Prepaid electric bill for life.

When you install a grid tied solar panel system or wind turbine your prepaying your electric bill, it is that simple although many consumers when shopping for a clean energy systems are shocked by the cost up front cost. This the the fist time in history people now have the chance to buy technology to produce their own electricity! People can finally become producers and not just consumers at the mercy of big energy.

Since we have been used to paying electric bills on a monthly basis, most customers don't realize how expensive electricity is over a long period of time when they see the cost of buying solar power to energize their home. I noticed when consumers buy a clean energy system, all of a sudden they start thinking about energy efficiency although when just paying month to month for electricity from the utility company customers are more wasteful. It seems like when customers become their own producers, they start to appreciate the long term value of electricity. Why do you think people who buy their own clean energy system become more cautious of their electric usage after they install a system?

To Our Leaders: Give Us 100% Clean Electricity in 10 Years

The oil & coal industry spent 427 billion dollars in the first half of 2008 on lobbying and advertising their products and services! Talk about some aggressive marketing...and we wonder why America is addicted to oil! Today have the technology to not power our home, business and cars off of solar panels and wind turbines but we can power our lives, every aspect through renewable energy.

Wecansolveit.org is running the commercial above on TV, but they need your help by letting other people watch this video in call for action to our leaders to make a real change toward renewable energy and off of foreign oil within 10 years. Big energy can outspend us, but if we can still win by creating a strong viral message that demands the change towards clean energy and delivers the message of freedom to the footsteps of congress' door. Please support renewable energy by passing on this message.....

Do you think your electric rate is too high?

I was looking at this interesting chart of the average utility electric rates here in the USA published by the Department of Energy. It's really interesting to see what people are paying on average per kWh (kilowatt hour), especially if you are considering solar power to offset or eliminate your electric usage.

Solar Power without rebates and tax credits typically produces electricity for a solar power system owner at about 15 cents per kWh, therefore states with rates in the range of 10.26 to 24.13 cents per kWh will see a quicker financial payback period with solar panels since the cost of electricity is higher. Take a look at Hawaii, they have the highest electric rate in the USA! Does your electric bill match with the average for your state? Why do you think the electric rate in your state is what it is? Do you think solar panels will make a good investment in your neck of the woods, why or why not?

Barack Obama says he will invest in renewable energy.

Did anyone tune into Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC tonight? Who did'nt notice his speech he talked about energy, specifically he said he would invest 150 billion dollars into solar energy , wind power and renewable energy and within 10 years we would be off our oil addiction in the middle east. The goal of the USA free of foreign oil within 10 years would require massive investment, I just hope we have the budget to invest in renewable energy.

We would really need to limit our foregin policy to free up money in reinvest back into renewable energy. Gore recently stated a similar goal just a month ago in a speech, it seems like the democrats are really supporting renewable energy, which is a good sign for all Americans but will they follow up with their promises? What do you think? Democrats do control the congress right now, why haven't they passed the renewable the renewable energy tax credit?

Rebates in Nevada for Wind Power Systems!

Wind Power just got more attractive in Nevada because utility companies are now extending the same rebates extended to customers who installed solar panels to people installing wind power systems. The Nevada Utilities will pay consumers $2.50 per watt up to $25,000 for installing a wind turbine system. Wind Turbine systems such as the Southwest WindPower Skystream 3.7 can generate clean power for homes, small businesses, farms, schools and other public buildings.

The rebates are going to cost Nevada utilities $23.3 million dollars and there is high demand for the rebates statewide therefore the rebates are expected to go quickly. These new rebates will be released on Monday and some people are predicting all the rebates will be reserved on the first day. Customers in urban areas or home owner associations may hit roadblocks because people may object with tall or noisy wind generators. Clark County's building department has changed zoning laws to accommodate wind turbines in some residential zones. Other counties in Nevada are revising their building codes to be more wind power friendly.

This is great news! We love seeing more states offering these types of rebates and making the permitting process for wind power turbines more flexible. We're seeing local governments making changes for the better to encourage development of renewable energy power generation. You can learn more about the rebate program at the SolarGenerations website

Most wind turbines need at least 10 mph average wind speeds to make financial sense, which is the first criteria when figuring out if wind power is right for you. To measure your wind speed you can purchase a wind speed meter or for a more general idea of the average wind speeds in your area you could refer to a wind resource map for free.

What do you think about the rebate program in Nevada? Would you install a wind turbine in your backyard? Do you think your neighbors would mind seeing a wind turbine tower from their home?

Will you able to elimate your entire electric bill?

When consumers are considering solar or wind power for their home or small business they typically come in with high expectations of what a system can do for them although when we start to conduct fact finding and uncover how much energy is used, typically the customer is calling because they are an energy hog and think renewable energy will help them magically eliminate their bill. Speaking in realistic terms, most often people will not be able to eliminate their entire electric bill because of the lack of southern facing roof or ground space or their budget is just not large enough to afford the high upfront cost of renewable energy power generation.

The avg household in America needs a 5 kilowatt system depending on their location and the peak sun hours they receive, at a price of $9/watt installed the cost before incentives could rack up to $45,000 for a complete installed system. On the other hand and energy efficient home can do well with a 2.5 kilowatt system costing around $22,500 before incentives and tax credits. It is cheaper to reduce 1 kWh (kilowatt hour) worth of electricity then it is to produce 1 kWh.

So if you are energy efficient off the bat, not only will a solar power system be affordable for you but it will help you achieve the energy dream every solar power shop has in their mind, to eliminate their entire bill.

In most cases people who install solar power have systems that reduce their overall usage but do not eliminate their entire bill. When you do the math of an average solar power system produces electricity over a 30 year period at 15 cents per kWh. Taking that into consideration, its most cost effective to just eliminate your most expensive electricity typically the time of use rate or any usage over baseline, which is where the cost of solar power is very competitive.That is the beauty of a grid tied system, is the ability to use the cheap electricity provided by the utility company and offsetting the higher rate charged by the utility company with your solar power system.

Sunfest 2008 at the Democratic National Convention

The DNC this time around isn't all about the presidential nominee, its about solar energy too! The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) will host SunFest 2008 this Wednesday from noon to 4pm at Coors Field in Denver. Cutting edge solar energy technology will be on display for the public as well as keynote speeches from celebrities and congress representatives. SEIA President Rhone Resch will give a speech at the DNCC Energy and Climate Change Symposium on Tuesday.

I am very happy to see SEIA pushing solar energy forward into the DNC because all these politicians talk about energy policy but have no idea what is going on in the renewable energy market or understand solar technology. I hope to see Obama make an appearance at SunFest and shake some hands with some solar power company representatives and LEARN something about renewable energy.

Do you think our elected officials will show up to SunFest? Do you think the event will have a successful turnout?

An affordable small scale wind turbine.

The Air Breeze by Southwest Windpower is a small 17 pound wind turbine for remote and low power applications. The Air Breeze packs a punch with it's blades designed to operate quieter and only takes wind speeds of 6 MPH to start generating power. The wind generator can produce power anywhere from 6 MPH - 110 MPH wind speeds giving you a wide range of wind speeds to maximize your return on investment.



A major improvement over other small scale wind turbines in terms of power output at low wind speeds and ease of operation. The Air Breeze will need a pole, inverter and batteries (if you a planning a stand alone system) for a compete system. At 28MPH the Air Breeze is rated to produce 200 watts, thats quite the power for the small unit. In terms of kWh (kilowatt hours) produced the graph above shows the pure effectiveness at lower wind speeds.

Has anyone had experience with small scale wind? have you considered wind power for your home or business?

UL to test Solar PV Panels

good news! Underwriter Laboratories (UL), focusing on product safety testing and certification has opened North America's largest photovoltaic (PV) testing center. The center located in San Jose, CA focuses strictly on Solar PV Panels, which turn sunlight into electricity. UL will finally be able to get solar pv products tested and onto the market much faster, thus offering more reliable and safer products for consumers like yourself.

UL has always been a seal that has been trusted for consumer products, we are glad they have dedicated a testing facility just for solar pv panels, because we saw it to be a bottleneck in the industry. The lab has 14 test chambers and two solar simulators which provide both indoor and outdoor testing environments. The facility will also test power generation system accessories. The center will serve as a R&D lab for solar panels also which may push newer more efficient solar panels to the market even quicker then we are seeing. I suppose UL certification can help eliminate a myth some consumers believe in about solar power, "solar panels are just not reliable." In fact solar panels are very reliable and now the industry has the full backing of UL. Look forward to many solar power products stamped with the UL seal in the near future.

Southern California Edison - 25% electric rate hike!

This week, Southern California Edison (SCE) made a huge announcement, according to an article in easy reader news, Scott Gobel, regional manager for Southern California Edison said average customers in SCE territory will see an electric rate hike of 25%! Scott says,"that is a huge increase, In 25 years I’ve worked with this company, we have never raise the rate 25 percent.”



Natural Gas is a major element of electricity generation here in the USA and is the reason for the astronomical rate hike customers will start to see on their bills shorty. You thought the pain at the pump was bad enough, well energy inflation is soon going to hit your electric bill.



People who have installed solar panels or wind power generators have already locked in their electric rates since they are producing their own clean energy. Renewable Energy power generation is a great tool to hedge against raising energy costs. If you are considering to purchase a solar electric system or a wind turbine and are a SCE customer, well now is the time to start looking into it because your investment is going to pay itself back 25 times faster then before.

SF offers over-the-counter wind turbine permits

This month it has become easier to deploy your own residential / light commercial wind turbine in the city of San Fransisco because of the open market permitting became final by the city's building and planning department, the Mayor of SF fully supported the proposition and put together a task force to update the city's building code to allow wind turbines such as the skystream 3.7 onto private properties.

SF is really leading the space in the solar power market and is now supporting wind power big time. SF has taken one of the most difficult steps in installing a small scale wind turbine, the permitting process into a simple one through over the counter permits. This should encourage small scale wind power development across the city! More cities need to follow the lead of SF, they are the leading city in the USA when it comes to renewable energy power generation.

The goal of every city should be to make the permitting process easier for solar power and wind turbines if distributed power generation can get some solid traction in the mainstream market. A lot of cities out there claim to be "green" also known as green wash, because when a resident or business tries to install a solar or wind power generator they have to jump through hoops to get a final permit. Does anyone have story dealing with your permitting process with your city when installing solar power or a wind turbine? Please share!

Day4Energy starts production of 25% cheaper solar panels

Day4 Energy, a company based in Canada has improved their manufacturing technique which will introduce a new line of solar panels that will cost 25% less and have a greater output then previous models of solar panels. The company redesigned the solar cell structure and improved the electrodes, which increases the solar panel output to 17-18%, a significant improvement from their current output of 14.7 solar panel efficiency rating. Basically Day4 Energy was able to make the top layer of the solar panel thinner thus improving the amount of sun that can be converted into electricity and rearranged the solder points of the solar cells to areas which provide maximum sun exposure to each individual solar cell.



This is a great sign for the industry as the manufacturers continue to innovate in their space and bring the costs down, which has a trickle effect down the entire supply chain in which the savings are passed down to you, the solar power shopper. We are looking forward to see the PTC ratings (an independent test, in outdoor real world conditions of the solar panels stated efficiency) These new solar panels are in production and will be on the market in 2009.

What do you think about this type of manufacturer innovation?

Working Safely With Solar Photovoltaic Systems

Solar photovoltaic systems generate high amounts of electricity that can injure , cause death or start a fire if not installed and maintained safely, remember when you buy a solar power system, you have mini power plant on the ground or the roof, so think about safety first. Sandia National Labs and Daystar published a free book called, "Working Safely with Photovoltaic Systems" to help educate you how to install and maintain a solar power system safely.

The guide states that most of the safety measures are plain common sense although you can get injured working on any size of solar power system if your not careful. Only a few people have been hurt working on PV systems, and according to the book no direct deaths have been reported working on a solar power system, but that does not mean you should let your guard down when installing or maintaining a system. What I found interesting in the comprehensive book is the following overview of hazards:

Hazards working with solar pv systems.

Outdoor Exposure - If your working outside in the summer time, use sunscreen, wear a hat, keep your limbs covered and drink plenty of water. In the winter time dress warmly and wear gloves.

Insects and Pests - Insects often move into the solar panel j-boxes, some wasps can build a nest on the metal framing, rattle snakes and fire ants can be using the underside of the solar array as shade, so be careful when crawling under a solar panel array, these insects and pests can cause some painful injury.

Cuts & Bumps - A solar power system is made up of metal framing, bolts and nuts, wires, junction boxes that may have sharp edges. If your are working under and array or one that is above your head, wear a hard hat!

Falls, Sprains and Strains - Typically solar power system are installed high on the roof or in remote locations on the ground which can cause falls. When working with your solar power system, wear comfortable shoes, never wear steel toe shoes. If you are using a ladder, make sure its firmly set on the ground and be extra watchful on windy days when solar panels can act as a wind sail and possibly knock you off a ladder.

Burns - Metal exposed in the sun can reach temps. up to 80 degrees, which can cause burns if extended contact is made. If you are working with a concentrated solar power system, temperatures can become very hot and can be very dangerous. To prevent burns wear gloves so you mitigate the risk.

Acid - If you have a grid backup or off grid system, lead acid type batteries contain sulfuric acid. Chemical burns can occur if your skin is exposed to the battery fluid. When working with batteries make sure you work with gloves, eye protection and an apron.

Electric Hazards - electrical accidents can result in shock and burns and cause traumatic injury associated with the falls after the electric shock. Injury is often aggravated due to the reflex of the electric shock. Anytime there are more than two photovoltaic (pv) solar panels a shock hazard should be assumed to be present.

Everyone thinking about installing, maintaining or have a solar power system on your home or business should download the book below and review it to ensure maximum safety.

Download Working Safely with Solar PV Systems

Educate Yourself: Don't Get Fooled by Renewable Energy Scammers

If you're thinking about purchasing a solar or small-wind system, make sure you do your homework! There's a good amount of work that goes into making such an important investment, such as doing research on your installer, knowing about the product they're installing and, most importantly, understanding the rebates available to you as a proud producer of renewable electricity.

There are an increasing number people overselling the benefits to solar and residential wind systems, so it's extremely important that you know what you're buying! Even worse – there are scammers out there trying to take advantage of this growing market. They're looking to prey on uneducated, green-minded consumers, so don't let yourself be one of them! You can help drive these people out of the industry by doing your due diligence.

Earlier this summer, the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) received numerous phone calls from buyers who had very large deposits for solar systems taken from them. In two of the cases, $40,000 was taken and in the most egregious case, over $105,000 was taken! Now instead of enjoying the benefits of solar, these people are mired down in legal battles to get their money back. Don't let yourself get into a similar situation.

There are a number of things to keep in mind when buying a renewable energy system for your home or business. Here are a few:

- Make sure your installer is a licensed contractor. All installers need to be licensed by their respective state. You can simply call your State Contractor's License Board or visit their website and search for the company doing the job. They will be able to give you everything you need to know about a company.

- Know how much the contractor can legally take as a deposit. The cases mentioned above could have been avoided if the buyers knew that in California it is illegal for a contractor to take more than $1,000 for a deposit on a residential job.

- Ask if your installer is certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). You can go to their website and search for the installer's name. NABCEP certification is not legally required, but it will show that the installer has had good training.

- Compare at least two other quotes for an installation.

- Request at least two references from the installer.

- Know the various incentives that are available to you and how long it will realistically take to payback your investment. In some cases, sham solar companies are telling customers they will get a return on investment within 11 months! Unfortunately, that's not going to happen.

- And finally, as Sue Kateley, Executive Director of CALSEIA reminds us: “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Trust your instincts about a deal. If you have second thoughts, make sure you take a step back and evaluate the relationship. In the above-mentioned case of the $105,000 deposit, the buyer said that they had second thoughts about the deal, but they went ahead and signed the contract anyway.

Most of the companies doing work in this space are well-established and trustworthy. Many have a long track record that you can easily look up. But as in any growing market, there are sketchy people looking to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers. It's important that you have a good understanding of this market before you sign a contract. Yes, it will take some work. But we want you to have a positive experience with renewable energy – the sustainability of the industry depends on it!

family sends solar power back into the grid

I ran into an article by KTBS 3 today that described an average family in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana that purchased a solar power system three weeks ago which offsets 50% of their electric usage. The grid connected solar power system takes advantage of net metering which allows the family to "bank" renewable energy credits when their home is producing a surplus. When everyone is out of the house during business / school hours the home will be producing electricity and pushing it back into the grid.

The Niten family says that their primary motivation is to lower their carbon footprint by generating their own clean power versus traditional sources that leave us dependent on foreign entities and do harm to the environment. Natural Gas and coal are traditional forms of power generations which are not "clean" like solar power. It's being efficient, helping the environment and empowering the family to be independent from traditional electricity companies and raising rates.

The quote that got me interested in the story was when Tommy Niten said,"I possibly plan on adding to the solar system later on and upgrading it to produce more of my power."

Solar Power is scalable, which is something we here at GoGreenSolar.com often tell consumers, many people call in inquiring about solar and are determined to eliminate 100% of their usage right off the bat with solar panels, although realistically, it is way out of their budget to do so. If most consumers set small goals, to buy 25% of their electricity capacity at a time and make solar power a staged approach, all of a sudden the investment looks much realistic. This story is not bragging about some great big project, but a small one that can make a difference for a family and leads them one step closer to producing their entire electric needs and truly be energy independent.

Bob's Solar Project

I ran into a very interesting blog called, "Bob's Solar Project" which documents the process of installing Unisolar solar roofing shingles on a Michigan home. Bob uses an off-grid system, therefore his setup includes a battery bank. This blog is great because Bob covers everything from the purchasing of the materials, installation and even shows a chart of his yearly production! Bob deserves the highest recognition for not only installing his own system, but sharing with the world how he did it! The blog has not beed updated in a couple years, but the information there about his solar power installation is very relavant today. The solar power system setup includes:

• 84 Unisolar SHR-17 shingles (1428 watts)
  
• Outback MX60 maximum power point tracking charge controller
• Outback FX2548 2500 watt, 48 volt inverter
• 8 Rolls-Surrette S-530 deep-cycle solar batteries (530 AH)

More information at Bob's Blog, Check it out!

Reduce the upfront cost of going solar!

One of the most common complaints about “going solar” is that the upfront cost is just too high. The primary reasons a solar power system can be a high ticket purchase for many solar power shoppers is because of the customers bad energy usage habits. The majority of solar power shoppers don't realize they are energy hogs until they start shopping for solar power which forces them to understand and analyze their electric consumption.

So how can Solar Power shoppers instantly get a deep discount on their solar power system? The answer is simple, “reduce then produce.” Focusing on energy efficiency, and implementing lifestyle and product changes can greatly reduce the upfront cost of a solar power system. It is always more cost effective to reduce your consumption through efficiency than it is to produce your own power.

Think of it this way, the more you can save through energy efficiency the less solar panels you need to cover your electric usage, its that simple, but most solar power consumers get frustrated seeing high upfront costs of going solar and think there are no alternatives to bring the cost down.

How do you reduce your energy consumption? A good start (and cheapest) is to change all your light bulbs to CFLs or LEDs, insulation can help reduce your energy by keeping the house cool during summer and warm in the winter, thus significantly reducing your yearly energy usage.

Get rid of old appliances which hog and waste energy. Unplug unused items (they draw energy even if they are plugged in, but not in use), set your computers to automatically hibernate (power saving mode) when they are idle for more than 5 minutes. Purchase energy star appliances and most importantly turn off the lights when you leave a room.

Changing the way you consume energy can have a significant impact on the overall price of a solar energy system, practicing reducing energy consumption can shave off thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars off the final cost of a system.

Energy Efficiency and Solar Power fit very well with each other, so when considering solar power, think about how easy ways you can reduce your consumption first, you'll be saving tons of cash.

Energy Saving Tips from Southern California Ediosn

If your considering solar or wind power you better be thinking about energy efficiency. Most energy hogs that call in to inquire about a system that can eliminate their entire bill often end the decision making process for renewable energy with their tails between their legs because of the high upfront cost of producing their own energy. When consumers have to produce their own energy, its expensive to be inefficient, although consumers are spoon fed electricity from the utility company most do not even think about energy efficiency, typically people just pay the bill and think they have no control over the final value each month, this is a common misconception.

Southern California Edison (SCE) has released a new webpage to provide consumers tips on how they can save energy. This is especially good information for people looking to reduce the upfront cost of going solar, by implementing the tips on the utility's website a solar power shopper could shave thousands of dollars from the final cost of a solar power system.

Off Grid Inverters - Modified Wave vs. Pure Sine Wave

Designing an off-grid solar power or wind turbine systems can be confusing, because of figuring out the sizing requirements of the system by conducting a load calculation off all the appliances that reside within a building. Also you have to understand the difference between Modified Wave and Pure Sine Wave inverter to figure out what type of inverter is right for your renewable energy power generation project.

Modified Sine Wave is a rough, noisy electrical signal that does not work with all appliances, although Modified Sine Wave inverters are much more affordable then their Pure Sine Wave counterparts. Have you ever heard a florescent light bulb make that annoying buzzing sound? Well that is the type of feedback you will get when running lights, computers, tvs and most other electronics on a Modified Sine Wave signal. Most electrical equipment will work but will no perform as well as pure sine wave, appliances such as microwaves will not work, laptops may power on be crash often due to the dirty signal

Pure Sine Wave is clean electricity, similar to the electricity we get from our utility company. Compatibility is the major advantage of pure sine wave because every appliance and electrical equipment is made for Pure Sine Wave signals. With this type of inverter, you will not have to guess if what you are plugging into your AC outlet will work with your solar power or wind turbine system. The advantages of clean electricity also comes with a higher price tag.

EnergyRush.TV - Showcasing Renewable Energy Videos

Today, I spoke with an interesting individual named Paul Steinbroner founder of Energy Rush TV. Paul has been film development for many years and is focusing on getting the word out about renewable energy through video content. The Energy Rush TV team covers the future of renewable energy today. On their website you can see interesting videos of large scale solar power installations, interviews with renewable energy leaders and coverage of trade shows all through videos that are not only appealing to consumers who are shopping for solar but educational as well.

We know buying solar panels or wind power systems can be confusing and a difficult purchase, video can enhance the customers understanding of how the systems work and what to expect thus enhancing the overall customer experience of going solar. The videos found on energy rush TV are not full of technical jargon but highlight the human passion of one of the biggest revolutions of our lifetimes.

Check it out! Do you find any of their videos informative? Let me what you think!

RV Solar Power Kits

Are diesel prices costing you a fortune to keep your RV's battery bank charged? Well many RV owners have started to incorporate solar power into their lifestyles to offset the use of their diesel generators which significantly reduces the operating costs of powering your RV.

Solar panels can be either mounted flat or pitched on your RV's roof space, although when laying the solar panels flat they operate at a higher then normal temperatures, which cases efficency losses. Solar Power mounts for RVs are typically adjustable, so while you are on the go, you can flatten the solar panels, and pitch them while you are stationery. You have to make sure when your putting a system together that you are using the proper charge controller and deep cycle batteries will be needed for maxium system performace over its lifetime.

It all depends on your lifestyle to find out what type of system you will need to offset your usage. We have offer some pre-packaged RV kits that include compatbile solar panels, charge controller and mounts designed specifically for RVs.

Santee Cooper holding solar power customers hostage!

Thanks to a reader comment, we dug into the South Carolina utility company called Santee Cooper because we wrote yesterday about how the state of South Carolina has implemented a statewide net metering law. Net-Metering is offered in most states across the USA but the customers of the Santee Cooper utility, about 2 million of them are being held hostage by the utility company becase they are not offering true net-metering.

This utility company has came up with their own sneaky plan to keep customers from buying and installing solar by offering "net-billing", which is their own version of net-metering that totally favors the utility company. The interesting part is when you visit the Santee Cooper website they show off they "Live Green" and brag about their solar power initiatives, but it's just plain and simple Greenwashing.

According to SourceWatch Greenwashing is defined as the following, "the unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company, an industry, a government, a politician or even a non-government organization to create a pro-environmental image, sell a product or a policy, or to try and rehabilitate their standing with the public and decision makers after being embroiled in controversy."

The defintion of Greenwashing perfectly fits what Santee Cooper is doing with by not offering net-metering like the rest of the country and offering a "net-billing" which really does no encorage customers to install solar panels. The South Carolina Net Metering Blog does a good job describing net billing offering by Santee Cooper.

• Net-Billing is a pilot program in which only 10 people can participate.
• Once you install a solar power system and particpate in the program you have to change your rate to time of use.
• Since its a pilot program, there can be dramatic shifts in policy which could leave the solar power system owner holding the bags.
• Santee Cooper's board of directors can change the program at their will.
• The CEO of the company thinks they are being generous compared to other utilites.

We here in California have very generous utility companies (even though they are not perfect) Our state has the most solar power installations compared to anywhere else in the USA. So this message goes out to Santee Cooper, get your act together, offer real net-metering and stop playing games with your customers, we have no time to play these types of games and discorage the use of solar power, the renewable energy revolution is going to happen with or without Santee Cooper.

Santee Cooper customers, if you are dealing with the utility to install solar power on your home or business and are having trouble with Santee Cooper and their lame Net-Billing policy, there is help! SEPA (Solar Electric Power Association) that faciliates the relationship between utility companies and customers who want to go solar.

South Carolina finally offers Net Metering

South Carolina, lagging behind the rest of the USA finally offers residents the ability to plug their solar panel system right into the grid to take advantage of net-metering. Net-Metering is important for solar power system owners because it allows the owner to receive a credit for energy they send back into the grid. Now solar panel system owners don't have to store the collected energy in a battery bank, which could be dangerous, costly and annoying because of maintenance required, the grid becomes the battery bank for the solar power system owner.

Now that the utility companies in South Carolina are required to offer net-metering this could save residents up to 30% on their monthly electric bills. A good step in the right direction for the state because it allows them to keep the revenues within their state and helps the state achieve its energy independence goals. You can learn more about how you can take advantage of a a grid connected system at S.C. Energy Office Website.

SMA launches new educational solar power website

SMA, a leading inverter manufacturer launched a new website today dedicated on providing a free resource for solar power consumers to learn about how a solar power system works and the overall benefits of renewable energy. The biggest barrier for people shopping to buy solar for their home or business is the lack of quality information, SMA has taken a huge step in the right direction to fill the need by creating www.solar-is-future.com a website that uses interactive flash animations to explain how all the different pieces of solar power equipment make up an entire system.

The website also has a very detailed FAQ and Glossary you can take advantage of....this is a great website solar power shoppers can start their research and decision making process. What do you think? Is it difficult for you as a consumer to find accurate information about solar power? Is it better when the information comes from a reputable solar products manufactuer?

What is CEC rated and why does it matter?

If you are shopping for solar power or small scale wind turbines in the USA, you have probably heard of a term called "CEC listed". Why is that term CEC listed so important for renewable energy power generation buyers here in the US? Well the acronym CEC stands for California Energy Commission. When a new renewable energy product hits the market the manufacturer, if planning to sell in the US market applies with the CEC to get their produce listed on the approved products list which are the only products that qualify for local, state, and federal rebates.

So if you are shopping for solar or wind power and want to qualifiy for the federal tax credit and rebates that are availble to you, make sure your products are CEC listed! Its easy to check. Use the links below for an updated list of products that are approved onto the CEC list:

Eligible Solar PV Panels

Eligible Inverters

Eligible Small Wind Turbines

Check the list, make sure the items you are shopping for are on the list if you are shopping for solar or wind power in the USA.

The world's most efficent central inverter

SMA, according to a press release featured on renewableneergyworld.com has released information on their 250U central inverter for commercial scale projects. SMA is a leading inverter manufacturer, if you don't know what an inverter does, it converts the DC electricity put out by solar panels into AC electricity which is what all our appliaces use.

An inverter is a very important component of the overall system design, therefore a consumer must look into the efficency rate of the inverter when shopping for solar power. There are electric losses when DC electricity is converted to AC, therefore the higher the efficency on the inverter, the fast payback a customer will recieve on the system.

The SMA 250U commerical inverter is the leading the industry in terms of efficency, which is CEC (california energy comission) rated at 97%! This inverter is UL listed and has an array of features that fit commerical solar power shoppers.

BioSolar to reduce the cost of solar pv panels

BioSolar, a company that has created a breakthrough technology to reduce the cost per watt for solar panels by replacing traditional petroleum based plastic solar cell components with durable bio-based components which are made up of renewable plant material. What the heck does that mean?




If you were to conduct and operation on a solar pv panel, taking it apart layer by layer, you would notice the last layer is called a "backsheet" and is typically made with an oil based products. Biosolar can make the same backsheet using plant materials which reduce the cost of the backsheet up to 50%!

Therefore reducing the overall cost per watt of the final cost of the solar pv panel. We've seen some interesting innovation in working on bringing more highly efficient panels to the market, but this company is really digging into what makes up a solar panel and starting by reducing costs of traditional materials.

This type of innovation needs to continue to happen, pick apart renewable energy products down to each level and figure out how to reduce costs at every level, not just focus on increased efficiency. Customers love solar power but most of them don't move ahead because of the high upfront investment to eliminate their entire bill.

Energy Innovations Sunflower Concentrated Solar Power

Energy Innovations, the same company that released the ray tracker has recently a concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) produce designed for commercial roof tops. The Energy Innovations Sunflower concentrates sunlight similar to a magnifying glass onto highly efficient solar cells. We have discussed these types of products in the past, although the SunFlower is the only CPV product on the market that has received UL certification!

This means soon the SunFlower will qualify for state incentives, which helps the SunFlower a much more sought after CPV product on the market. The SunFlower system not only magnifies the sun onto solar cells to create an extreme output for a low cost, but it also have a built in tracking system to increase the overall efficiency of the system since the tracking system follows the sun through out the entire day. The tracking system is powered by the energy that the SunFlower creates and is compatible with non roof penetrating mounting systems, making the installation easy and more affordable.



As you can see the SunFlower produces more energy through out the course of a day and uses less silicon (the expensive element of the solar panel) thus making the system more cost effective than traditional PV. Since concentrating solar power systems only work in areas with direct rays of sunlight, the systems are most cost effective in areas such as the southwestern us and Hawaii. The light is concentrated 800x onto solar cells that have a 35% efficiency rate!

The first units will ship in early 2009, we're excited to see some of these units deployed in the real world to see how well they will handle heat, what I don't see on this product is a heatsink or cooling system, how do you think the SunFlower stays cool when its concentrating the sun 800x?

Sharp OnEnergy Solar Power Systems

The Sharp OnEnergy Solar Power system makes installing solar panels on a home easy to order and install. Sharp Solar has also incorporated great looking aesthetics, because of the strong customer feedback within the solar panel industry to make solar panels look better for residential roof tops. The Sharp OnEnergy complete solar power systems come with everything you need right down to the last screw. The solar power kit from Sharp has a UL Listed grounding which lowers your installation time dramatically.

The Sharp OnEnergy system can also be used for light commercial applications and focuses on the ease of installation by using a shared rail system that requires 30% less rails than traditional solar power systems. The racking system included in the OnEnergy system is compatible with all types of roofs and no parts of the mounting structure are are visible on the roof.

The great aspect of these system is the detailed installation manual that Sharp put together to make the installation process easy to understand and deploy for installers and do-it-yourselfers alike. The installation manual that is included with the sharp OnEnergy systems is one of the best documents I have seen that has been included with a complete Grid Tie Solar Power System. As solar power becomes more mainstream we are seeing standardized and easier to deploy systems that is really pushing solar on every roof across the USA in our foreseeable

PowerFlex Solar Strings by Global Solar Energy

Thin Film solar panels are becoming more popular as the cost continues to be driven down through using elements besides silicon to produce solar cells. The PowerFlex Solar Strings manufactured by Global Solar Energy, come pre-connected to the Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) which are flexible that make it easy and affordable for product designers who are looking to retrofit products with solar. The company is able to offer these solar cells to the market through a "roll-to-roll" manufacturing process which makes the solar cells flexible and affordable in nature.

The PowerFlex Solar Strings are the only "drop-in" solar cells available and really help people who are looking specifically to create products with solar power embedded in the products. These cells can be integrated into Building Integrated Photovoltaic products such as roofing shingles, facades of buildings, windows or we could soon see our laptops and other electronics offerings these types of solar power cells implemented within the products. Global Solar Energy has a great reputation in manufacturing consumer portable solar thin film charging products.

2008 Beijing Olympic Games Powered by the Sun

Watching the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games was interesting because of the cool use of LED (light-emitting diode) to create a light presentation like never seen before. LED lighting technology is brighter than traditional lights although they are much brighter then traditional lights, coupled with their long life time LED bulbs are very cost effective over the long run. It seems like more organizations and people in general are starting to adapt LED lighting because of their long term benefits.

China is not stopping with just LED lights to be more energy cautious, 90% of the Olympic village's hot water will be heated through solar thermal collectors. Over 80% of the street lights around the Olympic venues will be lit by LED lights and powered by solar panels!



Suntech, a major Chinese solar panel manufacturer was selected to provide a 130kW (kilowatt) solar panel system to the bird nest Olympic stadium. The solar power system was installed in 12 entrances of the unique looking stadium.

"The Bird's Nest Stadium solar energy project demonstrates China's commitment to clean, renewable energy and a green Olympics," said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's chairman and CEO. "We are delighted that Suntech's leading PV system has been chosen to help power the main stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics."

Suntech is dedicated to becoming the 'lowest cost per watt' of solar electric panels provider to residental and commerical customers worldwide. It is interesting how renewable energy and energy efficency has become such a staple of the Olympic games this year, this just proves that there is really a worldwide movement and trend moving towards green energy.

GreenCore Solar Air Conditioning

The air conditioner is typically the largest load on your monthly electric bill. Traditional Air Conditioners are typically very difficult to power from a solar array. A company called GreenCore Air has released a new product called the gc102000 solar air, which can heat and cool 600 square feet rooms. The GreenCore solar air comes in two models a fixed version and a mobile solar air conditioner. The amazing part of this unit is that it can operate from a 170 watt solar panel. The GreenCore is Air is DC (direct current) the same output as solar panels. Solar Panels put out DC and typically need to be converted to AC to work with house hold appliances, so what makes this product unique is that it runs on DC, therefore there is no conversion / inverter needed from solar panel to the air conditioner.

When the sun is not out the unit runs on the battery bank which is integrated within the unit. McDonalds is currently testing one of these units at a restaurant location.....which is a great sign of how much traction this unit has. Finally! Some innovation in solar air conditioning! We're very excited about this product.

Dealing with your home owners association

Many consumers who live in condos, town homes or apartments sometimes have issues with installing solar power because of the home owners association (HOA). In California a law has been cleared to help people to deal with the HOA in a way that favors solar energy over strict HOA rules. HOAs have been known to enact frivolous rules to deter prospective solar energy users from installing panels to offset their energy use from the grid.

Although the residents of California are lucky due to favorable legislation, the rest of the USA may have issues dealing with the HOA because the rules in most states still favor the HOA over solar energy. We're in an energy crisis in America and we still have HOA's that are against solar panels! This sounds crazy to us, because it shows some major flaws of why the US is still so far away from reaching energy independence.

Instead of homeowners and HOA's fighting in court about the issue of solar panels, they should be working together to see how much solar they can all install to offset the energy use of an entire complex. A collaborative approach to solar energy is the only way we can achieve our goals.

Have you ever had problems with a HOA and solar panels? What do you think should there be a nationwide law to favor solar panels over HOAs?

Can't mount solar on your roof? try ground mount.

Solar Photovoltaic Panels that turn sunlight into electricity take up a significant amount of roof space. For every 1 kilowatt of solar you need 100 square feet of southern roof space for solar power to be most cost effective. In the northern hemisphere southern exposure gives you the best return on investment on a solar power system. Many consumers just don't have the roof space to install solar panels or don't want to risk the integrity of a new roof by retrofitting solar power.

The great aspect of solar panels is that they don't have to be installed on the roof, they can be mounted on the ground. Typically ground mounted systems are eaiser to clean since they are more accessable, although on the flip side if there is public access on your property, a ground mount system can be exposed to vandalism.

The plants, if any around a ground mount must stay trimmed to make sure they don't end up shading the edges of the ground mounted solar panels. In Germany, where solar panels are very popular and mainstream, ground mounted systems are very common, you can see them everywhere.

Obviously a roof top or ground mount systems both have their advantages and disadvantages, you just have to weigh the risks to see which system would fit your individual property.

Monitoring Tools for your Solar Power System

Typically after a person or organization installs a solar power system, the first thing they want to do is see how much they are producing in real-time. If the inverter has a digital display, one can take a look at the inverter to see how many kWh (kilowatt hours) were produced. Although what if you want more analytical data about your system's performance? Fat Spaniel Technologies offers a hardware and software package so you can monitor your system's performance in real time.

The hardware typically connects to the clean energy system, collects data and communicates with your computer system and also Fat Spaniel. With the ability to remotely monitor your system, an installer can check the system performance, diagnose problems, and take corrective actions right over the internet! A clean energy monitoring system can help you reveal trends, take care of issues and open your eyes to cost saving opportunities through the long lifetime of your solar power system.

Check out the following solar power systems that have shared their real-time data on the internet:

Loma Linda Fire House

Warner Brothers Studios

Nextek Power

Queens Botanical Garden

Three Types of Solar Power Systems

There are three major types of solar power systems that are unique to each solar power shopper. Let's get into a quick overview of the options you have as a consumer looking to produce electricity from the sun:

1. Grid Tie Systems

These systems are connected to the grid which interact with your utility company, when extra power is generated it is fed back into the grid and you receive a credit from the utility company for every kWh (kilowatt hour) you contribute. You can only install a grid connected system in areas, which utilities offer "net-metering". Grid tie systems do not provide backup power when there is a power outage.

2. Grid Tie Systems with Battery Backup

Similar to a grid tie system, this system feeds back into the grid and spins your meter backwards when you are producing more than you are using. Although the interesting part of this system is it has an inverter that can connect to a battery bank. Batteries can store solar juice for your critical loads during a power outage. This type of system will keep your home or business running during a blackout. Adding a battery backup sacrifices efficiency of the system, although the trade off of having power during a blackout may meet your needs.

3. Off-Grid Systems

Off-Grid systems are independent of the utility. These types of systems are typically found in remote areas which have no access to electric service. Off-Grid Systems can be made up of solar panels, wind turbines, micro hydroelectric or a combination. Off-Grid systems are very dependent on the battery bank, so when designing an off-grid system, a load calculation with the specific appliances (down to the model numbers of the appliances) need to be conducted. Often off-grid system owners combine fossil fuel generators for backup when the off grid system cannot meet the entire needs of the user.

Sunrgi - Concentrated Solar Power that makes sense!

At one point in our lives, we may have experimented with a magnifying glass and concentrated the sun's light to start a fire or even more evil, light a ant on fire. With lenses or mirrors the suns light can be concentrated into a very powerful force. Humans have concentrated the sun for a very long time, the first documented case in the 12th century, Archimedes burned up the whole Roman fleet by tilting a mirror toward the sun, concentrating the sun's light. It seems like the guys at Sunrgi have studied Archimedes. Sunrgi is a US based solar power company that has designed a solar panel which uses the power of concentrating the sun to produce electricity.



This product looks very futuristic and is practical too. We have talked about concentrated photovoltaics in the past and understand there could be a heat issue when concentrating light onto a solar cell, although if you notice on Sunrgi's unit they have a massive heat sink built right into the concentrator, the neat aspect of this concentrated solar panel is that it has a cooling system built in! The company calls their new solar panel line, Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics (XCPV), which magnifies sunlight high efficency solar cells.



The company claims that its technology will allow people to produce large ammounts of power at $0.05 (USD) per kWh. Traditional solar photovoltaic panels produce electricity anywhere from $0.13-$0.15 per kWh. This is a very amazing claim the company makes because at $0.05 per kWh this competes with most electric bills, even where people are getting bargain rates from their utility companies. Not only will concentrated compete with traditional electric rate head on, but it will greatly reduce the surface area a customer needs to eliminate their entire electric bill! The Sunrgi Concentrated Solar Panels will be out on the market 12-15 months for now, we can't wait to get our hands on a couple to test drive them!

Wind Power Anywhere, Anytime!

Our post yesterday discussed the importance of the tower height....obviously the higher you go the more wind speeds you can pick up. Magenn Power, an innovate company has a very interesting product which will be released in 2009 that will change the way we see traditional wind turbines. Mageen Power understood that the wind is higher up in the sky and traditional vertical axis turbine designs are just plain inefficient in most areas. The company decided put the wind turbine where the air is, in the sky. In fact the MAGENN AIR ROTOR SYSTEM (M.A.R.S.) can soar 1,000 feet in the air and will catch the jet streams that exist everywhere.



Currently, in general wind turbines can only be placed in areas with at least 10 miles per hour wind speeds to produce a significant return on investment. With the Magenn Power wind power can be technically be put anywhere. The wind turbine rotates on a horizontal axis and can be combined with diesel generators for off-grid use in developing countries and deliver power at the 20 cents a kWh range. The video below shows an excellent model of how the unique wind turbine can be used off-grid or grid-connected wind power system



The soaring wind turbine stays a float with the use of non-flammable helium and the company has been conducting some interesting Field test of their products. The wind turbines will come in 10 to 25 kW (kilowatt) models with a target price of $3 to $5 dollars a watt. According to the company the Wind turbine has a lifespan for over 20 years. If you are thinking to install one of these puppies in the USA, you will need a special permit from the FAA.



Magenn power has combined the same technology used in blimps into an innovative wind turbine design. I can't wait to see this product hit the mainstream market, according to the company their target markets are developing nations. It's probably going to be a very hard time deploying these here in the USA because of the building permit and FAA regulations. Overseas the rules are less strict so I can see It not being an issue. Although in rural areas of the USA we may see some of these units in action pretty soon.



So as wind power evolves, will these be the turbines of the future? What do you think, will these types of designs catch on with the public? What do you think are the potential issues?