How Should We Use Our Roofs?
Covering roofs with solar panels will block cool roofs. Have you heard of cool roofs? The idea is that if we paint a lot of roofs white, or generally make … Continue Reading How Should We Use Our Roofs?
Are Solar Microgrids the Future in the Developing World?
(This post is co-authored with Catherine Wolfram and Derek Wolfson, Energy Institute PhD student researcher) Microgrids are difficult to implement and can be undermined by promises of grid expansion. Nuclear … Continue Reading Are Solar Microgrids the Future in the Developing World?
Does Rooftop Solar Help the Distribution System?
California’s rooftop solar mandate is an opportune moment to revisit a pair of prescient studies by Michael Cohen and coauthors. A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post … Continue Reading Does Rooftop Solar Help the Distribution System?
The Cost of Filling Up the Tank with Electricity
Why Californians are getting gouged at the plug. The summer driving season is underway. We’re hearing a lot about the high cost of gasoline, nationally and in California. In relative … Continue Reading The Cost of Filling Up the Tank with Electricity
Lessons in Regulatory Hubris
What the Solar Rooftop Standard has to tell us about our climate policies. If you follow this blog, you are probably already aware that last Wednesday, the California Energy Commission, … Continue Reading Lessons in Regulatory Hubris
Why Am I Paying $65/year for Your Solar Panels?
700,000 California homes now have solar panels; what does this mean for everyone else’s rates? “This is the future,” one of my neighbors recently told me, proudly showing off his … Continue Reading Why Am I Paying $65/year for Your Solar Panels?
Does Solving Energy Poverty Help Solve Poverty? Not Quite.
Recent research questions a widely held belief. (This post is co-authored with Kenneth Lee and Edward Miguel.) The head of Swedfund, the development finance group, recently summarized a widely-held belief: … Continue Reading Does Solving Energy Poverty Help Solve Poverty? Not Quite.
