The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently approved the 2019 Building Energy Code, calling for significantly higher standards to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings. Among the most innovative of the standards is the unprecedented requirement that all new residential buildings up to three stories will be required to have a photovoltaic solar system with annual electrical output equal or greater to the dwelling’s annual electrical usage, beginning in 2020. 

There is an undeniable growing market momentum towards renewable energy. But as Amy Harder reports in Axios, “There’s currently only one offshore wind farm in the U.S., off Rhode Island.” Danish company Ørsted is looking to change that.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is out with its Solar Means Business 2017 report, which finds that “America’s top companies are investing in solar in record amounts.” That shouldn’t be surprising for those of us who follow the solar industry, but still, it’s good to see it confirmed by SEIA. 

Energy storage is a central, even crucial, component in the transition to a clean energy economy. As PV magazine states in a recent article:

A lot is going on in the booming wind power industry these days. Greentech Media reported on April 9 that “Global wind capacity is set to double by 2027, driven by a rush to capture tax subsidies in the U.S., the rise of emerging markets, and a coming surge for offshore wind.” In short, it’s an exciting time to be involved in the wind power industry, with positive news almost everywhere you look. For instance:

On April 9, PV Magazine reported some potentially significant news coming out of the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Future Energy Summit. Southern Company CEO, Thomas A. Fanning announced that the company will transition to “low-to-no-carbon electricity sources by 2050.”

A new report published last week by GTM Research and the Washington, D.C.-based Energy Storage Association reveals a bullish forecast for the energy storage industry in the year ahead.

A new poll by the Alliance for Market Solutions, as highlighted by ThinkProgress, finds overwhelming support for taking climate action. According to the poll of 800 registered voters age 18-35:

Following passage of tax cut legislation at the end of 2017, Greentech Media reports, "Much of the conversation in clean energy circles..has revolved around a potential shrinking of the tax equity market -- which accounts for between 40 percent and 60 percent of finance for individual solar and wind projects -- because of the reduction in value of renewables credits." According to Greentech Media, however, it appears that - so far at least -  corporate America is showing "continued interest in direct renewables investments."