Resource Library

The UC Davis Center for Water-Energy Efficiency conducts pilot programs to assess behavior-based water conservation campaigns through technology deployment and data analysis. The Center has many informational resources at: http://cwee.ucdavis.edu/about/.

Washington, D.C.'s Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 requires that, beginning in 2010, eligible privately-owned commercial buildings be benchmarked using Portfolio Manager on an annual basis and results will be published on a publicly available online database.

Local Law 84, part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, requires public and private buildings in New York City to track energy and water consumption using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. City buildings larger than 10,000 square feet will be required to benchmark energy and water use starting in 2010, and private buildings larger than 50,000 square feet will be required to do so starting in 2011. Performance metrics for eligible buildings will be published by the City on a publicly available online database.

The City of San Francisco's 2011 Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance requires that non-residential buildings of 10,000 square feet or more undergo energy efficiency audits once every five years to identify actionable energy-saving measures, as well as to annually measure and disclose energy performance.

New solar ownership models, such as community solar, can make solar work for more Americans. Conventional solar energy programs support one type of ownership model: a single solar system delivering energy bill savings to a single electricity meter. That arrangement works great for some energy consumers, but it leaves plenty of others out in the dark. Visit the source link below to find out more about the benefits of community solar.

On online application can transform solar permitting over time by saving time and money associated with plan review by jurisdictions that have to confront incomplete or error-filled applications. This resource provides an overview of the benefits associated with electronic permit application submittal.

Solar energy can help a community reach its economic and environmental goals. This resource provides an overview of the benefits obtained from incorporating provisions for solar energy into local and regional planning efforts.

Public transportation offers mobility options for millions of Americans. However, for residents of small urban and rural areas, access to public transit still needs to be greatly expanded. Nearly two-thirds of all residents in these communities have few transportation options, which impacts access to employment, health care, and a number of other services. This fact sheet discusses the status of public transit in these communities, and highlights the benefits and impacts of public transit service.

Solar installers report that local permitting causes an average delay of 3.5 weeks to build, which drives up costs by reducing customer satisfaction and referrals to friends and family. This resource highlights the benefits of a quick permit processing time and proposes a solution to reduce costs for the customer and jurisdiction.

Current solar permitting processes in California are different across jurisdictions and can be lengthy and costly. This resource highlights the economic and fiscal benefits for local and state governments that are attainable from reforming and streamlining residential solar permitting processes.

Despite the fact that inspections often last only 15 minutes, some inspectors provide a 4-8 hour arrival window, which increases costs by forcing a costly employee to wait on site for the inspector to arrive. This resource highlights the benefits of a quick inspection turnaround time and proposes a solution to reduce costs; see the yellow highlights on page 3 in particular.

A solar easement is the prevalent method of assuring solar access and can be written up and attached to the deed of neighboring properties to legally protect your right to receive future sunlight. This resource discusses the common elements of solar easement agreements and provides guidance for integrating them into ordinances and statutes.

This resource provides language to ensure that solar energy installations are an allowed accessory land use within the zoning code. The standards provide examples for mitigating aesthetic and safety concerns associated with some solar energy installations, and suggest development regulation incentives for encouraging solar energy development.

This resource provides an overview of solar-ready buildings, their benefits, and direction for integrating standards into building codes.

This resource provides an overview of solar access and rights, including the benefits of legislation protecting those rights. The first hyperlink provides an overview document with examples and direction for integrating solar access and rights into local codes and ordinances, as well as state laws. The second hyperlink dispalys a national map that illustrates states that have laws in place to protect solar rights.

The key to the usefulness of a solar access law is enforcement. It is imperative that a specific entity be charged with oversight of the statute. This resource provides guidance on the application of solar rights law enforcement, as well as model statute/ordinance to encourage access to solar energy.

This resource highlights the significant benefits for local governments, solar contractors and system owners associated with simplifying permitting and inspection requirements and processes.

Simplifying permitting requirements and processes can increase the likelihood of successful solar installations. This resource highlights the significant benefits from appropriate permitting fees in terms of time and money saved for local governments as well as solar consumers and installers.

These resources present an overview of third-party financing models, with a particular focus on power purchase agreements and solar leases. The documents are intended to help increase awareness about the impact that the private market can play in financing solar projects and allow policymakers to make informed decisions to support appropriate financing programs for their jurisdictions.

The Berkeley Climate Action Plan includes many activities to encourage residential solar installations. The hyperlink below is a 6 page extract of the CAP with a few of these activities highlighted (including free consultations for homeowners, new finance programs, an online solar map, and reduced permitting fees). The larger plan contains many additional solar-related measures including advocating for more solar friendly policies at the state level and installing solar on municipal buildings; visit the URL in the Source section below to access the full document.

California state law establishes a process that allows local adoption of building energy standards that are more stringent than state-wide standards, sometimes called “reach codes". This short document summarizes the process developing and adopting a more stringent building energy ordinance.

An excerpt on Net Metering from the 2011 NNEC "Freeing the Grid Best Practices in State Net Metering Policies and Interconnection Procedures." Page 16 addresses applying policies to all utilities.

An excerpt on Net Metering from the 2011 NNEC "Freeing the Grid Best Practices in State Net Metering Policies and Interconnection Procedures." Page 15 addresses community solar subscribers.

An excerpt on Net Metering from the 2011 NNEC "Freeing the Grid Best Practices in State Net Metering Policies and Interconnection Procedures." Page 15 addresses eligible customers.

The NNEC report gives an overview of Best Practices by each state to enable and encourage Distributive Generation. Page 14 addresses eligible technologies.