Energy Exchange

Selected tag(s): Environmental Justice

4 Undeniable Signs We’re Making Progress on Climate Change

Stretch as far as eye can see the grass and the horizon distance, wind turbine.

Seven months ago, I made a strong statement that may have left some people shaking their heads. I said that we can turn the corner on climate change – end the centuries-long rise in greenhouse gas emissions and see them peak and begin to decline – in just five short years.

As it turns out, 2015 is shaping up to be a year of giant steps toward that goal.

In a deeply reported New York Magazine piece, political writer Jonathan Chait calls it “the year humans finally got serious about saving themselves.” Says Chait, “The world is suddenly responding to the climate emergency with – by the standards of its previous behavior – astonishing speed.”

I agree. Here are four reasons I believe we’re headed in the right direction: Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, Clean Power Plan, General, Renewable Energy / Also tagged , | Read 4 Responses

Women in Power: These Women Won’t Let the Clean Energy Revolution Pass their City By

WIPThis is the third in a series of posts about leading women in the power, environmental science, advocacy, policy, and business sectors. To see previous installments, please use the ‘Search’ field in the left sidebar to search for ‘Women in Power.’  

For many communities across the country that remain overburdened with pollution, the promise of clean energy and livable cities is far from fulfilled. From Los Angeles to Atlanta, people aspire to live in clean, vibrant environments where their children can grow up healthy and safe.

Women often play a unique role in grassroots organizing, and they gain followers by connecting people’s aspiration for a more thriving community with the vision for a low-carbon, sustainable economy.

I recently met two such activists who possess the passion, charisma, and savvy needed to make sure that their communities are not left out of the clean energy revolution. They work tirelessly to bring the benefits and opportunities of this rapidly growing economy to the places where they live. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy / Also tagged | Comments are closed

On-Bill Repayment & Community Solar: Clean Energy Investments Underserved Californians Can Afford

This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s California Dream 2.0 blog.

It sounds like the opening line of a joke: What can finance do to reduce inequality?

However, this is exactly the question I tried to tackle during my presentation at the Clean Power, Healthy Communities conference last week. Hosted by the Local Clean Energy Alliance, this annual conference focuses on equitable, community-based clean energy solutions for the Bay Area.

In keeping with this theme, I took the opportunity to explain how On-Bill Repayment (OBR) can increase access to energy efficiency and distributed generation installations for low and middle-income families. By overcoming cost barriers, OBR can deliver energy savings, cost savings, jobs and more comfortable and healthy homes to underserved communities. In addition to these tangible benefits, it offers residents greater control over energy generation, as well as their energy consumption.

While I was able to share EDF’s finance work with community organizers and other environmental advocates, the conference was also a chance to hear about and discuss variety of other community-based solutions. One initiative that OBR has tremendous potential to support and complement is community-owned solar. Signed into law in September, California’s Senate Bill 43 allows for shared ownership of renewable generation. This means that individuals who are unable to install solar panels at their residences can invest in an off-site solar system, and receive credit on their utility bill for their share of the power generated.

Read More »

Posted in California, On-bill repayment / Also tagged | Read 1 Response