“The Solar Electric Power Association works daily with utilities across the country that are responding to their customers desire for cleaner, reliable, affordable power with new solar programs and business models."

Washington, Aug. 3 -- In response to the release of the final version of President Barack Obamas Clean Power Plan, Julia Hamm, President and CEO of the the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), has released the following statement:

"The Solar Electric Power Association works daily with utilities across the country that are responding to their customers desire for cleaner, reliable, affordable power with new solar programs and business models. SEPAs annual utility solar rankings show that last year alone, U.S. utilities helped put more than 182,000 new solar installations on line, totaling 5.3 gigawatts of clean, renewable power.

"The many and multifaceted changes now underway in the U.S. power sector are being driven by a combination of technology, market forces and smart, regional regulation. We see President Obamas Clean Power Plan as another piece of this bigger picture, in which utilities will have leading roles in ongoing innovation, collaboration and regional solutions. We stand ready to work with utilities, policy makers, the solar industry and other stakeholders as they face the challenges and opportunities of implementing the long-term vision we all share of a clean, reliable and affordable energy future."

SEPA also has a range of resources that may be useful to journalists working on stories on the Clean Power Plan, including:

· SEPAs 2014 Utility Solar Rankings, a summary of market trends and lists of the Top 10 solar utilities based on total new megawatts put online last year and on watts per customer.
http://www.solarelectricpower.org/discover-resources/solar-tools/utility-solar-rankings.aspx

· The 51st State: SEPAs unique initiative aimed at producing new visions for energy sector transition. The concepts generated thus far include many based on accelerated adoption of renewable energy and other distributed energy resources (DERs).
http://www.sepa51.org/

· Other SEPA research and reports can be found here:
http://www.solarelectricpower.org/discover-resources/publications-and-media.aspx

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact K Kaufmann, kkaufmann@solarelectricpower.org.

About SEPA: The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) is an educational nonprofit working to help utilities integrate safe, reliable, reasonably priced solar energy into their portfolios for their own, their customers and the general publics benefit. A co-sponsor of both PV America and Solar Power International, the membership organization provides research, and educational and networking opportunities to a broad range of utility and solar industry stakeholders.