Comments for Solar Power World

Comment on California licensing board now requiring licensed electricians for energy storage retrofits and maintenance by Karin

Karin — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 17:10:24 +0000

Whether certified electrician or solar contractor – both have to comply with the building / electrical code. Solar and energy storage have always been linked – initially for energy needs in off-grid situations – recently due to have your solar energy work for you when the solar system is not producing – at night f.ex. Energy storage is a part of the solar contractor licensing test.

Comment on California licensing board now requiring licensed electricians for energy storage retrofits and maintenance by Keith

Keith — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 16:59:32 +0000

This is a predatory rule targeting solar contractors specifically and we all know why: utility profits! Utilities spend millions of $ in lobbying. We have worked with certified electricians on various projects and found that-unless they are in the solar industry themselves-they are not as familiar with residential battery & solar installations as solar contractors that have been doing that for decades – and very few of them have any interest in getting into residential projects. Are there bad installations? Sure – by both electricians and solar contractors. However, to state that there have been “much fires”, etc. is simply not true. The CSLB itself stated that their research has not found ANY incidents caused by solar contractor installations. This is the utilities flexing their muscles by way of legislature!

Comment on Arkansas installer meets strict licensing requirements with in-house training program by Kelly Pickerel

Kelly Pickerel — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 16:51:19 +0000

In reply to Miriam Schrippe. "Illegal" might be a strong word, but any person on a solar installation team working on a residential project has to be a licensed electrician or at least an apprentice.

Comment on California Public Advocates Office suggests changes for legacy NEM customers by Barry Cinnamon

Barry Cinnamon — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 16:19:28 +0000

Take a look at the equations and you’ll understand why the cost shift argument is compete BS. They take the average compensation rate and subtract out the utilities’ calculation of the Avoided Cost of solar. However, when they calculate the avoided cost they DO NOT INCLUDE transmission, distribution, profit and environmental benefit costs — only the cheap generation costs from remote solar and wind farms. On the other hand, all customers pay for these charges. If you plug in the correct values of these Avoided Costs, solar actually SAVES all customers even if they don’t have solar.

Comment on Arkansas installer meets strict licensing requirements with in-house training program by Miriam Schrippe

Miriam Schrippe — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 15:17:22 +0000

So I gathered from this article that in Arkansas it is illegal for a home owner to build his own solar system?

Comment on VPPs are transforming energy markets in the U.S. by Barry Cinnamon

Barry Cinnamon — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:59:01 +0000

Why did Swell, one of the biggest independent VPP companies, go bankrupt?

Comment on ADT Solar to close remaining branches, exit residential solar business by gregory A Haley MD

gregory A Haley MD — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 16:53:29 +0000

In reply to Neal. same here

Comment on California assemblymember introduces bill to repeal NEM 3.0 by Donna LaBelle

Donna LaBelle — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 04:09:13 +0000

I signed up for Solar under NEM 2 on Feb 7, 2023 but recently I received a letter from PGE stating that they were transferring me to NEM 3 because I had signed up after April 14. I called them and I was looking at my contract with the FEb 7 date on it while they were trying to tell me I signed up in May. They also said they weren’t going to change it and to talk t the solar company which is stupid because the solar company can;t do anything about my PGE account since PGE won’t talk to anyone but the account holder.
I’m sure I’m not the only one they are trying to do this to.

Comment on California Public Advocates Office suggests changes for legacy NEM customers by Travis Winn

Travis Winn — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 21:01:50 +0000

Outrageous, punish 2,000,000 early adopters and blame us for taking the first steps, when you are having to pay for your mistakes of causing wildfires. People need to stand up to this corporate greed and welfare. California should nationalize the big PGE, SCE and other big ones, and then decentralize it with rooftop production and subsities instead of getting people to sign up for 25 year contracts with shady solar companies.

Comment on Meyer Burger pulls plans for silicon cell manufacturing in US by Brandon

Brandon — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 14:56:54 +0000

In reply to Solarman2. I totally get what you are saying, but this is our government you are talking about. They do not move fast, and they argue more than they create solutions. They get in their own way quite a bit. That being said, I have been in renewables since 2008 designing thousands of projects. I never once have used Meyer Burger modules. I do not know why, but I just have never seen them be on any project of mine. Of all the hundreds of different manufacturers (I've seen many rise and fall), never have I used this brand of mods. So I don't know if this is all that big of a loss, and maybe they see that they don't have a big enough market share here in the US to justify the expenditure of cell manufacturing here in America.

Comment on SunPower files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by David Ducra

David Ducra — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 23:37:30 +0000

I have been waiting since October of 2023 for an answer on how my system can be serviced. The company ( Renu Energy of Charlotte NC. ) that installed it has backed out and will not even talk to me or return calls. All the companies that Sun Power has referred me to tell me “if we did not install it we won’t work on it”. The last information I have received through the Sun Power portal from my system was that there were at least 7 panels that were not producing any power and a few that are questionable. That was in February of 2024.

Comment on Meyer Burger pulls plans for silicon cell manufacturing in US by Solarman2

Solarman2 — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 19:56:49 +0000

The U.S. (needs) more in “country” supply chains including raw materials and foundries to have a local supply chain, instead of an international supply chain. Economically ‘viable’ is based on what metrics, is it based on current interest rates, current appetite of VC groups to buy into alternative energy projects or some combination of both. Until a new tariff guidance is published, there will be many sitting on the fence to see what happens next. Another quarter wasted, another ding in the application of the technology to more structures for energy generation, storage and dispatch and another quarter of excuses of “why” things aren’t increasing at least logarithmically moving forward.

“Meyer Burger also announced today it would not scale its Arizona solar panel assembly facility beyond 1.4 GW, but noted the building could support 2 GW or more.”

The tell that Meyer-Burger does not expect the demand when they first moved operations from Germany to the U.S.. This waiting for the ‘vote’ and final tariff guidance documents is throwing the wrench of chaos into the alternative energy project queues and construction queues across the U.S..

Comment on Freedom Forever buys Meraki Solar assets and becomes subcontractor for existing customers by Darin Williams

Darin Williams — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 19:49:11 +0000

I think it was BS that we as Meraki customers were lied to up until the end especially the ones who went without service and are left with the bills to foot with no way to collect from Meraki. Freedom Forever keeps playing the blame game just like Meraki, in my eyes once you start off the business that way your seed has been planted. Bad business from the get go. Very displeased sorry but not sorry

Comment on SunPower stops supporting lease and PPA agreements by Kelly Pickerel

Kelly Pickerel — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:44:58 +0000

In reply to Cathy Sepulveda. Maxeon has announced it will handle any SunPower warranties moving forward.

Comment on SunPower stops supporting lease and PPA agreements by Cathy Sepulveda

Cathy Sepulveda — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 21:35:30 +0000

In reply to John E Goldhammer. I have the same question. I have had my panels for 9 years now. I still have 11 years left on my lease. It would seem if they are no longer monitoring the panels and will not service what is already installed it would be a breach of contract. Would this be correct and if so, what recourse do we now have?