by Brianna Crandall — February 14, 2011—As part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot initiative to dramatically reduce the cost of installed solar energy by the end of the decade, DOE introduced on February 9 the second edition of Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments, available online.
The guide is a comprehensive resource that will help communities accelerate their adoption of solar energy technologies. Additionally, the guide is intended to help communities better understand the steps necessary to permit and license solar energy installations and how to streamline those processes, which can deliver significant savings in the total costs of installing solar systems.
The publication also offers guidance for communities on how to develop a community-specific plan for expanding the use of solar energy, and includes new policy and market developments that have emerged since the first edition was published in July 2009. New topics include third-party residential financing, community solar financing, solar-ready building guidelines, and hosting of wholesale photovoltaic (PV) systems on local government property.
DOE also recently released a publication aimed at helping communities advance local solar markets–the Guide to Community Solar: Utility, Private, and Non-profit Project Development. This targeted guide provides information on organizing community solar projects, which allow multiple community members to share ownership and benefit from the electricity generated by a single PV installation.
For renters and other community members unable to install PV systems on their own property, community-based cooperative relationships provide cost-effective, innovative financing, and ownership models for investing in clean, reliable energy.
