RMI Outlet
Plug Into New Ideas
What’s Lighting Up the Web: Solyndra
The recent bankruptcy of Solyndra Energy resulted in a media frenzy that directed considerable attention and scrutiny to the clean energy industry. The failure of this solar company has been called a “black eye” for the renewable energy industry, the end of green jobs, and as David Roberts of Grist warned, a climategate-level mess.
Financial Innovation in the Solar Sector
Google’s recent $280 million investment in solar developer SolarCity is a win-win-win scenario. About 10,000 homeowners get cheaper, cleaner energy, Google gets a hefty tax write-off (to the tune of $80 million dollars), and the emerging preferred financing mechanism for solar installs—the power purchase agreement (PPA) —gains yet another stamp of approval from one of the clean energy sector’s most important investors.
Solutions Journal: Spring 2011—RMI Convenes Innovation Summits
As part of its RetroFit Initiative, RMI convened two summits this spring: one to advance education, tools, and best practices for whole building energy analysis and one to encourage financing for energy-efficient design. The summits brought together diverse partners and stakeholders with the goal of capitalizing on opportunities in each industry to support the widespread adoption of energy efficient building design and operation.
Building Energy Modeling: Igniting the Industry (Video)
At the Building Energy Modeling Innovation Summit last month, participants shared their vision of the future of energy modeling and how it can drive widespread solutions for low-energy buildings with reduced electric demand. Here’s what a few of them said….
Talking Small Building Retrofit Finance
What exactly is a ‘zombie building’? “Toadstools?” Or M&V? What’s a roof pack and what’s a RTU? Each of these questions was raised last week at a workshop convened by Rocky Mountain Institute and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Association in Boulder. The Energy Efficiency and Capital Markets workshop included participants from banks, energy service companies, commercial real estate firms and utility related organizations who came together to discuss the key financing constraints for deep energy retrofits in smaller scale buildings (less than 50,000 square feet).