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An Energy Wonk Comes Face-to-Face with the Real World. It isn’t Pretty
Join our community, where Energy Changemakers come to think! 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:
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 PrettyFor 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. More from our magazine
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Providing Content and Community on the Grid Edge Your Free Weekly Newsletter Feb. 15, 2026 Hi Friend, Two important pieces of policy news for you today. You've no doubt heard about last week's reversal of the endangerment finding and the blow the Trump administration dealt to federal climate policy. As bad as that may be, it could open a new path to greenhouse gas reduction that boosts distributed energy. A 75-year-old science organization has some ideas. Check out today's feature story Local...
Livestream: Extracting Profits from the Public: How Utility Ratepayers are Paying for Big Tech Power Shutterstock.com When: 12:15-1:15 pm EST, Wednesday, April 16. Where: Zoom (Register for link here) What: Ari Peskoe, Director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School, explains how utility ratepayers end up footing the bill for energy consumed by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and other mega technology companies. Moderator: Elisa Wood, Editor, Energy ChangemakersAri will...
Hi Friend, Every energy entrepreneur has a tale of struggle, but I recently heard one that made others look easy. When Alex Bazhinov decided to quit mining and pursue clean energy, it wasn’t just a matter of finding the right business plan and financing. He had to find a new country. “I found myself living in a country where renewable energy was not an industry.” I interviewed Alex about his journey from Russia to the US, which culminated in the founding of Lumin, a smart panel manufacturer....