Solar-Plus
High-Value Resource Solutions

In just two decades, this century has staked its claim as a new age of synergy, and the call has gone out for energy solutions that are worth more than the sum of their parts. At Cliburn and Associates, LLC, we helped pioneer solar plus storage and solar plus load flexibility solutions—offering solar plus storage and "tripe play" solar plus storage and LF synergies for utilities, their customers and their stakeholders. These solutions are complex, but not confounding. They are not only within our reach; they are within your reach, and we will show you how.

Contact Cliburn and Associates if you require expertise in emerging-market research, program design, training development, policy or evaluation, across the range of renewables and emerging integration strategies. We also provide change-management and facilitation for local utilities, local government, others engaged in innovation. Keys to our success include a deep resource of  best practices and a network of leading, expert associates, who thrive in a results-oriented culture.

We also invite you to take an in-depth look at our work on the Community Solar Value Project site. And see our News Note below, as Cliburn and Associates begin work with the U.S. DOE Solar Energy Innovation Network.

    Research

Cliburn and Associates research services range from emerging-market assessments to business and program plans, energy program benchmarking and best practices guides, policy assessments and training support. We focus on content, but also offer design for print and digital media. Contact us for samples of our award-winning work.

    Collaboration

Whether you are aiming to launch a new community solar program or to co-market solar with DR, or are crafting a new policy or procuring solar plus storage, these efforts require collaboration. Cliburn and Associates is expert at cross-disciplinary process design, facilitation and training.  Cliburn also offers expert, affordable change-management coaching.

    Imagination

While bringing decades of experience to the field, Cliburn has remained at the forefront of change. The firm participates in national innovation networks and often leads design charette processes. This approach is exemplified by leadership of the Community Solar Value Project. It also takes place in customized settings, working toward both vision and action.
Cliburn is a frequent presenter at industry conferences and an a participant in innovation networks. Recently (above) she presented to a utility gathering in Aspen, CO. This fall, she presented a poster at NA Smart Energy Week, along with Vote Solar and NC Clean Energy Technology Center, on policies for solar-plus. Cliburn has been a board member of the American Solar Energy Society and was recently named a Fellow in that organization.


News and Highlights

Late News! SPECs Selected for Solar Energy Innovation Network
Solar-Plus for Electric Co-ops (SPECs) is a new project led by Cliburn and Associates, to help optimize the procurement and operations of battery storage projects at local electric cooperatives. The project was one of eight selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for the second round of the Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN). Cliburn and Associates is joined by a number of partners on this project, including Cobb Electric Membership Corp., Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, United Power, North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center and others.

SEIN is a collaborative research effort led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and supported by the U.S. DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office. It works with multi-stakeholder teams pursuing new applications of solar energy and other distributed energy resources in unique locations and contexts. The solutions developed by the teams are demonstrated and validated in real-world contexts, making them ready for replication and scale. With a virtual (Covid-Era) kick-off meeting planned for mid-April, the Cliburn and Associates SPECs team is well-aware of the need for 21st Century planning that "expects the unexpected." Watch this space for details, coming soon!

Cliburn Coaching Contributes to Solar Challenge Success
As participants in the U.S. DOE Solar in Your Community Challenge, teams from across the U.S. worked for nearly two years toward increasing solar deployment in under-represented communities and establishing processes and infrastructure to sustain their progress. Challenge teams also stood a chance of winning cash awards and recognition for their work. Cliburn and Associates supported this program as a team coach and as a training consultant. The firm produced two national Challenge workshops, held at Solar 2017 and 2018 conferences in Denver and Boulder, CO, respectively. A 2019 NREL publication, Up to the Challenge, spotlights two of the teams that Cliburn coached, Solar Holler (WV) and VEIC Sun Shares (VT). Sun Shares was subsequently honored as a runner up in the competition. Many of the Challenge projects deserve recognition, offering models to replicate and innovations that defy categorization as pertaining to special low-income markets. Cliburn recently authored an assessment of the Challenge Program and its impact on broadening access to solar for the fall issue Solar Today Magazine. An excerpt will be provided here in October.
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New Publications for Public Power Utilities
The American Public Power Association recently released two new publications, developed by Cliburn and Associates to serve local utility needs nationwide. This is the third edition of Energy Matters for Your Home and Energy Matters for Your Small Business that Cliburn has produced for APPA and its members over the past 15 years . Altogether these publications have hundreds of thousands of copies in print, plus providing helpful digital content for numerous public power utility websites. This new edition introduces new concepts to utility customers, as many public power providers develop new business models, where energy efficiency is the foundation for a range of customer programs, from demand-oriented rate structures, to compatibility with fully automated building controls, rooftop or community solar, and EVs. If you are not an APPA member, contact us for other ways we can help to update your energy efficiency and renewable energy outreach.