The joy (and pain) of covering solar policy

WHEN I STARTED working at Solar Power World in 2017, I told Kelly I was interested in solar policy. I’m a news junkie in my free time, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to tie that passion to my current field of work. (It’s ironic, because when keeping up with policy and news was a requirement in journalism school, I complained about having to read multiple newspapers to pass a tricky test every week. Now, I’d pass most of them handily.)

Working the solar policy beat has been one of the most interesting and fun parts of my job, especially when I started writing a monthly solar policy wrap-up to keep track of legislative happenings across the country. Seeing the successes, like states reinstating net metering and expanding community solar and low-income solar programs, helped balance out the unfortunate news pieces — like the inevitable reports on states rolling back renewable portfolio standards (like in my home state of Ohio), utilities slashing customer net-metering incentives and national leaders feeding disinformation about solar and other renewables to the American people.

There is never a shortage of solar policy stories to report, which is why we’ve decided to devote the special section in this issue to regional solar policy. We know that what happens in statehouses affects the solar industry in crucial ways, so we want to keep you apprised as best we can.

Also in this issue, we take a look at an innovative airport solar installation, how one U.S. inverter manufacturer is staying strong in a tough market, the latest advances in heterojunction panel technology and more.

We hope you enjoy our first regional solar policy report — and remember to follow @SolarKelseyM to read my stories about solar policy and equity year-round.

Senior Editor Kelsey Misbrener
kmisbrener@wtwhmedia.com