The investment is expected to reduce residents’ utility bills by about 25%.

D.C. lawmakers are giving the local solar industry a boost, requiring 15% of electricity to come from solar by 2041. Critics of the bill say it helps grow solar at the expense of “ordinary ratepayers and working class” District residents.

The bill aims to boost incentives for going solar in the District, requiring utility companies to buy more solar energy.

The county’s shift to a solar-powered bus fleet is aimed at helping Montgomery County meet its ambitious climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2027.

New solar panels atop Audi Field will provide about a third of the electricity needed at the D.C. United stadium.

An interactive map commissioned by the District Department of the Environment and created by Mapdwell allows users to click on almost any building in the city and see “how much electricity can be produced on their rooftops from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, how the financial investment will pay off, and how much pollution will be reduced.”

The Energy Department’s biannual design competition for solar-powered houses is returning in 2013, just not on the Potomac. Or anywhere around here, for that matter.