Solar PV systems for commercial buildings seem like a no-brainer considering the roof space, but growth has been slow in this segment in part because solar on its own doesn’t solve a commercial building’s biggest energy cost: monthly demand charges. Solving for demand charges usually means coupling the solar withRead More

Stuff like this is why California’s fight for a Solar Bill of Rights matters. In Iowa, utilities are moving a “sunshine tax” through the state legislature. The bill, which is in front of the full House Commerce Committee, would impose fees of about $300 a year on solar customers underRead More

New York is at an important juncture in its Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) development as a working group is currently assessing proposals for mass market rate design, two of which include demand charges. Considering the whole point of REV is to build toward a distributed future, this raised ourRead More

Out in Arizona, home of the demand charge, the Arizona Corporation Commission rejected a request by two utilities to subject new solar customers to large monthly fixed charges. As part of their recent rate cases, Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) and UNS Electric sought a monthly Grid Access Charge andRead More

With the end of the legislative session quickly approaching, solar workers from across the Commonwealth will rally at the Massachusetts State House May 16 at 10 a.m. to urge the Legislature to act in support of the state’s solar industry. This comes at a critical time for the Commonwealth’s solarRead More