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Frequently Asked Questions These frequently asked questions about Solar America Cities provide a quick overview of the program.
If you still have questions after reviewing these and the rest of this Web site, please
What are Solar America Cities? Solar America Cities are DOE’s partners in an effort to reduce market barriers to solar energy technologies at the local level. These partnerships help cities identify and reduce barriers that may exist in zoning regulations, codes, covenants, and other urban planning practices that can discourage the installation of solar energy systems. The partnerships also help cities increase citizen and business awareness of solar energy technologies. Reducing barriers and increasing awareness will accelerate the growth of solar markets in these municipalities. As markets grow, prices typically come down, so these local market transformation efforts are critical to making electricity from photovoltaics (PV) cost-competitive with conventional utility grid electricity (e.g., from coal and natural gas) by 2015. This cost-competitive goal was established by President Bush in 2006 as part of his Advanced Energy Initiative, which includes the Solar America Initiative. The 13 cities selected in 2007and the 12 cities selected in 2008 are diverse in their geography, population, and maturity of solar energy infrastructure. Each city is receiving up to $200,000 in financial assistance from DOE, as well as significant in-kind technical assistance provided by DOE’s national laboratories and other experts. What are the desired outcomes of the Solar America Cities partnerships?
Which cities are participating? 25 Cities were awarded 2-year cooperative agreements with DOE 25 Cities have been awarded 2-year cooperative agreements with DOE as a result of funding opportunities announced in 2007 and 2008. Cities submitted applications for participation in the partnership, and were selected competitively. A list of the selected cities follows. 2007 Awardees: 2008 Awardees: Are the cities selected the best cities for solar in America? The 25 cities selected as Solar America Cities are spread across the United States. They represent 16 different states and have varying degrees of solar resources and experience with solar technologies. The cities were not selected for their number of sunny days. Rather, DOE selected these urban communities based on their long-term commitment to developing solar energy markets in their municipalities. Some have extensive experience with solar power and some are just getting started. Different cities are also taking different approaches to building a sustainable solar infrastructure. DOE expects that these cities’ creative efforts will serve as models for other urban communities in the future. Selection criteria for Solar America Cities included a competitive application process in which cities had to demonstrate the following:
How is this activity related to the former Million Solar Roofs (MSR) initiative? The Million Solar Roofs (MSR) initiative was a DOE project that started in 1997 and was phased out upon the start of the Solar America Initiative in early 2006. MSR also provided local support for expansion of solar technology, but support was not limited to city governments and many partners could not harness the high-level support they needed to be successful in overcoming barriers to solar market penetration. Solar America Cities builds on the groundwork laid by MSR but goes beyond its scope. With Solar America Cities, DOE is increasing its level of support to make a greater, more targeted impact with the selected city partners. Many of the selected Solar America Cities are former MSR partners, and their progress to date makes them better poised to take on the commitment of being a Solar America City. Why did DOE choose to partner with cities instead of counties, or other state or local governments? As centers of population and electricity loads, cities present great opportunities for solar market transformation. DOE recognizes that cities have an important role to play as champions of progressive energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts, and climate change action. DOE is supporting the Solar America Cities’ bold and innovative approaches to accelerate solar technology adoption at the local level. DOE also recognizes the important role of counties as local jurisdictions, and has encouraged cities to partner with their counties in proposals for the Solar America Cities award. States and utilities are also important partners of the Solar America Initiative, and through other SAI activities DOE is engaging in outreach with states and utilities. Will there be future opportunities for cities to apply to be a Solar America City? DOE does not intend to select any new Solar America Cities. The two rounds of city partnerships are expected to set the stage for other cities to develop solar implementation plans that build on the experience and lessons learned of these 25 Solar America Cities. Which solar energy technologies are supported by the Solar America Cities initiative? The Solar America Cities activities support the use of multiple types of solar technologies as appropriate, including solar electricity from photovoltaics (PV) or concentrating solar power (CSP), and solar water and space heating from solar thermal technologies. As a part of these partnerships, are cities allowed to use federal dollars to buy or install solar technologies? No. The federal financial assistance provided through the Solar America Cities awards is not to be used to purchase actual solar hardware, but is instead designed for activities such as multi-year city planning, site analyses, payback analyses, curricula development, and codes and standards work. If a city has not already done so, DOE encourages the use of some federal dollars to hire a solar or renewable energy expert to coordinate the integration of solar power into city energy plans. In addition, federal technical assistance may not be used to actually install solar energy technologies but instead may be used for expert assistance pre- and post- installation, as well as for architectural, financial, city planning, and other non-installation activities. Were counties or small cities (with populations less than 100,000 people) eligible for Solar America City awards? Counties and small cities were eligible to apply to the Solar America City partnership program, if they partnered with a nearby larger city that served as the main applicant. Counties and smaller cities are also eligible for project-specific technical assistance through DOE’s Solar America Showcases activity, which is open to all. activity, which is open to all. All cities are important for reducing market barriers to solar energy and growing a robust domestic solar industry. Cities can serve a critical role in encouraging citizens and businesses to adopt solar technology. DOE encourages all cities—regardless of size or award status—to undertake activities to transform solar markets. These activities include but are by no means limited to establishing solar access rights for citizens and businesses; helping lower solar installation costs by limiting permitting fees and streamlining the permit process; and working with states and utilities to establish appropriate interconnection and net-metering policies. Where can I learn more about solar energy? The Solar Energy Technologies Program in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has several good sources of general information about solar energy:
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Content Last Updated: 07/01/2008