RMI Outlet
Plug Into New Ideas
Happy Independence Day
Today, we are dependent on an inefficient and unstable energy system. The U.S. relies on energy sources that threaten our economy, national security, and natural environment. However, the energy system is in transition, moving to a more prosperous and secure future.
From the Archives: Happy Independence Day
Today, we are dependent on an inefficient and unstable energy system. The U.S. relies on energy sources that threaten our economy, national security, and natural environment. However, the energy system is in transition, moving to a more prosperous and secure future.
Largest U.S. solar rooftop project secures $1.4 billion DoE loan guarantee
Distributed generation was given an enormous boost last week with the Department of Energy’s decision to provide a loan guarantee for “Project Amp,” a 733 megawatt distributed solar project – the largest single project of its kind in U.S. history. According to a press release announcing the project, this initiative will create the equivalent of more than 10,000 jobs across 28 states and provide enough renewable energy to power about 100,000 homes.
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.
Ten Possibilities for Green Building Over the Next Decade
Victor Olgyay is a principal architect with the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Built Environment Team. He sees future buildings as “Green Machines,” factories for the production of ecological infrastructures.
