Links

Find links to key trade association, government, and nonprofit groups who are advocating for solar and renewable energy.

How-to Solar

Build It Solar: The Renewable Energy Site For Do-It-Yourselfers, www.builditsolar.com A good all-around solar educational site and not just for do-it-yourself installations or off-the-grid installations, provides great links as well
Sunshot Initiative, energy.gov/eere/sunshot/homebuilders U.S. Department of Energy initiative to drive research, manufacturing, and market solutions for solar in the U.S.
Solar, Wind, Biomass, Water Videos, www.solar-estimate.org/index.php?page=videos Short video excerpts from "This Renewable House" which aired on PBS stations across California.
Home Builder`s Guide to Going Solar

Community, Utility, and Governments Solar Solutions

A Guide to Community Solar: Utility, Private, and Non-profit Project Development (Book), Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/49930.pdf- 2951.8KB – NRELDesigned as a resource for those who want to develop community solar projects, from solar energy advocates and community organizers to government officials or utility managers.
Innovations in Voluntary Renewable Energy Procurement: Methods for Expanding Access and Lowering Cost for Communities, Governments, and Businesses. www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/54991.pdf Guide explores five innovative options for voluntarily procuring renewable energy generation or systems.
Regulatory Considerations Associated with the Expanded Adoption of Distributed Solar www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60613.pdf
Solar Powering Your Community: A Guide for Local Governments, Second Edition, January 2011 (Book), Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/47692.pdf DOE designed this guide to assist local government officials and stakeholders in designing and implementing strategic local solar plans.

Solar Incentives & Financing

DSIRE Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, www.dsireusa.org/ Great resource with interactive map, has both state incentives and federal incentives
Solar Power Rocks, www.solarpowerrocks.com More digestible than DSIRE, site offers an interactive map with a state “solar report card”, rate-of-return, and a useful eBook guide for those desiring a solar installation on their home
Your Solar Estate, www.solar-estimate.org/pdfs/your-solar-estate.pdf Explains finances and processes for solar and what homeowners should consider when planning their energy future
Energy Tax Incentives, EnergyTaxIncentives.org
Residential Solar Photovoltaics: Comparison of Financing Benefits Innovations and Options
Report examines relatively new, innovative financing methods for residential photovoltaics (PV) and compares them to traditional self-financing.
Borrower's Guide to Financing Solar Energy Systems
Customer`s Guide to Solar Power Purchase Agreements

Solar Advanced Education & Technical Information

Some people may have little desire to dive this deeply into the technical aspects of solar installations, but these resources may be useful when evaluating system feasibility.
Array Voltage Considerations, solarprofessional.com/articles/design-installation/array-voltage-considerations
Optimal PV-to-Inverter Sizing Ratio, solarprofessional.com/articles/design-installation/optimal-pv-to-inverter-sizing-ratio
Optimal DC Cable Selection in PV Designs, solarprofessional.com/articles/design-installation/optimal-dc-cable-selection-in-pv-designs
Energy Development Co-operative Limited Cable Size Calculator Tool – DC Power Cables, www.solar-wind.co.uk/cable-sizing-DC-cables.html
Solar Decathlon, http://www.solardecathlon.org/

Energy Efficiency

Energy Savers, www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/ Resources from U.S. Dept. of Energy on energy efficient homes, saving electricity, weatherization, home energy audit checklist.
Energy Star, www.energystar.gov/ Business case for energy efficiency; energy savings in homes, buildings and products; tax credits; financing strategies; Energy Star calculator
Buildings Technology Office (BTO), energy.gov/eere/buildings/residential-buildings-integration
Collaboration with residential building industry to develop, demonstrate, and deploy cost-effective solutions to improve the energy efficiency of both new and existing homes by 50%
Alliance to Save Energy, www.ase.org/about/why
Home Energy: The Home Performance Magazine, www.homeenergy.org/ Information on residential energy efficiency, performance, comfort, and affordability
Guide to Energy Efficient Heating & Cooling
Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings (book review), www.amazon.com/Consumer-Guide-Energy-Savings-Edition/dp/0865716021

Green Building Design

US Green Building Council, www.usgbc.org/LEED/ Organization for LEED certification in green building leadership. Rating systems, credits, levels of certification, and tools
Kentucky US Green Building Council, www.usgbckentucky.org/ State chapter
Passive House Institute US, www.phius.org/home-page Passive buildings cut energy use by 60-80 percent compared to code buildings. Information on certification, training, and events.
Passive House Institute, www.passiv.de/en/index.php About passive house, certification, seminars, literature and tools
Whole Building Design Guide, www.wbdg.org/resources/rpindex.php Resource pages written by industry experts that explain standards, technologies, and emerging issues relevant to the subject, and links to internal pages and external websites, publications, and points of contact
ToolBase.org, ToolBase.org An extensive online resource offering product descriptions, design & construction guides, best practices, performance reports, case studies, and other resources.

Grants

Better Buildings Neighborhood Program, energy.gov/eere/better-buildings-neighborhood-program/better-buildings-neighborhood-program Support energy efficiency upgrade markets by providing grants to states, local governments, and organizations in communities
U.S. DOE Weatherization Assistance Program, energy.gov/eere/wipo/weatherization-assistance-program provides grants to states to improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income families. These, in turn, contract with local governments and nonprofit agencies.

Solar

Over

Louisville

2 Million Watt

Solar Challenge

Links

Build It Solar: The Renewable Energy Site For Do-It-Yourselfers, www.builditsolar.com A good all-around solar educational site and not just for do-it-yourself installations or off-the-grid installations, provides great links as well

Sunshot Initiative, energy.gov/eere/sunshot/homebuilders U.S. Department of Energy initiative to drive research, manufacturing, and market solutions for solar in the U.S.

Solar, Wind, Biomass, Water Videos, www.solar-estimate.org/index.php?page=videos Short video excerpts from "This Renewable House" which aired on PBS stations across California.

Innovations in Voluntary Renewable Energy Procurement: Methods for Expanding Access and Lowering Cost for Communities, Governments, and Businesses. www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/54991.pdf Guide explores five innovative options for voluntarily procuring renewable energy generation or systems.

Regulatory Considerations Associated with the Expanded Adoption of Distributed Solar www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60613.pdf

DSIRE Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, www.dsireusa.org/ Great resource with interactive map, has both state incentives and federal incentives

Solar Power Rocks, www.solarpowerrocks.com More digestible than DSIRE, site offers an interactive map with a state “solar report card”, rate-of-return, and a useful eBook guide for those desiring a solar installation on their home

Your Solar Estate, www.solar-estimate.org/pdfs/your-solar-estate.pdf Explains finances and processes for solar and what homeowners should consider when planning their energy future

Energy Tax Incentives, EnergyTaxIncentives.org

Residential Solar Photovoltaics: Comparison of Financing Benefits Innovations and Options

Report examines relatively new, innovative financing methods for residential photovoltaics (PV) and compares them to traditional self-financing.

Borrower's Guide to Financing Solar Energy Systems

Array Voltage Considerations, solarprofessional.com/articles/design-installation/array-voltage-considerations

Optimal PV-to-Inverter Sizing Ratio, solarprofessional.com/articles/design-installation/optimal-pv-to-inverter-sizing-ratio

Optimal DC Cable Selection in PV Designs, solarprofessional.com/articles/design-installation/optimal-dc-cable-selection-in-pv-designs

Energy Development Co-operative Limited Cable Size Calculator Tool – DC Power Cables, www.solar-wind.co.uk/cable-sizing-DC-cables.html

Energy Savers, www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/ Resources from U.S. Dept. of Energy on energy efficient homes, saving electricity, weatherization, home energy audit checklist.

Energy Star, www.energystar.gov/ Business case for energy efficiency; energy savings in homes, buildings and products; tax credits; financing strategies; Energy Star calculator

Alliance to Save Energy, www.ase.org/about/why

Home Energy: The Home Performance Magazine, www.homeenergy.org/ Information on residential energy efficiency, performance, comfort, and affordability

Guide to Energy Efficient Heating & Cooling

US Green Building Council, www.usgbc.org/LEED/ Organization for LEED certification in green building leadership. Rating systems, credits, levels of certification, and tools

Kentucky US Green Building Council, www.usgbckentucky.org/ State chapter

Passive House Institute US, www.phius.org/home-page Passive buildings cut energy use by 60-80 percent compared to code buildings. Information on certification, training, and events.

Passive House Institute, www.passiv.de/en/index.php About passive house, certification, seminars, literature and tools

Whole Building Design Guide, www.wbdg.org/resources/rpindex.php Resource pages written by industry experts that explain standards, technologies, and emerging issues relevant to the subject, and links to internal pages and external websites, publications, and points of contact

ToolBase.org, ToolBase.org An extensive online resource offering product descriptions, design & construction guides, best practices, performance reports, case studies, and other resources.

Better Buildings Neighborhood Program, energy.gov/eere/better-buildings-neighborhood-program/better-buildings-neighborhood-program Support energy efficiency upgrade markets by providing grants to states, local governments, and organizations in communities

U.S. DOE Weatherization Assistance Program, energy.gov/eere/wipo/weatherization-assistance-program provides grants to states to improve the energy efficiency of the homes of low-income families. These, in turn, contract with local governments and nonprofit agencies.