SEIA Solar Blog
Through our blog, SEIA staff aim to informing policymakers, the media, and the American public about the benefits of solar energy for today’s economy. Scroll down for a running feed of our blog posts. For a complete archive of press releases, blogs and other news articles, click here.
This Earth Day, COVID-19 Adds to the Challenge of Fighting for a Cleaner Environment
Half a century ago on this day, millions of people marched on streets across the United States to promote a clean environment. Fifty years later, there are two crises facing our planet. One is the immediate COVID-19 pandemic. The other is climate change. At this moment, thousands of Americans have lost their clean energy jobs and hundreds of thousands are at risk. Solar projects are being delayed or cancelled, with almost 80% of solar companies from a recent SEIA survey reporting reduced business due to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.
What Permitting Volume Tells Us About Solar Deployment During the Pandemic
Data aggregated by Ohm Analytics shows that solar permits are down substantially providing evidence that the solar industry is being severely damaged by the COVID-19 crisis.
Prioritizing Supplier Diversity in the Solar Industry
Ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion within all sectors of the solar industry is a crucial part of managing our growth. Supplier diversity is a key element of this, and in light of COVID-19-related supply chain disruptions, expanding the supply chain to include businesses owned and operated by a diverse staff can be part of the solution.
Survey Findings: Things are bad and getting worse
As the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, one thing has become very clear – the solar industry is at risk. A survey of our member companies conducted over the past ten days provides further proof points to this story: the data shows that solar companies and workers are losing business and being put out of work by COVID-19.
An Open Letter on COVID-19: Impacts on the Solar Industry & How SEIA is Responding
As the global COVID-19 crisis continues to develop, I wanted to share some updates about what we know, what SEIA has already done to address the issue, and what we are doing to prepare for the future. To be sure, this is a rapidly evolving situation, and we have laid out some of this information, along with additional resources, on a landing page on our website, which we'll be updating regularly.
SEIA-Led Coalition Says New York Should Reduce Proposed Solar Charge
For rooftop and small commercial customers, net metering has been a successful policy and has helped drive the growth of solar around the country. New York State regulators, however, are proposing changes to this billing mechanism.
The Solar+ Decade Will Usher in Widespread Clean Energy and Massive Economic Growth
Fracking transformed the U.S. energy sector in the last decade; the abundance of low-priced natural gas dramatically shifted the economics of energy generation in the United States, causing significant market disruption and unprecedented closures of coal plants. That disruption, followed by a renewed urgency to shift toward clean, affordable, carbon-free power, provides an opening that will most likely lead solar energy to become the dominant source of new electricity generation in this coming decade if we achieve our goals.
Honoring the Contributions of Black Americans in the Solar Industry
By Abigail Ross Hopper: As I think about the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts of my organization and the solar industry, Black History Month offers a great opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and where we need to go.
How Community Solar Supports Rural Communities and Farmers
There are nearly 2 gigawatts of community solar installed across the United States, supporting our rural communities by generating local revenue and helping states make progress toward their clean energy and climate goals.
A Look Back at Solar Milestones of the 2010s
Over the last ten years, solar grew from niche technology to a dominant source of new energy that fuels our economy.