With the cost of solar continuing to fall rapidly (50% in the past five years) and electricity prices rising steadily, if slowly, the approach of solar grid parity is near. The following chart illustrates the trajectory of solar cost and electricity price, hinting at the coming intersection.1 The chart compares … [continued]
Below is an excellent guest post about one of the most exciting yet underacknowledged opportunities of our time. I hope you enjoy it and share it with others so that we can get this dream moving! By Jasmine Shepard and Linda Barrera If “eating is an agricultural act,” as Wendell … [continued]
Are people more inclined to take action on an issue (one of the major consumer issues of today — energy consumption) when they think other people are doing better than they are? Alex Laskey and his company, Opower, believe so. Matter of fact, Lasky and Opower allied with utility companies … [continued]
The folks over at Solar Power Rocks have gone through the solar policies of all 50 US states in order to rank them all. Solar Power Rocks’ overall grades for each state are based 60% on solar incentives (overal solar system payback time based on all incentives, feed-in tariffs, tax … [continued]
Utilities + solar — it’s a hot topic. And it’s not always a peaceful topic. Today, we’ll lighten things up a bit with a couple of positive utilities + solar lists in this Solar Love repost. The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) recently released its latest SEPA Utility Solar Rankings. Of … [continued]
Solar cells are unusual in that they were cost-competitive from the get-go. From the Apollo space program to highway signs to lighting for buoys, solar could replace highly expensive power from batteries or other sources and eliminate the need for the construction of electric distribution lines.1 When the Institute for … [continued]
A friend at Fresh Energy generously called me the “architect” of Minnesota’s new solar energy standard (signed last week), and although that may be a bit generous, I’d like to provide a detailed description of the nation’s newest solar energy standard. The topline: 1.5 percent solar standard for the state’s … [continued]
For over four years, the City of Minneapolis has worked with residents, nonprofits, community organizations, schools, and businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the local level with the Climate Change Innovation Grants. The grants allowed participants to implement their own sustainability initiatives, and are funded through Energy Efficiency and … [continued]
This article first appeared on Mosaic. by Rosana Francescato There’s been a lot of talk lately about net metering. What’s so special about net metering, and why all the fuss? Net metering is a simple concept that’s policy in 43 states. It’s like rollover minutes on a cell phone bill — … [continued]
This was included in a roundup post the other day, but roundup posts don’t get enough attention, so I’m reposting it below from Solar Love. I think most of us know by now that there’s enough renewable energy potential to power the world several times over. However, the key is … [continued]
