Energy efficiency is the least expensive energy there is, yet our ACC recently repealed the EE rules, stating that they put a burden on rate-payers. Not true. When one home becomes more energy efficient, it lowers everyone's electric bill because expensive upgrades to the grid become unnecessary. ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Balcony solar is gaining unstoppable momentum here in the US. 7 states have sent bills to their governor, and many more are looking at it. It didn't pass here in Arizona this time, but hopefully we can get it through next year. Plug-in solar
Another agency confirms that solar + storage is the cheapest and most reliable form of energy that's available today.
Renewables are bringing money and jobs to Arizona. Sun Pond solar
The utilities recognize that virtual power plants are the next thing happening in the energy world, so they want to own it. There is no point in paying shareholders when we can own the VPP ourselves. VPP's
The following article has 1 error in it: both APS and TEP have reached their 15% target. However, there is a valid point made that there is opposition to the cheapest, most reliable, and quickest to deploy source of energy, solar + storage, because of partisan reasons.
Virtual power plants will be the thing of the future. Virginia is touching on this by investing in small batteries.
Here, they are providing discounted batteries to homeowners and using that as a source of backup power for the grid. Home batteries
Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) happens when a town purchases the electricity from different energy generators, i.e., wind farms, solar farms, etc., and then sells the electricity to the people, bypassing the investor-owned utility. This can lead to cheaper and cleaner energy. Tucson is currently looking into this, but state law needs to change for this to happen. The state of Maine is now allowing CCA's.
Republican legislators are getting on board with renewables. They know that it is the future. 0BBB act
This will be taking off in the US in the next few years. Here in Arizona we nixed it this year, but it will come back next year, and we have to tell our legislators to support it.
One month ago, it was reported that Australia would be getting 3 hours of free electricity every day starting July 1st. This is because they have so much rooftop solar. Now I find this article that says, in South Australia, they will actually be paid to use electricity, through credits on their electric bill, because of too much electricity on the grid (need to balance out supply and demand). Take a look!