Policy to Maximize On-site Use from Distributed Generation

Date: 4 Oct 2010 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Distributed generation (DG) puts energy production close to where it is consumed, often on people’s homes or in their backyards.  But just having a rooftop solar module doesn’t mean that every kilowatt-hour produced from sunlight is used in the home.  In fact, it’s often less than one-third, with the remaining energy production flowing out into the … Read More

Open Neighborhoods community solar makes solar PV in LA a homerun

Date: 20 Sep 2010 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Residential solar PV in Los Angeles is getting a huge boost from a new community solar buying group. With typical residential installation costs for crystalline solar PV, residents would see a 20-year payback on a solar PV installation or a minimal 2% IRR on a 25-year investment (without factoring an inverter replacement).  But what about a … Read More

Europe Leads on Decentralized Renewables, but Lags on Effective Building Retrofits

Date: 16 Sep 2010 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Decentralized renewable energy doesn’t top the climate and energy agenda in Europe or the United States, but for very different reasons. In Europe, there has already been substantial development of decentralized renewable energy, and policy makers have moved on to discussions of 100% renewable energy. In the United States, by contrast, well-heeled interest groups tend to dominate renewable energy discourse, and American energy policy reflects their paradigm of centralized generation dependent on high-voltage transmission lines.

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Community Solar – A New Model for Local Ownership?

Date: 9 Sep 2010 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Press Release | 7 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Community Solar Power: Obstacles and Opportunities , examines nine community solar projects, the policies that made them possible, and the (substantial)barriers that remain.  Successful community solar power projects in Colorado, Maryland, and North Carolina are knocking down the price of residential-scale solar photovoltaics (PV) by 25% … Read More

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Won’t Allow PACE liens

Date: 2 Jul 2010 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have told federal regulators and plan to release additional guidance indicating that the senior lien status of PACE liens is not acceptable.  This declaration comes despite recent articles highlighting the minimal impact of PACE liens on the lenders’ balance sheets, White House and DOE support for the program, and the 23 states who have enabled Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing.… Read More

Energy Self-Reliant States Get A Boost From New Federal Study

Date: 3 Jun 2010 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A new study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reinforces the findings of a 2009 report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).  The ILSR report, Energy Self-Reliant States, concluded that all 50 states could generate at least 25 percent of their electricity needs from in-state renewable energy while 31 could generate over 100 percent.  … Read More

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