Last week, Vote Solar and its partners announced a new program in Colorado’s front range, which allows homeowners in Denver, Boulder and Adams Counties access to discounted solar arrays and Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicles. While many cities and counties across the country are working with solar companies to offer group-purchasing discounts, the ability to also purchase an EV at a discount—an up to $8,349 discount—as an option might be a first. 

A new report by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that more than 100 information and communication technology (ICT) companies are sourcing 14 percent of their electricity from renewable energy and by 2020 they could source up to 48 percent of their energy from renewable energy like solar and wind. 

The cost of rooftop solar fell further last year by up to 20 percent in 2014 in the U.S., according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s annual “Tracking the Sun” report. The report found that on average the costs for rooftop solar fell an additional 40 cents per watt in 2014. 

Yesterday (Aug. 10) New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican seeking the Presidency, signed into law with little fanfare S-2420, which expands the state’s net-metering capacity threshold to 2.9 percent of total annual kilowatt-hours sold in state. The legislation will allow more home and business owners in the state to install solar power.

Last week Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) introduced a bill to raise the net metering cap in Massachusetts. The solar industry, which had thrived in the state until caps started being reached, responded to the governor's action with enthusiasm. The state has led the northeast in solar installations but without some changes it is unclear whether it will continue in that role. 

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) proposed cutting its rooftop solar program in an effort to keep it viable. Despite having the most rooftop solar power in the country, the utility now is trying to pare how much it reimburses new rooftop solar owners through a new proposal with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The new proposal is an opening salvo to the state as it takes on net-metering in increasingly solar-powered part of the U.S.

Today (Aug. 3) President Obama unveiled the EPA's Clean Power Plan, an ambitious plan to reduce the U.S.’s emissions and drastically increase the use of renewable energy throughout the country. The plan was heralded by those who support clean energy and others like the American Lung Association, and lampooned by energy industry antiques like the fossil fuel industry. 

Two different solar-powered drones are making the news this week. In Switzerland a 5 meter wide drone has just completed an 81-hour (3 days and 9 hours) long, unmanned flight powered only by the sun, cruising at a low altitude, breaking previous low-altitude records. Meanwhile Facebook is announcing its Aquila project, a drone with a wingspan of a 737, is making progress. Both are designed for remote areas. The first is designed for scientific research and disaster recovery, the second to bring Internet connectivity to remote places. 

Yesterday (July 29) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced New York State’s state-operated ski resorts at Belleayre, Gore and Whiteface Mountain will use solar power to run their ski lift and snowmaking operations. Under the NY-Sun Initiative the state government’s agencies signed a 25-year power-purchase-agreement agreement with Borrego Solar to provide solar power to the ski resorts. 

NRG Energy, one of the most aggressive power companies in solar power—it already owns some of the largest solar farms in the U.S., has installed solar at multiple stadiums and offers residential solar in some markets—is now entering the newest consumer-facing side of the solar industry, community solar power. The company announced this week that it is launching its first community solar garden in Massachusetts.