Solar maps help foster sustainable cities

29 November 2010, RenewableEnergyWorld.com

Cities across the U.S. are creating solar maps to help residents learn more about installing solar.

New York is the latest city to be developing a comprehensive map, but San Francisco started the trend in 2007. Boston was a year later. Since then, a slew of other major cities have unveiled maps, including Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and most recently, Salt Lake City and Denver.

Since the tools — which provide data such as solar potential, cost and energy savings — went live, PV installations have gone up. San Francisco had 554 solar installations in 2007 when the map launched. Today, that number is 2,073, with a total capacity of 11 megawatts.  Boston started with about 350 PV projects, with about a half a megawatt installed, in January 2008. The city has since installed 3 MW, and has a goal of 25 MW by 2015. More...

Electrifying insight, innovation and interaction at Local Renewables Freiburg 2010

18 October 2010, ICLEI Europe

E-mobility is part of, but not the sole solution to solving transport problems in cities. This was the main conclusion drawn by international experts from local governments, business and research gathered at the Local Renewables Freiburg 2010 Conference. Organized by ICLEI, the conference ran from 14-15 October 2010 in the green city of Freiburg (Germany) and focused on the role of renewables in the future of sustainable urban mobility. More...