Solar panel at an angle

Introducing "States of Clean Energy Innovation," A News and Data Hub

Stuart DeCew
With so much happening at a state level in solar power and energy efficiency, it is difficult to keep up with the variety of approaches and perspectives. So the Yale Center for Business and the Environment is here to help by launching “States of Clean Energy Innovation,” an online news...
Darcy Jones

Economic Development Meets Clean Energy in South Carolina

Kat Friedrich
Integrating socioeconomically inclusive behavior is a strong point of South Carolina’s clean energy programs. Three staffers at South Carolina Energy Office, Energy Policy Analyst Darcy Jones (the primary source), Deputy Director of Energy Maeve Mason, and Energy Specialist Stacey Washington, completed a joint written interview where they shared insights about...
James Owen

Stakeholders in Missouri Debate Clean Energy’s Future

Kat Friedrich
As Missouri’s clean energy policies go back and forth like a ball in a game, advocates are doing their best to negotiate, said James Owen, executive director of Renew Missouri, in this interview. Net metering and other policies are being actively debated by state decision makers. The outcome is still...
Chicago building

Michigan and Illinois Raise Their Renewable Portfolio Standards

Kat Friedrich
What kept Governor Rick Snyder (R-Mich.) up all night in December? According to Katie Trachsel, manager of the Michigan Renewable Energy Certification System (MIRECS) program, it was the passage of two pieces of legislation that transformed the state’s renewable energy laws, encouraged energy efficiency, and reshaped utility regulation. Meanwhile, Illinois...
Amsterdam, New York

DOE Accelerates the Trajectory of Affordable Clean Energy

Ruth Sego
What is the federal government doing to catalyze access to clean energy? Last year, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) launched two programs that work side by side: the Clean Energy Savings for All initiative and the Clean Energy for Low-Income Communities Accelerator. These programs attempt to identify and...

The Mechanics of Measuring Success in Energy Efficiency Financing

Kat Friedrich
Growing momentum for energy efficiency financing in the United States has motivated State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network to conduct around 20 interviews with stakeholders in five states to explore what it takes to make utility-sponsored programs succeed. The research team produced a report that outlines the pitfalls and...

Will California’s Successor Tariff Discourage New Residential Solar?

Ryland Parry
Solar installers, residential customers, utilities, and a host of other stakeholders in the residential solar market are waiting for the California ’s (CPUC) Net Energy Metering successor tariff (NEM 2.0), due by the end of 2015. The issue at hand is whether or not, and to what extent...

A Hands-On Workshop on Energy Efficiency Financing Program Design

Lisa Veliz Waweru
What does an effective energy efficiency financing program look like? On May 31 in San Francisco, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) convened 23 representatives from across the country in a workshop led by Cadmus Group. They explored current challenges facing program designers.