Rocky Mountain Institute to help drive solar adoption in Colorado

Team awarded DOE SunShot funding to develop solar-friendly communities

Snowmass, Colo. — A team led by Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (CoSEIA), and including Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), received a $491,000 federal grant.

All to pilot a program in Colorado. A program that could reduce solar permitting and interconnection costs by 25 percent.

The proposed Colorado project called “Solar-friendly communities”.  All led by CoSEIA in partnership with RMI, Denver, Boulder County and Fort Collins. Furthermore Golden and American Solar Energy Society. Cause this will identify and spread best practices. That’s through online tools, hands-on support.  Also show quantifiable progress assessments.

RMI will bring their expertise in solar balance of system data. Also and assist on best practices for cost reduction to the project. Furthermore it will lead efforts to evaluate and measure the impact various practices and tools. Those that have lowering the ultimate cost of solar energy to customers.

Rocky Mountain Institute to help drive solar adoption in Colorado.

The CoSEIA partnership is one of 22 regional teams awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Rooftop Solar Challenge. This is to spur solar power deployment by cutting red tape for residential and small commercial rooftop solar systems. Furthermore and finally is part of the DOE’s larger effort to make solar energy more accessible and affordable.

Using a “race to the top” model, the Rooftop Solar Challenge incentivizes regional awardees to address the differing and expensive permitting, zoning, metering and connection processes required to install and finance residential and small business solar PV systems. These diverse teams bring together city, county and state officials; regulatory entities, private industry, universities, local utilities and other regional stakeholders to clear a path for rapid expansion of solar energy in targeted communities, which can serve as models for other communities across the country.

Furthermore, Read more about RMI’s background in convening solar industry stakeholders to drive BoS cost reductions at http://rmi.org/rmi/SolarPVBOS.

In conclusion, reducing the cost of solar is a key to achieving to achieving an efficient, renewable and distributed electric system. Finally, this transformation is outlined in Reinventing Fire. RMI’s vision and blueprint for running a 158% bigger U.S. economy in 2050. Yet and finally needing no oil, no coal, no nuclear energy and one-third less natural gas.

Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, December 6, 2011