Industrial Nanotech Enters Solar Energy Market after Completing Successful Field Trials
March 4, 2009 by editor
Filed under Solar News, Technology
Increase the effectiveness of solar greenhouses by coating the backs of solar collection panels and solar lights with Nansulate® Greenhouse to reduce heat loss.
Industrial Nanotech, Inc., an emerging global leader in nanotechnology, announced today that the Company’s “Nansulate Solar” is currently being specified on both solar panels and the pipes and tanks of solar hot water systems to increase efficiency and lower operating costs.
“Field trials of Nansulate Solar began a year ago in March of 2008 by Universal Energy Group, Inc., located in Stockton, California,” stated Francesca Crolley, VP of Operations and Marketing for Industrial Nanotech. “After twelve months of data collection, the product proved to successfully increase the efficiency and lower the operating cost of solar systems when used on the solar panels of solar energy systems and on numerous components of solar hot water systems. Universal Energy Group is now including Nansulate Solar as the standard in their solar installations and selling to other solar energy companies. Additional information about this product can be found at Nansulate.”
Los Angeles Solar Measure Falls Behind in Votes
March 4, 2009 by editor
Filed under Community, Solar News
A controversial ballot measure in Los Angeles to increase solar power installations in the city has fallen behind, and will be rejected unless thousands of late or provisional ballots swing the outcome.
At the moment, it appears that Los Angeles voters lacked confidence in the city utility's ability to manage massive solar installations.
Measure B, as the issue was known, would require the local utility - the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power - to ramp up solar power production dramatically by installing 400 megawatts’ worth of panels by 2014. (That is a substantial amount - nearly one-third of the size of a record solar deal recently signed by Southern California Edison.)
The controversy centered on how - not whether - Los Angeles should move forward with solar power.
BrightSource Announces Big Solar Energy Deal With Southern California Edison
February 11, 2009 by editor
Filed under Featured, Technology
BrightSource Energy of Oakland scored another big deal in California today, announcing a contract to supply Southern California Edison with solar energy from remote desert generating plants — enough to power 845,000 homes.
The deal for 1,300 megawatts of renewable energy is believed to be the biggest contract for so-called solar thermal power, which uses heat from the sun to create steam to spin electric turbines.
BrightSource Energy
The agreement calls for a series of seven plants to be built in far-flung areas of southeastern California over the next seven years. If approved by regulators, the first 100-megawatt facility would be constructed in the Mojave Desert near the San Bernardino County community of Ivanpah. That plant could be operational by 2013.
Financial Incentives Mean California Home Solar Is Hot
January 14, 2009 by editor
Filed under California Solar Initiative, Homes, Solar News
Sean Murphy, a designer and installer with Solar Universe, carries a solar module to be placed on the roof of Ernie and Doris Dobkins' home in Lincoln. Doris Dobkins said the federal tax credit pushed her to take the solar plunge. "All of my neighbors are watching," Dobkins said. "Someone had to take the first step."
While many in this troubled economy worry about making investments, Doris Dobkins didn’t think twice about sticking her money on her roof.
“Instead of paying PG&E, I’m paying myself,” said Dobkins, a Placer County homeowner who recently spent $36,000 for an electricity-generating solar system.
Based on projected savings in her electricity bills, a state rebate and a new federal tax credit, Dobkins expects to recoup her investment in six years.
The family anticipates saving $100 to $150 a month on Pacific Gas and Electric Co. bills, and the utility company will credit them for excess electricity generated, she said.
Prices For Rooftop Solar Systems Fall As Supply Grows
January 12, 2009 by editor
Filed under Solar Information, Solar News
Here’s a bright spot in an overcast economy: Solar panel prices are tumbling.
Prices for rooftop solar systems, including installation, already have fallen 8% to 10% since October and are expected to drop another 15% to 20% this year.
Fueling the trend are an oversupply of worldwide manufacturing capacity and lower demand, especially in Spain and Germany, which have been growth engines for the industry.
For U.S. homeowners, effective prices are likely to plunge by more than 50% after figuring in a bigger federal tax credit that took effect Jan. 1.
With Aid From the State, Californians Warm to Rooftop Solar Power
December 27, 2008 by editor
Filed under Featured, Solar News, Solar Programs
Rebates and new financing models spur adoption despite the recession.
At a time when many investors are sticking money in their mattresses, Californians are putting it on their roofs.
Applications for state rebates to install solar panels hit their highest level ever in December, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy economy.
Residents filed a record 1,215 applications seeking solar subsidies this month, according to the California Public Utilities Commission. That’s the best showing in the program’s 24-month history, and December isn’t even finished. More than 18,000 California homeowners and businesses have applied for rebates over the last two years. Although not everyone who files this paperwork actually ends up installing solar, the figures are viewed as a reliable barometer of future demand.
A record 133 megawatts of solar photovoltaics have been installed in California so far this year, even as the state’s economy has stumbled.
California is the US Leader in Solar Installation and Solar Power Usage
California and Solar Power
California, a global leader in solar power, has found many ways to harness the energy of the sun.
Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for an entire year. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun’s energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand.
Solar Hybrids Soak Up the Sun
December 16, 2008 by admin
Filed under Electric Cars
Solar pioneer Greg Johanson set a world record for the fastest speed in a sun-powered car way back in 1986. That car, Sunrunner, has since been retired and its solar array relegated to some California rooftop, but Johanson is still building cars fueled by the sun. Now you can too.
Johanson and the guys at Solar Electrical Vehicles will slap a solar panel on just about anything, and they’ve developed a DIY kit for the Toyota Prius that he says provides up to 20 miles of range and boosts fuel economy up to 29 percent. The company is testing its first solar energy system exclusively for hybrids in four “PV Prius” prototypes and a “PV Highlander.”
Solar Consumers as Energy Producers
November 17, 2008 by admin
Filed under Solar News
Illustration of solar net metering
When John Mazzani installed a solar-power system at his home in Hamptonburgh, N.Y., in April 2007, his goal was to cover all of his yearly electricity needs.
But his 10-kilowatt system did more, and the surplus power it sent to the electricity grid over the course of a year netted him a payment of $300 from the local utility.
If Mr. Mazzani lived in another state, however, that excess generation might have earned him much more, or perhaps nothing at all.
Shade Trees vs. Solar Panels: California Neighbors Clash
November 16, 2008 by admin
Filed under Businesses, Solar News
Furniture maker Gary Schultz stands on solar panels he'd installed over his shop in Culver City. He says the date palm trees planted by his neighbor, architect Michael Rachlin, cast shadows on the panels, leading to higher energy bills.
One neighbor loves his solar panels, which have cut his energy bill and are helping to combat global warming. The other neighbor adores his trees, which boost his property value and capture greenhouse gases.
So what happens when one guy’s greenery casts a shadow on the other fellow’s solar array?
