doe

A provision in the Philippines giving medium-scale electricity consumers the ability to choose between retail electricity suppliers other than the local utility has had a major boost after a Supreme Court issuance in its favour.

This week's Movers & Shakers features some of the US' biggest integrated solar companies, including Vivint Solar, First Solar and Sungevity. PV Tech also reports on management shuffles in Australia and speaks with new SunShot Initiative director Charlie Gay on what is driving US solar's success.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will invest US$21.4 million in funding for 17 new projects in order to cut down on the “soft costs” normally found in PV energy — such as installation, permitting and connecting to the grid.

On Friday, in Arlington, Arizona, the Department of Navy (DON), Department of Energy (DOE), and developer Sempra Energy were joined by the White House Office of Federal Sustainability for the inauguration of a 210MW solar facility that facility represents the federal government’s larges investment in clean energy history.

A report published under the US Department of Energy’s Path to SunShot series by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reveals how solar power could deliver US$400 billion in environmental and public health benefits throughout the US by 2050.

The US Department of Energy has announced that five additional military bases will be included under SunShot Initiative’s Solar Ready Vets programme, which connects skilled veterans to careers in the solar energy industry through an intensive, hands-on training course. DOE is also awarding US$10 million under the Solar Training and Education for Professionals (STEP) funding programme.

‘Solar Ready Vets’ is the US Department of Energy’s answer to the urgent demand in solar for highly-trained workers; pairing skilled military veterans with civilian job training in an industry eager to recruit. PV Tech spoke with graduate Logan Rozanski.

The US Department of Energy SunShot Initiative has launched the Orange Button programme that will establish unified datasets in an effort to reduce financing costs.

The Philippines installed a total of 122MW of grid-connected solar PV in 2015, taking its tally to 144MW, up from 22MW the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE).

The US Department of Energy is to fund six projects trialling the combination of solar and energy storage.