Solar Math: Wait Until You Need A New Roof

Via Grist, a report on the math behind putting solar on your roof, which indicates that waiting until you need to re-roof is usually the best course of action: Not too long ago, Bryan and Summer Stubblefield wanted to outfit their California home with solar panels. They were considering an electric vehicle, and powering it with the sun […]

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Dubai Airport To Launch World’s Largest Airport Rooftop Solar Panel Installation

Via Zawya, a report on Dubai Airport’s plans to launch the world’s largest airport solar panel installation: Dubai Airports announced a landmark collaboration with Etihad Clean Energy Development Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DEWA, to launch the world’s largest rooftop solar panel installation project at an airport. The announcement was made in the presence of […]

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What Should We Do With The World’s Rooftops: Produce Food or Energy?

Via Anthropocene Magazine, a report on a new study finds that rooftop agriculture yields greater economic benefits, whereas rooftop solar wins on greenhouse gas emissions: A carefully calibrated combination of rooftop gardens and solar panels could meet 15% of a city’s vegetable needs and provide 5% of its electricity on average, according to a new China-wide […]

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Second Green Roof Installed at Boston Medical Center

Via Green Roofs.com, a report on another green roof in Boston: This month, Recover Green Roofs celebrated the opening of Newmarket Farm at Boston Medical Center (BMC) at 960 Mass. Ave. The green roof design process highlights a critical collaboration between BMC, Recover Green Roofs, and Higher Ground Farm. Recover completed the installation in the Spring of 2024. Each organization […]

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Tesla’s Futuristic ‘Solar Roof’ Could Help You Earn $350 a Month on Top of a $0 Power Bill

Via The Cool Down, a report on Tesla’s ‘solar roof’: Solar power is an excellent way to ease the pain of rising electricity bills. Solar panels on roofs are becoming a popular option for homeowners looking to save money on their energy bills. Tesla’s Solar Roof takes it one step further and is actually creating income for some people.  The […]

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Blue/Green Roofs: Solving Four Urban Problems In One Solution

Via AquaTech, a look at the potential of blue-green roofs: Blue-green roofs have the potential to solve four urban problems in one go: increased water collection and reuse; sustainable energy production; building insulation and thriving eco-systems.  What to do with roof space in urban environments The potential uses for rooftops in urban environments tend to […]

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About This Blog And Its Author
As potential uses for building and parking lot roofspace continue to grow, unique opportunities to understand and profit from this trend will emerge. Roof Options is committed to tracking the evolving uses of roof estate – spanning solar power, rainwater harvesting, wind power, gardens & farms, “cooling” sites, advertising, apiculture, and telecom transmission platforms – to help unlock the nascent, complex, and expanding roofspace asset class.

Educated at Yale University (Bachelor of Arts - History) and Harvard (Master in Public Policy - International Development), Monty Simus has held a lifelong interest in environmental and conservation issues, primarily as they relate to freshwater scarcity, renewable energy, and national park policy. Working from a water-scarce base in Las Vegas with his wife and son, he is the founder of Water Politics, an organization dedicated to the identification and analysis of geopolitical water issues arising from the world’s growing and vast water deficits, and is also a co-founder of SmartMarkets, an eco-preneurial venture that applies web 2.0 technology and online social networking innovations to motivate energy & water conservation. He previously worked for an independent power producer in Central Asia; co-authored an article appearing in the Summer 2010 issue of the Tulane Environmental Law Journal, titled: “The Water Ethic: The Inexorable Birth Of A Certain Alienable Right”; and authored an article appearing in the inaugural issue of Johns Hopkins University's Global Water Magazine in July 2010 titled: “H2Own: The Water Ethic and an Equitable Market for the Exchange of Individual Water Efficiency Credits.”