| Analysts at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have used statistics and detailed case studies to better understand why solar market policies in certain states are more successful than in others. Their findings, announced on December 11, indicate that while no standard formula for solar implementation exists, a combination of foundational policies and localized strategies can increase solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in any state. In the report, "The Effect of State Policy Suites on the Development of Solar Markets," NREL researchers examined a variety of policy- and non-policy-based factors that influenced state and local solar markets. On the policy side, two factors strengthen a state's solar market in all contexts: interconnection, or policies that define the procedural requirements for connecting a PV system to the electricity grid; and net metering, or policies that enable the utility to compensate individual PV system owners though a simple billing mechanism. Non-policy issues that have implications for a solar market, such as the amount of sunlight available for potential solar generation, community interest in renewable energy, and the cost of competing grid electricity, were examined in the context of different states and local communities. The authors concluded that: -
States that have matched their suite of best-practice policies to their unique context have excelled -
Both the number of solar policies and the length of time the policies have been in place are important indicators of market success -
Support for solar leasing and other increasingly popular third-party ownership models seems to be a distinguishing factor in the success of solar markets in some states. The findings indicate that, while the age and composition of policy suites are important market foundations, solar policies are more effective when tailored to the economic and demographic background of the state. This body of work is supported by the Energy Department's SunShot Initiative, which is a national effort to make solar energy cost-competitive with traditional energy sources by the end of the decade. See the NREL news release and the The Effect of State Policy Suites on the Development of Solar Markets  .   Air Force officials on November 14 unveiled at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, first non-tactical vehicle fleet in the Department of Defense (DOD) which is composed entirely of plug-in electric vehicles. The rollout of the 42-vehicle fleet marks a milestone in the DOD’s demonstration of emerging technology. The plug-in electric vehicle fleet includes both electric and hybrid vehicles ranging from sedans to trucks and a 12-passenger van. The vehicles have the capability to direct power both to and from the electrical grid when they’re not being driven, a capability known as vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G). Unique charging stations have been installed on Los Angeles Air Force Base to support the vehicles’ V2G capability. The Air Force plans to expand the V2G demonstration to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The service will also continue to look for additional capabilities, such as utilizing used batteries as a form of on-base energy storage. See the Air Force news release. NASA in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on December 15 kicked off a challenge that offers more than $35,000 in prizes to citizen scientists for ideas that make use of climate data to address vulnerabilities faced by the United States as it copes with climate change. The Climate Resilience Data Challenge is being conducted through the NASA Tournament Lab, a partnership with Harvard University hosted on Appirio's Topcoder and running through March 2015. The challenge supports the efforts of the White House Climate Data Initiative to leverage the federal government’s freely available climate-relevant data resources to spur private-sector entrepreneurship to advance preparedness for the impacts of climate change. The challenge begins with an ideation stage for data-driven application pitches, followed by storyboarding and, finally, prototyping of concepts with the greatest potential. The ideation stage challenges competitors to imagine new applications of climate data to address climate vulnerabilities. This stage is divided into three competitive classes based on data sources: NASA data, federal data from agencies such as the USGS, and any open data. The storyboarding stage allows competitors to conceptualize and design the best ideas, followed by the prototyping stage, which carries the best ideas into implementation. See the NASA news release and Climate Resilience Data Challenge Web page. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 8 announced the launch of its ENERGY STAR Home Advisor, an online tool designed to help homeowners save money and energy by improving the energy efficiency of their homes through recommended, customized, and prioritized home-improvement projects. The updated ENERGY STAR Home Advisor guides the homeowner through a “do-it-yourself” energy assessment to create an ENERGY STAR home profile. Based on the newly-created profile, the Home Advisor provides customized, prioritized recommendations for improvements. From these recommendations, users can create their own to-do lists of projects such as adding insulation to the attic or replacing an HVAC air filter. Over time, users can update their home profiles as they make improvements, see the positive environmental impacts of the changes they’ve made, get additional recommendations, and update their “to-do” lists for future projects. See the EPA news release and the ENERGY STAR Home Advisor Web page. | 
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