Archive for February, 2011

Raising The Roof On Solar: Solar Colonies Spring Up On Warehouse Roofs

Via USAToday, an interesting report on the trend towards developing solar “colonies” on warehouses: The view from a warehouse roof here is consistent. In every direction, there are blocks and blocks of warehouse roofs baking in the Southern California sun. Rather than letting them sit bare, a California utility hopes to blanket roofs like these […]

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Solar Hot Water, Boiled Down

Via The Wall Street Journal, a look at the economics of solar water heaters: “…Bill Banack doesn’t fancy himself an environmental “fanatic,” but his showers, dishwasher and washing machine all use renewable energy these days. The source: three slim solar panels perched atop his 2,200-square foot Hadley, Mass., home. They don’t provide electricity—they send him […]

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SRECs

Via Greentech Media, a look at New Jersey’s specialized tradable renewable/alternative energy credit approach as opposed to a feed-in tariff or California Solar Initiative-type rebate: “…What’s the number one state in the U.S. for solar installations?  Easy answer — California, which had more than half of U.S. demand at more than 200 megawatts in 2009. […]

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Predicting How Much Solar Power A Roof Could Generate

Via the Google Earth blog, an interesting article on using Google Earth as a tool to calculate potential viability of rooftops to support various possible uses.  For example: “..The fact that the rise of alternative energy and the rise of Google Earth are happening at the same time has led to some amazing Google Earth […]

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Green Roofs As Part Of An Urban Infrastructure Strategy

Courtesy of Columbia University, an interesting attempt to start to quantify the benefits of green roofs—a new approach to roofing in dense urban environments that has been heralded as a way to insulate buildings, manage sewer overflows from stormwater (by reducing the volume and peak flow of water that flows into sewers during storms) and […]

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More Than A Roof Over Your Head: Why Businesses Are Taking Advantage of Solar Power Purchase Agreements

Via The Daily Energy Report, a brief analysis of why businesses are taking advantage of solar Power Purchase Agreements: “…A Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is a legal contract where a solar project developer installs and operates a system for a business owner, homeowner, or tenant (the “host”) who in turn agrees to buy the […]

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About This Blog And Its Author
As potential uses for building and parking lot roofspace continue to grow, unique opportunities to understand and profit from this trend will emerge. Roof Options is committed to tracking the evolving uses of roof estate – spanning solar power, rainwater harvesting, wind power, gardens & farms, “cooling” sites, advertising, apiculture, and telecom transmission platforms – to help unlock the nascent, complex, and expanding roofspace asset class.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has held a lifelong interest in environmental and conservation issues, primarily as they relate to freshwater scarcity, renewable energy, and national park policy. Working from a water-scarce base in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he is the founder of Water Politics, an organization dedicated to the identification and analysis of geopolitical water issues arising from the world’s growing and vast water deficits, and is also a co-founder of SmartMarkets, an eco-preneurial venture that applies web 2.0 technology and online social networking innovations to motivate energy & water conservation. He previously worked for an independent power producer in Central Asia; co-authored an article appearing in the Summer 2010 issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal, titled: “The Water Ethic: The Inexorable Birth Of A Certain Alienable Right”; and authored an article appearing in the inaugural issue of Johns Hopkins University's Global Water Magazine in July 2010 titled: “H2Own: The Water Ethic and an Equitable Market for the Exchange of Individual Water Efficiency Credits.”