The California Public Utilities Commission is no longer considering a proposal to reduce credits paid to owners of rooftop solar installations after encountering heavy opposition from the solar industry. Meanwhile, a Los Angeles attorney is pursuing ballot initiatives to keep the current rules in place.

US asphalt shingle shipments fell by 11.9% between the third and fourth quarters of 2021 and by 10.2% year-over-year in Q4, according to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association's Quarterly Product Shipment Report. Shipments of BUR and modified bitumen also declined, although total US shingle shipments increased 4.8% year-over-year.

Workwear company Carhartt could be a preview of what employers will face in imposing COVID-19 vaccine rules on their employees, as the company was criticized online by some conservatives after reiterating its mandate. Companies face a myriad of state and local rules, as well as a populace divided by political ideology on getting vaccinated.

The roof of the recently opened Datong Art Museum in China consists of four overlapping steel pyramids that resemble mountain peaks. The roof sits on the ground, with the rest of the museum sunken underneath.

The D.C. Green Bank in Washington, D.C., has financed two completed community rooftop solar installations at a housing development by providing loans to solar companies that repay them by refinancing for a longer loan with a traditional bank. The longer-term loans allow for more projects to be financed.

Big-box retail stores across the US boast flat rooftop spaces big enough for solar panel installations that could generate half the power they need to run their operations, according to a report from the Environment America Research and Policy Center and Frontier Group. Superstores in the continental US have about 7.2 billion square feet of roof space, with Walmart accounting for the largest share of that space, followed by Target and Home Depot.

Despite data's potential to increase performance, small and midsize businesses struggle to analyze and use it effectively, a recent survey found. Experts say companies can start with three steps: asking what the firm wants the data to do, hiring a data consultant or using in-house expertise and aggregating data from multiple platforms.

An accounting system's most important feature is the provider's long-term viability, small-business consultant Gene Marks writes. In addition to evaluating the product's alignment with goals and functionality, businesses should research the software company's financials, partners and plans, Marks suggests.

The Section 201 tariffs enacted by the Trump administration have cost the US more than 62,000 clean energy jobs and the Biden administration should let them expire as scheduled on Feb. 6, wrote Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and seven other senators in a letter to President Joe Biden, citing Solar Energies Industry Association data. "[W]e believe that extending the tariffs will do nothing but add unnecessary costs to U.S. consumers, hurt American solar jobs, and artificially stymie the deployment of otherwise viable solar projects in the United States," they wrote.

Notable changes to corporate income tax rates this year in the 44 states that levy them include a temporary drop in Florida and permanent drops in Arkansas, Idaho and Indiana, writes Janelle Cammenga. North Carolina has the lowest rate, and New Jersey has the highest, Cammenga notes.

Activities include a virtual reality experience and a future workforce-focused contractor educational panel, where members will share how they are working with their schools, youth programs and communities to build a pipeline for the future roofing workforce.