With upcoming tougher federal regulations on emissions on coal and natural gas-fired power plants you’d think it might be a good time to support cleaner, alternative forms of energy like solar or wind power. You’d think that, but apparently that’s not the case—at least in Ohio. The Buckeye State is bucking the trend toward clean energy with the passage of S.B. 310 by state Senate and General Assembly Republicans, which freezes the state’s renewable energy portfolio requirements in its tracks at 2014 levels—for at least two years. It’s the first real victory for the anti-clean energy opponents in the U.S. 

Colorado’s Xcel Energy has said time and again that it supports solar when it makes sense. Apparently a new proposal from SunPower did. Today (May 28) the companies announced an agreement for a 50 megawatt (AC) solar farm that will be built in the San Luis Valley and be fully operational by the end of 2016.

Ahead of the Environmental Protection Agency’s introduction of new air quality standards for fossil-fueled power plants on June 2 the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) introduced a new report advocating for solar as cost-effective alternative to reduce carbon emissions. Since solar can be installed in any scale needed, too, the report could help more states choose to support solar incentives and residential solar.

The Koch brothers have an awful lot of money and they don’t like clean energy. They like coal. They’ve got a lot of it. They’ve been putting their weight behind groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which is trying to get rid of net-metering laws and renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) for the past few years. Thus far they’ve thankfully largely failed but they’ve had some successes. Now the other side’s fighting back. 

Two things happened this week showing that California and the U.S. Southwest are no longer the only bastions for solar power and they were in the sister states of the Carolinas, both states dominated by conservative politicians. North Carolina is already among the U.S. leaders in terms of solar but yesterday (May 21) South Carolina’s House passed solar legislation—unanimously! Meanwhile this morning a new poll by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) confirms that the overwhelming majority, 90 percent, of North Carolinians support solar energy, with high numbers supporting more solar and clean energy programs in the state. 

What makes people go solar? Is it the incentives, the price drops in solar, a feeling of environmental responsibility, etc.? Those are the questions that Sandia National Laboratories are trying to answer through part of their Solar Energy Evolution and Diffusion Studies (SEEDS) projects. While still in early stages the models are already predicted purchasing behavior 200-500 percent better than current models, Sandia said.

Last July the U.S. surpassed an important threshold in installed solar photovoltaics with 10 gigawatts of PV online. Overall it was a record year for solar with nearly 5 new gigawatts of PV alone more installed in the U.S. and even more solar installed when you consider concentrating solar power (CSP) projects that came online last year. By the end of the year fully 13 gigawatts of PV were online. 

Today (May 19) Connecticut’s Green Bank, the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA), announced that it and the the Clean Fund securitized $30 million of commercial solar projects sponsored through Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) transactions. The bonds were issued through the national Public Finance Authority, a governmental entity that issues tax-exempt conduit bonds. 

The army is going green and we’re not just talking about soldiers’ fatigues. Yesterday (May 15) Georgia Power announced that Forts Stewart, Benning and Gordon will each house roughly 30 megawatt solar power plants on to provide their power needs. 

Yesterday (May14) Chula Vista, Calif., introduced Clean Energy Chula Vista, its new PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program. The PACE program allows homeowners to finance their solar or energy retrofits through an assessment on their property that is repaid as part of their property tax.