Page 44 - Green Builder January 2017 Issue

DESIGN FUTUREFOR A SUSTAINABLE

Sunny Forecast

There’s a new vision for the solar suburbs of the future.

BY MARC GUNTHER CREDIT: SUNPOWER CORP.

Note: This article originally appeared in Yale Environment 360. Bright side. Solar power is now a standard feature offered by
(http://bit.ly/1V6f3Sz) However, certain elements have been updated. six of the nation’s largest homebuilders, according to provider
SunPower Corp.
IMAGINE A TRULY GREEN SUBURB, one in which energy-efficient
homes are powered by rooftop solar panels, and electric cars glide track their energy use and carbon saved.
quietly down the streets. Businesses, energy experts and scholars This vision bears little resemblance to the suburbs of today—with
say low-carbon suburban living is not only possible, but on its
way—though not in the short run. Some glimpses of the future: their big, inefficient homes, two or three gasoline-powered cars in the
In Palm Springs, California, rooftop solar panels are standard in driveway, shopping malls and vast parking lots. But advocates say
a new community of 42 energy-efficient homes built by Far West that if all goes well, advances in technology, combined with smart
Industries of Santa Ana. The homes sold quickly, at prices ranging policy, could lower the costs of solar power, electric cars and batteries,
from $600,000 to $700,000. Scott Lissoy, president of Far West, says: and drive a clean energy revolution in the suburbs.
“If we’re building in the Coachella Valley, which is one of the hottest
areas in California, we’re building with solar panels. It’s the right Analysts at the Rocky Mountain Institute, led by Amory Lovins,
thing to do.” also see an energy revolution coming. “The technical solutions are
there,” says Titiaan Palazzi, a mechanical engineer at the institute who
VAST POTENTIAL formerly worked for smart thermostat company Nest. “You could
In Colorado, residents of Adams, Boulder and Denver counties are eventually get to suburbs or communities that are net-zero energy.”
taking advantage of a group buying program called Solar Benefits
Colorado, which offers discounts on solar panels from a company Meantime, an academic study of the city and suburbs of Auckland,
called Sunrun and on an electric car, the Leaf, from a local Nissan New Zealand, found that detached suburban homes can generate
dealer. It’s one of a series of group procurement projects organized
by Vote Solar, an advocacy group.

In Vermont, the local utility Green Mountain Power wants to sell
its customers less electricity. Instead, it is selling them energy-saving
heat pumps, weatherization, batteries and solar panels that give them
more control over their energy consumption. “Really, what we’re in
the business of doing is trying to accelerate a consumer revolution
that’s already happening, to transform the energy space,” says Mary
Powell, the utility’s CEO.

These examples point to the potential of what some are calling
“solar suburbs.” The concept is a sweeping one—solar panels cover
roofs, electric vehicles sit in garages, energy-efficient homes are
outfitted with batteries to store electricity, and a smart two-way
electricity system enables people to drive to work and discharge
power from their electric cars at times of peak energy demand.
Australia’s government has embraced this idea for a new military
housing development being built near Darwin, where each home
will come equipped with a 4.5-kW rooftop solar system, charging
points for electric cars, and smartphone apps enabling owners to

42 GREEN BUILDER January/February 2017 www.greenbuildermedia.com