WHAT'S NEW

State Clean Energy Fund Support for Renewable Energy Projects: Key Findings from the 2008 CESA National Database, by Clean Energy States Alliance and Peregrine Energy Group. This new report from CESA demonstrates how state clean energy funds have emerged as a major driver of renewable energy projects across the U.S. Within the past decade, states from Connecticut to California have funded 52,000 projects using the full range of renewable energy technologies, including wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower. The 10-year voluntary investment by states of $1.9 billion has leveraged $10.1 billion in additional project investment and added 2.5 new, clean gigawatts to the grid. June 2010.

State-Based Financing Tools to Support Distributed and Community Wind Projects, by Charles Kubert and Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy States Alliance. This state wind energy program guide was created to help state clean energy fund managers and policymakers examine financial support tools for distributed wind projects. The options range from rebates and loans to bridge financing and renewable portfolio standards, and should be evaluated in light of the availability of tax and other incentives available at the federal level. The report also looks at third-party financing. May 2010.

Supporting On-Site Distributed Wind Generation Projects, by Charles Kubert and Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy States Alliance. CESA has prepared this state wind energy program guide for state clean energy fund managers and policymakers that support the installation of on-site, behind-the-meter wind turbines at private businesses and municipal and other public facilities. May 2010.

Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) report series to provide state policymakers, clean energy fund managers, and other interested persons with basic information on:
- Fuel Cell Technology: A Clean, Reliable Source of Stationary Power (pdf), May 2010.
- Stationary Fuel Cells and Critical Power Applications (pdf), May 2010.
- Advancing Stationary Fuel Cells through State Policies (pdf), May 2010

Preliminary Evaluation of the Impact of the Section 1603 Treasury Grant Program on Renewable Energy Deployment in 2009, (pdf) by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives. This report examines the effect of the 30% Treasury cash grant-in-lieu-of-tax credit - a provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - on deployment of renewable energy in 2009. Among other findings, the report determines that the program was heavily subscribed, especially by wind projects, and motivated 2,400 MW of wind installations that might not otherwise have happened (and 3,860 associated long-term, full-time jobs along with over 50,000 short-term jobs). April 2010.

CESA State Clean Energy Program Guide: A Review of Emerging State Finance Tools to Advance Solar Generation (pdf), by Charles Kubert and Mark Sinclair. March 2010.

Maryland Energy Adminstration's Mid-Sized Solar Energy Grant Program, providing incentives for businesses to install appropriately sized solar photovoltaic and solar hot water systems on their premises, has increased Grants award amount for PV installations to $500 per kilowatt up to $50,000. The grant program was made possible through ARRA funding.

States Advancing Solar Spotlight: Solarize Portland. (pdf) March 2010. This briefing paper summarizes the Solarize Portland program, an innovative community initiative that helps homeowners overcome the financial and logistical hurdles for installing solar PV.

The California Energy Commission has released publication #CEC-300-2010-001-CMF, the 3rd edition of the New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) Guidebook. This guidebook, adopted by the Energy Commission at its Business Meeting on January 27, 2010, describes the requirements to receive incentives for constructing energy efficient, solar homes under the CA NSHP.

New Wind Resource Maps and Wind Potential Estimates for the U.S. prepared by NREL and AWS Truewind, LLC, of Albany, New York. February 2010.

CA CSI's Multifamily, Affordable, Solar Housing (MASH) program released its first semi-annual report. The MASH Program provides incentives for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) generating systems on low-income multifamily housing in several service territories in CA. Januray 2010.

NREL Technical Report: Renewable Energy Prices in State-Leve Feed-in Tariffs: Federal Law Constraints and Possible Solutions, by Scott Hemping, Carolyn Elefant, Karlynn Cory, and Kevin Porter. January 2010.

CESA Clean Energy Finance Series:
January 22, 2010 at 1 pm ET: Revolving Loan Funds Presentations (pdf) by Dave Carey, Energy Program Consortium; and Peter Krajsa, AFC First Financial Corp and Adam Stern, Gemstone Group.

CPUC Announces Incentives for Solar Hot Water with the CSI Solar Thermal Program. See Press Release (pdf). January 21, 2010.

LBNL Report: Revealing the Hidden Value that the Federal Investment Tax Credit and Treasury Cash Grant Provide To Community Wind Projects,(pdf) by Mark Bolinger, LBNL, January 2010.

New CESA Report: Distributed Renewable Energy Finance and Policy Toolkit (pdf), by Charles Kubert and Mark Sinclair. December 2009.

Northeast EE and RE Web-based Education & Training Search Tool, presentation to CESA members, by Kevin Doyle, New England Clean Energy Council, and Ed Schmidt: Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships. Dec. 11, 2009.

CESA Update Call: DOE Loan Guarantee Info Session Presentation by Steve Klein and Tom Cochran. (pdf). November 13, 2009. DOE RFI (pdf).

New CEG Report: Smart Solar Marketing Strategies: Clean Energy State Program Guide (pdf), by Lyn Rosoff, SmartPower and Mark Sinclair, Clean Energy Group, August 2009. This report provides marketing best practices on how to address barriers to solar market growth. According to the report, by acting more like retailers selling a product, state solar programs have the potential to sharply increase PV purchases and installations.

CESA "What's New" Archives