Archive for May, 2023

Rural India Hospitals Find Reliable Power In Rooftop Solar

Via The Diplomat, an article on how – with India’s electrical grid under strain – rural hospitals and clinics have found reliable power in rooftop solar: In the searing heat that often envelops Raichur, an ancient town in southern India, a ceiling fan that spins without interruption brings sweet relief for the newborn babies and their […]

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Guidelines for Biodiversity Green Roofs Released for Melbourne, Australia

Via Greenroofs.com, an article on some useful guidelines for biodiversity green roofs recently released for Melbourne, Australia: Staff of City of Melbourne & University of Melbourne writes: Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world, and the major cities are experiencing rapid population growth and increasing densification. It is estimated that by […]

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Rooftop Solar Could Power One Third of US Manufacturing Sector

Via Energy Daily, an article on the potential for rooftop solar panels to power one third of US manufacturing sector: Mounted on the rooftops of industrial buildings, solar panels could meet the entire electricity demand of up to 35% of US manufacturers. A new study, published in IOP Publishing’s journal Environmental Research: Sustainability and Infrastructure, […]

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Rooftop Gardens On Bus Stops: Cost Effective Remedy To NYC’s Flood Problems

Via The Gothamist, an article on the role that rooftop gardens for bus stops can serve as cost effective remedies to NYC’s flood problems: As New York City spends billions of dollars preparing for its next extreme flood, new research suggests a cheaper, greener resource may already be scattered across the five boroughs: bus stop […]

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Europe’s First Solar Panel Roof-Covered Bike Lane Unveiled In Germany

Via The Next Web, an article on Europe’s first solar panel roof-covered bike lane recently unveiled in Germany which is expected to generate about 280 MWh/year: At the beginning of the year, news readers were treated to images of German police forcefully removing climate activists from the village of Lützerath to make way for an open-air […]

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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.”