States Agree: Third-Party Ownership Enables Distributed Solar, But What’s Next?

Date: 23 Mar 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Compared with previous rankings of solar capacity, do states that allow third-party leases and power purchase agreements still dominate? The answer is yes, especially for distributed solar capacity. Every state in the top 10 in rooftop and small-scale solar still allows for third-party ownership.… Read More

To Lease or To Own Your Solar Array (Infographic)

Date: 10 Jun 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Is owning your solar array your best option, or is leasing right for you? Along with our existing Solar Calculators (both complex and simplified), we have this new infographic. This graphic details the two different ownership structures based around a number of important categories. Please note that solar panels typically carry a 20-year warranty, but most panels are … Read More

Kansas City’s Royal Effort to Solarize City Rooftops – Episode 25 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 3 Jun 2015 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Kansas City, MO, has neither the abundant sunshine nor high cost of electricity that have driven solar installations in other cities. Despite this, the city has close to 1.5 MW of solar in 59 separate installations on municipal properties. Thanks to utility rebates, two department leaders, and a unique opportunity that allowed it to access the … Read More

Duking It Out Over Municipal Solar in Raleigh – Episode 24 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 2 Jun 2015 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

There aren’t many solar success stories from the Southeast, making Raleigh, NC, stand out in a region with low-cost electricity and modest sunshine. With just over 2 megawatts of solar on public property––providing close to 7% of municipal building peak demand––Raleigh’s solar success comes despite state rules preventing the city from buying electricity from any non-utility … Read More

Can a State’s Solar Party Start Without It?

Date: 27 Feb 2015 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

See our March 2018 update affirming these findings In about half of U.S. states, an individual or business can have solar installed on their roof owned by someone else, and either buy the power or lease the array from that third party. These power purchase or lease models drastically simplify the process of going solar (at … Read More