Despite the challenging legal and financial barriers facing community renewable energy, a surprising number of projects and project models have succeeded. These projects have brought together hundreds of people into ownership of renewable energy, often saving them money, and keeping more of the money they spend on energy in their own community.
There are three big tools for breaking down the barriers to community renewable energy: using non-tax-based incentives for renewable energy, simplifying the process of raising capital, and adopting formal “community energy” laws that enable power sharing.
In this report, we talked about several forms of community renewable energy. Community-owned renewables are owned locally, by members of the community. Shared renewables may or may not be locally owned, but the community can share the output. Group purchasing involves collective action to purchase renewable energy, such as rooftop solar arrays, but the benefits accrue to the individuals who host the solar on their rooftops.
In the last weeks of 2016, the solar coaster continues its twists and turns in the Southwest, once again producing both good news and bad, with one state learning from experience and taking steps to re-start its solar market, and another succumbing to utilities’ false claims.
Debates have raged across the country around the value and/or need for net metering. Most conversation has focused exclusively on the residential perspective. However, Graham Smith, CEO of Open Energy, asks about the impact of the ever-changing net meeting policies on commercial solar? Net Metering Backgrounder According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): … [continued]
Originally published at ilsr.org. We’ve been keeping a running tally of where distributed generation has come under attack, usually from incumbent utility companies, and displayed it in map format every few months. But the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center and Meister Consultants Group have done such a good job with … [continued]
Originally published at ilsr.org. This article was written by Nick Stumo-Langer the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Energy Democracy initiative’s Communications Manager. He regularly publishes articles and designs graphics based on local, renewable energy. Net metering is a common rule for the electricity system in nearly every state, allowing folks who generate … [continued]
Note: We’re trying to get back into helping homeowners who want to go solar and who want to switch to an electric car. That was a core of our work in the past, and I think it’s one of the most valuable things we can do for consumers and to … [continued]
In the upcoming US election, independent voters in the key swing states—the most influential of influential voting sectors—will be more likely to vote for a Republican candidate who vocally supports solar energy, according to a new poll by Public Opinion Strategies. When asked the question “If a Republican candidate for … [continued]
The solar net metering mess in Nevada gives Harry Reid a chance to nail ALEC and the Koch brothers on the Senate floor for meddling in US energy policy.
