Our phones are ringing non-stop with homeowners who are thinking about off-grid living and how solar can make it happen. I really envy those people who cannot resist the pioneer pull most of us have from time to time. My best friend spends his weekends in an off-grid cabin in an Iowa hedge ball forest. In the most remote and harshest climate, solar stands up to the elements and in some cases may be the only option for supplying power to a home or cabin.

Up until now, only utility-scale solar dual axes solar trackers were economically feasible. A solar tracker has single or dual axes motors with optics that drive the angle of the pole mounted array allowing the panel to always be perpendicular to the sun generating the most electricity possible. [continue reading…]

California Sacramento’s Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has pioneered a community solar program called SMUD solar shares. Sacramento electric customers who want to buy solar power but may not have access say because they have a rental unit, can buy what the utility district calls SMUD SolarShares. This is a program that makes solar power available all Sacramento customers including multi-unit buildings to buy solar electricity.

The California utility district feels that solar clean energy should be made available and affordable to everyone. If solar for a residential home is not an option, Sacramento customers can buy solar power through SolarShares which means the power is generated locally with solar. For a fixed monthly price based on the customer’s usage, the community solar program gives a credit on your bill every month for solar power produced on a local utility owned solar farm. [continue reading…]

I was talking to a customer last week who was researching solar for her home, when she asked me where does the typical solar system fail? Easy question to answer, but not for the reasons most people might think.

It’s not solar panel failure, and it is not inverter failure, the #1 failure of solar systems is weatherproofing, mostly roof leaks. (Although if you get someone who drills through your weather barrier on your stucco it can also cause a leak.) Unlike most solar racking we do not subcontract our roofing; we use our own in-house staff for some very good reasons.

This is a lot of grumbling these days in the solar industry about the difficulty some solar installers have securing building permits. I am sure that California is among the worst in the country. Having said that, I don’t think it is fair to demonize building departments entirely over the process of securing a solar installation permit.

Some of the regulations have grown out of government’s natural tendency to supersize, but government is also charged with protecting the public from the unskilled contractors, solar is no different.

The solar permitting barriers are also being driven sometimes by a lack of understanding by local code officials. Solar installations have a 40 some year history in this country, but it was only very recently that solar installations became so widespread and popular. [continue reading…]

Many folks are turning to solar as a way to increase their household monthly cash flow often times by purchasing home solar kits. By lowering their utility bills and controlling costs families have more money to spend. Good for them, good for the local economy. Like all products and programs that become popular, there are those who would take advantage of people’s trusting nature.

California Edison is building a large solar plant at the North end of the central valley. With a footprint of nearly 1,000 acres it is not the largest solar installation being installed in California, but its a biggie! [continue reading…]

Residential solar installers are pounding out home and commercial solar installations across America, but let’s not forget what happened in the 80’s. Just 25 years ago the solar industry was dumped and all the government money pumped into the industry was lost when the government abruptly cut and ran. A lesson from history would suggest that the solar subsidies should be slowly reduced in a predictable and scheduled way that has certainty not uncertainty. [continue reading…]

Recently several California solar companies have jumped across state lines and are taking advantage of manufacturing incentives offer by other states. Good for them! I don’t think that is a bad thing.

We are all Americans and the more states that open the door to solar and its benefits, the safer this country becomes for my grandchildren. This solar energy movement is picking up some steam across the nation and that’s fine by me. [continue reading…]

Solar micro inverters are taking the solar home energy market by storm. A homeowner with some basic handyman skills can now purchase solar starter kits, install himself (mostly), and add additional solar panels as the budget will permit.

Small solar systems are dramatically easy to design and install. Well maybe not dramatically, but doable for the handyman. You should use a licensed electrician to hook up the system, but other than that, if you can fix shingles on your roof, there is a good chance you can now install your own solar system, a few solar panels at a time. [continue reading…]

California will soon carry out its version of a solar feed-in-tariff. Up until now, the law of the land has been NET metering. That simply means when a homeowner invests in solar they can only zero, or net out their utility bill. Good deal for the utility company since up until now they have had access to free energy which they then sold to the solar homeowners neighbors. That is all about to change. [continue reading…]

Solar industry distracters are constantly beating the drum against government solar incentives. These supposedly free market purists, fill the airwaves bloviating that solar could never replace fossil fuel as an energy source. Many of you will remember not so long ago when computers became publicly available followed by the internet. Guess who drove that technology? It was collaboration between private business and the government that still exists today. [continue reading…]