An Energy Wonk Comes Face-to-Face with the Real World. It isn’t Pretty


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Issue 5

We can argue the benefits of solar and storage until the cows come home, but large swaths of homeowners will remain reticent until the installation process becomes easier.

Too many would-be solar/storage champions say they have trouble:

  1. Finding available installers
  2. Knowing how to vet them
  3. Navigating incentives
  4. Getting past bureaucratic or permitting snags that delay or sometimes halt projects
  5. Getting technology problems fixed.

In today’s feature, An Energy Wonk Comes Face-to-Face with the Real World. It isn’t Pretty, Peter Asmus, a well-known energy analyst and writer, describes how hard it was for him to solarize his home. When he ran into unreasonable snags, such as a homeowner’s association that didn’t understand the law, he knew where to go and who to call for assistance. But few homeowners are as energy savvy. And even with his knowledge, Peter struggled to keep his project on schedule to capture a key state incentive.

He’s not alone. I hear from a fair number of homeowners with similar stories.

So what can we do about this?

I’d love to hear about business models that make solar/storage easy for homeowners that we can feature in our magazine.
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Email me or DM if you’re in the community.

Thanks for reading! — Elisa Wood

An Energy Wonk Comes Face-to-Face with the Real World. It Isn't Pretty

For those of us championing the power of the people in solving the climate crisis – the basis for federal programs such as the IRA – this was a sobering wake-up call, says Peter Asmus, energy analyst and writer. Read Peter's story.

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