The economic crunch has pulled the plug on many alternative-energy plans, but at least one form of solar delivery is thriving. And as the country weathers the economic storm, Marin is staying on course toward the goal of energy independence.

The Marin Energy Authority, the joint powers agency working on a Marin Clean Energy initiative, is almost ready to send a request for proposals (RFPs) out into the energy-supplier world. That means the new energy authority will learn whether the plan to provide Marin residents with clean energy will work or not.

The idea is to offer residents a choice: accept 100 percent renewable electricity at a premium above Pacific Gas and Electric Co. rates or choose a "light-green" option with rates at or below PG&E rates. The 100-percent renewable option would cost about 5 or 10 percent more than PG&E charges for the first five years, and then level off or drop down compared with PG&E, according to a Marin Clean Energy brochure.

Residents who choose the light-green plan would receive 25 percent renewable energy in the first five years, "growing to 50 percent renewable in five years." Residents who opt out of the renewable energy plan and stay with PG&E will receive about 12 percent of their energy from renewable sources, a percentage expected to increase to 20 percent in five years.

Proponents of the Marin Clean Energy proposal point to additional benefits beyond the more aggressive use of renewable sources. They say a local power authority offers the opportunity to tailor local energy needs--and rates. A local energy plan also holds the possibility of stimulating local business by creating a demand for energy supply as well as energy-related goods and services.

PG&E has been lobbying hard up and down California to convince localities that the promise of local power agencies will never match reality. Representatives of the utility have said Marin customers will wind up having to spend as much as 30 to 40 percent more than PG&E rates for 100 percent renewable and as much as 20 percent above PG&E rates for the light-green product.

But local power plan advocates have heard that before, and they point to local power authorities already running successfully in other parts of the country.

The Northeast Ohio Energy Council provides power to more than 600,000 customers in 126 communities, saving those customers an average of about 5 percent for electricity generation. (Many local-power initiatives start with the aim of reducing or at least controlling utility rates. In Marin that goal is matched with a desire to promote renewable sources in the battle to reduce the county's carbon footprint, which is rather large in comparison to other communities.)

The Cape Cod Light Compact is a local-power arrangement similar to Marin Clean Energy that serves 21 towns with more than 200,000 customers. Cape Cod Light offers a 100 percent green option and a 50 percent light-green option.

In California, the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority is the first local-energy agency to receive certification from the state Public Utilities Commission. At least 10 other local-power proposals are on the drawing board or in the process of coming online.

PG&E has pointed out that San Joaquin has yet to find a power supplier in the current economic climate that has ravaged the energy industry during the credit crisis. The utility cites that difficulty as a potential hazard for Marin Clean Energy.

But Marin Clean Energy proponents say the utility hasn't helped the situation by actively fighting the San Joaquin agency, possibly scaring away potential energy suppliers. PG&E settled a lawsuit that charged it had engaged in unfair tactics, so there could be some merit to the claim that the PG&E argument is a little tainted.

The Marin Clean Energy request for proposals that will go out in early May will settle the score and let everyone know who was right, PG&E or Marin Clean Energy proponents.

Some critics, in addition to PG&E, speculate that the numbers will be unfavorable for Marin Clean Energy. "I tend to not speculate," says Dawn Weisz, Marin County sustainability planner and the Marin Energy Authority interim director. "That's the whole reason were doing the RFPs, to get some hard facts on paper. We wouldn't be doing the [request for proposal process if we thought it was a lost hope. We certainly think there are some entities out there that are interested in responding." Weisz adds that the energy authority has engaged in "a lot of" market research to ensure that potential interest exists. "We do expect to get some responses."

Sometimes lost in the debate over the Marin Clean Energy proposal is the overarching goal in the Marin Energy Authority to promote an integrated array of projects that can help move Marin toward clean energy, energy efficiency and energy independence.

As the economic crisis tightened, that goal of independent--and local--energy sources began growing, reaching a point now across the country where it shares center stage with reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. The Obama administration's pledge to promote alternative energy is fueled as much by the noose of foreign oil as it is by a desire to reduce climate change.

The federal stimulus package contains many millions of dollars in potential funds for Marin pilot projects. (The state also provides rebates, tax incentives and other enticements for homeowners interested in getting off the grid, especially by installing solar systems to generate electricity.)

Under the auspices of the Marin Energy Authority, the county is about to send in proposals that would tap $63 million in federal stimulus package funds. Weisz says she has about 10 potential grant applications on her desk. The county is waiting for the feds to formally open the process, which should happen this month.

Not long ago, the Marin Energy Authority approached the feds just two days after the economic Recovery Act passed with an unsolicited proposal. The proposal pulls many energy efficiency, conservation, and clean-generation ideas together and connects them to what's called a "smart grid."

The Department of Energy, says Weisz, "was very excited about the holistic nature of our project to take pieces that have been done individually and integrate them at a community scale." The feds liked the proposal in part because they saw what Marin already has accomplished, including a smart-grid pilot project. The feds planned to solicit proposals for the stimulus money in April, and said it would be best for Marin to wait. Weisz says they told Marin an unsolicited proposal "would end up in a black hole."

That proposal is ready to go. It's the kind of project that the Marin Energy Authority will undertake no matter what happens to the Marin Clean Energy. Including a smart-grid idea among the proposals to implement an array of local renewable power from a variety of sources is a concept gaining ground in the world of energy efficiency.

A smart grid can coordinate input from various energy sources--but more important, it can control the outflow of energy from customers' homes and businesses; for instance, when and for how long appliances in a home remain active. Running appliances at times of peak efficiency can relieve stress on the electrical grid during peak demand in summer months.

The end of brownouts and blackouts? That may be a bit hyperbolic, but with a smart-grid, electricity from alternative sources such as solar, wind, wave, geothermal can supplement supplies during periods of critical use.

Alternative energy as supplemental supply could help promote the overall concept of clean energy, even among critics. But those same critics point to the potential intrusion into homes and businesses by a smart grid. They do not want anyone or anything controlling their thermostat or when and how long their appliances will run. They want no one controlling their thermostats.

Although that looks like a field ripe for sowing conspiracy theories, the reality is more mundane. Many homeowners set up irrigation systems that draw water when it best benefits plants and conserves the most water. A smart-grid system isn't so different.

The smart grid system may be fertilizing the concept of energy efficiency, but the power still needs to be generated. An area that has held the most promise for generating local power, has been solar energy. It's a proven source of renewable energy that can meet or beat the cost of energy from utility companies. But there has been a huge catch.

The economic collapse has crushed the surge in solar. "The overall industry, meaning residential solar installations, is down about 50 percent in April versus the year before," says Edward Fenster, co-founder of San Francisco-based SunRun. The company specializes in working with homeowners and solar-installation companies to bring solar systems to homes without breaking the bank. While the overall solar industry has stopped "dead in its tracks" during the downturn, says Fenster, "our business is up significantly over the same period."

The solar plan SunRun offers is making progress because it tackles the biggest obstacles to residential solar deployment: huge initial investment and ongoing maintenance costs. Instead of buying a system and paying to install it on the roof of a home, which could cost $30,000 to $40,000 or more depending on the components and location, homeowners can have SunRun buy and install a solar system and then charge the homeowners a predetermined electricity rate for 18 years. At the end of that time, SunRun will either remove the system or the homeowner can buy the system or draw up a new contract.

SunRun offers something power-purchase agreements in two flavors: Homeowners can pay a pre-determined rate for the entire cost of electricity for the 18-year period, with no increases in rates during that time. While still hefty, that cost will be less than prevailing rates. Or, homeowners can pay over time, still with those locked-in rates. Using that plan, homeowners can pay between $1,000 and $4,000 to have SunRun install a solar system on their property.

And during the time a SunRun system is in place, the company assumes responsibility for maintenance. That attacks the impediment of the initial financial layout that has been a stumbling block for the solar industry. Fenster says the cost of the electricity from a SunRun system in California runs about 25 cents a kilowatt-hour. "The current rates in PG&E territory run as high as 41 cents a kilowatt-hour."

SunRun can offer the plans in part because of all the subsidies, local, state and federal the company can tap into. That can be a complicated process for homeowners, and even if they manage to make their way through the solar stimulus plan maze, companies like SunRun probably can tap additional sources.

SunRun isn't the only company offering innovative solar programs. SolarCity offers a lease arrangement as an alternative to outright ownership. SolarCity and SunRun are third-party providers. Fenster estimates that about 80 percent of solar on the rooftops of businesses across the country "is now in third-party ownership." That market share has occurred just since 2005, when commercial power purchase agreements were introduced, he says. SunRun began offering residential power purchase agreements at the end of 2007.

According to Fenster, by the end of 2008, SunRun and SolarCity had captured about 22 percent of the national residential market.

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