Director of Market Development and Policy New Columbia Solar Washington, District of Columbia, United States
State and local policies drive growth in local solar markets. New Columbia Solar serves as an example of this principle; the company was founded after some of the most progressive clean energy policy in the country was passed in Washington, DC.
This assessment demonstrates how the policies in the District have spurred solar industry growth and development, and also, how the progressive local policies have helped to mitigate some of the deleterious impacts from national market downturns, restrictive policies, and economic disruptions.
While the hard work by environmental advocates, industry, and community groups are not detailed in this analysis, they were the driving force behind each step of the new clean energy policies—demanding the plans, demanding legislation; demanding funding; demanding implementation. We hope that other representatives of the industry, and policymakers from other jurisdictions, view Washington, DC as a successful case study of the beneficial, catalytic impacts of clean energy legislation.
