A rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system is a long-term investment in your property: that the typical warranty on a solar PV panels is 20 to 25 years. One can do a lot over the course of two decades, including change your address. So what happens to that solar home energy system when you sell your house?
There have been conflicting reports as to how much the U.S. military would benefit from using solar energy. RAND Corporation, for example, has been very candid it its assessment that the U.S. military will not benefit directly by switching to renewable fuels.
There are plenty of ways to be a good neighbor: pick up the mail when they're out of town, don't make too much noise at night, return a lost pet. But we think there's one tactic that stands above the fray: convince your neighbor, or several neighbors, to install a solar home energy system. Here are few ways to turn your neighborhood into a solar generation hot spot, starting with the most obvious.
A number of factors impact the performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, namely: (1) the size, number and efficiency of your solar PV panels, and (2) how much sunlight you get throughout the year. But there's an even more obvious factor that can impact a system's output: cleanliness.
If you're a regular reader of the GetSolar blog, you've probably noticed that we like to keep you up to speed on the latest electric vehicle (EV) developments. But what do EVs have to do with solar energy, you ask? In short, everything.
You may have noticed that President Obama gave solar shingles a shout out in his State of the Union Address last night:
We hear it all the time: "A new solar energy plant has been built." Or, "A local utility company has entered into a solar power purchase agreement." Even, "More solar energy will be added to the electric grid." But the bottom line is, how does any of this affect how much you're going to have to pay for solar energy?
Happy Monday everyone. The beginning of the final week of the month brings us great solar energy news from the south, as the University of Central Florida (UCF) has announced the completion of a new energy research facility. UCF has added an energy efficiency testing lab to its Florida Solar Energy Center -- a 20-acre complex that already holds a solar research library, a photovoltaic (PV) materials lab and a solar thermal testing lab.
Whenever the discussion of solar cost, the focus is usually on the cost of equipment, like solar panels and inverters. But, according to a recently released report from California solar installation company SunRun, there's another factor that's adding up to 30 percent to the solar installation cost: permits. Solar installers across the country are becoming increasingly frustrated with different requirements, even between neighboring counties. So what's the deal with solar permitting?
No, you didn't misread the headline. At a time when scientists are giving birth to solar-powered robots, trash-eating raccoons are being chased away from houses by solar animal repellers and surfers in SoCal are catching swells on solar-powered surfboards, this MAY be the strangest breakthrough of them all... MAYBE.
Earlier this week, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) -- the utility service provider for nearly 400,000 customers in southern Arizona -- completed a new 1.6-megawatt (MW) solar installation at the University of Arizona's Science and Technology Park in southeast Tucson. Today, the utility is using its new solar source as an opportunity to offer its customers a new way to purchase solar power.
Tuesday brought good news for California in terms of meeting a 2020 goal of getting a third of the state's electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind.
It's been a long, hard road for the Ivanpah Solar Project, a 392-megawatt (MW) solar thermal plant to be built in California's Mojave Desert. In an effort to gain regulatory approval, project developers have scaled back the project's scope, faced environmental setbacks and had the project opened for public comment.
Western Massachusetts is preparing for its next big solar energy plant. This after the Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECo) -- which serves over 200,000 commercial and residential electric utility customers in the Bay State -- yesterday announced its plan to build a 4.2-megawatt (MW) solar facility in Springfield, Massachusetts.
In preparation for a big expansion of solar energy projects on public lands in six western states, U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu will host a number of public meetings in the areas that will be most affected by the projects.
For the last 30 years, the Canadian Rockies International Airport in Cranbrook, British Columbia has been gathering data to prove that the region has one of the highest solar intensities in all of Canada. For the most part, the airport's figures have failed to garner significant support for major solar energy development in the area. Now, it appears, the movement is catching some attention and spurring clean energy development.
After announcing in October 2010 plans power eight of its stores and warehouses throughout California with solar energy, the Swedish furniture and home product retailer IKEA made it known last week that it isn't done yet.
According to a recently published report by Peachtree Capital Advisors, a New York-based investment bank, investors loved renewable energy in2010. The report notes that the wind industry closed the year at $4.8 billion in transaction value while solar finished at $.3.2 billion. Not to be forgotten, smart grid and LED lighting companies closed at $2.5 billion.
As far as 2010 investments in cleantech companies went in 2010, energy-efficiency start-ups closed the most deals with venture capitalists (VCs). But it was actually solar energy start-ups that saw the most VC money. As for wind? It's a more mature market with a greater number of companies already well-positioned, meaning there was less room for start-ups to move in to the sector.
So what does all this fancy finance talk mean for the future of clean energy? It means that investors -- most of which spend their time dissecting scores of markets in order to find wise investment -- see a great upside in renewable energy. And as long they keep investing, the industry will keep moving forward.
A new report from Greentech Media Research outlines a number of possible outcomes in the solar thermal industry.
This week brings good news for both homeowners and business owners in Massachusetts looking to install solar panels. Washington, D.C.-based Sol Systems announced a trio trio of finance options designed to make solar energy even more affordable throughout the state.
A military authorization law recently signed by President Obama could lead to a solar standoff between the U.S. and China -- now the world's largest producer of solar panels.
Homeowners near the Massachusetts coastal town of Ipswich in Essex County will have a great opportunity tomorrow to learn about the new solar initiatives that took effect in the state following the new year.
For over four decades, tech junkies from everywhere have descended upon Las Vegas, Nevada at the beginning of the new year for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) -- the largest consumer technology trade show in the world.
Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York: residents of these states can expect prime opportunities to go solar in 2011, as these five state's governors have made solar energy production and solar technology development a top priority for the new year and beyond.
In New Jersey -- and a growing number of other states -- owners of solar energy systems are able to sell things called solar renewable energy credits (SRECs). In a nutshell, SRECs provide cash payments to homeowners and business owners who install solar panels.
One of the nation's strongest supporters of solar energy is still in critical condition today in Arizona's University Medical Centre after being shot in the head on Saturday morning outside of a Safeway near Tucson, Arizona.
More good solar news came out of New Jersey earlier this week as the North Jersey Media Group -- which is comprised of several community newspapers including The Record and the Herald News -- announced that it has partnered with KDC Solar to install a roughly 4.2-megawatt (MW) of solar energy system at its Rockaway, New Jersey printing facility.
What's in store for green homes in 2011? Portland Oregon's Earth Advantage Institute -- which has certified over 11,000 environmentally friendly homes -- has released a report citing what the Institute expects this year's eco-homes to look like. USA Today's Green House section highlighted some of the key elements of the report, and we trust their judgment.
Pilkington North America Inc. -- a Toledo, Ohio-based manufacturer and marketer of safety glass for both buildings and cars -- is set to install a 250-kilowatt (kW) ground-mounted solar energy system atop a former brownfield in Toledo.
While the world was saying goodbye to 2010 on New Year's Eve, many in the solar industry were gladly welcoming in 2011 -- a year that brings with it the extension of a federal renewable energy grant program for commercial solar projects, and a number of other helpful solar incentive programs.
Toward the end of 2010, Arizona Public Service (APS) ran out of funds for its residential solar rebate program. In what's become a common problem for state- and utility-sponsored solar incentive programs across the country, there were simply too many homeowners interested in solar power and too few rebate dollars to go around.
It's late in the day here in California, but we thought we'd relay this solar-related news tidbit coming out of Consumer Electronics Show (CES) being held this week in Las Vegas. A maker of "portable solar power systems," Goal Zero, took the opportunity at CES to unveil a new product:
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has for several years been gathering data on the U.S. solar energy market. Under the lab's Open PV Project, solar installers from around the country voluntarily submit information on each installation they complete, noting metrics like solar cost-per-watt, system size and location.
As the European Union's 27 countries inch closer to their combined 2020 renewable energy mandate of getting 20 percent of their total energy from renewable sources, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has reported that the EU is well on its way to exceeding the goal. Individually, the EU 15 countries out the 27 states are expected to meet and surpass their own clean energy requirements by that same 2020 deadline.
Within the solar energy industry, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is looked to as a leading source of information on renewable energy policy -- at the municipal, state and federal levels. In addition to helping run the DSIRE database, the organization issues countless reports and studies on things like net metering, interconnection and workforce development.
Last week, we featured an on-going discussion about solar costs in Florida, where lawmakers are considering adding a small surcharge on monthly electric bills to boost the amount of renewable energy deployed in the state. Today, we switch coasts to northern California's San Joaquin Valley, where utility companies and renewable energy development firms are racing to meet the state's renewable energy mandate while at the same time butting heads over the cost of renewable power.
With the help of a $180,000 federal grant, the Denver Regional Council of Governments has expanded the use of the Denver Regional Solar Map -- a tool originally intended for approximately 2,000 commercial property owners in Denver to figure out how much solar energy they can harvest on their roofs.