Solarithmetic In (On) Schools: Good For Private Investors

Via Earth Techling, a report on an interesting financial innovation that allows private investors to own the solar power systems installed at public schools while still receiving substantial associated tax benefits. “…That concept is swiftly becoming a reality in Gainesville, Fla., where Gainesville Regional Utility‘s (GRU) feed-in tariff system will be instrumental in bringing renewable […]

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Bundling The Sun: Turning Solar Leases Into Asset-Backed Securities

Via Forbes, an article discussing the trend towards bundling solar leases into an asset-backed security: “…When solar entrepreneur Edward Fenster looks across the roofs of photo voltaic panels his company has installed on thousands of homes, he sees not just a source of clean green electricity but also security. An asset-backed security, that is. Fenster […]

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Roof Aggregation – Harnessing Big Roofs To Activate The Roof Economy

Via the Arizona Daily Star, a hint of what we believe is one of the biggest roof space opportunities out there: roof aggregation.  As the article notes: “…TEP recently launched a program offering to lease space on commercial rooftops for large installations to boost economies of scale. Home rooftop installations, subsidized by state and federal […]

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SolarCity Aims For $42M To Expand Solar Roofs – Google Invests In Roofspace For Tax Benefits

Via GigaOm, an interesting report on SolarCity’s latest efforts to raise funds to put solar panels on residential rooftops.  As we noted in an earlier post, SolarCity’s deal with Google is to set up a $280 million fund to pay for putting solar panels on residential rooftops. The more pertinent detail is that Google can […]

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Home Solarithmetic 101

Via CleanTechies, an article on the many different home solar financing options available to help make home solar systems more affordable for homeowners: I’ve been researching going off the grid and looking into home solar systems. I’d love to get one for free, like this lucky Richmond mom. But somehow, my lucky stars aren’t aligned […]

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Solar Gets Amp’ed Up: DOE Backs Largest Rooftop Solar Project In U.S.

Via GigaOm, a report that the U.S. Department of Energy will provide a $1.4 billion loan to fund the largest rooftop solar plan in the country: The U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday it’s offering a partial guarantee for a $1.4 billion loan that will fund Project Amp, which will erect solar panels on […]

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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.”