Solar Technology Resources

Find answers to your solar technology questions through helpful tools and guides curated from our partners.

• Project Sunroof: Google's live solar maps showing potential for solar energy by using Google Earth imagery to analyze roof shape and local weather patterns to create a personalized solar plan. READ MORE →
• Green Schools Alliance: The Green Schools Alliance Utility Dashboard, powered by Noveda, provides a 360° view of consumption patterns in real-time. Users receive a basic dashboard connected to Energy Star Portfolio Manager; an online tool used to track energy and water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. READ MORE →
• RE-volv - Solar for Nonprofits: RE-volv trains volunteer college students and community members across the country to identify nonprofits in their area that could benefit from solar energy. RE-volv then covers all the upfront costs for these nonprofits to go solar with local solar installers, and the nonprofits immediately save on their electricity bills. As our nonprofit partners pay us back over time through a Solar Lease or Power Purchase Agreement, their payments are invested in a revolving fund we call the Solar Seed Fund. This fund then helps to pay for the next nonprofit’s solar system – a first-of-its-kind, pay-it-forward model for solar energy. . READ MORE →
• REopt Lite: REopt Lite is an online version of NREL’s more comprehensive REopt model. The tool helps building managers evaluate the economic viability of grid-connected PV and battery storage at a site, identify system sizes and battery dispatch strategies to minimize energy costs, and estimate how long a system can sustain critical load during a grid outage. READ MORE →
• Zero Energy Schools Accelerator: On average, zero energy schools can use between 65%–80% less energy than conventionally constructed schools, and the remaining energy required is supplied by renewable energy. The Better Buildings branch of the Department of Energy provides resources and information on zero-energy schools. READ MORE →
• Achieving Zero Energy Guide: ASHRAE's Advanced energy design guide for K-12 school buildings provides a cost-effective approach to achieve advanced levels of energy savings. The Guides offer contractors and designers the tools needed for achieving a zero energy building which is defined as a building that, on an annual basis, draws from outside resources equal or less energy than it provides using on-site renewable energy sources. READ MORE →
• Renewable Energy Project Development Toolbox: The Green Power Partnership is working with the stakeholders to identify economic and administrative barriers in the deployment of on-site renewable energy projects. This website examines six key issues that have important implications for developing on-site solar projects. Each topic area offers a brief summary of the issue, identifies key resources, and addresses major questions and hurdles key sustainability experts have identified as information gaps or obstacles in their development of new on-site solar projects. READ MORE →
• Decarbonization Roadmap Guide for School Building Decision Makers: From the New Building Institute, the guide is written for those interested in healthy, efficient, carbon neutral school design, construction and operation. It outlines achievable goals that result in healthy, affordable, all-electric facilities, and explains common actions taken by leading districts to operationalize their carbon neutral ambitions. Different stakeholders are likely to interact with this framework in different ways, and the guide shares examples of how this can be done. In addition, the guide links to resources and templates that can be customized locally. While these resources are written with public schools in mind, they can also be used for private schools as well. READ MORE →

Last Updated: 9/01/2020