Archive for June, 2011

Solar Gets Amp’ed Up: DOE Backs Largest Rooftop Solar Project In U.S.

Via GigaOm, a report that the U.S. Department of Energy will provide a $1.4 billion loan to fund the largest rooftop solar plan in the country: The U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday it’s offering a partial guarantee for a $1.4 billion loan that will fund Project Amp, which will erect solar panels on […]

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Mapping The Sun’s Potential to Power New York

Courtesy of The New York Times, an article on solar power’s potential to power New York: Two-thirds of New York City’s rooftops are suitable for solar panels and could jointly generate enough energy to meet half the city’s demand for electricity at peak periods, according to a new, highly detailed interactive map to be made […]

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Solar Brokers Emerge as an Innovative Model to Help Businesses Save Money

Via CleanTechies, an interesting look at the rise of solar brokers.  Can roof brokers be far behind? One of the most powerful drivers for the growing commercial solar market is the rising cost of electricity.  If you are a small business owner in the Northeast with a painfully high electricity bill that rises year after […]

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A Solution To The Problem of Solar On Multi-Tenant Buildings?

Via Vote Solar, an article on a potential emerging solution to the problem of solar on multi-tenant buildings: In a proposed decision issued on June 14, the California Public Utilities Commission is proposing to expand Virtual Net Metering, a program currently being piloted with Multi-Family Affordable Housing, to all multi-tenant buildings.  How does this work, […]

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Google Does Its Solarithmetic Homework

Via GigaOm, a report on Google’s recent foray into the financing behind residential and distributed solar: Google is emerging as the ultimate clean power sugar daddy. On Tuesday morning, Google announced it has made its largest investment in clean power to date, creating a $280 million fund for rooftop solar panel projects that will be […]

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Rooftop Solar: Power To The People

Via Miller McCune, an interesting article about the economics and politics of rooftop solar: “Some environmental advocates say the federal government is ignoring the real future of solar energy: photovoltaic cells on almost every roof. But even supporters acknowledge rooftop solar isn’t the complete answer to the energy question — yet While chasing the mirage […]

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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.”