Xcel Energy has published their proposed community solar program on Sept. 30, 2013 and ILSR submitted comments on the unlawfully capped and fee-crazy program last week. Comments below Public Comments on Community Solar (Docket E-002/M-13-867) Program Design Requirements Does Xcel’s … Read More
This presentation by Director of Democratic Energy John Farrell shows the politics, process, and policy that led to Minnesota becoming the 17th state with a solar or distributed renewable energy standard in 2013. Delivered to a webinar audience of Oregonians … Read More
Nearly 300 gigawatts of unsubsidized local solar could beat utility prices in the next decade, but until recently most Americans couldn’t participate because their own rooftop isn’t suitable for solar. That’s changing fast. Just one project featured in our 2010 … Read More
Update 12/20/12: This project includes battery storage. Just last month, the Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association, serving communities just north and west of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, announced Minnesota’s first community solar project. The 40 kW solar array will be … Read More
Colorado just launched their long-awaited community solar gardens law (program subscribed in 30 minutes) and California is progressing on a virtual net metering law that could remove one of many roadblocks to community solar. But the Vashon Community Solar Project … 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 … Read More
Thanks to innovative energy policy, residents of Ontario can invest in local solar power projects by buying SolarShare bonds. The $1,000 bond provides a 5% annual return over five years and the money is invested in solar power projects across the province (as the chart below shows, this beats a savings account with 0.8% interest or even a 5-year U.S. treasury, with 0.91% interest).… Read More
Last week, Brian Foley of the Sierra Club published an interview with John Farrell on “grassroots solar” on the Sierra Club blog, Compass. Read the interview below, or click through to the Compass. Interview: Grassroots Solar You hear about gigantic … Read More
If you like reading about “what we can do better” in community solar policy, check out our report – Community Solar Power: Obstacles and Opportunities – but if you like a very detailed exploration of how the three major models for community solar navigate the ins and outs of existing incentives and regulations, and a primer on how to set up a community solar project, you can’t go wrong with NREL’s Guide to Community Solar.
