With a set of 2020 affordability targets met three years early, the DOE can turn its attention to reliability, resilience, and storage.
Utility-grade solar panels have hit 2020 cost targets three years early, the U.S. Department of Energy announced. The average price is now 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Karen Hao explains in Quartz:
"The steady decline in the price of solar power is largely due to falling costs of photovoltaic hardware, driven by market competition, as well as improvements in efficiency, in part stimulated by DOE-funded research, according to a report released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on the same day. 'Soft' costs like labor have also fallen, but at a slower rate."
Now, the DOE is moving on to other goals, beginning with an $82 million investment from its Solar Energy Technologies Office in reliability, resilience, and storage solutions. Hao's piece includes further analysis of solar affordability trends and the DOE's new projects.
FULL STORY: Solar is now so cheap in the US it beat government goals by three years
New Jersey Has a Plan to Shift to Clean Energy, but Questions Remain
The state’s energy plan focuses on the move to renewable energy, but specifics about how that will happen and what the costs will be need to be pinned down.
California Leads in Solar Rooftops
A combination of state and local incentives and building code mandates has helped California far outpace other states in residential rooftop solar permits.
Study: Midwest Property Values Unaffected by Nearby Solar Farms
Despite concerns that solar projects could lower property values, new research finds they actually rose slightly in areas near utility-scale solar installations.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service