Utility-scale solar projects have grown rapidly in number and size over the last few years, driven in part by strong renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and federal incentives designed to stimulate investment in renewable energy technologies. This report provides an overview of such policies, as well as the project financial structures they enable, based on industry literature, publicly available data, and questionnaires conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Barbara Buffaloe, the city of Columbia, Missouri’s Sustainability Manager and Connie Kacprowicz, a Utilities Services Specialist for Columbia Water and Light discuss the city’s solar initiatives and how they tie in with other energy efficiency and sustainability programs underway in the community. To learn more about Columbia’s solar and sustainability programs, visit http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Sustainability/.

Cooperation between local governments and electrical utilities is essential to accelerating broad deployment of renewable energy. Join ICLEI USA and partners to learn how to work with your utility to create improved conditions for bringing renewable energy online. We'll focus on topics related to working with electric cooperatives on solar.

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.

This webinar will share the results of research conducted by UL to examine the fire service concerns of photovoltaic (PV) systems and the potential impact of firefighting operations.

Financing of solar projects remains a major barrier to the more widespread adoption of solar technologies. This webinar will feature successful solar projects from Sonoma County, California and Joint Venture Silicon Valley. Sonoma County adopted a climate action plan in 2006, which included a Comprehensive Energy Project. Through the Comprehensive Energy Project, the county has installed a 750kW solar array and invested in energy efficiency and conservation measures.

This PowerPoint presentation from the 2011  ICMA Annual Conference in Milwaukee describes the role of local leaders in bringing solar power to their communities. In addition, it includes specific examples of their use in a variety of places and photos.

Do your community's plans and ordinances address solar energy systems? As the nation's centers of electricity consumption, cities and counties are uniquely positioned to support economic growth, strengthen America's energy independence, and reduce pollution by converting to solar energy. Planners have important roles to play in making sure their communities' plans and land use regulations allow and encourage this clean, safe energy source.

Survey results cover challenges to solar energy development, local initiatives, permitting and interconnection, planning, and financing options.

Considering installing solar on a municipal facility? During this hour-long webinar, you will learn from the experiences of San Jose, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Tucson, Arizona. These three cities – all Solar America Cities – have city-run solar programs and have successfully installed solar on city-owned facilities. San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley, installed 1.3 MW of solar on a city-facility through a power-purchase agreement. The city learned from several failed RFPs, and eventually negotiated a 20-year agreement to purchase power from the installation.