CESA Blog
What does the phrase “load growth” suggest to you? If you’re not working for an electric utility or regulatory agency, the answer is probably not much. But within the arcane world of distribution and transmission grid operators, state utility regulators and regional wholesale electric market arbiters, “load growth” evokes the kind of visceral chill normal…
Connecticut Brings Solar to Low- and Moderate-Income Homeowners
Low- and moderate-income (LMI) Americans have had less access to solar than those with higher incomes. Even LMI residents who own their own homes face barriers to installing solar. The Connecticut Green Bank, a quasi-state agency established by the Connecticut General Assembly, analyzed the obstacles and developed tools to bring cost-effective solar, combined with energy efficiency, to the state’s LMI homeowners.
Recent Trends in State Progress on Clean Energy
State clean energy leadership has long been essential to robust clean energy expansion in the US. With the federal government becoming less aggressive since 2017 in promoting clean energy, the policy innovation role of the states has become even more important.
Financing Resilient Power: Expanding Solar+Storage Solutions to Communities on the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis
By Rob Sanders and Lew Milford, Clean Energy Group In California, millions of people have gone without power due to preventative utility shutoffs – a problematic response to wildfires savaging the state. Other devastating outages are now commonplace throughout the US, following the ever-increasing number of severe storms and other disasters. In California and elsewhere,…
The Buzz: State Pollinator-Friendly Solar Initiatives
Pollinators play a critical role in the production of food and seeds. Approximately one quarter of agricultural production in the United States depends upon pollinators, predominantly bees.
Solar with Justice Webinar Series
The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) has published a new report on bringing solar to under-resourced communities. The report, Solar with Justice: Strategies for Powering Up Under-Resourced Communities and Growing an Inclusive Solar Economy[resource-library/resource/solar-with-justice] was produced in partnership with the Jackson State University Department of Urban & Regional Planning, the Partnership for Southern Equity, PaulosAnalysis, the University of Michigan School for Environment & Sustainability, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, and The Solutions Project. More than 90 policymakers, community group leaders, solar experts, and energy equity advocates were interviewed as part of the research for the report.
A Message from CESA’s Executive Director
Have you found the webinars and publications of the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) to be useful and interesting?
Clean Energy States Alliance Launches Major Initiative to Advance Solar in Under-Resourced Communities
US Department of Energy Funds CESA’s Efforts to Scale Up Solar for Low-and Moderate-Income Households
New Jersey’s Community Solar Program Makes Solar More Accessible
As the cost of renewable energy continues to drop, “going solar” becomes a viable option for more New Jerseyans.
FERC Upholds Order Opening Markets to Energy Storage
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted this week to uphold its landmark Order 841, which states that the nation’s electric grid operators (RTOs and ISOs) must allow energy storage resources fair and equal access to provide services in regional wholesale energy markets. The order is anticipated to provide important new market opportunities to energy…
Energy Storage Is the New Efficiency
When Massachusetts took the nation-leading step of integrating energy storage into its energy efficiency plan this year, it didn’t just add a new technology. It consummated a decade-long, slow-motion embrace of an important new form of efficiency. Up until now, efficiency in the electricity sector has meant using fewer electrons. This is a good and…