It’s happened. The soft costs of solar photovoltaics—the non-hardware costs related to solar panels and inverters—now comprise the majority of the costs of a rooftop solar array in the U.S. That’s according to not one, but two new reports out from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. While the hardware costs of solar have plummeted over the past few years, the soft-costs of solar haven’t—even though they’ve always represented some of the easiest areas for cost reductions in a solar array. 

It’s been a blitz-filled couple of weeks for VIA Motors. The company, which makes plug-in hybrid trucks and vans, also called PEVs, announced a new manufacturing facility in Mexico late last month. Then this week at the LA Auto Show the company made a solar splash when it unveiled its new accessory, the SölTRUX. A photovoltaic truck bed cover, also known as tonneau top, the SölTRUX can extend the range of one of its trucks by up to 10 miles. 

This year, as we head into the holiday season, solar power has become an increasingly large part of our lives. It’s been popping up on rooftops across the U.S. and world as well as in large-scale solar farms for utilities. While still making up a small, small percentage of our nation's power needs, solar energy is likely the quickest growing energy source. 

Taking a page from Apple, and more recently Sony and Microsoft, Ascent Solar is opening up retail locations for its PV products. However, the company, which makes thin-film photovoltaics, isn’t trying to sell home PV arrays. Instead, Ascent Solar is selling solar power for your pocket and your back. 

The U.S. gives away billions of dollars annually to coal, oil and gas companies. But they seem to be doing alright, after all, five of the top oil companies (ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP and ConocoPhilips) made $1 trillion over the last decade. Not only are U.S. taxpayers paying at the pump, their taxes are also being used to help subsidize the oil companies' profits. There are some people who think that’s wrong. Among them, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) who introduced legislation, dubbed “The End Polluter Welfare Act of 2013,” on Nov. 22 to cut the tax loopholes and subsidies for the oil, gas and coal industries.

SunEdison is one of the world’s largest solar companies, installing residential and commercial solar power across the world. Now SunEdison may raise capital to support new projects by spinning off some of its other projects in a new subsidiary company.

It seems an unlikely partnership, but this week the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) partnered with the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop guidelines for renewable energy deployment. The guidelines address appropriate development of clean energy on and around DOD-controlled lands.

How does one decide which states are the best for rooftop solar? There’s a plethora of considerations. In terms of overall solar irradiation, the answer is clear: Arizona. It gets more sun than any other state. In terms of capacity already installed on residences, California has the most and New Jersey has the second most. In terms of the cost of electricity, solar makes the most sense in Hawaii, which has the nation’s highest energy costs. But different states have very different incentives skewing the answer for which states truly offer homeowners the best return on their solar investment. But it’s a rapidly-changing target since programs change, get fully subscribed, or new legislation or regulations are enacted. And as a state’s solar incentive program gets filled for a year or even multiple years—like California’s, other state’s incentive programs rise up on the list. 

A new study from Austin’s Pecan Street Research Institute finds that residential solar PV panels oriented to the west may have more benefits for homeowners—at least in the summer and in Austin, Tex. That research flies in the face of conventional wisdom that PV panels should face south where the amount of sunlight that can hit them is maximized. 

In a move that’s seen as a win for the solar industry, the Georgia Public Services Commission (PSC) and Georgia Power, the state’s monopoly utility, chose to not impose a $22 monthly fee on solar installations on Nov. 18. In addition, the preliminary ruling would help keep the costs of electricity down in the Peach State by keeping Georgia Power’s rate of return lower than the 11.5 percent rate the company originally filed for.