Construction and permitting for large solar facilities like those located in the desert at the border of California and Nevada is nearly non-existent. Uncertainty over expiring tax credits is only partly to blame.
The bloom is off the rose for utility-scale solar projects, just five years after the Obama Administration made a big push for such projects as part of a nationwide renewable energy program. The lack of utility-scale projects stands in stark contrast to exponential growth in distributed, roof-top solar installations.
“Of the 365 federal solar applications since 2009, just 20 plants are on track to be built. Only three large-scale solar facilities have gone online, two in California and one in Nevada. The first auction of public land for solar developers, an event once highly anticipated by federal planners, failed to draw a single bid last fall,” reports Julie Cart.
Blame for the lack of projects can be found in the sunset for the current investment tax credit, scheduled to drop from 30 percent to 10 percent at the end of 2016. The lack of investments is also a result of the initial success by utilities in meeting renewable portfolio standards in states like California: “...utilities in many states are on track to meet those requirements, giving them less incentive to buy higher-priced solar energy —especially as a steep decline in natural gas prices has cut the cost of power from gas-fired generators.”
Read the full story: After a building boom, solar energy's prospects now aren't as sunny
Report: Most U.S. Coal Plants Uncompetitive with Renewables
The report heralds increased shuttering of coal-burning powered plants due to cheaper alternatives. Almost three-quarters of coal-burning power plants today are more costly to operate than renewable facilities. In six years, it jumps to 86 percent.
Renewables Account for 92 Percent of New Power in the United States
Although the United States built less new energy capacity than in the same time period last year, renewable energy dominated the capacity to come online so far in 2014.
Cows at Tennessee's 'Silicon Ranch' graze under solar panels
The project aims to prove that agriculture and solar energy production can work in tandem.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Dallas releases zoning code overhaul to officials
The drafted overhaul is over 400 pages long.
NYC renovations for dangerous, ‘mercilessly crammed’ street delayed until 2027
Construction was supposed to begin this fall.
San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council
The project looks to become the largest affordable housing development in California's history.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello