State & Stakeholder Newsletter, June 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Volume #9, Issue #11
Editor: Jane Pulaski
The IREC State & Stakeholder Newsletter is a foremost resource for current information on green workforce training, credentialing programs, state activities and best practices on renewable energy and energy efficiency. This free newsletter is distributed semi-monthly to email subscribers and published on IREC’s website. If you have comments or if you would like to submit a news item, email Jane Pulaski. To subscribe to this newsletter, click here and follow the instructions.
If you want the best news about what’s going on in the states and cities, read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter (June 2, 2010)
From the editor:
If you’re thinking that you just received IREC’s State & Stakeholder Newsletter last week, you’re right. You did. I shuffled the regular schedule to give you an update from ASES 10 in Phoenix (5/25/10 issue). With this issue, I’m back on track.
Despite the short turnaround, there was still a lot of news from DSIRE. I was especially intrigued by the three news items from the State of Maryland. Though their session ended in April, some notable legislation passed. SB 277 upped Maryland’s annual solar RPS benchmarks, and SB 287 renewed and revised its clean energy production tax credit. Maryland’s net metering law, amended four times over the past couple of legislative sessions, was amended again–this time adding fuel cells.
Chalk up another state in the PACE financing column: Georgia becomes the 21st state to enact PACE financing programs. And though DSIRE reports on finalized legislation and rules only, the DSIRE folks report that there are other states considering PACE financing programs, so expect this number to increase.
Our friends at NYSERDA are embarking on a five-year plan to establish PV and small wind test and research centers in NYS. Currently, there is only one accredited small wind and four accredited PV test centers in the U.S. NYS higher education institutions (i.e., Clarkson University, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Canton, Alfred State, Binghamton University, and the Syracuse Center of Excellence) are part of the mix, to provide hands-on training to educate the next generation of clean energy workers.
It may hit triple digits here in Austin this weekend, but that’s a perfect time for the Texas Solar Energy Society’s Cool House Tour. Always a great collection of cool homes, this year a zero energy home is on the tour. I’ll be taking my sunscreen and water bottle with me as I tour the homes.
Don’t forget…registration for IREC’s Annual Meeting on Monday, October 11 in Los Angeles, is open, the day before Solar Power International 10 (October 12-14). We promise a full day of the latest in state and local renewable energy issues and trends, addressed by top state and national experts, discussing net metering and interconnection, clean energy workforce education, credentialing, best practices in state policies, and national solar market trends. Join us, won’t you?
P.S. Going to any of the upcoming renewable energy fairs? Drop me a note and let me know what you liked best or found useful.
Read the State & Stakeholder Newsletter, June 2, 2010
