Below are the key takeaways from the week in solar, grid edge, electric vehicles and other energy news.
Solar News
14,626 Megawatts
The PV capacity installed in the U.S. in 2016, according to data released this week by GTM Research and SEIA. That is a new annual record and outpaced 2015 installations by 95 percent. (story)
$2.05 per Month
The fee that residential solar customers will pay in Tucson Electric Power territory for a second electric meter that the utility will use to measure customers' solar output. (story)
$2.50 per Watt
Can residential installers make a profit at $2.50 per watt? Eric Wesoff tries to find out. (story)
MVDC
The voltage architecture that First Solar planned to introduce at its larger projects in order to bring down costs by reducing inverter components and wiring. This week, the company paused its MVDC implementation due to continuing price declines in the global inverter market. (story)
33%
The Q4 2016 gross margin (after warranty adjustments) for solar electronics manufacturer SolarEdge, up from 32.6% in Q3 2016. (story)
36 Hours
The world record for the longest individual beatboxing, a vocal percussion that emulates a drum machine. GTM Research's resident beatboxer, and Associate Director, Cory Honeyman, puts his skills on display in the musical intro to this week's Interchange podcast. Cory then puts down the mic and talks opportunities in U.S. community solar with Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann. (story)
Not a beatboxing fan? You can skip the podcast and read the episode's transcript. (story)
Grid Edge News
5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The hours when solar customers in Hawaii will be compensated the most for power shipped to the grid under the state's new Community-Based Renewable Energy program. (story)
TOU in California
Jeff St. John updates us on the ongoing time-of-use rate design in California and the pros and cons of time-of-use rates for solar and other DERs. (story)
12 Megawatt-Hours
The capacity of the storage project installed last month by stealthy Chinese firm Narada Power for GCL Silicon. The project announcement comes as Narada positions for international storage expansion. We uncover what there is to know about the firm. (story)
Electric Vehicles News
100 Million
The forecasted number of electric vehicles on the road worldwide by 2035, according to BP's annual Energy Outlook report. (story)
2030
The year that all new transit bus purchases in the U.S. will be electric, according to Ryan Popple, CEO of electric bus manufacturer Proterra. You can read his prognostication and more in this week's transcript of The Energy Gang podcast. (story)
Other Energy News
$222 Million a Year
The amount that wind companies pay rural landowners each year in the U.S., according to a bipartisan coalition of state governors. The coalition reached out to the White House this week to advocate for federal support for offshore wind, R&D, grid modernization and improved permitting for utility-scale renewables. (story)
Read My Lips
No new carbon taxes? Not so fast. Last week, a group of Reagan-era Republicans released a plan for a $40-per-ton carbon tax on point-of-source emissions from coal, oil and gas. On this week's episode, The Energy Gang asks, why now? (story)
