Webinar: How deploying more local solar and storage will save Californians billions – Wednesday 11 August 2021

• Presentation slides are available in PDF format.
• See also:
  • Vibrant Clean Energy report summary
  • Updated building standards from the California Energy Commission

The traditional thinking is that economies of scale make remote energy generation more cost-effective. But a new study from the Local Solar for All Coalition, based on results from the powerful new WIS-dom-P model fromVibrant Clean Energy, turns this thinking on its head.

Using a much more sophisticated model than other studies employ, the Local Solar for All team found that deploying far more clean local energy, in close coordination with remote renewables, will save Californians billions – while helping the state achieve our clean energy goals and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

This webinar covered:

• • • Conventional thinking compared to the needed paradigm shift
    • The study’s methodology and assumptions
    • The importance of coordinating the utility-scale electricity grid with the distribution grid to find the overall lowest system cost
    • Detailed findings of the study
    • Benefits of local solar+storage

Presenters

Karl R. Rábago operates Rábago Energy, based in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Rábago has more than 30 years of experience in energy and climate policy and markets and is recognized as an innovator in utility regulatory issues relating to clean and distributed energy services and technologies. He is a frequent author on electricity industry issues and has provided testimony as an expert witness in more than 120 electric and gas utility regulatory proceedings. Mr. Rábagoserves as Chair of the Board of the Center for Resource Solutions, a San Francisco-based non-governmental organization that manages the Green-e Certification program for green power products, and on the Board of Solar United Neighbors. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Business Management and has a Juris Doctorate (Honors) from the University of Texas and Master of Laws degrees, in environmental and military law, from Pace Law School and the US Army Judge Advocate General’s School.

Bernadette Del Chiaro, Executive Director of the California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA), came to the organization in July 2013 and has built CALSSA into the largest clean energy business group in the state. Prior to her work with CALSSA, Ms. Del Chiaro served as the Director of Clean Energy and Global Warming Programs at Environment California as well as the Western States Regional Director for Environment America. Since 2002, Ms. Del Chiaro has been a leading voice on many California clean energy initiatives including the Million Solar Roofs Initiative (SB 1), the Solar Water Heating Initiative (AB 1470), the continued expansion of Net Energy Metering, the establishment of streamlined solar permitting (AB 2188), and the expansion of consumer incentives for energy storage (SB 700). She’s authored several clean energy reports and has been quoted widely in the media including MSNBC, NPR, BBC, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and dozens of local and trade outlets. Del Chiaro, a California native, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1995.

Moderator

Rosana Francescato is the Clean Coalition’s Communications Director and leads the Transmission Access Charges (TAC) Campaign. Prior to joining the Clean Coalition, Rosana was Communications Director for Sunible, an online solar marketplace, and for MyDomino, an energy savings concierge service. In over 14 years at Adobe Systems, Rosana held senior technical editing and project management positions. She has written extensively on clean energy for publications like CleanTechnica, PV Solar Report, pv magazine, and Energy Central. While on the steering committee of the Local Clean Energy Alliance, Rosana helped evaluate shared renewables legislation in California. She has served on the boards of several clean energy nonprofits and volunteers installing solar with GRID Alternatives.