Let the Sunshine In, for the Benefit of All
Proven strategies can make solar power available to lower income people.
Low- and moderate-income households bear heavy housing and energy cost burdens. In the United States, people with low incomes spend about three times more of their income on energy than those with higher incomes.
Moreover, these households are much less likely to reap the benefits of converting to solar power. But now, a study from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has identified three approaches that effectively expand the availability of rooftop solar to people in lower income brackets.
Energy, housing, health, and education systems; and âsystems that encourage or discourage environmental degradationâ all âtouch racial justice. So in order to start breaking down racial disparities in solar, I think we need to broaden our lens.â
The state of Hawaii instituted a mandate that 30 percent of electricity generation must come from renewable sources as of 2020. But the state s utilities have already exceeded that figure as they move toward a completely clean energy system.
Hawaiian Electric, the state s largest utility, reported this month that its 2020 generation mix reached 34.5 percent renewable across Oahu, Hawaii Island and Maui. Renewable production rose 13 percent from 2019.
That growth coincided with lower demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, which meant the denominator of the market-share fraction was smaller than normal. But even if consumption patterns had been the same as during pre-pandemic times, the utility would have beaten the target with 32 percent renewable electricity, the company said.
Dive Brief:
Southern Company has joined with the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) and six of the Department of Energy s national laboratories to form a two-year, $15 million research consortium tasked with examining the impact of blending hydrogen in natural gas on existing gas infrastructure.
The research partners will explore the performance of existing natural gas assets such as pipelines, storage, compressors and even household appliances when hydrogen is added to the fuel mix, allowing utilities to find optimal portfolio solutions in the future, according to Zachary Lowe, director at Southern Company Gas.
Research will enable utilities to transition to hydrogen fuel while leveraging existing infrastructure, according to Brian Weeks, senior director of businesses development at GTI. However, an analyst watching the hydrogen industry questions whether existing gas infrastructure is in fact the cheapest option for deploying hydrogen.