Jim Pierobon is Founder and principal writer of The Energy Fix. He is a policy, marketing and social media strategist who has reported on, testified and consulted about smarter grids, cyber-security as it affects the power grid, fossil fuel shortages, price spikes, energy efficiency and the rise and fall -- and the rise again of nuclear and renewable energy sources.PACE home loan programs get fresh ‘shot’ in the arm – from a ‘Tea Party’ ally no less
Before the mortgage industry beat back efforts by local jurisdictions to deploy Property Assessed Clean Energy home loans in 2009 in Maryland and other states, this voluntary vehicle for financing home energy efficiency upgrades (known as “PACE”) appealed to many Republicans, Democrats and Independents. But inadequately-informed lawmakers, a forceful lobbying campaign by mortgage lenders and [...]
Securities tied to PPAs could unleash trillions to fund large-scale solar, wind projects
Power purchase agreements, where individuals and organizations can own solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on someone else’s rooftop, have the potential to supply billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars of much-needed capital. The need is growing more acute in the U.S. as the Section 1603 Treasury Grant program is due to expire on December 31, 2011 and [...]