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Renewable energy
Published in John Gusdorf, Ecological Living, 2019
Community solar allows those who don’t have the right roof areas, or who rent or lease their residences or businesses, to own and benefit from solar energy. It also allows people who can’t afford the up-front cost of a PV system to buy one panel at a time − usually for something like $300 – and to apply the saving on their electricity bills to more panels if they want to. Community solar allows people who don’t earn enough to get tax credits themselves to benefit from the tax credits the installer gets; the installer passes along the savings to the members. If a member moves within the area of their utility, the savings are applied to the bills at their new address. Members can also sell their shares or give them to charitable organizations and get the tax credits for their gift. Community solar projects are also called solar gardens and solar farms. The same concept can be applied to other forms of renewable energy, including wind and geothermal energy, and a more general name for the concept is shared renewable energy facilities.
New PV Markets Sustaining Mass Production
Published in Peter F. Varadi, Wolfgang Palz, Michael Eckhart, Allan R. Hoffman, Paula Mints, Bill Rever, John Wohlgemuth, Frank P.H. Wouters, Sun Towards High Noon, 2017
Community Solar: The early adoption of the community model came about because it addresses an important need as solar energy goes mainstream: How does one participate in the solar revolution if you can’t effectively put solar on your roof due to house orientation, shading by trees and other houses, are restricted from placing solar panels on your roof by cluster or other regulations, are restricted from placing solar on your business roof by other building-support equipment already being there, live in a condo in a multistory building, are a renter, or have limited means to finance a solar installation? Nearly three quarters of American households fall into one of these categories. Community solar, a mini-grid powered by solar PV that allows a few to many energy consumers to share the benefits of one local solar “farm” (sometimes called a solar garden), offers a solution to this conundrum. It allows these “excluded” consumers to receive electricity from the mini-grid without having to install the solar panels on their own roofs. However, it comes with its own complexities arising from the need for power purchase agreements, limited private partnerships, special purpose legal entities, varying regulatory environments, and the fact that each utility, public or private, has its own interests. This creates a confusing market situation for solar PV vendors, project developers, banks, and other financing bodies. Nevertheless, the deployment of community solar is happening and happening quickly in many locations. In the United States, it started in 2006 with the first shared solar energy project in Ellensburg, Washington, which cost more than $1 million to complete and placed solar panels on city-owned ground near soccer and baseball fields. It would grow to 109 kW over the coming years, enough to power a dozen homes.
Protecting consumers in digitized and multi-source energy systems
Published in Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 2021
A number of US states are considering if consumer protection frameworks need to adapt to take account of the increasing number of consumers that are obtaining energy under solar power agreements and from batteries, mini-grids or standalone networks. In California, concerns have arisen about false and misleading acts in the marketing and sale of new products, and the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) has acknowledged that consumer protections will “grow weaker” as new technologies, financial vehicles and business models emerge (CPUC, California Public Utilities Commission 2018). In other states, particular consumer protection concerns have arisen about installed residential solar power agreements (so-called “solar leases”) where a third party installs the system at the residential customer’s property, often with no upfront costs, and is responsible for maintenance (Campaign for Accountability 2017; Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy 2015; Congress of the United States House of Representatives 2014; NREL, National Renewable Energy Laboratory 2020). To address these concerns, some states have introduced mandatory rooftop and community solar disclosure rules (NREL, National Renewable Energy Laboratory 2020), while other states require that customers be provided with a Solar Consumer Protection Guide which needs to be initialed and signed by prior to purchase (CPUC, California Public Utilities Commission 2019).