A Seattle-based company says that it has developed an inexpensive do-it-yourself solar power technology that will enable homeowners to install solar panels on their roofs and then connect them to their power supply by simply plugging a cord into a regular electrical outlet. The company, Clarian Power, is touting its Sunfish system — with prices beginning at $799 — as a
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Despite recent legislative attacks that had one manufacturer threatening to pull up stakes, Arizona’s solar industry seems to be doing quite well. Global solar giant (and near stake-puller) Suntech Power remains committed to building a manufacturing plant in Goodyear, and recently, Governor Jan Brewer, Mayor Lyn Truitt and industry representatives announced the arrival of a
The Ontario Power Authority has offered a contract to the city of Belleville to install a new grid-tie solar project. The solar farm will be installed on the roof of the Quinte Sports Centre at an estimated cost of $4 million. The city accepted the terms of the contract late last month, which allows for the production of nearly half a megawatt of renewable energy.
Earlier this summer, the Town of Ingersoll’s council voted to move ahead with plans to build a $32.5 million solar energy farm. The town, which lies about two hours outside of Toronto, will partner with inTech Clean Energy, a longtime distributor of solar PV equipment throughout Europe, to build the 18.2-hectare project on land owned by inTech.
(Reuters) – Italy, Europe’s No. 3 solar market, will not lose its appeal to investors despite a cut in production incentives and is likely to add about 1,000 megawatt of capacity a year in 2010-2013, the industry body head said.
Italy will slash feed-in tariffs
As part of the explosion of Recovery Act projects this summer and as a move towards a clean energy future, the President announced nearly $2 billion in conditional commitments to key solar companies. Abengoa Solar has agreed to build one of the largest solar plants in the world in Arizona, which will create about 1,600 construction jobs with over 70 percent of the construction components and products manufactured here in the USA. When completed, this plant will provide enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes.
Solar companies and the provincial government are working diligently to transform Ontario’s power grid into an environmentally friendly green system. Hay Solar and Mann Engineering recently announced that they are looking to offer farmers free barns, promising to furnish the sloped roofs with solar panels. Once operational, these photovoltaic panels will go to work, generating enough clean, free energy to pay for themselves in approximately 20 years. The companies believe
Morgan Solar Inc. will receive a substantial financial contribution from the Ontario government to facilitate the launch of its commercial activities in the province. The young Toronto-based company has developed a unique photovoltaic (PV) panel characterized by its lightness, sturdiness, and unparalleled sunlight-concentrating capacity. With the $1.86 million in funding it received from the government, Morgan Solar will soon begin manufacturing its patented technology for market.
Construction of a new production facility will undoubtedly create many temporary employment opportunities, but
Want to devise an incentive to get a new industry really humming? Try creating a $100 million dollar fund to finance its projects. That’s what PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) and solar financing specialist SunRun Inc. have decided to do.
Working through its non-utility subsidiary, Pacific Energy Capital II, LLC, PG&E announced a $100 million tax equity agreement that will offer financing for more than 3,500 solar roof installations planned by SunRun nationally. The fund represents the largest residential
It is that time of year again, the sun is shining and solar panels are soaking it up. And Grid Alternatives’ Solarthon on July 31st in the Bay Area is proving to be bigger and better than ever. Solarthon is a solar block party and fundraiser where GRID Alternatives Bay Area will be leading individual and corporate work crews to install solar panels for several low-income families in one neighborhood in one day.
Solar energy has been around for decades, but its popularity has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. Solar power is popping up in more and more conversations, in news articles and on the Web. The popularity of renewable energy is reminiscent of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.
The major difference between the dot-com and renewable energy booms is that there’s a lot more value spread across the renewable energy field. There are fewer “flash in the pan” operators, if you will. That doesn’t mean that the solar sector doesn’t have its share of flakes, but it just doesn’t have as many.
What strategies for picking a solar energy installer will help you weed through the pretenders and find the right one? First, there are many installers out there who are starting out. They may not have a huge body of work, but they are very well educated on the science and design of solar. These installers are not to be discounted.
This is the question I have been getting recently. It is usually asked of me by a potential customer after I’ve laid out the potential for the solar energy system to cut a good chunk of their electrical bill. My short answer is the same every time: “It always make sense.”
In New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania where I work, the incentives are very attractive. Not only is there the 30 percent federal tax credit, but New York also has a rebate and state tax credit and New Jersey and Pennsylvania have state rebates as well as the often coveted renewable energy credits. More on these specific incentives in future posts. What I want to focus on today is the long answer to the question: Does solar make sense?
Solar power is supposed to be clean and green, but what happens to the dirty ingredients involved to make and dispose of solar equipment?
Two years since the Washington Post first reported that a maker of polysilicon for solar panels was dumping toxic waste into Chinese soil, a U.S. nonprofit has ranked the “green” aspects of 25 photovoltaic module makers. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition launched the Solar Scorecard (PDF) on Tuesday.
Installations of solar modules rose by 42 percent in 2009, according to SolarBuzz. If this growth continues, rooftop modules that wear out within two to three decades threaten to add toxic bulk to landfills, just as yesterday’s computer monitors and cell phones have created unwieldly piles of consumer electronics waste.
Since diving into the deep end when it comes to energy issues, almost every day sees new concepts, approaches, and technologies — fascinating, exciting, even hope-inspiring at times. And, to top it all off, so many of these are truly Energy COOL as well.
Innovative combinations of rather straightforward, well-in-hand technologies can offer real solutions to problems while creating new opportunities.
Several weeks ago, a group of researchers published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documenting how relatively low-powered solar systems offer the potential to increase food supplies in impoverished arid regions while reducing demands for fertilizers and other costly (in fiscal and other terms)additives.