Why Haven’t Cities Covered Their Buildings in Solar?

Date: 31 Oct 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The city of Beaverton, OR, is getting a new solar array that will offset energy use at an underground reservoir, saving taxpayers $95,000 per year, with no upfront cost. Ventura County, CA, has a 1-megawatt solar array on its jail facility, that’s cash flow positive. Denver, CO, has nearly 4 megawatts of solar, with power sold … Read More

Crawfordsville Municipal Network Purchased by Metronet in Indiana

Date: 15 Oct 2014 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Our Community Broadband Map documents over 400 communities where publicly owned infrastructure serves residents, business, or government facilities. We rarely hear of publicly owned systems sold to private providers, but it does happen once in a blue moon. Accelplus, the fiber optic FTTH network deployed by Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power (CEL&P) in Indiana was sold … Read More

Ultimate Solar Calculator “App” Helps You Choose: To Own or Lease?

Date: 4 Sep 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 4 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Note: the “Ultimate Solar Calculator” has been updated and simplified. Stay tuned for an updated complex version of this same calculator. A few weeks ago I wrote about the comeback of solar ownership relative to leasing, as the cost of rooftop solar PV continues to fall and new financing options make ownership easier than ever. Is … Read More

Is Solar Ownership Poised for a Comeback?

Date: 10 Jul 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

With “no money down” and “zero maintenance” to attract homeowners, solar leasing has become the overwhelming favorite for residential solar installations. And with the complexity of tax incentives, rebates, and financing, it’s hard to find fault with homeowners that choose this low-effort option. Update: We published our solar ownership calculator in September 2014. But giving up … Read More

Lakeland Dark Fiber In Depth – Community Broadband Bits Podcast #58

Date: 6 Aug 2013 | posted in: MuniNetworks, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In Florida, Lakeland is one of several communities that has built a dark fiber network in a low-risk bid to expand connectivity for anchor institutions and to spur economic development. City of Lakeland Fiber Optics Supervisor Paul Meyer joins us for episode #58 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Meyer explains why Lakeland began offering dark … Read More

Community Owned Network in New Mexico Helps Save Lost Pets

Date: 6 May 2013 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

We recently learned about Aztec, New Mexico’s, free downtown Wi-Fi  so we decided to contact Wallace Begay, the IT Director, to find out more. This desert community of about 6,600 people not only offers the free service, but uses its fiber to serve government, schools, and even four-legged residents. Begay tells us that in 1998 the … Read More

Treasury Dept. Fingers Solarcity in Exploration of the Dark Underbelly of Solar Leasing

Date: 10 Oct 2012 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 6 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A new government investigation of Solarcity on the eve of its initial public offering (IPO) may explain how solar leasing is fleecing federal taxpayers and making U.S. residential solar more expensive than in other countries. The Treasury Department inspector general is probing solar leasing company SolarCity (and others) for its use of “fair market value” pricing … Read More

Comparing Residential Solar Ownership to a Solar Lease

Date: 3 Aug 2012 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

It’s a case study of solar in Ithaca, NY, but it provides a good framework for comparing leasing to ownership in any place in the U.S. Solar Economics in Ithaca, NY Comparing solar ownership to a solar lease can be tricky.  The following analysis examines the value of owning a 5 kW solar PV system which … Read More