Do customers still want solar even if they can’t put it on their own house? From Orlando, the answer is a resounding Yes! Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), the municipally owned utility serving one of Florida’s largest cities, launched its Community Solar Program in March. Within six days, all 400kW were fully subscribed, and OUC had received another 300kW+ (more…)

Shading, ownership issues, limited space and many other factors means that most American households simply aren’t suitable for solar panels. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that as much as three-quarters of residential buildings have physical restrictions to going solar. (more…)

Because of shading, building ownership and structure issues, only about 22%-27% of all American rooftops are suitable for solar panel installation. This means that the majority of people will have a hard time contributing to the solar movement. Luckily things are about to change. (more…)

Getting energy from the sun is a great idea. However, installing solar panels house-by-house is slow, costly and cumbersome, and downright inefficient if the goal is to bring solar to the masses.

This problem troubled Paul Spencer after he built his own uber-efficient, custom solar home near Aspen, (more…)

Maryland policymakers are considering two bills that would kick solar growth into high gear.

With a solid 2% solar goal and core policies like net metering driving in-state growth, Maryland is already well on its way to building a robust solar market. As costs have come down and the local industry has scaled, solar has been installed at a (more…)

As the home of some pioneering community solar projects, Maryland’s clean energy champions are seeking to establish a platform on which these renewable energy arrangements can flourish.

Recently introduced as Senate Bill 595, state lawmakers will be considering a proposal that would (more…)

The house in which I grew up sat on a narrow plot of land – only 15 feet separated us from the neighbor’s home. Consequently, my mother didn’t have much room to grow produce in a garden. She wanted more than three tomato plants, so for one summer in the mid-70s she took part in a community garden. (more…)

Cornwall Power, a company that helps landowners to set up renewable energy projects in the southwestern region of England, has been given the green light by local authorities to develop community solar farms in the region.

The company has received the approval to install a £12m ground-mounted solar farm covering 27 acres on Lanhydrock Estate (more…)

Consider that only one-quarter of residential rooftops are suitable for solar PV and that one-third of Americans are renters who are typically unable to install a solar system on their landlord’s roof. That adds up to a whole lotta energy consumers who simply can’t go solar in the usual way.

New community solar models aim to (more…)

There are plenty of not-so-sunny renewable policy news headlines these days. Congress failed to pass comprehensive energy legislation this year – and as of yesterday, things don’t even look good for a piecemeal extension of the critical Treasury Grant Program before it expires this month. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Despite gridlock higher up, state (more…)