USA Solar Installs

09/03/2021

This is a trend we love to see!

"With 5 million roofs replaced each year in the United States, “the opportunity to upsell someone from a regular roof to a solar roof represents not only a good business opportunity, but a tremendous opportunity to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels,” Martin DeBono, president of GAF Energy, told Yahoo Finance (video above).

DeBono added that “with all the attention that solar energy and renewable fuels are getting as a result of the discussions for this bill, it's just raising awareness. And so, people who were not thinking about going solar in the past are now thinking about it.”

Proposed expanded tax credits for solar panels could help convince homeowners to upgrade their roof.

08/23/2021

The first U.S. university to go 100% solar! I think we'll see more colleges following this example.

"As the title points out, Stanford won’t just be getting 100% of its electricity needs from renewables; it’ll be getting 100% from solar. That said, at this point, it’s more of a case of generating as much electricity from solar overall as the university uses, not entirely at the time it is needed. So, it’s net 100% solar. Though, there are also talks about adding battery energy storage capacity to improve on that."

Universities are suppose to be the homes of our best and brightest. (Don’t look here.) They are supposed to be about the long-term view. They are supposed to be about science, of course. So, I have to admit that I’m surprised and disappointed to find out that no research institute in the US is g...

08/11/2021

Solar is booming!

"The amount of solar installed in the US in 2020 was 4000% higher than was installed in 2010, with 8,894MW of utility-scale solar projects being added, as corporate demand becomes almost on par with utilities.

This was the finding of the first Clean Power Annual report by the American Clean Power Association (ACPA), which showed record US renewables growth and investment."

The amount of solar installed in the US in 2020 was 4000% higher than was installed in 2010, with 8,894MW of utility-scale solar projects being added, as corporate demand becomes almost on par with utilities

07/31/2021

What a cool solar initiative!

"Luxembourg-based startup Maana Electric aims to send small warehouse container-like boxes, that are capable of building solar panels using only electricity and sand, to Earth's deserts in order to help fight climate change.

If that goes according to plan, the company then hopes to breach the final frontier by sending their boxes to the Moon, Mars, and beyond in order to aid future space colonies with their energy requirements, a report from Inverse explains."

New container-like boxes generate solar energy from electricity and sand to help fight climate change, and if all goes to plan, they could head to space.

07/26/2021

Supporters of the 30 Million Solar Homes Initiative say the country will see $69 billion in electric-bill savings!

"A report outlines how federal efforts to bring solar energy to one in four American households could bring clean energy to communities of all colors, incomes and backgrounds.

Supporters of the 30 Million Solar Homes Initiative said boosting participation in the Rural Energy Savings Program and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program could help more residents, farmers, and small businesses finance solar panels."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A report outlines how federal efforts to bring solar energy to one in four American households could bring clean energy to communities of all colors, incomes and backgrounds. Supporters of the 30 Million Solar Homes Initiative said boosting participation in the Rural Energy Savi...

07/15/2021

Great news for solar in the U.S!

"The Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP+) platform, developed by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, will be a standard portal for local governments to process permit applications automatically. Approvals typically take a week or more currently, and permit-related costs can account for about a third of installers' overall costs, DOE said.

The portal performs an automatic review of permit applications, approving eligible systems instantly. Complex or ineligible systems would be re-routed for additional review."

The Biden administration on Thursday will roll out a tool that enables instant permitting of rooftop solar installations, addressing a major source of industry delays and possibly lowering costs for homeowners, the Energy Department said.

07/10/2021

A huge solar initiative looking to help California prevent energy shortfalls!

"The project’s developer, Los Angeles-based real estate firm CIM Group, has permits to build 670 megawatts, which would be nearly 100 megawatts larger than the biggest U.S. solar farm operating today. The developer ultimately plans to install at least 2,700 megawatts by the end of the decade, across more than 20,000 acres — an area two-thirds the size of San Francisco."

More than 400 construction workers are building one of the world's large clean energy projects in the San Joaquin Valley.

07/07/2021

An optimistic view on solar!

"The solar industry has spent decades slashing the cost of generating electricity direct from the sun. Now it’s focusing on making panels even more powerful.

With savings in equipment manufacturing hitting a plateau and more recently pressured by rising prices of raw materials, producers are stepping up work on advances in technology — building better components and employing increasingly sophisticated designs to generate more electricity from the same-sized solar farms."

After focusing for decades on cutting costs, the solar industry is shifting attention to making new advances in technology.

07/01/2021

Solar improving communities! We're happy to see it.

"A community-led nonprofit in metro Detroit has begun installing solar-powered streetlights a decade after a utility repossessed over a thousand of the area’s light poles."

Soulardarity is installing solar-powered streetlights in Highland Park a decade after DTE Energy removed all but 500 lights there.

06/30/2021

Seems pretty obvious to us.....