Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Storage, Regulation, Utilities, Distributed Generation, Finance, Solar  -  July 30, 2016

Weekend reads: Solar-powered airplanes; Tesla's 'Gigafactory'; Nevada's net metering fight & more

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

Sun-Powered Airplane Completes Historic Trip Around The World (NPR): The trip had mechanical setbacks, and the plane's average speed would be legal on many American streets. But when the Solar Impulse aircraft touched down in Abu Dhabi in the early morning darkness Tuesday, it successfully completed a round-the-world voyage using only solar power.

A 'Smart' Green Tech Hub in Vermont Reimagines the Status Quo (The New York Times) Inside a plain brick building in Burlington lies the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, a buzzing hipster incubator that looks as if it could be in Silicon Valley. It is powered invisibly by forces that any city would envy: a green grid that is highly energy-efficient and a superfast one-gigabit internet connection.

Headed for the exits, Nevada PUC Commissioner David Noble lifts lid on net metering fight (Utility Dive): Noble, who won't be reappointed to the commission, spoke out against solar lobbying tactics: 'Words are one thing, actions are another.' 

 Musk to Open His Tesla Gigafactory Years Ahead of Schedule (Inc.):  Elon Musk's monstrous battery factory —which he's calling the "Gigafactory" because of its massive scale — might be here sooner than you think. Musk reportedly doubled the number of people working on the factory in an effort to open it ahead of schedule. The goal is to generate vast quantities of lithium-ion batteries by early 2017, in time for the launch of Tesla's lower-priced electric vehicle, the $35,000 Model 3.

Next Item on Obama’s Climate Agenda: Airplane Pollution (The New York Times): The Obama administration on Monday announced its plan to start regulating planet-warming pollution from airplanes, setting off a battle between environmentalists and the airline industry.

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