IREC first developed Model Interconnection Procedures in 2005 in an effort to capture emerging best practices in this vital area. Several important evolutions in best practices are synthesized into the 2013 Model Interconnection Procedures, last updated in 2009.

The important advances incorporated into these model procedures include:

This paper explores the possibility of financing renewable energy projects through raising capital in the public markets. It gives an overview of the size, structure, and benefits of public capital markets, as well as showing how renewable energy projects might take advantage of this source of new funds to lower the cost of electricity.

Laura Mundell, with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), discusses solar in greater Pittsburgh Region, and SPC's engagement in the Department of Energy's Rooftop Solar Challenge. To learn more about SPC, visitwww.spcregion.org.  For more information on the National Association of Regional Councils, visit www.narc.org.

In March 2012, the cities of West Linn and Lake Oswego, Oregon, launched Solarize West Linn-Lake Oswego, a community-led solar initiative, supported by both cities, Clackamas County, and a grant from the city of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Clackamas County also supported a Solarize campaign along with the county’s Oregon State University extension service – Growing Solar Clackamas County. 

This document introduces the Energy Department's new Solarize Guidebook: A Community Guide to Collective Purchasing of Residential PV Systems. The guide is designed for 'green' consumers, utilities, local governments, and community groups who want to replicate the success of the Solarize Portland model, overcome barriers to implementation, and permanently transform the market for solar energy in their communities.

This document introduces the Energy Department's new Guide to Community Shared Solar: Utility, Private, and Nonprofit Project Development. The guide is designed to help those who want to develop community shared solar projects - from community organizers and advocates to utility managers and government officials - navigate the process of developing shared systems, from early planning to implementation.

The Guide is intended to provide guidance specifically to regional planning organizations on the unique roles they can play to move solar energy deployment forward in their regions. By focusing on case studies and regionally-specific tools, the Guide seeks to be a practical and applicable resource for taking full advantage of the opportunities in regional solar energy deployment.

Learn how through collaborative procurement, communities can reduce the up-front costs of solar installations by working together as a group to evaluate project sites, procure solar systems and negotiate contracts, thus yielding much lower transaction costs for each individual partner.

To stimulate investment in renewable energy generation projects, the federal government developed a series of support structures that reduce taxes for eligible investors--the investment tax credit, the production tax credit, and accelerated depreciation. The nature of these tax incentives often requires an outside investor and a complex financial arrangement to allocate risk and reward among the parties.

In 2010, PPAs and leases made up around 43% of all PV installations (by capacity) in the non-residential sector and approximately 17% of capacity additions in the residential sector. In this webinar, we examined the emergence of PPAs and discussed the future of PPAs and other similar ownership structures. PPA experts discussed how retail PPAs work, how municipalities have taken advantage of the PPA model to lock-in their energy costs, and discussed innovative PPA ownership models.