Texas has long stood alone as the clear leader in wind development in the United States. As of August 2017, the state has 21.1 GW of wind capacity, which represents a full 25% of total U.S. capacity and is more than 3 times the capacity in Iowa, the country’s second leading wind state. Notably, Texas […]
Clean Power Plan Repeal Finally Picks Up Steam
On October 10, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added another chapter to the story of one of the most contentious environmental regulations, when EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued the proposed Clean Power Plan Repeal Rule. This action, almost 200 days after President Trump ordered the EPA in his Executive Order to Promote Energy […]
Pumping the PURPA Brakes: North Carolina opts for a more competitive solar development process
Renewable energy development in the Southeast U.S. has been largely non-existent, with the notable exception of North Carolina. Even there, wind development has been scarce, but the state has emerged as the nation’s second largest state for utility scale solar, behind only California. Having added 828 MW in 2015 and 758 MW in 2016, North […]
Retail NEM: Still controversial, but a consensus begins to emerge on this key driver of rooftop solar installations
Rooftop PV installations have soared in the U.S. over the past several years, but activity has been heavily concentrated in just a few states offering strong policy support. Retail net energy metering (NEM), which allows the homeowner to sell surplus solar power back to the grid at retail rates, has been a particularly critical driver […]
EVA Publishes Q2 Renewable Energy Outlook
EVA has published its most recent issue of the Quarterly Renewable Energy Outlook. The Quarterly Renewable Energy Outlook offers subscribers a succinct and compelling overview of current trends in renewable energy development in the U.S., delivered with clear and objective analysis. The Outlook provides short-term (3-year), state-by-state renewable energy capacity forecasts, broken out by technology type. It offers deep […]
Forbes ranks EVA among top Energy Consulting firms for 2017
In its annual ranking of management consulting companies, Forbes ranked EVA as one of the leading firms focused on Energy Consulting. The rankings are based on surveys of more than 1,000 partner level consultants and more than 1,000 business executives who have worked with the numerous firms included in the survey. EVA received 4 out […]
‘Tis the Season for Curtailment: Amid low seasonal demand, California tests the limits of renewable energy penetration
After suffering through several years of severe drought, California experienced record rainfall in late-2016 and early-2017, sufficient to fill previously depleted reservoirs. Simultaneously, the state brought on an additional 5.3 GW of solar capacity in 2016, bringing the total to 10.3 GW to go along with 5.7 GW of wind capacity. As a result, renewable […]
RPS Compliance in PJM Markets: More flexibility than meets the eye
The PJM powerpool includes several states with sizeable Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). The standards—in MD, NJ, OH, PA, IL, DE and DC—require an escalating portion of retail sales be met through qualified renewable energy (RE) generation. Load serving entities in the PJM region comply with their relevant RPS obligations via Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), which […]
A Record Year: 2016 solar capacity build reaches all-time highs
Final numbers from EIA prove what the solar industry had long suspected: 2016 was a record year for solar build in the United States. Driven by plummeting costs and strong policy support in key markets, 13.7 GW of new solar capacity was added in 2016, pushing total U.S capacity to 35.9 GW. The 13.7 […]
Solar Down South: EIA AEO 2017 predicts enormous solar PV builds in the Southeast
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released its Annual Energy Outlook for 2017 (AEO 2017), which provides projections through 2050. One of the more interesting results from this year’s release is the EIA’s reference case projection of an enormous increase in long-term solar PV capacity in the Southeast. Utility-scale solar PV capacity in […]