California Solar News – There is enough solar energy in the deserts of California to power all of Los Angeles. 1,600 kilowatt hours of solar energy falls on every square 11 square feet of land surface annually. That is equal to the amount of energy that is found in 1 barrel of oil. Big difference though, when the oil is consumed, its gone, except for what pumped into the air. Solar panels produce no emission, there are no moving parts to maintain and a solar panel will keep producing electricity for a minimum of 25 years! O ya, almost forgot, there is one more thing… with solar, there is no war required. Read More – [continue reading…]

Sacramento California Solar Commentary – The market for off-grid solar has traditionally only counted for very small segment of the total photovoltaic installations in America, about 2 – 3%. Globally, most of the planet is not serviced by electrical utilities so off-grid or stand alone solar accounts for up to 10% of the total solar installations. Many of those are small solar kits that go up in developing countries.

Having said that, it is apparent, there is a movement underfoot of people who feel the need to be self-sufficient. More and more concerned Americans are installing small solar kits. Our sales of off-grid solar kits has skyrocketed this year. We think that is great for many reasons, the least of which is the real concern that our aging grid and expanding power needs are going to outrun our supply of electricity. The concern is not without merit. Solar is right for everyone. From small portable solar chargers to solar kits that allow the DIY person to assemble a unit that will supply power when needed. Read More – [continue reading…]

SAN JOSE, Santa Cruz California News – A bay area company, Power Integrations, announced that it has completed the installation of commercial solar for its San Jose headquarters. The company’s innovative technology enables compact, energy-efficient power supplies in a wide range of electronic products, in AC-DC, DC-DC and LED lighting applications. The solar installations includes more than two thousand solar panels covering a fourty four thousand sqare fool parking area. This solar panel installation is among the tenth largest photovoltaic power installs in Silicon Valley. The solar installation will provide all the electricity for two buildings where over 100 employees work in the company’s computer chip operation.

The solar parking lot installation represents a serious commitment to helping resolve this countries energy demands while creating local jobs. Our hat is off to this San Jose bay area technology company who becomes our newest solar hero for its leadership. Read More [continue reading…]

California News – Solar thermal systems minimize the impact on the environment and reduce energy consumption for heating and hot water. For homes as well as commercial buildings in California, solar is a good choice. The California Energy Commission must agree because they approved two renewable energy contracts. Read More [continue reading…]

Sacramento California Solar News – Feed-in-Tariff coming to Sacramento soon. Whats a feed-in-tariff? A “feed-in tariff” is a public policy designed to encourage the adaption of sustainable energy such as solar. It has three key components the first of which is guaranteed access to the grid. It also needs long term contracts for the electricity produced and purchase prices that are based on fair market rates. That already exists for commercial solar farms but not for small solar systems. For a number of reasons, there is a great need to support renewable electricity in general and solar Photovoltaic (solar) electricity in particular in this country and in California that are imbedded in jobs and our national security policies.

The success story of solar deployment in Germany speaks for itself. Germany has one of the simplest feed-in tariff systems in the world. Feed-in tariffs are the driver of high-quality solar electricity systems. Many solar electricity support programs are based on an investment subsidy in order to reduce the barrier of high up-front capital costs. The drawback of such an approach is the missing incentive to invest in high quality solar electricity systems and to ensure their efficient operation and maintenance. If the customer receives a fixed payment per installed capacity unit, there is no incentive to go for high-quality products, which usually means a higher price, or to operate the system at the highest possible level. With the feed-in tariff the return on investment is heavily dependent on the performance of the solar system. The customer gets his return on investment with each kWh that is fed into the grid. Therefore maximizing the power output of the solar system over its whole lifetime is essential to the customer, ensuring that the solar system will be well operated and maintained. Read More [continue reading…]

California Solar News- Solar energy panels are now a viable alternative to grid tied energy. The facts are that your solar payment in whatever form you choose to finance combined with a small remaining utility payment is cheaper that if you did nothing. Simply by putting solar on your roof you can immadeatly put money in you pocket each month. As the system ages, the amount of money you save increases. The financial sectors are just starting to take notice. Five years from now, this country will be scrambling to provide solar to everyone because of solar’s afford-ability, economic sence and the good paying local jobs solar creates. Read More [continue reading…]

Northern California Solar News – It always a sunny day when government agencies install solar. Yolo County in northern California was able to piece together a variety of clean energy bonds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and a 15-year, one percent interest loan from the California Energy Commission (CEC) in order to install a 1-megawatt (MW) solar energy system at its county jail in Woodland. Located north of Davis California and northwest from Sacramento, Woodland’s new 3,560-panel installation was completed and officially put online at a 9 a.m. ceremony on Tuesday morning. The feat was done at no out-of-pocket cost to the county. [continue reading…]

Solar Technology Information – Yesterday we saw a exchange of comments on the Northern California chapter Green Building Council in which a real estate person was advising a consumer to consider solar as a last consideration when choosing a home. One forward thinking engineer jumped in the exchange of ideas and commented that that was the type of outdated thinking that is paving the way to a economic calamity in this country. Everyone should be thinking about renewable energy solutions (especially solar power) and dramatically reducing our consumption of fossil fuels. From cars to home power solar energy is the future in the USA. Go solar to put money in your pocket and increase your monthly cash flow. Go solar because it makes high paying jobs that can not be exported. Solar is right. Solar is now.

The following article is one of the better solar technological information blogs we have read lately that does a good job of explaining the big picture. Read More [continue reading…]

Sacramento Solar News – The 1978 California Solar Rights Act does not necessarily bar reasonable restrictions on solar installations. It does establish the legal right to a solar easement, defines which solar energy systems are covered by its provisions, and limits local governments from adopting ordinances that would unreasonably restrict the use of solar energy systems.

Here is an excellent analysis of of the solar laws and property rights that was posted recently and is worth a moments of everyones time that is considering solar. The bottom line, tell your neighbors what you are going to do. They will appreciate the heads up and you will be the pride and joy of the neighborhood for going solar. Read More [continue reading…]

San Jose / Sacramento California News – For some time our friends at Dinyari Inc. in San Jose have been saying that cool roofs on commercial buildings save mega money and now the federal government is also saying it. Solar and cool roofs go together on commercial building because the materials used is not only top quality, but environmentally friendly, non-toxic and white roofs are low voc made in the United States with renewable resources. It does not get much better than that. All you architects and building owners take note. Read More [continue reading…]

Fresno California News – Solar permits in the central valley are way up. It encouraging to see residential homeowners embracing the need to change our lifestyle here in California. (and across the USA) California communities are hip to saving money and have the most to loose with climate change. Lower electricity bills and greater environmental friendliness are significant reasons to go solar in California. Apparently more many people agree. Read More. [continue reading…]