Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Storage, Regulation, Distributed Generation, Regulation, Solar, Wind  -  May 13, 2017

Weekend reads: Tesla prices solar roof; EPA overhauls board; Trump advisors urge Paris compliance & more

Every Saturday, we'll bring you five of the most interesting — or quirky; it is the weekend after all — energy stories from around the web that you may have missed this week. This weekend's reads:

Tesla's Solar Roof Pricing Is Cheap Enough to Catch Fire (Bloomberg): Tesla Inc. has begun taking $1,000 deposits for its remarkable solar roof tiles — to be delivered this summer at a price point that could expand the U.S. solar market. Tesla will begin with production of two of the four styles it unveiled in October: a smooth glass and a textured glass tile. Roofing a 2,000 square-foot home in New York state—with 40 percent coverage of active solar tiles and battery backup for night-time use—would cost about $50,000 after federal tax credits and generate $64,000 in energy over 30 years, according to Tesla's website calculator.

EPA dismisses half of key board's scientific advisers; Interior suspends more than 200 advisory panels (The Washington Post): Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department are overhauling a slew of outside advisory boards that inform how their agencies assess the science underpinning federal policies, the first step in a broader effort by Republicans to change the way the federal government evaluates the scientific basis for its regulations. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt decided to replace half of the members on one of its key scientific review boards, while Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is “reviewing the charter and charge” of more than 200 advisory boards, committees and other entities both within and outside his department. 

Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Other Top Leaders Urge Trump to Keep U.S. in the Paris Climate Agreement (Inc.): Top tech leaders from around the world published an open letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, urging him not to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Thirty executives from influential companies like Tesla, General Electric and Virgin Group expressed "strong support" for keeping America in the climate change accord. "We are committed to working with you to create jobs and boost U.S. competitiveness, and we believe this can be best achieved by remaining in the Paris Agreement," the executives wrote, adding that leaving the accord would create "negative trade implications."

Study: Storage, renewables could replace New York's Indian Point nuke (Utility Dive): A solution to replace the lost capacity from Indian Point could be in hand. The study from NY-BEST and Strategen proposes a mix of energy storage, renewables and efficiency as the right cocktail to meet New York's climate and clean energy goals. The state is currently in the middle of one of the most ambitious business model and grid modernization efforts in the nation, better known as Reforming the Energy Vision (REV).

Warren Buffett says he's got a 'big appetite' for a solar or wind project (CNBC): Warren Buffett is looking for investment opportunities in renewable energy. "We have got a big appetite for wind or solar," Buffett said Saturday at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting. "If someone walks in with a solar project tomorrow and it takes a billion dollars or three billion dollars, we're ready to do it," he said. "The more there is the better."

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