The New Solar Wave

Why Now?

In the early 2000s, solar was hailed as a viable fossil fuel alternative and deployment increased at a record pace in the US. That began to change after a 2013 report commissioned by the Edison Electric Institute — the investor-owned utilities' own trade association — framed distributed solar as a competitive threat to utility revenue rather than a grid asset.

The "cost shift" narrative born in that report — that wealthy solar owners shift costs onto everyone else — has since been repeated in utility-funded studies, regulatory filings, and media placements nationwide, shaping outcomes ever since, most visibly in California's NBT decision.

The evidence tells a different story. Solar is one of the cheapest sources of new electricity generation, and it can be deployed faster than almost any other clean energy resource. Rigorous analysis of the "cost shift" shows it is far smaller — and far more contested — than utilities claim. The New Solar Wave exists to perform research and make evidence accessible to journalists, regulators, educators, and the public.

Our Approach

01 Produce rigorous, citable research that documents solar's real economics and rebuilds the evidentiary record utilities have shaped for a decade.
02 Translate that research into plain-language education materials that reshapes public understanding of solar’s value.
03 Build a research-grounded strategy that unites culture and arts with digital mobilization for local clean ownership.

Who This Reaches

Journalists & editorial boards seeking transparent, non-partisan analysis.
Regulators & legislative staff needing a counterweight to utility filings.
Homeowners & renters weighing whether solar is worth it.
Funders who value independent, open-source research.
Community Organizations wanting to own and protect their natural resources.

01 Track · Research & Analysis

"Solar, By the Numbers"

A Myth-vs-Evidence Report on Rooftop Solar Economics

This research builds the citable, open-source evidentiary base that journalists, regulators, and educators can draw on directly. It:

Reconstructs the cost-shift methodology, and creates factual re-analyses
Documents NBT's measured effect on California rooftop solar deployment and compensation
Evaluates solar-adopter income and demographic data to counter the “wealthy solar owner” framing
Separates legitimate grid-cost questions from unsupported claims in the public debate
Analyzes cost and speed of deployment of solar compared to other forms of energy
Releases all data, models, and code open-source for independent verification

02 Track · Public Education

Public Education

Track Item 1

Explainer & Media Series

Plain-language explainers, data visualizations, and social content that translate the research for a general audience — paired with media partnerships and op-ed placements at outlets with large reader bases.

Track Item 2

Community Outreach

Mobilizing communities to assert their right to solar ownership. Support organizations, students, and local groups with the evidence they need to reclaim our right to clean power—because the sun belongs to everyone.

All gifts to The New Solar Wave support research and education activities and are tax-deductible through SolarWAVE Action's fiscal sponsorship with the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), a 501(c)(3) organization.