Featured Reports
Understanding Solar+Storage: Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About Solar PV and Battery Storage
October 2020
This guide addresses commonly asked questions about solar PV and battery storage (solar+storage) technologies. It is based on the results of a survey identifying the most common knowledge gaps around solar and energy storage.
Dirty Energy, Big Money
May 2020
New York City’s peaker power plants have a disproportionate impact on the city’s most vulnerable people. Replacing peaker plants with a system of localized renewable energy generation and battery storage can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce energy bills, improve public health and equity, and make the system more resilient in the face of increased storms and climate impacts.
Financing Resilient Power Fact Sheet
January 2020
Financing Resilient Power is a groundbreaking philanthropic effort – a $3.3 million initiative of The Kresge Foundation to accelerate the market development of solar+storage technologies in historically underserved communities. The Foundation’s investment – developed with Clean Energy Group, which will manage the effort – represents the first time a U.S. foundation has committed to use both its grantmaking and endowment resources in a comprehensive strategy to bring these new clean energy technologies to affordable housing and critical community facilities.
Home Health Care in the Dark
June 2019
“Home Health Care in the Dark,” a new report by Clean Energy Group and Meridian Institute, examines the risks associated with power outages for individuals reliant on electricity for in-home medical and mobility equipment. As more people are encouraged to receive health care at home rather than in hospitals and nursing homes, we need resilient power solutions that keep vulnerable residents safe in the next power outage.
Solar with Justice: Strategies for Powering Up Under-Resourced Communities and Growing an Inclusive Solar Market
December 2019
This report aims to accelerate the implementation of solar in under-resourced communities in ways that provide meaningful, long-lasting benefits to those communities. The recommendations in the report set a path forward for increasing solar deployments that result in significant economic, equity, and environmental improvements.
Resilient Southeast: Exploring Oportunities for Solar+Storage in Five Cities
April 2019
Resilient Southeast is a series of reports exploring the obstacles and opportunities for solar PV and battery storage to strengthen the resilience of communities throughout the Southeast. The series evaluates the current policy landscape and economic potential for solar and battery storage to provide clean, reliable backup power to critical facilities in five cities: Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC; Miami, FL; New Orleans, LA; and Wilmington, NC. When the economic value of resilience is accounted for, solar+storage was proven to be a positive investment for all locations and building types examined.
Energy Storage: The New Efficiency ― How States Can Use Efficiency Funds to Support Battery Storage and Flatten Costly Demand Peaks
April 2019
This report describes the process of enabling use of state energy efficiency funds to support the deployment of energy storage with performance incentives offered for demand reduction. The report summarizes the economics of battery cost/benefit calculations, examines key elements of incentive design, and makes recommendations for other states to follow the example of Massachusetts and incorporate storage into their own efficiency plans.
Resilient Power Project Case Study – Stafford Hill Solar Farm and Microgrid
January 2019
Vermont’s largest utility installed a solar+storage microgrid in Rutland, VT that saves hundreds of thousands of dollars and can supply backup power to an emergency shelter. This case study includes technical and financial details, as well as lessons learned over the course of the project.
Resilient Power Project Case Study – Boulder Housing Partners
November 2018
The largest affordable housing provider in Boulder installed a solar+storage system to provide command post services during emergencies. This case study includes technical and financial details, as well as lessons learned over the course of the project.
Resilient Power Project Case Study – Via Mobility Services
November 2018
A leading nonprofit mobility services provider and emergency second responder invested in resilience upgrades to power critical transportation services for vulnerable populations in the event of an outage. This case study includes technical and financial details, as well as lessons learned over the course of the project.
Behind-the-Meter Solar+Storage Permitting and Interconnection Guide for Boulder, Colorado
October 2018
This guide reviews permitting and interconnection requirements and processes for the development of residential and commercial -scale solar+storage systems in Boulder, Colorado. Created in support of Boulder’s Climate Commitment, this guide aims to advance the installation of solar+storage systems locally, contributing to the city’s goal of being powered by 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Resilient Power Project Case Study – McKnight Lane Redevelopment Project
June 2018
A defunct mobile home park in rural Vermont was transformed into the first resilient, zero-energy, affordable modular housing development in the country with solar and battery storage systems. This case study includes technical and financial details, as well as lessons learned over the course of the project.
Jump-Start: How Activists and Foundations Can Champion Battery Storage to Recharge the Clean Energy Transition
April 2018
This report was prepared for activists and foundations who want to understand how battery storage can become an essential new part of their clean energy and climate advocacy. It tries to answer two basic questions: (1) What do we need to know to understand these opportunities? and (2) What actions should we support to realize them?
This report explores the top 10 emerging trends for battery storage across all elements of the energy system, and it recommends over 50 actions that should be taken to accelerate battery storage in these topic areas.
Owning the Benefits of Solar+Storage: New Ownership and Investment Models for Affordable Housing and Community Facilities
February 2018
This paper explores additional ownership and financing options for solar+storage projects and low-income communities beyond direct ownership and conventional leasing models.
Resilient Power Project Case Study – Sterling Municipal Light Department
March 2018
A small municipal utility installed a battery storage system to compliment an existing solar electric system for cost savings and resilient power. This case study includes technical and financial details, as well as lessons learned over the course of the project.
Valuing the Resilience Provided by Solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems
January 2018
Researchers from NREL and Clean Energy Group found that placing a monetary value on the ability of solar+storage to avoid losses during grid outages can significantly impact project economics and system design.
Identifying Potential Markets for Behind-the-Meter Battery Energy Storage: A Survey of U.S. Demand Charges
August 2017
This collaborative paper by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Clean Energy Group details the first comprehensive public analysis of the potential size of the commercial behind-the-meter battery storage market in the United States.
Solar Risk: How Energy Storage Can Preserve Solar Savings in California Affordable Housing
May 2017
A new analysis finds that energy storage can effectively hedge against proposed changes to California’s solar policies and utility rates that could drastically reduce the value of solar.
A Resilient Power Capital Scan: How Foundations Could Use Grants and Investments to Advance Solar and Storage in Low-Income Communities
February 2017
This report, commissioned by The Kresge Foundation, the Surdna Foundation and The JPB Foundation, identifies market barriers to deploying solar+storage technologies in low-income markets, and proposes more than 50 grant and investment opportunities that socially minded investors can use to target those barriers.
Energy Storage Procurement Guidance Documents for Municipalities
June 2016
This series of energy storage procurement guidance documents for municipalities was originally produced to support Massachusetts Department of Energy’s Community Clean Energy Resilience Initiative awardees in energy storage procurement; however, these materials offer useful information for other municipalities to consider as they develop solicitations for resilient, energy storage projects.
Closing the California Clean Energy Divide: Reducing Electric Bills in Affordable Multifamily Rental Housing with Solar+Storage
May 2016
This economic analysis indicates that pairing solar PV with battery storage systems can deliver significant electricity bill savings for California affordable housing residents and property owners.
Resilience for Free: How Solar+Storage Could Protect Multifamily Affordable Housing from Power Outages at Little or No Net Cost
October 2015
This report concludes that with the right market structures and incentives, solar+storage systems can provide a positive economic return on par with energy efficiency or stand-alone solar.
Latest Blog Posts
Battery Storage is Coming to Affordable Housing Thanks to Efficiency Program
Video: How a Municipal Battery Storage Microgrid Works
A new battery energy storage system in the town of Sterling, Massachusetts is saving the Sterling Municipal Light Department’s ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and providing at least 12 days of backup power to the police station and emergency dispatch center to keep first responder operations running, even during extended power outages.
This video showcases the economic and resilient power benefits of the solar+storage system with several interviewees discussing the merits of the project and features an animation segment that explains how the battery storage system works to save money and provide resilient power to the town during an emergency. Learn more…