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Big dreams for renewable energy often goad people into imagining big wind projects with hundreds of turbines. But lots of smaller projects are just as likely to add up to big numbers. Counting wind projects from 1999-2010 (based on data from LBNL’s excellent Wind Technologies Market report) the average size of an American wind project is 80 megawatts (MW). The size of projects has risen in the past decade, from about 50-60 MW, but … Read More
It often seems like big progress on clean energy only comes in big pieces, but in solar power the sweet spot is small. The following infographic from ILSR shows that the average size of installed solar PV in the U.S. is just 34 kilowatts, enough to power about 7 homes. This post originally appeared on ILSR’s Energy Self-Reliant States blog. … Read More
Over 200 Illinois towns helped cut their citizens’ electric bills in 2012, and some even achieved 100% renewable energy, thanks to a state law that lets cities choose their electricity provider. The law, called community choice aggregation, lets municipalities pick from competitive electricity suppliers for their residential and small business customers, but without having to purchase and operate the local grid (as when becoming a municipal utility). … Read More
I often get flak when I publish research on the cost trajectory for solar (e.g. my Rooftop Revolution report estimates 100 million Americans reaching grid parity by 2021). About half think I’m too conservative, and half think I’m too overconfident that solar will continue to drop in price by 7% per year indefinitely. But I’m not alone in perceiving an enormous cost reduction opportunity for solar in the United States. An article in Forbes … Read More
A new study for the California Public Utilities Commission explores the “Technical Potential for Local Distributed Photovoltaics in California.” Basically, it’s one of the more in-depth analyses of local solar power in the country, suggesting that California has the capacity to add 15 gigawatts (GW) of local solar (20 megawatts and smaller) to its grid by 2020. The study pushes the boundaries of distributed generation by assuming that local solar can be installed sufficient to meet 100% of local demand, far beyond the conservative “15% rule” that utilities typically apply [...]
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It can with your help – submit a comment to the FHFA by Thursday, Sept. 13! After effectively suspending residential PACE energy efficiency and renewable energy municipal financing programs in 2010, and then being taken to federal court and required to do a revised rule making, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its revised ruling on PACE programs [pdf] earlier this summer. Did the agency repent from its 2010 assertion that PACE presented a … Read More
Back in April, President Obama signed the JOBS Act, and one of the most-heralded elements was so-called crowdfunding. The law sought to solve a major problem, that it’s hard to finance small-scale business ventures. Wall Street only cares about multi-million-dollar plays, and securities regulations make small-dollar projects rather difficult (and costly) to jointly fund. The Act could have big implications for community-based renewable energy projects. Right now, there are two kinds of community-based renewable … Read More
When you subtract out shady roofs, renters, and other factors, only about 25% of Americans have a place to install solar power. With the high upfront cost of a complete system, the potential solar universe shrinks further. That changes with “community solar.” After a long wait on the state’s Public Utilities Commission to finalize the rules, Colorado’s “community solar gardens” program (my summary here) sold out in 30 minutes when it opened yesterday, testament to the … Read More
Energy and Environment News has a very long story on a new angle for the federal wind tax credit debate: a phaseout. This article raises several issues, apart from that policy strategy, that are worth a quick discussion. 1. Why Would Wind Compete with Natural Gas? The article waxes long about the trials of the wind industry in the face of low natural gas prices, implying that utilities choose new natural gas power plants … Read More
