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The document outlines the systemic shifts required to integrate low-carbon energy, arguing that traditional power plant financing and grid structures are ill-suited for renewables. It proposes new financing models like YieldCos and Muni Finance to lower costs, emphasizes the need for regionally integrated transmission and updated balancing markets to manage variability, and discusses the disruptive impact of distributed generation and demand-side flexibility on traditional utility models.

The report analyzes the cost gap between U.S. and German residential solar installations, finding that U.S. installation labor costs are significantly higher due to non-value-add activities, complex racking processes, and regulatory requirements. Through a 'time and motion' study of 26 sites, the authors identify opportunities to reduce costs by adopting one-day installations, simplifying racking bases, and innovating AC electrical circuits. The report argues that by removing non-value-add activities, U.S. installers could reduce soft costs by 30% and lower total system costs to $4.43/W.

The report analyzes the shift in California's residential solar market from purchasing to leasing, where leased systems grew from less than 10% of new installations in 2007 to over 75% in 2012. It finds that leasing reduces consumer barriers by eliminating up-front costs and simplifying complex processes, and that declining state incentives (CSI) helped lower prices and reduce the cost of federal tax incentives to taxpayers.

The EDGE model is a modular simulation tool developed by RMI to address the lack of analytical tools for evaluating distributed energy resources (DERs). It integrates resource portfolio planning, bulk power dispatch, distribution system simulation via OpenDSS, and rate/regulation accounting to determine the financial and operational impacts on utilities, customers, third-party providers, and society. While designed for utility or regional scales, it is not intended for national-level analysis or as a replacement for full distribution management systems.

The report identifies non-hardware balance of system costs, which can reach 40% of installed system costs, as a significant barrier to rooftop solar adoption. It recommends the adoption of standardized frameworks such as the Solar ABCs Expedited Permit Process for permitting, the IREC Model Interconnection Procedures for grid connection, and the NNEC design criteria for net metering. The document highlights Colorado as a leader in solar-friendly policies, citing the Fair Permit Act's fee caps and the state's removal of net metering capacity limits for systems up to 120% of annual on-site consumption.

The Clean Air Task Force highlights six counties in the Southwest—Mesa and Weld in Colorado, Summit and Iron in Utah, Mineral in Nevada, and Maricopa in Arizona—that have implemented outstanding solar ordinances. These ordinances are noted for balancing growth with protections, streamlining permitting for federal lands, and clarifying project scale through acreage thresholds rather than production capacity.

The India-UK partnership focuses on making Indian cities climate-smart by integrating climate risk data into urban planning and infrastructure. Key initiatives include the 'Future Proofing Indian Cities' programme, which assessed 59 cities for environmental risks, and the 'Disaster Proofing Indian Smart Cities' project, which provides guidance on the resilience of Digital Information Technology (DIT). The partnership has delivered specific action plans and investment strategies for cities such as Mysore, Madurai, Bangalore, Aluva, and Kolkata, while also supporting the development of national Heat Action Plans to combat increasing extreme heat waves.

Loans4SME is a technology-driven peer-to-peer lending marketplace launched by Aurus Lending Solutions to address the capital shortage for Indian SMEs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. By bypassing traditional bank requirements for collateral and three-year profitability records, the platform connects SMEs with high net worth individuals, family investment offices, and corporate treasuries. The initiative aims to mobilize USD 2.2 billion in debt financing and add 800 MW of solar rooftop capacity by 2022, potentially reducing annual CO2 emissions by approximately 1107 mMT.

The Rooftop Solar Private Sector Financing Facility aims to address the lack of high-quality debt capital in India's rooftop solar sector. By aggregating small projects into a structured investment, the facility intends to attract institutional investors and demonstrate the commercial viability of asset-backed securities. The proposed mechanism involves an aggregation phase using a warehouse line of credit, followed by a securitization phase to issue bonds to domestic and international investors. The facility targets the addition of 500 MW of capacity and 20,000 jobs by 2022, with an initial capital requirement of $100 million for its pilot stage.

Fort Collins Utilities transitioned from the Home Efficiency Loan Program (HELP) to the more comprehensive Epic Homes program in 2018. Epic Homes provides low-interest loans up to $25,000 for energy efficiency retrofits, rooftop solar PV, and water conservation, with repayments integrated into monthly utility bills. The program leverages partnerships with entities like the Colorado Clean Energy Fund and Vectra Bank to secure long-term capital, specifically targeting low- and medium-income households and rental properties to improve health and equity.

The 'Switch It Up!' program, launched in April 2019 by the Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO), provides debt-free, on-bill financing for residential and commercial members to replace fossil-fuel equipment with electric alternatives. Funded initially by a $5.8 million USDA Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) loan and later supplemented by an additional $15 million, the program covers air-source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and EV charging stations, with borrowing limits up to $36,000. Repayments are tied to the electric meter over up to 10 years at a 2% interest rate, removing barriers for low- and moderate-income households. In its first year, the program completed 96 projects totaling over $800,000, with plans to expand into rooftop solar, battery storage, and community solar projects.

A technical analysis indicates California can reach 85 percent carbon-free electricity by 2030 even under extreme stressors, such as the August 2020 heat waves and the retirement of one-third of natural gas capacity. To support this, the brief recommends diversifying clean energy resources (including offshore wind and geothermal), phasing out natural gas plants—particularly in disadvantaged communities—and leveraging demand-side resources like energy efficiency and demand response. It also suggests improving regional coordination across Western states and refining reliability evaluation tools used by the CPUC, CEC, and CAISO.

The report argues that African cities face a critical choice between unsustainable 'business-as-usual' urban sprawl and a '3CR' model (compact, connected, clean, and resilient). Using economic modelling for 35 major cities in Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa, it demonstrates that while incremental investments of US$280 billion are needed by 2050, the net present value of benefits is significantly positive. It identifies systemic barriers—including poor municipal creditworthiness and restrictive national laws—and proposes four national enabling mechanisms and six specific financial instruments to unlock private and public capital.

The document details a green finance mechanism where a solar developer finances, installs, and maintains a rooftop PV system on a commercial property. The property owner receives rental income, while the tenant purchases the generated electricity via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). A specific implementation for Pick n Pay in Brackenfell, Cape Town, resulted in a 22.12% reduction in the outlet's carbon footprint and created a new annual revenue stream of approximately R188,000 for the property owner.

The paper identifies three primary barriers to the adoption of residential rooftop solar PV in India: a lack of objective, accessible information; a lack of customized financing options; and poor coordination between government agencies and utilities. It emphasizes that meeting India's 40 GW rooftop solar target by 2022 requires a consumer-centric approach that complements top-down policies with bottom-up initiatives.

The study of ten apartment complexes in Bengaluru found that rooftop solar could meet the entire annual electricity demand for common services in 80% of the sites. Water pumping assets represent the largest electricity load, accounting for 45% of the total connected common area load across the studied complexes. Despite this potential, adoption is hindered by low incentives due to subsidized domestic tariffs in Karnataka, a lack of maintained energy data, and a priority on other budgetary items like waste management over energy efficiency.

The document examines the implementation of demand aggregation for solar rooftop PV systems in two Indian industrial clusters to support the clean energy transition of the MSME sector.

The document details the net-metering tariffs for rooftop solar PV systems under BESCOM, distinguishing between subsidized and non-subsidized systems and noting a rate change for systems smaller than 10kW commissioned after May 2, 2016.

The report evaluates the potential for renewable energy (RE) integration within 159 China's overseas industrial parks (COIPs). It identifies significant capacity for photovoltaic (PV) and wind power, estimating that full development could contribute up to 5% of the global net-zero emission RE installed capacity target if achieved by 2030.

The document examines the adoption of rooftop solar PV by 'prosumers' in Bengaluru, managed by the utility BESCOM. While a net-metering program introduced in November 2014 has achieved over 5.6 MW of grid-connected capacity as of March 2016, the paper argues that adoption must accelerate to meet Karnataka's 400 MW state target for 2018. It identifies six primary barriers to scaling, including poor understanding of costs and payback, confusion over net-metering specifications, and limited institutional capacity of the program administrator.