 ECOWATCH — Looking back at the last year, there are clear signs that the clean energy transition is moving forward in America. Here are eight states that really stepped up to become climate leaders: 1. California In August, the California legislature passed remarkable climate change legislation to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Senate Bill 32 set the next target to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Another bill, AB 197, increases legislative oversight and transparency for the state's climate change programs and emphasizes the state's commitment to ensuring these policies help communities most impacted by air pollution. Not only is California on track to meet its emissions reductions goals, but its overall economy is growing. 2. Illinois On Dec. 1, Illinois passed the Future Energy Jobs Bill (SB 2814) with bipartisan support, and it was signed into law by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition worked on the bill for nearly two years. The bill contains several big wins for clean energy. Most notably, it corrects a flaw in the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) law concerning new in-state renewable build requirements for wind and solar, the state's first community solar program, and a new Illinois Solar for All program—which is a low-income solar job training initiative. The bill also increased the state's energy efficiency policies. 3. Marylan The state passed landmark legislation, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act (SB 323), which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. The law requires Maryland to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent, from 2006 levels, by 2030. This target was unanimously recommended by the state's bipartisan Climate Change Commission in fall 2015. The legislation was supported by a diverse group of stakeholders and is expected to create and maintain thousands of jobs. 4. Massachusetts This summer Massachusetts legislators passed another energy bill that will once again make Massachusetts a clean energy leader. The bill includes a large-scale clean energy procurement requirement for hydro, wind, solar and other renewable sources and the necessary transmission to power the state. The legislation also calls for Massachusetts utilities to solicit contracts for 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind development by 2030. That's enough to meet 15 percent of Massachusetts's electricity needs. In all, up to 40 percent of the state's electricity could come from clean energy sources by 2030. 5. Michigan This month the state passed Senate bills 437 and 438, which make significant progress towards Michigan's clean energy future. The legislation strengthens the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) from 10 percent by 2015, to 15 percent by 2021, and requires renewable energy resources to be built within the service territories of utilities that serve Michigan. 6. New York The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) gave approval to Gov. Cuomo's plan for New York to obtain 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 through the state's Clean Energy Standard. The PSC order established an overall legally-binding renewables target for 2030, and requires New York state utilities to ramp up long-term purchases of renewable energy credits to meet those targets. This builds on the state's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by signing the Under 2 MOU in 2015, which sets an ambitious target to reduce emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. 7. Oregon In March, the Oregon Legislature passed the Clean Energy and Coal Transition Act (SB 1547) with bipartisan support. The legislation doubles Oregon's existing renewable portfolio standard (RPS) from 25 percent by 2025 to 50 percent by 2040 and requires the state's two largest utilities to phase out coal generation imports by 2035. A huge advantage of Oregon's coal phase out is that it creates room in the power supply for cleaner energy sources. The legislation had true consensus with support from environmental groups, the state's consumer advocate, businesses, and the state's two largest utilities. 8. Rhode Island The state passed HB 7413 that will increase the state's renewable energy standard by 1.5 percent each year, requiring 38.5 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewables by 2035. Also, the state's Block Island became the site of the first offshore wind project in the Western Hemisphere. The project consists of five wind turbines adding up to 30 megawatts which became operational this year, and more offshore wind is coming. More Good News Sometimes good news comes in the form of stuff that didn't happen. Florida's Solar Amendment 1, an anti-solar ballot initiative, didn't pass. The amendment was backed by utilities and fossil fuel interests, and was an attempt to deceive voters and limit solar development in the state. On a National Level And on the national level, the five-year extension of federal tax credits for wind and solar signed into law late last year was a huge driver for clean energy development this year and in coming years. One million solar installations are now turned on in the U.S. More wind generation will be installed in 2017 due to the current administration approving the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission project. The project is one of the biggest renewable energy projects in the country and will allow construction of approximately 4,000 megawatts of wind power. Job growth occurred in both the wind and solar sectors this year. According to the American Wind Energy Association’s 2015 Annual Market Report, wind power supported 88,000 American jobs at the start of 2016, which is a 20 percent increase from the previous year. Nearly 209,000 Americans work in the solar industry, and that number is expected to rise to 420,000 by 2020, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Onward and Upward Let’s celebrate our 2016 victories, but our work isn't done. We must continue to fight for clean energy and against anti-science rhetoric. Thank you to our friends at Union of Concerned Scientists and EcoWatch for providing the original article below. Source: http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy-growth-2162122653.html
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 It's official: solar became the cheapest source of new energy in developing countries this year, giving both companies and governments alike another reason to ditch coal and gas for renewables. SCIENCE ALERT — Data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) show that the average price of solar energy in almost 60 countries dropped to US$1.65 million per megawatt during 2016, just below wind at US$1.66 million per megawatt. That's based on average prices across 58 emerging markets, including China, India, and Brazil, and it means renewable energy will be an increasingly attractive way to go for companies investing in new power plants in the future. "Solar investment has gone from nothing five years ago to quite a lot," BNEF analyst Ethan Zindler told Bloomberg. "A huge part of this story is China, which has been rapidly deploying solar." Last year, China invested $103 billion in solar projects, more than the US ($44.1 billion), the UK ($22.2 billion), and Japan ($36.2 billion) combined. Prices have also been dropping at auctions, where private firms bid against each other for big electricity contracts. In January, a new record was hit in India with a contract to supply solar power for $64 per megawatt-hour (MWh), and by August, that had dropped all the way to $29.10 per megawatt-hour. For a bit of context, that sub-$30 MWh figure for solar is roughly half the price of paying for coal – and when you factor in the benefit of reducing global carbon emissions, it’s a no-brainer. "Renewables are robustly entering the era of undercutting [fossil fuels]," says BNEF chairman, Michael Liebreich. Solar is booming for a number of reasons, including falling equipment costs, new business models like Tesla's home batteries, growing investment, and a rise in clean energy policies. It's also worth noting that prices fluctuate across the world, and solar isn't the cheapest deal everywhere just yet – the cost depends on sunshine availability, plus the energy contracts that are already in place, and what government subsidies are on offer. But it's still a landmark moment for new energy costs in developing nations, and goes hand-in-hand with renewable energy now having become the largest source of new power capacity in the world. We've seen some amazing milestones set this year, which gives us plenty of optimism for the future: on one particular Sunday, Scotland generated all of its energy needs through wind power alone, while Portugal stayed powered up on renewables for four days straight. Fossil fuels won't disappear overnight, but here's hoping that dropping prices, more efficient technology, and government commitments can change our energy landscape for the better. Thank you to our friends at Science Alert for providing the original article below. Source: http://www.sciencealert.com/solar-power-is-now-the-cheapest-energy-in-the-world  Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't give a damn if you believe in climate change. FORTUNE — In a Facebook post Monday, the former California governor and Terminator wrote a tirade in response to the comments he gets from climate change skeptics. He asked readers to put aside their doubts about climate change and consider other impacts of carbon emissions. "I don't give a damn if you believe in climate change," he wrote, arguing that a commitment to alternative energy doesn't require agreeing with climate change.\ "First - do you believe it is acceptable that 7 million people die every year from pollution? That's more than murders, suicides, and car accidents - combined," he wrote. Then, he asked readers: "Do you believe coal and oil will be the fuels of the future? Besides the fact that fossil fuels destroy our lungs, everyone agrees that eventually they will run out. What's your plan then?" He compared those remaining committed to fossil fuels without looking for alternative energy options to investors who held onto Blockbuster shares during the rise of Netflix. Schwarzenegger's final question was a little more elaborate: There are two doors. Behind Door Number One is a completely sealed room, with a regular, gasoline-fueled car. Behind Door Number Two is an identical, completely sealed room, with an electric car. Both engines are running full blast. I want you to pick a door to open, and enter the room and shut the door behind you. You have to stay in the room you choose for one hour. You cannot turn off the engine. You do not get a gas mask. I'm guessing you chose the Door Number Two, with the electric car, right? Door number one is a fatal choice - who would ever want to breathe those fumes? This is the choice the world is making right now. The post earned a like from Mark Zuckerberg and more than 95,000 others. Schwarzenegger and his successor Calif. governor Jerry Brown are in Paris this week for the United Nations summit on climate change that drew the leader of almost every country in the world. Thank you to our friends at Fortune for providing the original article below. Source: http://fortune.com/2015/12/08/arnold-schwarzenegger-climate-change/  The city government of Las Vegas, Nevada is now running entirely on renewable electricity. This achievement follows a nearly decade-long effort to embrace renewables. Note: there have been reports that Vegas is now the largest city running on 100% renewable energy, but that’s not true. Though this achievement is great, it only concerns the city government—not everyone living in Las Vegas. Burlington, Vermont remains the largest US city 100% powered by renewable electricity sources—the whole city, not just city government buildings. Las Vegas' goal was finally achieved with the recent launch of a 100 megawatt solar project in the Eldorado Valley “Through a combination of direct generation and credits, the city is powering more than 140 facilities, along with streetlights, with renewable sources. The city also generates energy to power on-site facilities with tree-shaped solar panels in the City Hall plaza, solar shade canopies at city parks and solar arrays on roofs and at the wastewater treatment plant.” Additionally, The Hoover Dam will (for the first time) start supplying the city with hydroelectric power by the end of next year. The move toward renewable energy production began in Las Vegas in 2008. The city has saved an estimated $5 million per year by shifting to renewable energy. Thank you to our friends at CleanTechnica for providing the original article below. Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2016/12/25/las-vegas-now-running-entirely-renewable-energy-officials-announce/  Last week Leonardo DiCaprio and the head of his foundation met with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss how jobs centered on preserving the environment can boost the economy. MSN — Terry Tamminen, the CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, confirmed the meeting at Trump Tower in New York City. Tamminen said the pair gave a presentation to Trump, daughter Ivanka, and other members of Trump's team on how focusing on renewable, clean energy could create millions of jobs. "Today, we presented the President-elect and his advisors with a framework — which LDF developed in consultation with leading voices in the fields of economics and environmentalism — that details how to unleash a major economic revival across the United States that is centered on investments in sustainable infrastructure," Tamminen said. "Our conversation focused on how to create millions of secure, American jobs in the construction and operation of commercial and residential clean, renewable energy generation." The Oscar-winning actor has been a strong advocate of fighting climate change and preserving wildlife, and his recent documentary, "Before the Flood," addresses the danger the world is facing. DiCaprio previously met with Ivanka Trump and presented her with a copy of the film. The meeting with Trump's team lasted for about 90 minutes. The actor also gave the president-elect a copy of the documentary. Tamminen, who was secretary of California's Environmental Protection Agency under former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said Trump was receptive and suggested they meet again next month. "We look forward to continuing the conversation with the incoming administration as we work to stop the dangerous march of climate change, while putting millions of people to work at the same time," said Tamminen. The meeting came after word got out Wednesday that Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a climate-change denier whose policies have helped fossil fuel companies, is expected to be announced as Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Thank you to MSN for providing the original article below. Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/dicaprio-meets-with-trump-on-green-jobs-to-boost-economy/ar-AAlhFud?li=BBnbfcL  The heads of Uber and Tesla are taking on strategic advisory roles with President-elect Donald Trump.
NEWSWEEK — President-elect Donald Trump has named Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as part of a business advisory team for his forthcoming administration. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi will also form part of Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum. They will “meet with the president frequently” and offer their expertise to Trump as part of his Strategic and Policy Forum, Trump officials said. “America has the most innovative and vibrant companies in the world, and the pioneering CEOs joining this forum today are at the top of their fields,” Trump said in a statement. “My administration is going to work together with the private sector to improve the business climate and make it attractive for firms to create new jobs across the United States from Silicon Valley to the heartland.” The announcement came ahead of a meeting between Trump and leaders of the tech industry at Trump Tower in New York on Wednesday. Among those in attendance was Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Google co-founder Larry Page. The companies represented at the meeting had a combined market capitalization in excess of $3 trillion. Thank you to our friends at Newsweek for providing the original article below. Source: http://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-become-trump-adviser-532188  “Companies need to work with the social sector to get on top of the problems of the world.” -Richard Branson FORTUNE — Business leaders might feel as if they have one primary responsibility: maximize shareholder returns. Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson calls this approach “a big mistake,” arguing it’s no longer solely up to the government to resolve social issues. “I sincerely believe that companies need to work with the social sector to get on top of the problems of the world,”the Virgin Group founder said at the recent 2016 Fortune-Time Global Forum. Over the years, Branson has openly spoken about the need for moral leadership in business. In a November interview with Fortune, he said it’s worrisome that president-elect Donald Trump does not believe in climate change. “When you have a new government that doesn’t believe in global warming, it’s going to be up to us business people to make sure we create tens of thousands of jobs in the clean energy space,” he said. Branson pointed to Elon Musk’s solar roof initiative as an example of a socially responsible business. He is also a passionate proponent of renewable and energy and has co-founded The Carbon War Room, an anti-carbon nonprofit that works on solutions for climate change. “The responsibility for business is enormous,” Branson says. “Small companies need to adopt small, local problems. Big companies need to adopt national problems. Bigger companies to adopt international problems.” Thank you to our friends at Fortune for providing the original article below. Source: http://fortune.com/2016/12/07/richard-branson-business-owners/  Electric avenues that can transmit the sun’s energy onto power grids may be coming to a city near you.
BLOOMBERG — Colas SA, a French engineering firm, has designed rugged solar panels, capable of withstanding the weight of an 18-wheeler truck, that they’re now building into road surfaces. After nearly five years of research and laboratory tests, they’re constructing 100 outdoor test sites and plan to commercialize the technology in early 2018. “We wanted to find a second life for a road,” said Philippe Harelle, the chief technology officer at Colas SA’s Wattway unit. “Solar farms use land that could otherwise be for agriculture, while the roads are free.” As solar costs plummet, panels are being increasingly integrated into everyday materials. Last month Tesla surprised investors by unveiling roof shingles that double as solar panels. Other companies are integrating photovoltaics into building facades. Wattway joins groups including Sweden’s Scania and Solar Roadways in the U.S. seeking to integrate panels onto pavement. To resist the weight of traffic, Wattway layers several types of plastics to create a clear and durable casing. The solar panel underneath is similar to panels on rooftops. The electrical wiring is embedded in the road and the contraption is topped by an anti-slip surface made from crushed glass. A kilometer-sized testing site began construction last month in the French village of Tourouvre in Normandy. The 2,800 square meters of solar panels are expected to generate 280 kilowatts at peak, with the installation generating enough to power all the public lighting in a town of 5,000 for a year, according to the company For now, the cost of the materials makes only demonstration projects sensible. A square meter of the solar road currently costs 2,000 ($2,126) and 2,500 euros. That includes monitoring, data collection and installation costs. Wattway says it can make the price competitive with traditional solar farms by 2020. The electricity generated by this stretch of solar road will feed directly into the grid. Another test site is being used to charge electric vehicles. A third will power a small hydrogen production plant. Wattway has also installed its panels to light electronic billboards and is working on links to street lights. The next two sites will be in Calgary in Canada and in the U.S. state of Georgia. Wattway also plans to build them in Africa, Japan and throughout the European Union. “We’re seeing solar get integrated in a number of things, from windows in buildings to rooftops of cars, made possible by the falling cost of panels,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Pietro Radoia said. “On roads, I don’t think that it will really take off unless there’s a shortage of land sometime in the future.”’ Thank you to our friends at Bloomberg for providing the original article below. Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-24/solar-panel-roads-to-be-built-across-four-continents-next-year In early August, just as protesters from across the country descended on North Dakota to rally against an oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, some of the world’s biggest banks signed off on a $2.5 billion loan to help complete the sprawling project. NEW YORK TIMES — Now, those banks — which include Bank of America, Citigroup, Chase, and Wells Fargo — have come under fire for bankrolling the pipeline. In an open letter, 26 environmental groups urged those banks to halt further loan payments to the project, which the Sioux say threatens their sacred lands and water supply. In campaigning to reduce the world’s carbon emissions, people have increasingly focused on the financiers behind the fossil fuel industry — highlighting their role in financing coal, oil and gas projects. It is an expansion of traditional protest efforts, and it has met with some early success. Groups around the world have criticized the Dakota Access (also known as Bakken) Pipeline as outdated infrastructure with no place in a world racing to stave off the worst effects of climate change. The 1,172-mile pipeline is expected to carry nearly half a million barrels of crude oil daily out of the Bakken fields of North Dakota, according to the company building the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners. Late last month, hundreds of police in riot gear used pepper spray and rubber bullets to evict protesters from land owned by Energy Transfer. Over 100 people were arrested in the sweep. President Obama said last week that the Army Corps of Engineers was considering an alternate route for the pipeline. “Banks have a choice to either finance the transition to renewable energy, or to finance pipelines and power plants that will lock us into fossil fuels for the next 40 years,” said Johan Frijns, director of BankTrack, a Netherlands-based advocacy organization that led the campaign. “If we’re serious about fighting climate change, we can’t continue to finance fossil fuel infrastructure of any kind.” Experts also question the profitability of the Dakota pipeline, at a time of slumping oil prices “A lot of infrastructure investment, particularly pipelines, is built around strong oil-demand projections that go out decades,” said Mark Campanale, founder of the Carbon Tracker Initiative, a financial think tank that focuses on energy and climate change. “If the scenarios around demand for oil is wrong, it’s likely that people are building costly infrastructure on a false promise — that the oil is going to be needed in 30 to 40 years.” Wells Fargo, the very same bank that earlier in the year opened 2 million phony accounts in order to charge banking fees to unknowing customers, invested $476M into the Dakota Access Pipeline, as if to solidify itself as the most blatantly unethical bank in the U.S. Not surprisingly, they declined to comment. Actor and activist Matthew Cooke offers a simple way you can take action: pull your money out, close your accounts, and put your money elsewhere. Cooke recommends a credit union, which is a member-owned, nonprofit money cooperative. This means that you’re a part owner, whereas banks are backed by corporations and shareholders. Is your bank funding the Dakota Access Pipeline? See below:  As the press tries to understand Donald Trump's approach to energy and climate change policy, the focus is on his limited policy proposals, transition team appointments, and confusing, offhand quotes. But it's also helpful to look to the voters themselves. Trump won the presidency partly because of his ability to speak directly to the angst of many voters. That was how he approached energy too. In numerous speeches during the campaign, Trump painted a dire picture for America's energy landscape -- a place where workers are losing jobs in droves and regulation is killing domestic production. In reality, however, there are now more American solar jobs than jobs in oil and gas extraction, and the country is the world's leader in oil and natural-gas production. We're truly an "all-of-the-above" country -- and increasingly, more energy is being sourced from above the ground, rather than below it. And if Trump listens to his own voters, he'll hear this genuinely positive story about the future of energy. Because his supporters really like renewables -- and they really want the government to prioritize them. A new survey of 1,000 people conducted by the Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies illustrates this dynamic. According to the poll, 75 percent of Trump voters support "action to accelerate the deployment and use of clean energy" -- including solar, wind, energy efficiency, and community renewable projects. This backs up what we already know. Renewables are generally not a partisan issue. Survey after survey demonstrates this fact.
White PapersAchieving Operational Optimization in Microgrid ImplementationsDOWNLOAD NOWShifting the Corporate Perspective on Energy: A Service, Not a CommodityDOWNLOAD NOWAlthough many Americans believe their country has fundamentally changed after the election, the story on clean energy remains the same. People of all political persuasions want more of it. Let's take a look at what voters are saying. First to the broader electorate. Across the board -- from the most hardcore conservatives to the staunchest liberals -- Americans support "taking action" to support clean energy. (More on the "action" piece below.)  As the press tries to understand Donald Trump's approach to energy and climate change policy, the focus is on his limited policy proposals, transition team appointments, and confusing, offhand quotes. But it's also helpful to look to the voters themselves. Trump won the presidency partly because of his ability to speak directly to the angst of many voters. That was how he approached energy too. In numerous speeches during the campaign, Trump painted a dire picture for America's energy landscape -- a place where workers are losing jobs in droves and regulation is killing domestic production. In reality, however, there are now more American solar jobs than jobs in oil and gas extraction, and the country is the world's leader in oil and natural-gas production. We're truly an "all-of-the-above" country -- and increasingly, more energy is being sourced from above the ground, rather than below it. And if Trump listens to his own voters, he'll hear this genuinely positive story about the future of energy. Because his supporters really like renewables -- and they really want the government to prioritize them. A new survey of 1,000 people conducted by the Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies illustrates this dynamic. According to the poll, 75 percent of Trump voters support "action to accelerate the deployment and use of clean energy" -- including solar, wind, energy efficiency, and community renewable projects. This backs up what we already know. Renewables are generally not a partisan issue. Survey after survey demonstrates this fact.
White PapersAchieving Operational Optimization in Microgrid ImplementationsDOWNLOAD NOWShifting the Corporate Perspective on Energy: A Service, Not a CommodityDOWNLOAD NOWAlthough many Americans believe their country has fundamentally changed after the election, the story on clean energy remains the same. People of all political persuasions want more of it. Let's take a look at what voters are saying. First to the broader electorate. Across the board -- from the most hardcore conservatives to the staunchest liberals -- Americans support "taking action" to support clean energy. (More on the "action" piece below.)  Broken down by technology, natural gas, wind, solar and hydropower all get majority support from Trump voters. Solar leads with 61 percent support -- a finding that won't come as a shock to anyone following the rise of the Green Tea Coalition. "A majority of Trump voters want to see more emphasis on domestic energy in natural gas, wind, solar and hydropower. They are modestly supportive of coal, and mixed on nuclear. They also strongly support their state pursuing an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes an increase in electricity generation from emerging technologies like renewable energy, as well as more energy efficiency," writes Bolger. When asked what policies are most important, 46 percent of Trump voters say energy-efficiency upgrades, 41 percent say community renewable energy projects, and 36 percent say net metering policies.  Broadening out to all Republican voters, the survey also finds a similar pattern. "When Republicans hear the phrase 'clean energy,' they think of solar and wind power. They say it is non-polluting and leads to clean air and renewable energy. There is some concern about the cost and government regulations, but that is outweighed by the positives," writes Bolger. There is still opposition to state-level mandates among the most conservative Republicans. However, a majority of moderate conservatives do back renewable energy standards. (Unsurprisingly, 90 percent of liberals support the policy.) In total, two-thirds of voters support state targets for renewable energy. "There is also strong support, except from base Republicans, for states to have a renewable portfolio standard requiring a minimum amount of electricity generated by a utility to come from renewable sources," concludes Bolger.  Public Opinion Strategies also asked voters if they'd be willing to pay a small premium for clean energy: “If accelerating the growth of clean energy meant that, in the short term, consumers would have to pay a little bit more for energy but in the long term would have more stable, cleaner, and cheaper energy, which would you choose?” The responses break down along similar political lines. A majority of moderate conservatives and independents say "yes," while the most conservative Republicans say "no." Altogether, 64 percent of voters say they'd pay more to support renewables.  Solar net metering also polls extremely well. When asked about their thoughts on giving homeowners "full retail credit for the extra energy their rooftop solar panels produce," 60 percent of all voters reacted favorably. According to the results, 60 percent of voters agree with the following affirmative statement: "Some people say net metering is fair because it encourages the development of solar resources, and other customers benefit from the extra solar energy that goes onto the electricity grid." Another 31 percent agree with the statement that net metering is a cross-subsidy: "Other people say net metering is unfair because solar customers use the electricity grid, too, and need to pay a fair rate for their use. They say that otherwise, solar customers’ use of the electricity grid becomes subsidized by non-solar customers." However, no matter where voters sit on the political spectrum, a plurality or majority think that net metering is fair.  Finally, voters really do care about how candidates talk about energy. They want more clean energy -- and they want politicians to want more of it too. "Voters overwhelmingly say it is important that a candidate for political office shares their opinion on energy issues," writes Bolger.  And messaging matters. The most important message for conservatives revolves around wealth creation. This statement polls the best among "base" and "soft" conservatives: "We should accelerate the growth of clean energy to allow American innovation and entrepreneurs to drive economic growth and job creation." In Trump's America, voter support for clean energy is alive and well. No election can change that. Article: Green Tech Media |
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