need to rebuild this industry and do it in a way that includes all Marylanders by leveraging our existing built infrastructure. Incentivizing the installation of residential rooftop solar through the state’s existing grant program will help make clean energy more accessible and affordable for all Maryland residents, regardless of their financial status.”

Supporters of the bill point out that equitable access to solar energy will also be a key aspect of expanding clean energy usage and cutting emissions in Maryland, which will require outreach and assistance for low- and moderate-income families who have been disproportionately burdened by legacy polluting fossil fuel infrastructure.

“Residential solar is a vital energy resource that empowers Maryland homeowners to reduce their utility bills, build resilience from power outages, and gain energy independence,” said Kimberly Armstrong, Maryland Program Director, Solar United Neighbors (SUN). “Rooftop solar is a shining example of how to utilize and produce homegrown clean energy that directly benefits local residents and communities. Solar is an abundant solution that will help Maryland put an end to its dependence on dirty, expensive energy that is vulnerable to inflation forces and foreign disruption.”

The energy transition has caused an upswing in interconnection costs related to network upgrades across the PJM Interconnection market, according to a new study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. PJM is a regional transmission organization that serves 13 states and the District of Columbia.

At year-end 2021, PJM had 259 GW of new power generation and storage capacity actively seeking grid interconnection. Capacity in PJM’s queue is dominated by solar (116 GW), standalone energy storage (42 GW), solar-plus-storage systems (32 GW), and wind power (39 GW).

PJM’s queue has ballooned in recent years, with 2021’s active queue increasing by 240% compared to year-end 2019. The capacity associated with interconnection requests is nearly twice as large as PJM’s peak load in recent years (155 GW). This explosive growth of interconnection requests along with lengthy study timelines and high project withdrawal rates (423 GW) motivated the Mid-Atlantic grid operator to reform its interconnection process in 2022.

Going forward, PJM has adopted a “first-ready, first-served” approach and increased study deposits that are at risk when projects withdraw.

The PJM study culls data from more than 1,100 projects, covering 86% of new generators in the grid from 2000 to 2022. However, the Berkeley Lab notes the difficulty in finding project cost specific data, creating an information barrier for developers, regulators and policy makers.

For completed projects, average costs have doubled relative to pre-pandemic costs, from $42 per kW to $84 per kW, with a median of $18 per kW to $30 per kW).

For active projects, interconnection costs have ballooned higher, from $29/kW to $240/kW between pre-pandemic costs and costs starting in 2020.

Withdrawn projects face the highest costs, averaging at $599/kW, with a median of $156/kW, which is likely a key driver for those withdrawals, the report notes.

Full access to the study can be found here.

Network upgrade cost driver

The key driver to interconnection cost increases has been network upgrade costs, Berkeley Lab finds.  The average costs for upgrades beyond the substation have risen sharply since 2019, to $71/kW for complete projects, $227/kW for active projects, and $563/kW for withdrawn projects.

A small group of generators face lower network upgrade costs by choosing interconnection services as an energy source instead of a capacity resource. However, as a result project owners forfeit preferential treatment during daily high load times, cannot participate in PJM’s capacity market, and may face increased curtailment.

Among recently completed projects, interconnection costs have fallen for natural gas ($18/kW) facilities, while increasing for both solar ($99/kW) and onshore wind ($60/kW) relative to historical costs through 2016. Costs for both active and withdrawn storage and solar plus storage projects are surprisingly high ($337/kW), but complete projects are much cheaper (storage: $4/kW, solar hybrid: $20/kW).

The PJM study was funded in part under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X), and builds on Berkeley Lab’s previous work tracking interconnection requests and timelines.

After a recent study from October 2022 examining interconnection costs in the MISO market, the Berkeley Lab will publish future analyses on the NYISO, ISO-NE, and SPP markets in the coming months.

AEP Energy Partners, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, is soliciting a request for proposal (RFP) process for off-take agreements from new and existing solar and wind projects in the PJM Interconnection market and solar projects in ERCOT to support the company’s growing retail and wholesale loads in Ohio and Texas, respectively.

In PJM, AEP’s offtake procurement include’s the city of Columbus, Ohio’s community choice aggregation program. PJM is  a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in a large Mid-Atlantic and Midwest region that extends from New Jersey to Illinois, and stretches as far south as the outer banks of North Carolina.

AEP is seeking RFPs for 10, 12 and 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for new PJM located solar or wind projects, as well as 5 to 15-year agreements for existing projects (including repowering wind projects) in PJM.

In Texas, AEP is seeking renewable energy purchase (REP) agreements of 12 years or less for new ERCOT solar projects.

View full details about the AEP Energy Partners RFP process.

Notice of intent to bid must be received by AEP on or before Dec. 30, 2022.  Proposal packages are due by 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 13, 2023.  Proposals are due by email to Jennifer Williams (jewilliams@aepes.com) and Sean Handel (sthandel@aepes.com).

Further RFP details are available here or by contacting Jennifer Williams at (614) 716-2426 or Sean Handel at (419) 345-9634.

AEP Energy will release a shortlist of winning recipients in February, with official REP execution to come in Q2 2023.

As a competitive retail and wholesale electricity and natural gas supplier, AEP Energy serves more than 700,000 residential and business customers in 28 service territories in six states and Washington, D.C.

It also sells renewable energy through long-term contracts with utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and corporate customers. The business unit currently owns more than 1,900 MW of solar, wind, and energy storage on both a utility- and distributed-scale basis in 26 states.

Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power is a $48.3 billion market cap regulated utility with 5.5 million customers across 11 states.  Effective January 2023, AEP will have exited the Kentucky market through the recent sale of Kentucky Power to Liberty Utilities, an affiliate of Algonquin Power, for $2.64 billion.

Four states with a combined population of 29 million could enact new renewables laws next year, or more aggressive versions of existing laws, thanks to voters in those states.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has previously targeted 100% clean electricity by 2040, and will soon work with a state legislature with a majority of Democrats in both legislative bodies.

Similarly, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has called for economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050, and will soon be backed by a majority of Democrats in both legislative bodies.

In each state, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) expects the new “pro-environmental” legislative majorities to “hit the ground running” with a major climate bill.

In Maryland, Governor-Elect Wes Moore campaigned on a goal to reach 100% clean electricity by 2035, and will lead the state alongside a Democrat-controlled legislature that last year enacted a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

In Massachusetts, Governor-Elect Maura Healy pledged in her campaign to seek 100% clean electricity by 2030. The state’s legislature last year enacted a law targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and will retain its Democratic majority.

In each of those two states, a renewables law more aggressive than the current version could result.

In Arizona, where votes were still being counted, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs has proposed a water and energy innovation initiative in which stakeholders would work together toward carbon-free energy by 2050. If she wins her election, she may have the opportunity to work with a Democratic-controlled legislature to launch that initiative.

Calling the U.S. elections a “green wave,” Pete Maysmith, senior vice president of campaigns for LCV, saw a similarity to 2018, “when we saw new governors come into office ready to pass major clean energy and environmental legislation.” Four of those five governors have won re-election, he said, while in Nevada the vote count is ongoing.

New goals

Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healy proposes to reach 100% clean electricity by 2030 in part by reaching “a total of 10 GW of deployed solar by 2030,” with a focus on bringing rooftop solar to underserved communities, and encouraging “smart siting” of large solar projects.

Healy also plans to “press utilities to plan for and upgrade the distribution system to integrate new solar, without the delays customers face today due to utility backlogs.”

To position Massachusetts as “the nation’s offshore wind capital,” Healy plans to expeditiously permit the 5.6 GW of offshore wind procurements currently authorized by law, and “more than double” the state’s current target to reach 10 GW of offshore wind by 2035.

Healy also plans to quadruple the state’s energy storage deployment, install one million heat pumps, incentivize one million electric vehicles, and electrify school buses and Boston’s public transit buses, all by 2030.

Maryland Governor-Elect Wes Moore’s proposal for 100% clean electricity by 2035 would reduce energy consumption, “supercharge” investments in wind and solar projects, and invest in research and development of battery storage, to bring new technologies to market quickly.

Moore also plans to target net-zero emissions by 2045, through clean energy generation targets, incentives for electric vehicles and public transit, support for more sustainable agriculture and forestry practices, and reduced consumption.

Encouraging words

Offering suggestions for two of the states, Solar United Neighbors Communications Director Ben Delman said that Maryland could make the state’s community solar program permanent, while Minnesota could protect homeowners who want to go solar, yet face restrictions set by homeowner associations.

With changes in the Michigan and Minnesota legislatures, Clean Energy States Alliance Executive Director Warren Leon said the two states are “good candidates” to convert their respective governors’ goals into law.

Vote Solar sees opportunities across the four states, said Chief Program Officer Sean Garren, and is “eager to take full advantage” of those opportunities.

Brookfield Renewable has agreed to acquire Standard Solar and Scout Clean Energy, helping both renewable energy leaders to move into the next phase of their development.

Brookfield Renewable announced the closing of its acquisition of Standard Solar for consideration of $540 million with the potential to invest an additional $160 million to support the business’ growth initiatives. Standard Solar is a developer, owner and operator of commercial and community distributed solar, with approximately 500 MW of operating and under construction contracted assets. The company also has a development pipeline of almost 2 GW and a presence in high value solar markets in the U.S., such as New York, Maryland, Minnesota and Maine. Standard Solar is also strong in the community solar market, recently completing a 7.1 MW project in New York.

“Through this acquisition, which provides additional large-scale access to capital, Standard Solar is poised for massive growth, enabling us to contribute in an even more significant way to the clean energy transition,” said Scott Wiater, president and CEO of Standard Solar. “We’re looking forward to joining the Brookfield Renewable portfolio, one of the world’s largest renewable energy platforms. Our two companies share a mutual passion for renewables and company cultures that recognize and amplify excellence and equity – we are the ideal match.”

The company has also agreed to acquire Scout Clean Energy for $1 billion with the potential to invest an additional $350 million to support the business’ development activities. Scout’s portfolio includes over 1.2 GW of operating wind assets, including 4 GW managed on behalf of third parties, and a pipeline of over 22 GW of wind, solar and storage projects across 24 states, including almost 2.5 GW of under construction and advanced-stage projects. Last year Scout Clean Energy acquired the $400m Blue Sky Project, which followed closely on the heels of the company’s announced purchase of a 112 MW solar project in Missouri.

“Scout is pleased to be sponsored going forward by an industry-leading partner to help Scout continue to grow our rapidly expanding pipeline of wind, solar and battery storage projects across the United States,” said Michael Rucker, CEO and founder of Scout Clean Energy. “With the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, we believe now is the right time for Scout to move into our next phase of expansion with a highly respected and experienced partner, like Brookfield Renewable.”

Both Scout and Standard Solar will continue to operate as independent businesses within the Brookfield Renewable U.S. platform. The transactions will be invested through the Brookfield Global Transition Fund I, which has raised $15 billion to invest across a range of transition opportunities.

“We underwrote both transactions without the benefit of the Inflation Reduction Act so the additional incentives now available represent a significant boost to each business,” said Connor Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewable. “Our development pipeline in the United States is now close to 60,000 MW and is well diversified across wind, utility-scale solar, distributed generation, and energy storage. Combined with our existing fleet we are well positioned for continued growth as owners and operators of one of the largest diversified clean power businesses in the country.”

The Scout and Standard Solar acquisitions follow a string of recent clean energy investments by Brookfield Renewable in North America during 2022, including a $650 million acquisition of Urban Grid, and the exclusive right to invest up to $750 million on a project by project basis with Entropy, and a joint venture with California Resource Corporation, two leading carbon capture and sequestration platforms in Alberta and California, respectively. Altogether, the Brookfield Global Transition Fund has invested or allocated $3.5 billion for clean energy investments and follow-on capital in North America in 2022.

The largest climate and energy package in U.S. history becomes law  President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, ushering in a new decade of $370 billion in climate and energy spending.

Metal roofing: The perfect platform for solar PV  Metal roofing has become a driver for roof type selection in many cases because not only is a metal/solar roof system less expensive upfront than other roof system combinations, but it also leads to improvements in the lifetime return on investment of the system.

Energy Vault and Jupiter Power partner for 220 MWh battery energy storage in Texas and California  The Jupiter Power battery energy storage systems will use Energy Vault Solutions’ proprietary system design and EVS’ Energy Management Software, both designed for optimal grid resiliency and economic energy dispatch.

Generac to dispatch residential energy storage and services for APS  Utility Arizona Public Service has commissioned Generac to deliver grid capacity from residential energy storage systems under a multi-year contract in which it will provide capacity and advanced grid services.

Pivot Energy acquires Maryland-based community solar developer, SGC Power  The acquisition by Pivot Energy will enable SGC to enter new markets and increase value to their property owners.

Pivot Energy, which finances, builds, owns, and manages distributed energy projects, announced the acquisition of SGC Power, a Maryland-based community solar developer. SGC Power has been involved in 285+ solar projects with a total of 2.8 GW spread over 31 states and territories.

Community solar is a rapidly growing segment of the solar industry and is one of the best ways for low- to middle income (LMI) customers to benefit from clean energy. Whether they live in an apartment building and can’t install solar, or cannot afford the up-front costs, community solar helps to bridge the gap for households that have historically been left out of the clean energy transition. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia now have active community solar programs.

“SGC Power is a community solar leader with deep industry experience,” said Tom Hunt, CEO of Pivot Energy. “We are excited to welcome their team to Pivot Energy. Together, we can further accelerate the transition to decentralized renewable energy while providing real cost-savings to businesses and families across the country.”

Pivot’s development expertise and long-term project ownership capabilities will enable SGC to enter new markets. By combining the two teams, Pivot Energy reports that it will be better able to scale greenfield development, accelerate the adoption of solar, add product offerings, and expand the company’s national footprint.

“We are looking forward to joining the Pivot Energy team,” said SGC Power CEO Mike Sloan. “This acquisition provides our team with a clear path to more community solar development. Plus, we get the benefit of new colleagues with a wealth of industry expertise and experience.”

The two companies both have positive business cultures that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. SGC Power recently achieved certification from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) for the company’s commitment to creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace. Pivot Energy, a Certified B-Corporation, follows the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.

“It is our firm belief that this acquisition will bring about positive changes for everyone,” said Hunt. “It will certainly make us stronger, more competitive in the market, and the increased resources will ensure that we can provide more value to our partners and clients.”

Day-to-day activities for the SGC Power team will remain unchanged. SGC Power will continue to operate as a business unit under the Pivot Energy brand.

States that require smart inverters for new rooftop solar can enable more rooftop installations, because smart inverters can stabilize voltage on a distribution circuit. And because smart inverters can receive communications, an aggregation of distributed storage can serve as a virtual power plant, injecting power to the grid when needed.

A handful of states already require new distributed resource installations to use smart inverters that meet a standard known as IEEE 1547-2018, once devices meeting the standard become available, and more are evaluating such a requirement. The SunSpec Alliance expects that more than 30 states will set smart inverter requirements by April 2023, based on an examination of state regulatory dockets from the past year, said SunSpec Alliance Chair Tom Tansy in an email.

Most smart inverter manufacturers will be able to provide smart inverters to project developers and distributors sometime between March and August 2023, according to an analysis from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) authored by IREC Chief Regulatory Engineer Brian Lydic.

That’s of special interest in states where a smart inverter requirement is expected to take effect once smart inverters meeting the IEEE 1547-2018 standard become commercially available, such as Maryland, Washington, D.C., New York and Massachusetts, as noted in IREC’s analysis. (Hawaii and California already require smart inverters that meet earlier state standards, and are shifting to the IEEE 1547-2018 standard.)

IREC developed the timeline largely based on the time required to test all manufacturers’ inverters and certify them as meeting Underwriters Laboratories standard UL 1741 SB, to verify compliance with the IEEE 1547-2018 standard.

IREC considered 155 representative smart inverter models to be tested, across 30 inverter manufacturers, with each representative model representing a “family” consisting of multiple models with different power outputs.

Based on survey responses from manufacturers and nationally recognized testing laboratories, IREC determined that the likely duration of each test for a single inverter family could range from 9-12 weeks. At a 9-week average test duration, testing labs could test 85% of inverter families within 54 weeks, while a 12-week average test duration would mean testing would take 72 weeks.

After testing, 16 more weeks would be needed for a manufacturer to produce and ship the first inverters to project developers and distributors, IREC estimated.

IREC assumed that testing began in November 2021, or about a month after the latest UL 1741 SB standard was issued. Based on that testing start date, IREC estimated that 85% of manufacturers would be delivering smart inverters by the timeframe of March through August, 2023.

IREC’s analysis used industry surveys and a database of smart inverters available from the California Energy Commission (CEC). IREC expects that the database, which can be downloaded to show a data column for UL 1741 SB certification, “should provide good data on the number of certified models” as the CEC updates the list based on information provided by manufacturers.

Roll-out solar racking collects rainwater, cuts land use requirements  The gutter-like racking system from Roll-A-Rack collects rainwater that can be used for irrigation.

50 States of Solar Incentives: Maryland  A historically solar-friendly state, Maryland’s capacity addition projections in the next few years are underwhelming, despite a suite of supportive policies and grants throughout the state.

Aurora Solar launches AI solutions for residential solar lead generation, design and sales  Lead Capture AI and Aurora AI for Design and Sales Teams will help installers to streamline residential solar lead generation, project design and sales processes.

Mississippi revamps its net metering policy  The new program tackles barriers to solar adoption for low-income customers through a net metering rate adder and a one-time $3,500 upfront cash rebate.

States that enable distributed storage will make room for more rooftop solar  In half the states, interconnection procedures for distributed energy resources do not yet mention energy storage. To help states remove that hurdle, and several others, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council is providing guidance on a detailed toolkit.

GAF Energy to open solar tile manufacturing facility in Texas  With strong demand for its Timberline nailable solar shingle, GAF Energy is looking to expand manufacturing capacity 500%.

Sodium-ion batteries for EVs, renewables storage  US scientists have developed a new electrolyte design for sodium-ion batteries to improve their long cycling performance. The low-solvation electrolyte was designed for high-voltage sodium-ion batteries, which retained 90% of their capacity after 300 cycles.

Pittsburgh Airport solar microgrid saved $1 million in energy costs  In one year, Pittsburgh Airport’s microgrid saved so much in energy costs that it’s considering doubling the size of the installation.

Tigo unveils rapid shutdown tech for large PV installations  Tigo’s latest product has been certified by Underwriters Laboratories, a US-based testing organization. The company says the new tech can significantly reduce balance of system and labor costs.

BrightNight to meet one third of Arizona utility’s peak demand with solar and storage project  The developer entered a joint venture to deliver 300 MW of solar, 600 MWh of battery energy storage to Arizona’s Southwest Public Power Agency.

The pv magazine USA tour of solar incentives now takes us to our second stop in the DMV: Maryland, which, like its neighbor, Delaware, is one of the most densely-populated states in the country.

Similarly to Delaware, Maryland generates less than 5% of its electricity from solar resources, however this has more to do with the state’s higher population than it does a lack of commitment to solar, at least historically. Maryland, thus far, has installed roughly 1.5 GW of solar, good for 18th in the country, according to data from Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). 

Maryland’s strong start to its solar commitment has slowed down considerably since its peak in 2016, and the state is only expected to install just over 1 GW of solar in the next five years, which currently projects to be 31st in the nation over that time, according to SEIA.

In April, the Maryland Legislature passed the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which speeds up Maryland’s current goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 40% of 2006 levels to 60% by 2031, and it establishes 2045 as the state’s goal for becoming carbon neutral. While Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has said he won’t veto the bill, he won’t sign it either, choosing instead to let it pass on its own.

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) called the Act “one of the nation’s most robust climate and clean energy policies”, and said it’s legislation that other states can model as it “meets the moment and puts us on track for a sustainable, equitable future.”

The majority of solar capacity installed in Maryland has come through residential projects, so let’s take a look at some of the policies driving residential solar adoption in the Old Line State.

Residential solar

In addition to the federal investment tax credit of 26% for the cost of equipment installed, homeowners in Maryland who choose to go solar are able to sell their excess generation back to the grid at the full retail electricity rate, as part of the state’s strong net metering policy.

Net metering is available to all customers throughout the state until the aggregate capacity of all net-metered systems reaches 3 GW, up from the old peak of 1.5 GW. Net metered system size is set at 2 MW cap, though customers that use electrical service for agriculture may aggregate all of their meters to be served by a single project.

Residential solar systems in Maryland are fully exempt from both state and local county property taxes. Maryland also offers a statewide Residential Clean Energy Grant Program, which provides grants to homeowners who install a number of renewable generation technologies, including solar systems. Administered by the Maryland Energy Administration, homeowners who install a residential solar system of at least 1 kW in capacity are eligible for a rebate of up to $1,000.

C&I initiatives

Like residential customers, commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in Maryland also have access to the state’s strong net metering policy, so long as their installations remain under 2 MW and do not generate more than 200% of the property’s electrical needs.

C&I customers also have access to grants for installing solar systems over parking lots with EV chargers. Such customers must install a minimum of 75 kW of solar canopies over the parking lot with a minimum of four Level II or Level III EV chargers. The program offers grants up to $600 per kW of PV installed, with a maximum cap of $300,000 per project and a total budget, as of Fiscal Year 2021, of $1.6 million.

Community solar

In 2021, regulators in Maryland unanimously voted to expand the capacity of the state’s community solar program as well as improve access for low- and moderate-income (LMI) customer participation in the state’s Community Solar Pilot Program.

According to the Coalition for Community Solar Access, the expansion of the program will allow community solar to power the equivalent of an additional 6,840 Maryland homes annually. The expansion also changed development regulations, allowing community solar projects to be built on clean-fill construction sites, transforming previously unusable industrial locations into clean solar energy generation sites.

Building on that commitment to community solar, in 2022, the Maryland legislature passed a pair of bills targeted at increasing the amount of eligible projects, and increasing the incentive for such projects to be developed.

The first of the two is HB 1039, which exempts community solar projects from both county and municipal corporate property taxes, so long as the 50% of the electricity generated by the projects go to serve low- to moderate-income individuals and families at a rate which is at least 20% lower than the base electricity rate that these customers would be paying otherwise.

As it stands, 30% of the pilot program capacity is still set aside for low-to-moderate income customers wishing to participate and another 30% is set aside for project development on brownfield sites.

The bill also establishes additional tax incentives for the development of agrivoltaic community solar projects on rooftops, brownfields, landfills, and clean fills.

The other bill, HB 440, will expand the maximum capacity of a permitted community solar project from 2 MW to 5 MW, while also reducing the land requirements for siting projects. This provision pertains to projects developed on multiple, contiguous lots, rather than opening up new types of land zones for development.

Last time, the pv magazine tour of the 50 states of solar took us to neighboring Delaware, and next we will continue to travel through the DMV, stopping off in Virginia.

EVs that meet a new standard will be able to deliver AC power to the grid  The SunSpec Alliance has issued a “test” version of guidance for implementing the electric vehicle equipment standard.

US battery startup to produce solid-state batteries with bi-layer cell design  Ion Storage System’s $30 million capital raising will go toward scaling up its solid-state battery cell production facility in Maryland, with aims to produce 10 MWh per year by the end of 2023, for a range of applications.

There’s big money in recycling materials from solar panels  Recycling solar panels keeps them out of landfills, but also provides much-needed raw materials with Rystad Energy projecting a value approaching $80 billion by 2050.

Making the most of photovoltaics and Li-ion battery storage  The third in a series on virtual power plants, Jigar Shah discusses the range of possibilities for aggregated, behind-the-meter solar and storage in the United States today.

The stabilizing effect of vertical east-west oriented PV systems German researchers have looked at how vertical PV systems could provid e more electricity during periods of higher demand, while enabling a higher level of integration with agricultural activities.

Boviet Solar reaches 700 MW module supply deal with Origis Energy  The company will supply its 550 W bifacial solar modules for utility-scale projects.

Wärtsilä to supply Clearway with 500 MW/2 GWh of energy storage for projects in California and Hawaii  The storage units will be spread across five projects, including the recently-completed Rosamond Central solar facility in Kern County, California.

Virginia approves $55 minimum bill for community solar, the highest nationwide  A bipartisan group of Virginia senators said the shared solar program exists “in name only” as it is prohibitively expensive for most customers.

Section 201 lifted for Canada-made solar products  Canada, the United States, and Mexico have signed a MOU that lifts the Trump-era tariffs on those two countries, following an independent panel deeming the duties to be against the provisions of existing trade agreements.

From pv magazine global

Ion Storage Systems, a US battery startup based in Maryland, has received $30 million in Series A venture capital funding from the likes of Toyota Ventures, Tenaska, and Bangchak Corp. The company aims to develop factories to reach mass battery cell production.

Ion Storage is developing solid-state batteries and aims to produce 10 MWh per year and generate commercial revenue by the end of 2023. The key differences to other solid-state and next-generation batteries is a bi-layer cell design. This reduces typical lithium-ion battery defects, and works with existing and next-generation cathode chemistries, avoiding the use of critical raw materials like cobalt, nickel, and gold.

Neil Ovadia, Ion’s vice-president of operations, told pv magazine that the company can target multiple markets, ranging from defense to consumer products to electric vehicles and stationary grid storage. Ovadia noted that Ion is working on a variation to the core product meant for stationary storage applications.

“Ion’s unique technology unlocks the power of solid-state batteries through its patented Bi-layer cell design. The dense ceramic electrolyte separator is connected to a porous ceramic electrolyte scaffold,” explained Ovadia. “The porous scaffold acts as a “sponge,” creating uniform and continuous pathways for lithium metal plating without external volume change, while the dense layer acts as a solid-state separator blocking lithium metal dendrites – thereby avoiding the need for compression and preventing short circuits. This architecture makes Ion’s solid-state electrolyte compatible with a wide range of existing and next-generation cathode chemistries.”

“Ion bi-layer cell architecture is made of inexpensive, nonflammable materials and use of a lithium metal anode has been able to meet next-generation performance metrics, including high-energy density, strong cycling performance, wide temperature range, and fast charging all at room temperature and without compression,” he said.  “Its ability to utilize both existing and next generation cathode chemistries removes the need for supply constrained materials such as nickel and cobalt. The manufacturability of ION’s technology also sets us apart as we utilize already-scaled processing and high-speed green body manufacturing techniques for our ceramic electrolyte and largely utilize existing lithium-ion manufacturing processes for cell production.”

Furthermore, the battery allows for a “cathode agnostic” approach, opening a wide range of cathode materials to be used, he said.

Ion has previously said it aims to produce more than 1 million cellphone-size batteries annually, And while those figures were not restated, the plan is to develop Ion’s pilot manufacturing facility at its Beltsville headquarters in 2023. It will then supply samples to interested parties and first market customers.

In terms of the struggles that companies face to scale-up production processes, Ion says it “employs existing industrial scale ceramic preparation methods.” It claims its unique structure “allows for the use of widely deployed Li-Ion battery manufacturing equipment for final cell assembly.”

US utility-scale solar sets record: breaks 50 GW of instantaneous generation  The EIA’s monitor of hourly utility-scale electricity generation for the lower 48 states has recently seen the solar fleet break 50 GW of generation on Sunday and Monday of this week for the first time.

200 partners to help speed interconnection through US Department of Energy program  Three regional grid operators and two utilities have joined the DOE partnership, alongside renewables developers and trade groups, to pursue faster, simpler, and fairer interconnection of renewables and storage, on both the transmission and distribution grids.

Standard Solar completes 7.1 MW community solar project in New York  The single-axis tracker system will produce nearly 11,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

Maryland passes a pair of community solar bills  HB 1039 and HB 440 create tax incentives for the development of agrivoltaic community solar projects which serve low- and moderate-income customers on rooftops, brownfields, landfills, and clean fills, as well as increasing maximum project capacity to 5 MW.

Spongy solar cell may be used to power pacemakers University of Chicago researchers developed a unique, single-layer solar cell that may be used to power less-invasive implantable medical devices.

Distributed solar and storage developer, owner, operator Agilitas Energy nets $350 million  The investment is expected to support the national build-out of the company’s 500 MW+ pipeline of renewables and energy storage projects.

Massachusetts bill bans residents from choosing clean energy suppliers  Language buried in S.2842 would force residents back to their default utility, taking away competitive renewable energy options.

The Maryland legislature has taken steps towards strengthening its ongoing community solar pilot program, passing a pair of bills targeted at increasing the amount of eligible projects, and increasing the incentive for such projects to be developed.

The first of the two is HB 1039, which exempts community solar projects from both county and municipal corporate property taxes, so long as the 50% of the electricity generated by the projects go to serve low- to moderate-income individuals and families at a rate which is at least 20% lower than the base electricity rate that these customers would be paying otherwise.

As it stands, 30% of the pilot program capacity is still set aside for low-to-moderate income customers wishing to participate and another 30% is set aside for project development on brownfield sites.

The bill also establishes additional tax incentives for the development of agrivoltaic community solar projects on rooftops, brownfields, landfills, and clean fills. Agrivoltaic projects are those which dual-use a plot of land to house both a solar installation and agriculture, and have been described by Chad Higgins, an associate professor in Oregon State’s College of Agricultural Sciences as a “rare chance for true synergy: more food, more energy, lower water demand, lower carbon emissions, and more prosperous rural communities.”

The other bill, HB 440, will expand the maximum capacity of a permitted community solar project from 2 MW to 5 MW, while also reducing the land requirements for siting projects. This provision pertains to projects developed on multiple, contiguous lots, rather than opening up new types of land zones for development.

“HB 1039 and HB 440 send a signal to the community solar industry that Maryland welcomes the private sector as a way to inject capital into grid modernization and build a new energy market that can bolster the state’s economy,” said Leslie Elder, Mid-Atlantic director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access. “We thank the Maryland General Assembly for passing these bills and Governor Hogan for his support.”

The bills both build on regulatory action from 2021, which expanded the program to allow community solar to power the equivalent of an additional 6,840 Maryland homes, while also allowing community solar projects to be built on clean-fill construction sites, transforming previously unusable industrial locations into clean solar energy generation sites.

US-based battery cell maker to supply 18 GWh to off-grid solar generator provider  The American Battery Factory lithium ferro-phosphate cells will be integrated with Lion Energy portable solar generators and energy storage devices ranging from residential to utility-scale applications.

Fort Detrick adds energy storage to solar installation in support of Army’s resiliency goals LS Energy Solutions contracted with Ameresco to supply the 6 MW/h energy storage system at the Army Garrison.

California solar policy misaligned with clean air board’s rooftop priority  The California Air Resources Board identified rooftop solar as a key to California’s carbon neutrality, but proposed legislation slashes rooftop solar value in the state.

Vermont utility launches solar pilot program for low- and moderate-income customers The program will allow customers to subscribe to an energy share of an existing GMP installation, with time-of-use rates encouraging energy use when the sun is shining.

A fate realized: 1 TW of solar to be deployed annually by 2030  Major players in the solar industry, such as LONGi Solar, are projecting accelerating growth in the near term.

Urban Electric Power, Pine Gate Renewables agree on multi-GWh battery supply deal  Urban will Supply Pine Gate with 4.6 GWh of its rechargeable zinc alkaline batteries over the next five years to provide a choice in storage technology for Pine Gate’s development partners and customers.

Argonne National Lab achieves battery patents for redox flow, solid-state, multivalent-ion and more  Joint Center for Energy Storage Research is developing alternative chemistries for batteries that may provide safer and longer lasting alternatives to the commonly used lithium-ion. The group has over 30 license-ready patents.

In 2016, Fort Detrick, in Frederick, Maryland, was home to one of the largest solar installations on the East Coast. Soon the original 18.6 MW installation will be supplemented with a 6 MW/h energy storage system. Ameresco owns and operates the plant and has been supplying electricity generated to the US Army under a 25-year power purchase agreement, which at the time was expected to meet around 12% of Fort Detrick’s annual electric demand.

LS Energy Solutions (LS-ES) has contracted with Ameresco to supply the AiON-ESS energy storage system for the solar project to help further lower the garrison’s total electricity spend, achieved through participation in frequency regulation, demand response, and energy supply markets within PJM, a wholesale electricity market. The storage system will be microgrid-ready to support Army’s resiliency goals.

One of the Army’s resiliency goals is to install a microgrid on every installation by 2035. These will include renewable generation and large-scale battery storage, with the goal being able to “self-sustain its critical missions” on all Army installations by 2040. In addition, the Army aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half from its buildings by 2032, compared to 2005. Part of the plan is for light-duty non-tactical vehicles to be all-electric by 2027, and all non-tactical vehicles would be EVs by 2035.

The AiON-ESS Energy Series is for 2- to 6-hour applications. It combines Ameresco’s fourth-generation String Inverter System (SIS) with Tier-1 lithium-ion batteries in a modular format that can be configured for different applications. The energy storage systems are UL9540 approved, indicating that they meet the highest safety standards for energy storage products.

“Our AiON-ESS provides all AC and DC energy storage functions in a single, easy to install and commission unit.  We look forward to deploying more of these systems with Ameresco in similarly critical applications,” said Steve Fludder, CEO of LS Energy Solutions.

The solar installation sits on a 67-acre site and has 59,994 solar panels with nine central inverters and transformers.

SpaceX to increase on-site solar and Tesla Powerpack battery capacity its Starbase facility  Using Trina Solar panels and Tesla Powerpack batteries, the company will expand its Boca Chica, Texas on-site facility by about 30%.

Western and Southeastern utilities’ progress in advancing 194 GW of solar projects is a mystery  As Western and Southeastern utilities process 194 GW of solar interconnection requests, we asked 20 of them about the final cost studies they completed last year, which would permit projects to move forward. Then we turned to Berkeley Lab analyses for more insights.

Approximately 858 GWdc of solar and over 1 TWh of batteries are in development  Government research shows that solar-plus-storage is coming to dominate the nation’s power grid queues, representing the majority of new power plant applications.

PG&E $11 million pilot programs to accelerate vehicle-to-everything technologies  Pacific Gas & Electric is developing three pilot programs to test how bi-directional EVs and chargers can send power to the grid.

50 states of solar incentives: Rhode Island  The small but mighty state of Rhode Island was the first in the nation to set a goal of 100% renewables by 2030,

Summit Ridge energizes Montgomery County’s first ground-mount community solar project  The 2.5 MW installation will help the city towards its goal of eliminating greenhouse emissions in its operations by 2035.

Consumers Energy seeks landowners for siting utility scale solar in Michigan  The utility seeks farm fields, brownfield sites, and publicly owned properties ranging from about 500 to 900 acres as it plans to add 8 GW of solar by 2040.