May 2013 Connecting to the Grid Newsletter
WHAT’S NEW AS OF MAY 2013? Note from the Editor Interconnection: A Foundational Policy for Solar Market Expansion Here at IREC, we work on the foundational issues that facilitate solar market growth. These issues, such as interconnection procedures, net metering and permitting guidelines, may not be the latest “hot topics” but they are nonetheless…
WHAT’S NEW AS OF MAY 2013?
Note from the Editor
Interconnection: A Foundational Policy for Solar Market Expansion
Here at IREC, we work on the foundational issues that facilitate solar market growth. These issues, such as interconnection procedures, net metering and permitting guidelines, may not be the latest “hot topics” but they are nonetheless crucial to a thriving solar market. It’s akin to renovating an old house – you can install granite countertops and new appliances but if you don’t maintain the foundation, people probably won’t want to move in.
To increase our impact on these foundational policies, IREC spends a lot of time researching best practices and forming them into model language that can be widely used and adopted. Policymakers can’t be experts in every subject, so models provide a much-needed roadmap to help them navigate and understand the complexities of solar policy, especially in such a technically dense subject as distributed generation (DG) interconnection.
State News in Detail
Northeast States
Maine Commission seeks comments on interconnection
Massachusetts seeks to reconcile net metering and interconnection conflict; Reaches solar milestone
Mid-Atlantic States
Delaware and Maryland co-ops increase their solar footprint
Southern States
San Antonio’s CPS energy delays changes to net metering program
Western States
Arizona Commission considers expanding net metering discussion to state’s other utilities
Idaho Power seeks an end to annual cash payments for net excess generation
Other States
Hawaii set to surpass 2015 solar goal
Federal government provides renewable energy support for Native communities in Alaska
Upcoming Events
Miscellaneous News
FERC Chairman Calls for New Valuation Method for DG
Download the full newsletter as a PDF: May 2013 Connecting to the Grid Newsletter
FORMAT
While customer-sited net metering and interconnection policies are primarily addressed at the state level, they are also becoming important on a regional basis. This newsletter has been designed to provide state-level policy updates and capture emerging regional trends. Connecting to the Grid is a free, electronic newsletter published each month by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC). Click here to subscribe.
Editor: Laurel Passera
