What’s going on in solar and renewable energy news today? Keep reading to find out….

U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) has introduced legislation that would make it more affordable for schools to install solar energy systems, via Domestic Fuel. “School buildings are used most heavily during the day, during the same hours that solar energy generation is highest,” Giffords said. “Making it more cost-effective for schools to install solar-generating systems will lessen our dependence on foreign oil and save money for cash-strapped schools.” Giffords announced The Solar for Schools Act while on a day-long tour of Tucson, Arizona intended to highlight the state’s growing solar energy industry. Read more about solar schools at GetSolar.

Jeffrey Mikulina, director of the Blue Planet Foundation, today has an Op-Ed in the Honolulu Star Bulletin that starts off with a jolt: “Thirty-five days. That — according to the 2009 Hawaiian Electric Industries Annual Report — is the length of time before Hawaii’s electricity shuts off should something disrupt the flow of oil to our islands. It’s the length of time between comfort and chaos.” After highlighting Hawaii’s reliance on imported energy, Mikulina then goes on to plug for two specific policy measures: (1) Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, which provides low-interest loans to property owners who install solar panels and make other related upgrades, and (2) an oil tax. Hawaii has struggled to implement its planned feed-in tariff, mainly because nobody wants to pay for it. Mikulina makes a strong case for taxing imported fossil fuel in order to boost the islands’ energy efficiency and promote renewable power.

The Los Angeles Business Council and UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation have release a new study examining the implications of a solar feed-in tariff (FIT) for Los Angeles County. I haven’t had a chance to comb through Designing an Effective Feed-in Tariff for Greater Los Angeles (PDF) in its entirety, but, like any good blogger, I’m brash enough to offer my first impressions. If you’re looking for a detailed benefit-cost analysis or specific policy recommendations, this report ain’t it. You’ll have to wait for a follow-up report, to be “issued at a later date.” If you’re looking for an overview of general guidelines of how a feed-in tariff might look in L.A., however, then the Business Council’s and UCLA’s report is worth a read. Among the most interesting and surprising findings? A solar feed-in tariff would not increase customers’ utility bills, as explained by UCLA Professor JR DeShazo: “If the correct design guidelines are put in place, ratepayers will save money over the life of a ten-year FIT program,” via BrighterEnergy.

Big box retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club today announced it will partner with Tioga Energy to add four solar installations at locations in Massachusetts and New Jersey, via MarketWatch. Two of the rooftop solar installations are currently under construction in Leominster and South Attleboro, Mass., and should be completed next month. The two other solar projects will be installed in New Jersey, with work beginning this summer. The press release offers the following details: ”With these new installations online, BJ’s will have more than 2000 kW of solar power attributing to its lower and more predictable electricity costs, with the Leominster and South Attleboro installations at 308KW and 344KW, respectively and the New Jersey installations providing 409 kW and 500 kW. Under the terms of the PPA, BJ’s Wholesale Club pays only for the electricity produced by the systems, while Tioga is responsible for installation, monitoring and maintenance.” With its healthy solar renewable energy credit (SREC) market, New Jersey continues to be an attractive place for commercial solar projects.

Finally, today, Peru’s government has signed contracts with companies that are expected to invest $1 billion in wind, solar and hydroelectric projects, according to BusinessWeek. A billion dollars! Es mucho dinero, eh?

That’s all for today — thanks for reading. We’ll see you back here tomorrow.