New Studies Show Soft Costs Continue to Hamper Solar
From Climate Wire: As solar energy equipment becomes more affordable than ever, prompting millions of home and business owners to consider generating their own electricity using solar arrays, the overall cost burden of such systems is shifting decidedly toward "soft costs." These include financing, taxes, corporate fees, installation and other nonhardware charges, according to the Energy Department.
Rooftop Solar Could Generate Jobs
Los Angeles County could create tens of thousands of new jobs and reduce global-warming-causing carbon emissions if solar-voltaic panels are installed on just 5% of available rooftops, says a just-issued report.
IKEA to Build South Florida's Largest Solar Array
South Florida will soon get its largest solar array, 4,620 panels installed on the roof of a new IKEA store set to open in the Miami area next summer.
Main Street, Not Wall Street, is Growing Solar Energy
Since 2000, more than 1,460 MW of residential solar installations have been installed across the country and in 2012 alone, rooftop solar installations nearly doubled the installed capacity added in 2010. These growth numbers are great, but who’s behind it? Your first thought might be the wealthy Wall Street bankers or celebrities in Hollywood, but you’d be mistaken.
What Utility Planners Need to Know About Solar
The road to bringing more distributed solar into the utility resource mix runs through long-term planners.
New Apple Plant Will Run Entirely On Clean Energy
This week Apple announced its plans to open a new factory in Mesa, Arizona — a facility that “will run on 100 percent renewable energy from day one.” The move will bring a manufacturing boost to the state, creating 2,000 new jobs, all without requiring additional energy from Mesa.
Solar Power Begins to Shine as Environmental Benefits Pay Off
Amid polemics over rising electricity prices in Europe and the level of green energy subsidies in various countries, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the growth in clean-energy generation is a huge success story.
New Bill Proposes US Utilities Purchase 25% of Energy from Renewables
US Senator for Colorado, Mark Udall and his cousin, Tom Udall, senator for New Mexico have teamed up to introduce legislation that would set renewable energy targets for utilities. The legislation introduces the first national threshold, for utilities to purchase 25% of their energy from renewable resources by 2025.
Major Companies Enhance Commitment to Solar in 2013
A growing number of major corporations with operations around the world are harnessing energy from the sun to save on electricity bills. The Solar Energy Industries Association and Vote Solar recently released data showing some of the most iconic brands have gone solar in 2013.
Sen. Ed Markey's 1st Senate bill would institute renewable energy standards for electric utilities
The first bill U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, has introduced in the Senate would require utilities to generate a quarter of their electricity from renewable sources.