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On-Site Renewable Energy and Public Finance: How and Why Municipal Bond Financing is the Key to Propagating Access to On-Site Renewable Energy Efficiency
Santa Clara High Tech Law Journal, 26(4): 559–590, 2010by: Jason Wiener, Christian AlexanderThis article argues that property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs are the best financial option to reduce the inequitable distribution of renewable energy. -
Toward a Low-Carbon Future: Municipal Financing for Energy Efficiency and Solar Power
Environment, January/February 2009by: Merrian Fuller, Stephen Portis, Daniel KammenThis article analyzes creative financing initiatives that promote solar development while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. -
A Guide on Equitable Clean Energy Program Design for Local Governments and Partners
September 2018by: Julie Curti, Kathryn Wright, Farrah AndersonThis guide is designed to help local governments promote equity through clean energy program design. -
A Guide to Community Solar: Utility , Private, and Non-profit Project Development
November 2010by: Jason Coughlin, Jennifer Grove, Linda IrvineThis guide is designed to help local governments and community organizations plan and develop community shared solar energy projects. -
Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing of Renewables and Efficiency
July 2010by: Bethany Speer, Ron KoenigThis fact sheet outlines the benefits of property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing and specifically how it addresses barriers to solar purchasing. -
Bringing the Benefits of Solar Energy to Low-Income Consumers: A Guide for States and Municipalities
May 2017by: Bentham PaulosThis guide is designed to help states and local governments design and implement policies and programs to promote solar access for low-income consumers. -
California Solar Permitting Guidebook: Improving Permit Review and Approval for Small Solar Systems
2017by: Sandy Goldberg, Samuel DiazThis guide is designed to help cities and counties in California improve their permitting processes for solar energy systems. -
A Step by Step Tool Kit for Local Governments to Go Solar
2009This guide is designed to help cities and counties in California use policies, programs, and investments to support solar energy use. -
A Municipal Guidebook for Solar Zoning and Permitting: Zoning and Permitting Solar in Your Municipality
December 2012by: Kay Pierce, Paul Lauer, Gordon IsraelsonThis guide is designed to help municipalities update zoning regulations and permitting processes to encourage solar development. -
Aggregate Net Metering: Opportunities for Local Governments
July 2013by: Chelsea BarnesThis guide is designed to help local governments understand and support aggregate net metering. -
Minnesota Grow Solar: Local Government Solar Toolkit
August 2017by: Abby Finis, Brian Ross, AICPThis guide is designed to help cities and counties in Minnesota update plans, zoning regulations, and permitting processes to promote solar development. -
Wisconsin Grow Solar: Local Government Solar Toolkit
October 2017by: Brian Ross, AICP, Abby FinisThis guide is designed to help cities and counties in Wisconsin update plans, zoning regulations, and permitting processes to promote solar development. -
Illinois Grow Solar: Local Government Solar Toolkit
June 2017by: Brian Ross, AICP, Abby FinisThis guide is designed to help cities and counties in Illinois update plans, zoning regulations, and permitting processes to promote solar development. -
Iowa Grow Solar: Local Government Solar Toolkit
March 2016by: Brian Ross, AICP, Abby FinisThis guide is designed to help cities and counties in Iowa update plans, zoning regulations, and permitting processes to promote solar development. -
Green Power Procurement: A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs
2014This guide is designed to help local governments design and implement a green power purchasing strategy. -
Guide to Implementing Solar PV for Local Governments
2014by: Emily Dodson, Christopher Doyle, Robert LockhartThis guide is designed to help local governments install solar energy systems on public land and buildings. -
Washington Planning and Zoning: Opportunities for Local Governments to Support Rooftop Solar
March 2013by: Joyce Phillips, AICP, Denise Novotny, Tim StearnsThis guide is designed to help cities and counties in Washington support solar energy use through plans, development regulations, and permitting processes. -
Local Lending for Solar PV: A Guide for Local Governments Seeking to Engage Financial Institutions
November 2013by: Christina Becker-Birck, Jayson Uppal, Emily ChessinThis guide is designed to help local governments conduct outreach to lenders to help them understand opportunities to support solar development. -
Rhode Island Comprehensive Plans and Solar Energy Systems
February 2019by: Nancy Hess, Paul Gonsalves, Christopher KearnsThis guide is designed to help municipalities in Rhode Island address solar energy use in their comprehensive plans and zoning regulations. -
CSRA-RC, GA, Integrating Solar Land Uses: A Regulatory Template for CSRA Communities
2015This guide is designed to help cities and counties in east-central Georgia, adopt solar development regulations. -
Low-Income Solar Policy Guide
March 2016This guide is designed to help policymakers and solar advocates understand opportunities for creating low-income solar programs and policies. -
On-Site Renewable Energy Generation: A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs
2014This guide is designed to help local governments identify opportunities to support solar and other renewable energy development on public facilities and throughout their communities. -
Purchasing Power: Best Practices Guide to Solar Procurement
2011by: Jenna Goodward, Rachel Massaro, Benjamin FosterThis guide is designed to help both public and commercial entities organize and execute collaborative purchases of solar power. -
Publicly Supported Solar Loan Programs: A Guide for States and Municipalities
January 2017by: Travis LowderThis guide is designed to help states and municipalities develop and implement loan programs to support home owners financing solar energy systems. -
DVRPC, PA-NJ-DE, Renewable Energy Ordinance Framework: Solar PV
February 2015This guide is designed to help municipalities in metropolitan Philadelphia develop and adopt zoning regulations for small-scale solar energy systems. -
Solar Deployment Guidebook: A Resource for State and Local Governments
December 2018by: Stephen Goss, Sandy FazeliThis guide is designed to help state and local governments address barriers to solar development. -
California Solar Energy Facility Permit Streamlining Guide
February 2012by: Tim Snellings, Jennifer BarrettThis guide is designed to help counties in California develop zoning regulations and permitting processes to streamline solar development. -
Solar Energy Financing Guide: Empowering Wisconsin Local Governments
April 2017by: Sherrie GruderThis guide is designed to help local governments in Wisconsin understand financing options for solar development. -
Local Government Project Portal: Goal-Setting Guidance
August 2018This guide is designed to help cities and counties set goals for producing or using renewable energy, including solar energy. -
Solar+Storage for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities: A Guide for States and Municipalities
March 2017by: Todd Olinsky-PaulThis guide is designed to help states and local governments analyze opportunities to support solar development with battery storage for the benefit of low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. -
Standards and Requirements for Solar Equipment, Installation, and Licensing and Certification: A Guide for States and Municipalities
February 2017by: Ben Inskeep, Beren ArgetsingerThis guide is designed to help states and local governments develop and revise technical standards and requirements to meet solar development goals. -
Rhode Island Renewable Energy Guidelines: Solar Energy Systems Model Ordinance Templates Zoning and Taxation
February 2019by: Nancy Hess, Paul Gonsalves, Christopher KearnsThis model presents templates to help municipalities in Rhode Island adopt zoning and taxation regulations to support solar development. -
NCTCOG, TX, Model Ordinance Guidelines for Municipalities
July 2016This model provides a general framework to help cities in metropolitan Dallas-Fort Worth adopt solar development regulations. -
The Guide to Developing Solar Photovoltaics at Massachusetts Landfills
August 2016This guide is designed to help local governments in Massachusetts develop solar projects on landfills. -
The Northwest Community Solar Guide
May 2013This guide is designed to help local governments and other stakeholders support or develop community solar projects. -
DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency
Updated 2019This clearinghouse provides summaries and access to local, state, and national renewable energy policies, programs, and ordinances. -
Sustainable Energy in America Factbook
2018by: Rachel Luo, Colleen Regan, Ethan ZindlerThis report highlights deployment, financing, and economic trends in “sustainable energy” sectors, including wind and solar. -
Clean Energy in City Codes: A Baseline Analysis of Municipal Codification across the United States
NREL/TP-6A70-66120, December 2016by: Jeffrey Cook, Aleandra Aznar, Alexander DaneThis report surveys municipal renewable energy codification in the United States. -
Wind and Solar Production and the Sustainable Development Code
January 2008by: Erica Heller, AICPThis report summarizes wind and solar power technologies, policies, development potential, and local land-use regulations. -
The Key to Unlocking the Power of Small Scale Renewable Energy: Local Land Use Regulations
Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law, 27(2): 339-367, 2012by: Patricia SalkinThis article discusses methods to support small-scale wind and solar projects through local land use regulations. -
Zoning for Sustainability: A Review and Analysis of the Zoning Ordinances of 32 Cities in the United States
Journal of the American Planning Association, 80(3): 239-252, 2014by: Edward Jepson, AICP, Anna HainesThis article examines how municipalities incorporate sustainability principles into local zoning regulations. -
EPA RE-Powering Mapping and Screening Tools: Land Use Considerations Training Module
February 2018This training module guides stakeholders through land use and siting considerations related to the development of renewable energy on contaminated lands, landfills and mine sites. -
RE-Powering Mapper 2.0
Updated September 2018This interactive map contains over 130,000 contaminated sites across the U.S. evaluated for their renewable energy development potential. -
Quantifying the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: A Guide for State and Local Governments
Revised July 2018by: Denise Mulholland, Julie Rosenberg, Carolyn SnyderThis guide provides governments and policymakers an analytical framework, various tools, and case studies to quantify benefits from energy efficiency and renewable energy. -
Tompkins County, NY, Tools to Promote and Regulate the Deployment of Renewable Energy Systems
June 2017This guide provides municipalities in Tompkins County, NY, with regulatory recommendations for crafting wind and solar ordinances aligned with the county comprehensive plan. -
Buying Clean Electricity: How Cities Benefit from Power Purchase Agreements
September 2018by: Jessica Leung, Amy BaileyThis briefing paper explores the power purchase agreement (PPA) model as an approach to purchasing renewable energy. -
Vermont Guidance for Municipal Enhanced Energy Planning Standards
March 2017This guide helps Vermont municipalities develop enhanced energy plans, aiding with existing energy conditions, establishing local targets aligned with state energy goals, and mapping renewable energy development potential. -
Handbook on Siting Renewable Energy Projects While Addressing Environmental Issues
2015This guide provides an overview of, and resources for, siting renewable energy projects on environmentally degraded lands. -
Selma, NC, Code of Ordinances
Updated February 2017These regulations belong to the Solar Energy and Tiny Houses and Micro-Apartments collections. -
Albany, CA, Climate Action Plan
Adopted April 2010The city's Climate Action Plan's Buildings and Energy Strategy lists renewable energy use, including solar energy, as an important part of the city's climate strategies.