The California city spent years cultivating an urban forest for shade and cooling benefits, which now presents a unique challenge to tapping the area's solar potential. A new company has a solution.
To meet local demand for renewable energy, CleanPath Ventures plans to create a solar farm outside of the city limits, from which Davis homeowners can buy "garden plots" with their own photovoltaic panels. The system allows homeowners, who would otherwise need to install panels on their roofs, to keep their shade-making trees. Todd Woody notes that there are also economies of scale benefits that come with providing power from a centralized location.
Homeowners would even be able to keep their plot if they move within Davis, says Matt Cheney, founder of CleanPath ventures:
"If you moved down the block, you'd take the electricity production with you just like if you make an investment in a community garden, wherever you live you'll benefit from what's grown in the garden."
FULL STORY: The Benefits of Solar With the Beauty of Trees
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
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New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
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U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
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The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
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