solar energy
Community Solar: Compensation
Who gets the money? Compensation mechanisms are where a lot of the power of these programs resides, but naturally, also the debate.
This post is co-written by Naomi Caldwell (J.D. ’24, UCLA School of Law). Two recent posts explored community solar through the lens of its many potential benefits. (Part One on systemwide benefits and Part Two on local and individual benefits.) Today’s post follows the money, exploring community solar compensation mechanisms. The question of who makes …
Continue reading “Community Solar: Compensation”
CONTINUE READINGCommunity Solar: Local and Individual Benefits
Community solar offers a rich case study for how a diverse range of values can be integrated into the traditionally narrow scope of public utility commission decision-making.
Earlier this week, I published a blog post highlighting some of the systemwide benefits community solar programs can provide and exploring considerations for policy design prioritizing each benefit. Today’s post continues that project, this time focusing on several of the benefits community solar can generate at the local or community level and for individual households: …
Continue reading “Community Solar: Local and Individual Benefits”
CONTINUE READINGCommunity Solar: The Systemwide Benefits
The debates over community solar program design are fascinating sites of struggle over which values should drive decision-making.
Electricity regulation has traditionally been defined by a relatively narrow public interest prerogative: ensuring just and reasonable rates for reliable electric service. The call to decarbonize, however, has injected a new diversity of values into the conversation. Transforming the electric power system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is opening new opportunities to elevate values like …
Continue reading “Community Solar: The Systemwide Benefits”
CONTINUE READINGRenewable Energy: A Timeline
Today’s wind and solar resources didn’t come out of nowhere.
The first efforts to use of wind to generate electricity was 134 years ago, and the photoelectric effect was discovered six decades earlier. So in a sense, these are old technologies — about the same age as the very first internal combustion engines. But the scientific and technological advances that made these technologies competitive with …
Continue reading “Renewable Energy: A Timeline”
CONTINUE READINGClimate Policy and the Audacity of Hope
The barriers are still huge — but we can also envision a path to success.
We should resist the allure of easy optimism about climate change, given the scale of the challenges. Neither should we wallow in despair. There’s a good basis for hope. Let’s seize the day!
CONTINUE READINGDeSantis and the Environment
A Little Bit of Nepotism and a Lot of Everglades Protection.
Compared to Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis is practically a Greta Thunberg on environmental issues. Of course, by the same token, I’m practically a Steph Curry on the court compared to Danny DeVito. Sarcasm aside, DeSantis is pretty good on environmental issues for a Republican. But he rarely mentions climate change, and his record on renewable …
Continue reading “DeSantis and the Environment “
CONTINUE READINGA Great Day for Climate Policy
A short video explainer of why passage of the IRA bill is such a big deal.
We all have something to celebrate with the House passage of the IRA on Friday. Getting it passed required some difficult compromises, but the bill represents a major step forward. Because of the Mar-a-Lago search, it hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention as it deserves. If you don’t have time for a lot of details, …
Continue reading “A Great Day for Climate Policy”
CONTINUE READINGWhy Energy Conservation Will Remain Crucial
Even after switching to clean power, we’ll still need to limit energy use.
If we switch to renewables, we won’t need to worry about saving energy. Right? Wrong! One reason to save energy is to limit carbon emissions from the energy we use. That’s going to important until the energy system has been completely cleaned up. But energy conservation is important for reasons that go beyond the direct …
Continue reading “Why Energy Conservation Will Remain Crucial”
CONTINUE READINGRenewable Energy in the Southwest
Despite Trump, the needle has kept moving in the right direction.
The sun is intense in the desert Southwest. During the Trump years, the federal government has hard worked to promote fossil fuels. Trump also has been no friend of renewable energy. This has not stopped progress toward a cleaner energy mix in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Arizona Arizona’s current power mix is about …
Continue reading “Renewable Energy in the Southwest”
CONTINUE READINGNew Report: Improving Landscape-Level Planning for Solar PV Development
New UC Berkeley/UCLA Law report details policy changes to help achieve new SB 100 renewable energy goals
A new report from UC Berkeley and UCLA Schools of Law, A New Solar Landscape, identifies key reforms for California to enact at the state, regional, and local level to increase the pace and optimal siting of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) development. With the passage of SB 100 (de León, 2018), California now requires electric …
Continue reading “New Report: Improving Landscape-Level Planning for Solar PV Development”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
