solar energy
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The Political and Technical Advantages of Distributed Renewable Power
A serialized version of ILSR‘s new report, Democratizing the Electricity System, Part 3 of 5. Click for Part 1 or Part 2. The Political and Technical Advantages of Distributed Generation While technology has helped change the economics of electricity production (in favor of renewables and distributed generation), this new dynamic can as easily be controlled […]
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Missouri puts payoff of local power in peril
The Missouri legislature's move to jeopardize the state's renewable energy standard misses the huge economic benefits of local clean energy.
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The Economics of Distributed Renewable Power
A serialized version of ILSR‘s new report, Democratizing the Electricity System, Part 2 of 5. Click for Part 1. The Economics of Distributed Generation The falling cost of distributed renewable generation has been one of the key drivers of the transformation of the U.S. electric grid. The following chart illustrates the cost of power generation […]
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'Solar home rule' could power the D.C. economy
Citizens of Washington, D.C. could generate jobs and keep more electricity dollars at home with rooftop solar power.
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Mapping Solar PV CLEAN Contracts in the U.S.
The price of solar is dropping fast, opening new opportunities for community-scale renewable energy across the country. But despite the improving economics and tremendously sunnier skies, the United States lags far behind Germany in installing new solar power. The biggest difference is policy. The U.S. has two major federal incentives (a 30% tax credit and […]
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Why we should democratize the electricity system — part one
A serialized version of ILSR‘s new report, “Democratizing the Electricity System,” part one of five. The 20th century of electricity generation was characterized by ever larger and more distant central power plants. But a 21st century technological dynamic offers the possibility of a dramatically different electricity future: millions of widely dispersed renewable energy plants and […]
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Solar PV makes most sense at modest size
Benefits of smaller-scale solar operations far outweigh any potential savings from building bigger.
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Gas is greener? Smearing renewables over land use exposes ignorance of fossil fuel lovers
Oregon’s solar highway. Photo: Oregon Department of TransportationA recent column in the New York Times suggested that land use is the greatest environmental problem facing new renewable energy. While getting the facts terribly wrong, it opens a door to talk about the advantages of distributed generation rather than large, central-station power generation. A prime example […]
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Utilities cash in when you go solar
Net metering offers a lot to utilities and very little to ratepayers and solar array owners.
