While some utilities are cutting back on solar and particularly rooftop solar power, others are making it easier to go solar. Case in point, Minnesota Power recently filed a plan with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to triple the amount of money available for rooftop solar installations.

The REN21 Renewables 2016 report out June 1 found that by the end of 2015 the world had installed a total of 227 gigawatts of solar power and 50 gigawatts (28 percent) of that came online in 2015 alone! Given that and other recent trends the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA) anticipates that solar will continue to see record growth as its cost comes down by double digits—again.

SolarCity, which is know for its power-purchase agreements (PPAs), is relaunching a solar loan product replacing its MyPower loan. The product will allow customers to choose from a number of loan options with options starting at roughly $50 a month. The move reflects growing interest homeowners have in owning rather than leasing solar arrays as the costs of solar continue to come down. 

Arizona Public Service (APS), Arizona’s largest utility filed a proposal that would raise residential rates by 7.96 percent, significantly reduce the rate it offers for new rooftop solar customers and institute a demand charge. 

Back in 2011 the Obama Administration announced the SunShot Initiative, which was named after John F. Kennedy’s MoonShot Initiative to send humans to the moon by the end of the 1960s. The SunShot Initiative also had a stellar, if not more terrestrial goal—to bring the cost of utility-scale solar power down to less than $1.00 per watt by the end of the decade, 2020. 

Maryland’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed the state’s Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2016, which had bipartisan support in both state houses and strong support of the public, according to polling. The veto surprised and upset renewable energy and jobs advocates as well as the state legislative members that approved the bill. 

HyperSolar announced that it’s made a breakthrough in converting water into hydrogen using solar power. The company’s new breakthrough has increased the conversion efficiency of its nanostructured solar cell materials by 100 percent, which makes the creation of commercially available hydrogen from water closer. 

Thanks to rooftop and distributed solar power throughout California, PG&E one of its largest utilities, has not had to invest $192 million in infrastructure costs. That’s because the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which operates the electric grid in the state, called for canceling 13 sub-transmission projects in its transmission plan for 2015 and 2016.

Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals and the Port of Los Angeles are building one of the nation’s largest solar-powered microgrid projects in an effort to eliminate emissions from port operations. The $26.6 million project, the Green Omni Terminal Demonstration Project, will include a 1 megawatt solar array and a 2.5 megawatt hour battery storage system. 

The Charlotte Motor Speedway sped up with solar this year during the 10 Days of Thunder from May 20 to May 23. This year it used 79 mobile solar devices to save more than 3,000 gallons of diesel.