BRIDGES TO NEW SOLAR BUSINESS MODELS

This executive summary from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) outlines the need for new business models for distributed solar photovoltaics (DPV) in the United States to move beyond customer-centric value toward system-wide optimization. It proposes three 'bridge' building blocks—increased access, treating DPV as a grid resource, and technology bundling—to align the interests of utilities, solar companies, and customers while transitioning toward broader regulatory reform.

• Distributed solar photovoltaics (DPV) currently contribute a small fraction of total electricity generation in the U.S., though the Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative has set ambitious targets for solar generation to reach 14% by 2030 and 27% by 2050.
• The growth of DPV faces potential barriers due to the expiration or decline of early-market support policies, including the exhaustion of net energy metering (NEM) market caps and the scheduled decline of the business investment tax credit from 30% to 10% at the end of 2016.
• Existing DPV business models primarily focus on value for the individual customer or third-party installers, leading utilities to view DPV negatively in terms of revenue loss, grid operation challenges, and transaction costs.
• RMI proposes three 'bridge' building blocks to create new solar business models: increasing access for customers who cannot install on-site solar (such as through subscription or community solar), optimizing DPV as a grid resource to capture operational value, and bundling DPV with other distributed energy resource (DER) technologies.
• To maximize DPV as a grid resource, project designs should be optimized for capacity value by aligning production timing with peak load and targeting locations where the system is constrained, such as substations with high forecasted demand.
• The transition to these new models requires a multi-stakeholder approach involving regulators, utilities, and solar companies to address data gaps, create standardized valuation methodologies, and clarify regulatory rules.

APA

RMI (2014). BRIDGES TO NEW SOLAR BUSINESS MODELS. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2014-34_ISBMFinalReportExecSumm.pdf

Chicago

RMI. BRIDGES TO NEW SOLAR BUSINESS MODELS. 2014. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2014-34_ISBMFinalReportExecSumm.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=BRIDGES TO NEW SOLAR BUSINESS MODELS |date=November 2014 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2014-34_ISBMFinalReportExecSumm.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2014bridges, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{BRIDGES TO NEW SOLAR BUSINESS MODELS}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2014}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_2014-34_ISBMFinalReportExecSumm.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }