current projects with EQ Research
IRP as a Data Service: Tracking and analyzing utility integrated resource plans from across the country.
General Rate Cases: Diving into the weeds of electric utility rate case applications to provide clients timely analysis, issue flagging, and expert witness testimony.
RPS Navigator: Maintaining a comprehensive tool for retail electricity suppliers on clean and renewable electricity standards.
CCA Regulatory and Compliance Services: Helping California community choice aggregation programs understand the rapidly changing regulatory landscape and meet compliance obligations.
Midwest Regulatory and Legislative Tracking: Comprehensively tracking legislative and regulatory developments impact clean and distributed energy in the Midwest.
Custom Research and Analysis: Working with a team of experienced policy experts and attorneys to meet a client’s specific needs.
For more information, visit www.eq-research.com.
This guide, prepared for the Clean Energy States Alliance in 2017, is intended as a starting point for program managers in states or municipalities who are developing or revising standards and requirements for installation, licensing and certification, equipment, and warranties for solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment and systems. It discusses a selection of programs and rules in these areas to highlight various means by which states and municipalities have addressed these topics and how they impact the implementation of solar policy goals. The guide develops recommendations and considerations for each topic area based upon review of numerous state and local solar programs and in consultation with program managers, solar installers, consultants, and non-governmental organizations.
This report, prepared for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network in 2016, summarizes the policies needed for Pennsylvania to transition to a clean energy future, one powered entirely by renewables. By evaluating Pennsylvania’s current consumption of energy and its direct emissions from burning fossil fuels, the report identifies a path toward a completely renewable energy future by 2050. It also shows that over the same period Pennsylvania could see a net increase of nearly 500,000 job-years, or an average of 14,300 job-years per year, by investing in clean energy. Outlining plans for broader electrification, increased investment in renewables, as well as improvements to energy efficiency, the report offers guidance for developing a clean energy future in Pennsylvania that can serve as a model for states around the country.
Comparing Utility Interconnection Timelines for Small-Scale Solar PV (Second Edition)
This report, published by EQ Research in 2016, compares how rooftop solar PV interconnection timelines have improved – or worsened – for individual utilities in recent years. While several individual utilities improved their interconnection timelines, utilities on the whole took longer to process interconnection applications and grant permission to operate (PTO) for small PV systems (10 kW or less) installed in 2015 than in 2014. The report found that the average pre-application waiting period rose by 57 percent in 2015 compared to 2014, while the average post-construction waiting period rose by 103 percent. Increasing delays are leading to higher levels of consumer frustration. The report synthesizes the results of a survey of solar installers, using data collected for 62 utilities in 20 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Based on interviews with PV installers and utilities’ interconnection staff, this report identified several key issues that cause delays, while recommending best practices for expediting the interconnection process.
The 50 States of Solar: A QUARTERLY LOOK AT AMERICA’S FAST-EVOLVING DISTRIBUTED SOLAR POLICY & REGULATORY CONVERSATION
This report series, published by the NC Clean Energy Technology Center 2015-2016, provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date publicly available overview of the rapidly-evolving state policy landscape for distributed solar. Policies tracked include utility-proposed solar charges and residential fixed charge increases, minimum bills, net metering, third-party solar ownership permissibility, community solar, and utility-led customer-sited solar programs.
