TXSES Study Finds Solar Owners Shortchanged by 78% of their Worth
by Ethan Miller According to a new study commissioned by the Texas Solar Energy Society and produced by Dunsky Energy and Climate Advisors, the value of solar (VOS) is experiencing externalities. Externalities, according to the International Monetary Fund, are a market failure that occurs when a good’s “indirect effects have an impact on the consumption […]
Texas’ Transmission Troubles and CREZ II
Transmission towers and lines at sunset in East Texas (Credit: Matthew T Rader, MatthewTRader.com, License CC-BY-SA) By Ethan Miller Back in October, I wrote an article arguing that many of last summer’s electric reliability scares and energy price increases were not the fault of renewables (as ERCOT had claimed), but the fault of insufficient transmission […]
New Pathways for Equitable Solar Adoption in Texas
As part of the Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN) Round 3 program, a diverse group of energy stakeholders in Texas set out to develop and pilot new pathways to increase rooftop solar adoption to low income households. The vision: deploy rooftop solar to households owned or rented by low-income families at no cost by pairing […]
How Much Does Texas’ Unstable Grid Cost Texans? We’re Finding Out.
Texas Solar Energy Society is proud to announce that it has begun the daunting task of estimating the cost of grid service interruptions to the Texas economy
Sunnova – Regional Energy Advisor
Sunnova’s goal is to be the source of clean, affordable, and reliable energy with a simple mission:To power energy independence so that homeowners and businesses have the freedom to live life uninterrupted®. Founded in Houston, Texas in 2012, Sunnova started its journey to create a better energy service at a better price. Driven by the […]
Solar Maintenance: Roof Repairs
While some distributed solar systems can be ground-mounted or placed atop car ports, the vast majority of residential systems are placed atop a homeowner’s roof. As such, it’s helpful to know what changes, if any, need to be made to a roof before installation, and for replacement and upkeep down the road. Additional resources:● U.S. […]
Counting Texas’ solar rooftops. The numbers may surprise you.
Ethan Miller, TXSES Intern, and Larry Howe, Solar and Climate Solutions Advocate It’s not hard to find estimates for utility-scale solar capacity in Texas; ERCOT regularly releases that information.1 What has been harder to find are estimates of distributed (rooftop) solar. Up until now, getting a realistic idea of how many buildings had rooftop systems […]
Choosing an Installer: 10 Things to Know
If you’re looking to install solar onto your home or business but feel
overwhelmed at the number of installer options available to you, TXSES is here
to help. We’ve put together a list of the top ten factors to consider when
making the decision on which installer to go with.
Transmission, Not Renewables, to Blame for Texas’ Summer Energy Woes
By Ethan Miller and Pete Parsons Being blamed for problems you didn’t cause is frustrating and can even be grounds for defamation. For the Texas renewables industry, it’s just another day. On September 6, the Electric Reliability Grid of Texas (ERCOT) issued an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 (EEA 2). An EEA 2 allows ERCOT […]
The 88th legislature: it’s a wrap!
By Ethan MillerTXSES Intern With the gaveling of Sine Die on May 29 for the 88th Texas Legislative Session, Texas successfully avoided the passage of catastrophic anti-renewable bills like SB 7 and SB 624. However, several bills, including those that would further subsidize the already taxpayer-laden fossil fuel industry have made their way to Governor […]