Local governments nationwide are pursuing strategies to improve the sustainability, resiliency, and energy futures of their communities. A host of federal and non-profit tools and programs exist to support these strategies, but until now no single program has focused specifically on helping cities address all of their energy, sustainability, and resiliency challenges. Continue reading
NREL Conduit Blog
The NREL Conduit Blog discusses research relevant to state, local, and tribal governments. Contributing authors provide posts related to events, policy analysis, and decision support outcomes to inform the market in a credible and timely fashion.
(e.g., storage, resilience, LMI)
Cities Leading Through Energy Analysis and Planning Helps Support Local Clean Energy Innovation
March 26, 2015
Hot Topics: Value of Solar
March 20, 2015
This three-part STAT Chat podcast series features Joyce McLaren, a senior energy analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, discussing value of solar (VOS) policy, including what it is, how it is developed, and which methodologies are being used in the marketplace. Continue reading
Trip Notes: How Solar Policy Issues in Jamaica Compare to U.S. Market Needs
March 17, 2015
Last week, two members of NREL's Solar Technical Assistance Team—Liz Doris and I—had the opportunity to travel to Jamaica to discuss the country's net billing program with a variety of stakeholders. Our work under this project is being funded by the State Department’s United States Agency for International Development (USAID), but we were able to draw extensively upon our experience supporting state and local governments through STAT. Continue reading
Word of the Day: Levelized Cost of Electricity
March 06, 2015
When analysts want to compare the cost of generating electricity from various sources such as wind, solar, coal, and natural gas, they often use a metric called the levelized cost of electricity or LCOE. This amount is typically displayed as cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). In the power industry, the LCOE is also referred to as the “bus bar” cost. Continue reading