Abstract
In 2016, the DOE authorized $4 Million in funding to develop the Orange Button (OB) standard aimed to reduce market inefficiencies and lower the cost of solar for consumers. Since release of the OB taxonomy guide in 2018, market penetration of the standard has struggled for several reasons.
Preliminary research suggests that Orange Button adoption challenges are less technical, and more institutional. The full submission of solar asset data from loan origination to monthly operating report can span weeks, if not months or years. Holistic adoption of the Orange Button provides long term benefit to a multitude of stakeholders, from developer, to lender, to local utility. However, that benefit should not be outweighed by the burden of gathering and submitting the data itself.
This research provides an in-depth gap analysis of Orange Button implementation breakdowns and recommended solutions. By engaging early with stakeholders to align their collective requirements, seemingly ‘disruptive’ changes to incentive structure, inducement mechanism, or report submission protocol become feasible. Using the delphi technique, subject matter experts spanning the development, operations, and valuation supply chain will come together to define their own circular economy across the PV solar asset life-cycle.
Lead Organization: Colorado State University
Principal Investigator
John Killingsworth, Ph.D.
Department of Construction Management
Colorado State University
222 Guggenheim Hall,
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
Co-Principal Investigator
Nathan Wood
SpectrumAEC, LLC
3267 Stuart Street
Denver, Colorado 80212
Key Participant
K. Dixon Wright
Senior Vice President - Surety
President - USI OMNI Digital Surety Services
USI Insurance Services
201 Mission Street
Suite 1100
San Francisco, California 94105