How will you solar power your community?

Work for local government?  Want to see your community make strides with respect to renewable energy resources?  You’re in luck.

Solar powering your community has just gotten easier, thanks to a new online resource provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.  Community leaders, elected officials, local stakeholders and more can now turn to: “Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments.”  Created by Solar America Cities, as part of the Solar America Initiative, the guide will help counties, cities and towns across the U.S. create the foundations for sustainable solar markets.

According to the official website, the guide describes a number of policies or programs, followed by more information on:

• Benefits: Identifies benefits from implementing the policy or program.
• Implementation Tips and Options: Outlines various tips and options for designing and implementing the policy or program.
• Examples: Highlights experiences from communities that have successfully implemented the policy or program.
• Additional References and Resources: Lists additional reports, references, and tools that offer more information on the topic, where applicable.

Using the information provided, solar powering your community will be streamlined and effective.  Among other things, the guide “provides local governments with proven best practices enabling them to drive economic development, support clean energy jobs, and reduce carbon emissions by building a robust local solar market.”

Use the Department of Energy's guide to help solar power your community

The “Solar Powering Your Community” guide can be used in a number of ways.  The Department of Energy site suggests that it can stimulate ideas, or even create a comprehensive solar plan for your community.  Because solar power is not “one size fits all,” the guide offers a number of programs and policies that can be tailored to best serve your area.

According to the Solar Energy Technologies Program Manager, John Lushetsky:

“The Guide is based on successful projects in cities across the United States, bringing together information, best practices, and step-by-step instructions into a single resource that can help local governments accelerate the adoption of solar technologies.  The recommendations in the Guide have been successfully field tested in cities around the country, making it a valuable resource for any community that wants to reap the environmental and economic benefits of solar energy.”

Bringing solar power to your city has just been made easier.  With support from the DOE’s solar power guide, solar powering your community is a realistic goal for the 2009-10 fiscal year.  At the very least, you can start laying the foundation for a brighter, cleaner tomorrow.

A Solar America is Coming

America is lagging behind other industrialized countries in transitioning away from coal-based electricity, which contributes to global warming.  What a shame for this land that holds so many bright and capable minds.  New solar technological breakthroughs are regularly announced from MIT, University of Florida , and many other institutions.  So how will we take solar energy from the laboratory into reality?

The United States Department of Energy has one way of encouraging this effort – the Solar America Initiative (the “SAI”). The primary aim of the program is to encourage additional research and development so that electricity from photovoltaics will be as inexpensive as traditional forms of electricity by the year 2015.  Another goal of the Solar America Initiative is to break down “market barriers” to solar power deployment.  The Department of Energy (DOE) intends to help United States companies regain dominance in the international market with respect to solar technologies through the SAI awards and incentives.

The predecessor of the Solar America Initiative is the Million Solar Roofs program, implemented during the Clinton Administration:

What exactly is involved in the Solar America Initiative?  As explained on the DOE’s website, there will be a number of players, each performing specific roles – from universities to industry to state governments and federal agencies.  In many ways, the Solar America Initiative is akin to a public-private partnership.  Some corporations have been awarded money to advance solar programs.  For example, Bend, Oregon-based PV Powered will lead a team working to improve solar inverter efficiency, as posted earlier this week.  It is hoped that, over time, costs of solar energy will be reduced and production increased so that more consumers will be able to afford and install solar technologies.

Map of Solar America Cities

In order to address some of the market barriers to implementation of solar power, 25 Solar America Cities that have pledged to work with the Department of Energy to accelerate the adoption of solar technologies within their municipalities (see the map to the right).  These cities are taking a leadership role in paving the way for additional cities and towns to learn how important and effective it is to implement solar energy systems and encourage a viable solar market.  The Solar America Cities will also be adopting model regulations – codes, standards and rating systems – that will apply to solar projects.

Once the Solar America Cities start to power themselves with energy from the sun, we expect to see more and more locales follow suit.

Why should you care about the Solar America Initiative?  Even if you are not a proponent of clean, renewable energy, you will still benefit greatly from a conversion to solar-based electricity:

Benefits to the nation of the Solar America Initiative include:

• Boosting the economy by creating a U.S.-based solar industry
• Increasing energy security by diversifying the nation’s electricity portfolio
• Decreasing the effect of power outages on cities
• Reducing the impact on the environment of power generation from fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and natural gas.

I am happy to finally see this country take the initiative when it comes to solar power.  With change and sunshine in the air, we can help keep this America the Beautiful!