Daniel Rosenbloom

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics: Distributed Energy Development for Urban Sustainability

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is emerging as a promising alternative in the suite of measures needed for the long-term transition of urban areas to sustainable and resilient places to live. Aesthetically pleasing, carbon neutral, and potentially transformative in how electricity grids operate in urban areas, BIPV has much to offer our cities. But why now, and what are the social and technological constraints on its use?

PV Policy Frameworks: Lessons from Canadian and International Policy Engagement Around Solar Photovoltaics

Over the past decade, solar photovoltaics (PV) have attracted increasing attention as promising low-carbon innovations worthy of government investment. Numerous incentive frameworks have been developed to encourage the deployment of PV, with the electricity sector surfacing as the focal point for this policy engagement (through the feed-in tariff and other instruments). A variety of justifications have been advanced to support these policy interventions, spanning from GHG reductions to industrial development. However, PV and the policy frameworks that have been developed to support this technology face serious and growing challenges, including technical issues (e.g., the integration of intermittent sources into conventional electricity networks), social and political concerns (e.g., opposition to renewable energy support due to electricity rate impacts), and economic turbulence (e.g., consolidations within the PV industry). Innovative policy solutions will be needed to overcome these challenges and unlock the potential of PV in future energy systems. This paper explores the policy frameworks surrounding PV in three jurisdictions – Ontario, California and Germany – and draws lessons from these experiences in order to provide policy advice.