Solar power can offer communities a range of benefits, from increasing energy reliability and security and reducing carbon emissions to creating jobs and promoting economic growth. The Department of Energy’s second edition of "Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments," a comprehensive resource that will help communities accelerate their adoption of solar energy technologies and capture these benefits.
The guide is intended to help communities better understand the steps necessary to permit and license solar energy installations and how to streamline those processes, which can deliver significant savings in the total costs of installing solar systems. It also offers guidance for communities on how to develop a plan for expanding the use of solar energy and ways for local governments to tailor their approach to implementing solar projects based on their community context.
Solar Powering Your Community captures lessons learned and successes from 25 Solar America Cities, designated by DOE in 2007 and 2008, as well as other communities advancing solar. It also covers emerging topics, such as third-party residential financing, community solar financing, solar-ready building guidelines, and hosting of wholesale photovoltaic (PV) systems on local government property.
To learn more about solar power and how to implement solar projects in your community, register for the Solar America Communities Workshop, Getting Started with Solar in Your Community. The workshop will provide an overview of important concepts related to local solar installations, including technologies, costs, and barriers. It will examine how to create a local-level solar program as well as how to install solar on municipal facilities and other community facilities. To learn more and register for the workshop, click here.
Solar America Communities is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program designed to increase the use and integration of solar energy in communities across the United States. The International City-County Management Association (ICMA) and ICLEI-USA Local Governments for Sustainability were competitively selected by DOE to conduct outreach to local governments across the United States, enabling them to replicate successful solar practices and quickly expand local adoption of solar energy. For more information visit www.solaramericacommunities.energy.gov.