Spanish Solar, Spain begins to enjoy the SUN.

The emerging EU power, Spain, which has not made any changes to it's building code since 1970s, is taking giant steps to make solar power a prime part of the building or renovating any new structures.
All homes now have to have, at least, hot water solar systems and all new businesses have to generate solar electricity. Other regulations in the new building code include mandatory use of insulation, maintenance of heating and cooling systems and use of natural light. All together, these practices should decrease electricity use by up to 40%.
“The new standards will bring energy savings of 30 to 40 percent for each building and a reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy consumption of 40 to 55 percent,” the Environment and Housing Ministries said in a joint statement.

Spain, which is both enjoying and loathing a gigantic boom in construction, is hoping to control some of that growth as well as mitigate its impacts with the new regulations. The construction lobby, of course, is furious, saying that building costs will go up over 10%. The government does not seem too unhappy about that, but cites it's own figures that say the costs of construction will be recouped by energy savings within a couple years.
Way to go Spain, these are the wars you should fight.

Links;
Reuters article via MSNBC

Tags: spanish Solar, solar power, solar water heater, energy saving, co2 emissions

Simplee Solar, fined £40,000 for false claims

Bournemouth Crown Court heard how Simplee Solar, based at Woolsbridge Industrial Estate, Three Legged Cross, had sent flyers telling householders they could save up to 70 per cent on their energy bills and that solar could power their central heating.

Among those who gave evidence at the trial was pensioner Wendy Hammett, who paid £8,500 to have the system installed at her West Parley bungalow in August 2004.

Prosecuting on behalf of Dorset Trading Standards, Tim Bradbury said: "The extent to which the system could accrue benefit was wildly exaggerated."
continued...

He explained that the expert view was that solar panels could only be expected to provide two to three per cent of the energy needed for a domestic central heating system.

Simplee Solar denied two counts of supplying and five counts of offering to supply goods to which false trade descriptions had been applied.

But a jury yesterday convicted them of all charges.

So be true in your claims to energy savings through solar energy. Rather than using solar panels to heat water, solar water heaters are better, A few years ago, in a very sunny area, I was able to produce near steam, with a series of hand made solar water heaters.

Links;
Solar energy firm fined £40,000 for false claims

Tags: solar water heater, solar energy

SunPower Gobbles up Powerlight, actually purchases.

Solar San Diego reports about SunPower a division of Cypress Semiconductor purchasing PowerLight, a leading provider of large scale solar project systems for $332.5 million in cash and stock.
From the press release;
"Together, SunPower and PowerLight aim to accelerate the reduction of solar power costs to compete with retail electric rates without incentives," said Tom Werner, SunPower CEO. "PowerLight is one of the premier system integrators worldwide and presents us with a downstream investment opportunity that will accelerate SunPower's revenue growth while meeting our long-term financial model. By working closely with PowerLight over the past year as one of its key suppliers, we have gained great respect for their innovative products and the breadth and depth of their customer relationships. We intend to build on our strong market positions and duplicate our success in other emerging markets.""
Read more and find the press release at Solar San Diego.
Links;
Solar San Diego
Sunpower
Powerlight

Tags: powerlight, sunpower, solar power

Is Solar Power Affordable? You Bet!

Andy Black on Mother Earth News carries an reprinted article from Solar Today magazine. I immediately knew that I need to inform users of this fine piece of writing. I know a lot of people are confused when it comes to financing and planing to convert their abode to be energy independent. The information is our there but at best is scattered. "You Can Afford Solar Power" article carries one through the phases of implementing such a system. It touches on age old questions such as payback and gives you no frills answers. I suggest that you read and digest this article if you are solar energy expert, solar power user, or intending to be one or the other.
from the article;

'What Factors Improve Payback?

The most important factors for making solar an attractive investment include high electric rates, net-metering policies, financial incentives and good sunlight. Unlike the other factors, sunlight is available in almost all of the continental United States.

High electric rates can take various forms. California, Hawaii, New York and other states have average rates well above 15 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). California’s tiered pricing system penalizes large residential users with prices as high as 33 cents per kWh. Solar energy offsets highest-tier usage first, making the customer look like a smaller net user.'

Direct incentives can include tax benefits such as credits or depreciation. A federal tax credit went into effect Jan. 1 for 30 percent of the cost of a solar system, up to $2,000 for residential systems (there’s no cap on commercial credits). For PV systems, that typically means a $2,000 credit on your tax return for the year the system was installed. Then there are state incentives, including rebates, which can discount up to 60 percent of a system’s cost. Some states also offer tax credits, which can further reduce the upfront cost of a system. Consult a certified tax adviser to check the applicability of such incentives to your situation.

The article ends with links to valuable tools listed below ;

Links;

You Can Afford Solar Power

Solar Today Magazine

Links from the article;

Tools for Calculating PV System Payback

Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy

Clean Power Estimator

Find Solar

PV Watts

RETScreen International

Solar Energy Industries Association Guide to Federal Tax Incentives

Author’s post of detailed information on calculating various scenarios

Tags: solar power, solar energy, incentives, power grid, "You Can Afford Solar Power", clean power estimator, find solar, PV watts, RETScreen, SEIA guide

Oil companies win, California Prop 87 Defeated

What can I say, Only thing I can repeat is what Adam Browning, Executive Director of the Vote Solar Initiative said.
"Oil companies spent nearly $100 million trying to convince California voters that collective suicide is a good idea. Unfortunately, they were successful,"
So congratulation's California, if you cannot wait for the results, you can jump off coastal cliffs and finish it now.
Links;
Vote Solar, (The Vote Solar Initiative is a non-profit organization with the mission of stopping global warming and increasing energy independence by bringing solar energy into the mainstream.)

Tags: vote solar, prop 87

How Cash back for Solar works in California.

If you are a Californian, there are incentives for you to turn your home in to a Solar Generator! Aka self sustained house. California State initiative, works in a wonderful ways to turn your interest toward converting your house in to a solar power house.
I urge all the states that could benefit from Solar energy to adopt a similar initiatives. Let's go beyond the American Borders, let's introduce such measures all over the world.

The California Solar Initiative Offers:

• Photovoltaic incentives starting at $2.50 per watt for systems up to one megawatt in size.


• Funds for solar installations for existing and new low-income and affordable housing.


• A pay-for-performance incentive structure to reward high-performing solar projects.

The California Solar Initiative will be coordinated with the state's energy efficiency, "smart" metering, and building standards programs at the Public Utilities Commission and Energy Commission, ensuring that the state is using its energy resources wisely.

The above is true if you act before the year ends. There is a new way based on Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of California that will change the incentive payment criteria.

• Starting January 1, 2007, incentives for all solar energy systems greater than 100 kilowatts in size will be paid monthly based on the actual energy produced for a period of five years. This incentive is called Performance Based Incentives, or PBI.


• Incentives for all systems less than 100 kilowatts will initially be paid a one-time, up-front incentive based on expected system performance. Expected performance will be calculated based on equipment ratings and installation factors, such as geographic location, tilt, and shading. This incentive structure is called Expected Performance-Based Buydown, or EPBB.


• Starting in 2010, incentives for all systems greater than 30 kilowatts in size will be paid based on actual energy produced.

CPUC Administration of the California Solar Initiative

On March 2, 2006, the CPUC opened a proceeding to develop rules and procedures for the California Solar Initiative and to continue consideration of policies for the development of cost-effective, clean and reliable distributed generation (DG). On August 21, 2006, the Governor signed Senate Bill 1 (SB1), which directs the CPUC and the Energy Commission to implement the CSI program consistent with specific requirements and budget limits set forth in the legislation.

The PUC has a rulemaking in progress to reconcile its decisions with SB1, and it also continues to hold public workshops to continue designing program elements. Contact the CPUC to learn how to provide your input in these decisions.

Current incentives provide an upfront, capacity-based payment for a new system. The CSI incentive system will change in 2007 when it moves to performance-based payments. In its August 24, 2006, decision, the CPUC shifted the program from volume-based to performance-based incentives and clarified many elements of the program's design and administration.

There is also a FAQ page that will answer most of your questions.

Links;

Cash Back For Solar

Cash Back for Solar FAQ

Tags: Cash Back For Solar, Solar Generator, California Solar Initiative, Public Utilities Commission, PUC, Energy Commission, Performance Based Incentives, Cash Back for Solar FAQ

"Go Solar California" is the moto of the new state website promoting solar Energy in California.

After all the initiatives that California has made, you can follow the progress on the new web site, "Go Solar California". The State of California plans or wishes to place 3,000 megawatts of new, solar produced electricity systems on rooftops by 2017. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger goal is to put solar systems on a million California roofs. And certainly the California need your help.
State has already taken steps to make alternative energy a part of the power Grig that runs through California.
About 10.2 percent of the electricity California already use comes from renewable sources - biomass, geothermal, small hydroelectric, solar, and wind.

According to a statement on the site, why alternative energy;

Benefits of Renewable Energy

Choosing renewable power provides many benefits:

• Making use of secure, indigenous, and sustainable natural resources.


• Helping to keep our air clean.


• Potential to reduce the production of carbon dioxide - a leading contributor to global climate change.


• Helping to create jobs for California and American workers.


• Establishing the United States as a world leader and exporter of renewable power technologies.


• Nationwide, reducing dependence on imported oil.

By purchasing electricity generated from renewable resources or installing a renewable energy system on your home, you can demonstrate your commitment to a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

Today, thousands of Californians have already made the switch to renewable energy, producing clean, "green energy" for themselves.

So join the race and be productive. The site is a source of information for Solar energy whether you are a Californian or not. I hope all the states in USA and other countries will follow a California, the state I live, and find best resources for energy. If you were to surpass us we will surely, follow you. Like we are already learning from Brazil about alternative feuls.
Only bad thing about site is videos are in windows format and not all can watch them. Please change them to a better format that ASF, not all people use windows, specially californians.

Links;
"Go Solar California"

Tags: biomass, geothermal, small hydroelectric, solar, wind, Go Solar California, alternative energy, renewable energy

Solar Powered Politics in Down Under

An exciting new election pitch by the Green Party proposes that every Australian man, woman and child would wash under a solar heated shower.

“A complete change over to solar could potentially reduce the state’s greenhouse gas production by 2200 million tonnes each year,” Greens energy spokesman Louis Delacretaz said. (Michael Warner, Solar Conversion a must under Greens, Herald Sun, October 21, 2006).

Under the Green Party’s new election campaign, solar power units would be installed in all new homes and electric and gas systems would be slowly replaced over the next 15 years. The controversial new policy would also see the closure of Hazelwood power station in the Latrobe Valley. The Greens are also pledging to spend a huge $10.5 billion in upgrading the Public transport network and Education is set to receive $1 billion in additional funding.

Major Political parties have historically taken the Green Party’s pre-election promises as a joke. However, the Green’s are highly likely to grab the balance of power in the new 40 seat Legislative council due to changes in the state’s electoral boundaries. Voting for the upper house has changed from preferential to proportional and has threatened Labour and Liberal’s strong-hold in state politics. This in turn has created an opportunity for smaller parties to take them on at the polls.

Tags: Green Party, solar heated shower, solar power

30 Million into Sharp Solar Power Development

VUNET's Simon Burns from Taipei, reports that Sharp Coporation will expand its solar cell output by a factor of six, the Japanese electronics manufacturer announced on November 1st.

New production lines will start rolling at the company's solar cell facility in Southern Japan later this month.
After the expansion, Sharp's total annual production capacity of pholtovoltaic solar cells will be enough to generate 600 megawatts of power, up from 100 megawatts today.
Solar panels with 600 megawatts of generation capacity would be enough to provide power for a city with a population of almost half a million.

Simon also reported earlier that Motech Industries will ask for about $300m from investors, and E-Ton Solar Tech will seek more than $190m, increase production of Solar Cells this year.

Tags: pholtovoltaic, solar cell, Solar panel