By Chip Martin, RGB Solar Agitator New Hampshire has always been one of the leaders of the United States since its founding in 1629. Even today, it plays a historic and critical role in helping the country choose its presidents. But that reputation for leadership could take a hit if New Hampshire allows its burgeoning […]
By Frank Andorka, Solar Advocate When I first heard the news, I thought it was a joke. I mean, the governor of West Virginia vetoed HB 2201, the odious bill that would have effectively killed the solar industry by imposing usurious taxes on solar users in the state. So that should have been the end […]
Dear SEIA: First of all, let me say how much I admire the work you do. You are facing an uphill battle on the political front, trying to convince an intransigent Congress of the value of solar to the U.S. economy and why they should extend the ITC beyond 2016. I do not envy […]
By Chip Martin, RGB Contributor Utilities in Washington State are making the most of the desperation gripping the solar industry there, dangling the promise of an extended rebate program for the small price of the most fundamental solar policy – net metering — and with it, the industry’s future stability. While one would think the local […]
By Frank Andorka, RGB Contributor All eyes will be on the House of Representatives tonight … oh, who am I kidding? Viewership for the State of the Union have been falling for years, and I’m fairly certain this year won’t be any different. I’m thinking it’s because the state of the union is always strong and […]
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. Marc Antony, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene 2 By Chip Martin, Special To RGB […]
By Chip Martin, Special to RGB In 1957, 20th Century Fox produced a movie called The Three Faces of Eve, starring Joanne Woodward as Eve White, a woman suffering from dissociative identity disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder) who has three distinct personalities — the timid wife, the party girl and the stable woman […]
By Chip Martin, Special to RGB In the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction, Glen Close’s delightfully insane stalker character Alex Forrest famously proclaimed to her victim Dan (Michael Douglass), “I WILL NOT BE IGNORED, DAN!” Alex, you have nothing on Xcel Energy. You remember Xcel Energy, right? That charming Minneapolis company that is suing city council […]
By Chip Martin, Special To RGB About 10 days ago, I wrote about the exciting push toward municipalization in Colorado, and how the citizens there were working to free themselves from the yoke of Xcel Energy oppression. As I wrote then (at the risk of seeming self-reverential): Despite mouthing public platitudes about how much it […]
By Chip Martin, Special To RGB As most of you who read me regularly know, I am all about smashing the regulated-monopoly-utility racket that currently holds us hostage. They’ve never faced real competition before, and now rooftop solar poses a significant threat. That’s why they’re hell-bent on regulating it out of the picture. In Colorado, […]
This article originally appeared on Solar Wakeup. By Yann Brandt, Managing Editor of SolarWakeup Residential solar is the fastest growing part of the solar market and some of the major players in the sector have been making big moves. Recently, Sunrun acquired the residential division of REC Solar including AEE Solar and SnapNrack while also announcing […]
This post originally appeared on Solar Power World. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and are not intended to represent the views or policies of the United States Department of Energy or the United States. The article was not prepared as part of the writer’s official duties […]
Yann Brandt, solar entrepreneur and proprietor of SolarWakeup.com (if you’re not receiving his daily wrap-up of news from around the solar industry in your inbox, shame on you), wrote this original piece for his website. When I saw it, I immediately demanded he let me post it here. Thankfully, he acceded to my request: By Yann Brandt, Managing […]
Paula Mints is one of the top market researchers in the country whose insights are sharp and incisive. She is also the founder and chief market research analyst for SPV Market Research. In this post, she says the trade wars currently raging in the solar industry must stop — or the long-term damage to the industry may be irreparable. […]
We all know those parents, hovering just out of sight, keeping an eye on every move their children make, offering unsolicited advice and generally trying to keep control of everything — all in the name of “love.” The utilities have studied that behavior and decided to go all-in with it, with a much more sinister goal: to […]