A TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR FOR NEW ENERGY

Why 2015 Will Be a ‘Transformative Year’ for Renewable Energy in the US

April 14, 2015 (Solar Energy)

“…[ Medium-term Outlook for U.S. Power: 2015 from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF)] has some good news for anyone who supports a greener American energy sector: 2015 will be a “transformative year” for U.S. power, as more natural gas and renewable energy will combine with fewer coal plants to create a 20-year low in U.S. power sector emissions…[T]hese three factors will combine to drive carbon emissions from the power sector to their lowest levels since 1994…First, 2015 is expected to be a record-breaking year for the installation of renewable energy, with around 18 new gigawatts (GW) of power coming online from solar and wind. The previous record, set in 2012, was 17.1 GW, and most of that came from wind plants built ahead of tax credit expirations…This year will be different, because experts think we’ll see an equal mix of solar and wind projects…[S]olar will reach record installations in three areas: utility scale installations, like mega-projects in California, rooftop solar installations, and non-residential roof-space. This year and 2016 are important years for solar — especially for utility-scale solar — because the federal Investment Tax Credit, which offers a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal income tax for those who invest in solar projects, is set to fall from 30 percent to 10 percent in 2017, a policy change that will make large-scale solar projects less appealing for investors…” click here for more

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