The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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To help meet aggressive state and federal clean energy goals, many more community solar projects must be built across the country. This paper proposes a siting framework for community solar projects, which can produce much needed zero-carbon electricity, while serving important ecosystem enhancement and conservation roles. Responsible siting such as we propose here can help preserve community character while protecting individual property rights. This framework builds off existing laws to balance development activity with environmental protection. In brief, siting, design and operation of community solar projects should maximize preservation of our
natural capital and enhancement of ecosystem services, minimizing permanent …
Residential rooftop solar is slated to play a significant role in the changing US electric grid in the coming decades. However, concerns have emerged that the benefits of rooftop solar deployment are inequitably distributed across demographic groups. Previous work has highlighted inequity in national solar adopter deployment and income trends. We leverage a dataset of US solar adopter household income estimates—unique in its size and resolution—to analyze differences in adoption equity at the local level and identify those conditions that yield more equitable solar adoption, with implications for policy strategies to reduce inequities in solar adoption. The solar inequities observed …
View Full ResourceOver the past decade, solar power has gone from an emerging, niche technology to a mature energy industry. By 2035, solar power could supply 40% or more of U.S. electricity demand, dramatically accelerating the decarbonization of buildings, transportation, and industry; and, if current technology trends continue, it could do so without increasing the price of electricity.
The rapid expansion of solar energy has the potential to yield broad benefits in the form of economic activity and workforce development. The solar industry already employs roughly 230,000 people in the United States, at an average wage that is higher than the national …
View Full ResourceThis webinar summary recaps our solar webinar that took place in February 2022. Experts discussed obstacles and opportunities in the sector, relevant state and federal policies, and what new technology could mean for the future of the industry.
Panelists:
Michael K. Dorsey
Co-Founding Partner,
IberSun, North America
Discussion Lead
Marilyn A. Brown
Regents’ Professor,
School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology
Garrett Nilsen
Acting Director, Solar Energy Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy
Jeff Weiss
Executive Chairman,
Distributed Sun…
The United States must transition to an energy sector powered by clean energy as rapidly as possible to
meet ambitious state and federal clean energy and climate targets. It must also keep pace with an exponential increase in energy demand resulting from the electrification of the building and transportation sectors. To accelerate the rapid adoption required to meet these combined needs, federal and state policymakers will need to intentionally reform and make proactive investments in comprehensive system planning and grid modernization, which will significantly improve the process of physically integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) into the electric grid and will …
Solar energy, including household and community based solar photovoltaic panels, is the fastest growing source of low-carbon electricity worldwide, and it could become the single largest source of renewable energy by midcentury. But what negative equity and justice issues may be associated with its adoption? What risks are being accelerated as solar energy grows exponentially in its deployment? In this study, we rely on a mixed methods research design involving household solar interviews, site visits, and a
literature review to investigate four types of inequities associated with household solar adoption. We utilize a novel framework looking at demographic inequities (between …
Solar energy is a remarkable resource. It is abundant – the U.S. has the technical potential to meet its 2020 electricity needs 78 times over with solar power alone. As a clean and renewable energy source that can help reduce reliance on dirty fossil fuels, it helps reduce pollution and protect the environment. Rooftop solar is particularly environmentally friendly, since it takes advantage of already-developed rooftops and leaves open spaces undisturbed. One additional benefit that small-scale, distributed solar offers to communities is helping to relieve strain on the power grid during times of stress. This paper explores how maximizing rooftop …
View Full ResourceTexans will never forget February 2021. Winter Storm Uri crippled the state’s natural gas supply and sparked a cascading failure of our electricity system. More than 4 million homes and businesses lost power, many of them for days. More than 700 people died. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimated the electricity crisis cost the state between $80 and $130 billion.
In addition to broad, grid-wide upgrades and improvements, community and residential solutions can improve efficiency throughout the year and provide an extra layer of protection against crisis-related power outages. Energy technology will continue to improve. Yet we already have …
View Full ResourceBig retailers have a big impact on the environment. From the manufacturing and transportation of the goods they sell to the energy used to power warehouses, offices and stores, a significant share of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and pollution can be traced back to the globe-spanning supply chains that bring everything from dish soap to diapers onto the shelves of our local shopping centers.
This report reviews the immense potential to generate clean solar power on the rooftops of big box retail stores across America. To meet their climate goals and to show leadership in their …
View Full ResourceThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designed this Solar Power in Your Community guidebook to assist local government officials and stakeholders in boosting solar deployment. The 2022 edition contains updated case studies with approaches to reduce market barriers that have been field tested in cities and counties around the country. Many examples are the direct result of the SolSmart Program, a designation program supported by DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office recognizing municipalities, counties, and regional organizations that are addressing market barriers and making it faster, easier, and more affordable to go solar. …
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