Focus
IRS finalizes direct pay rules, increasing access to IRA’s clean energy tax credits
ESG Dive – November 20
Direct-pay eligible entities like local governments, public school districts, churches, and hospitals will now more easily be able to jointly invest in clean energy projects, according to final regulations released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday, November 19. The regulations expand on an Inflation Reduction Act provision that allows entities with little to no federal tax liability to benefit from clean energy tax credits via direct pay instead. Because partnerships are not generally eligible to qualify for the direct pay provision, the regulations clarify “how co-owned projects in the clean energy space can elect not to be treated as partnerships for tax purposes,” and provides those projects with additional flexibility, Treasury said in a release.
News
New study finds that California’s rooftop solar is a benefit, not a cost, to the state
Canary Media – November 15
For years, California utilities, regulators, and consumer advocates have argued that residents with solar panels on their rooftops are making electricity more expensive for everyone else in the state. In August, the consumer advocacy branch of the California Public Utilities Commission released a report asserting that this ‘cost shift’ was caused by the rooftop solar industry. But a new analysis commissioned by a distributed solar and storage trade group finds just the opposite — that California’s nation-leading 17 GW of rooftop solar have actually saved customers about $2.3 billion on their utility bills this year.
Meta, Amazon, and Google lead the way in corporate clean energy procurement
Renewable Energy World – November 20
Large corporations play an integral role in driving the United States’ clean energy transition, and a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) indicates those entities are investing in solar and energy storage at record levels. According to SEIA’s recent report, corporate procurement accounts for more than 18% of total U.S. solar capacity, and 20% of all installations in 2023 had a corporate offtaker.
Projects
Ameresco, UCI Health collaborate on all-electric hospital campus
Solar Industry Magazine – November 15
Ameresco has collaborated with the University of California, Irvine and its health system, UCI Health, to install two solar PV arrays atop new parking structures at the zero-emission medical campus, with the acute care hospital set to open next year. Ameresco is responsible for the turnkey design, engineering, arrangement of financing, and construction of the new PV systems, which have a combined 1.4 MW capacity.
RIC, Rosemawr team up to facilitate 450 MW of solar, storage in NY
Renewables Now – November 20
Renewable energy company RIC Development LLC and investment firm Rosemawr Management have agreed to fund interconnection deposits that will facilitate the deployment of up to 450 MW of solar and energy storage projects across New York. The partners aim to implement the new capacities over the next three years.
SRP and EDP Renewables announce 200 MW energy storage in Arizona
Power Technology – November 19
The Salt River project (SRP) and EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) have announced the Flatland energy storage project, a 200 MW/800 MWh battery energy storage system near Coolidge, Arizona. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the facility will have the capacity to power up to 45,000 homes for four hours during peak demand.
Penske Truck Leasing lights up new solar-powered facility initiative
Fleet Owner – November 20
Penske Truck Leasing is launching a new solar-powered initiative at select truck leasing, truck rental, and truck maintenance locations in the U.S. with the installation and activation of its first rooftop solar-powered systems. The company’s new facility in Channahon, Illinois, is now fully operational and is expected to generate roughly 80% of the building’s energy needs at 200 KW capacity. Under a power purchase agreement with Sunrock Distributed Generation, seven additional Penske facilities in California are expected to be retrofitted with new PV solar systems in the next year.
NRS bags $145 million for 140 MW/50 MW New Mexico solar-plus-storage site
PV-Tech – November 19
National Renewable Solutions (NRS) has secured $145 million in project financing for a 140 MW/50 MW solar-plus-storage project in New Mexico. Construction financing for the Shallow Basket Project in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, came from Deutsche Bank.
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