On August 15, 2012, at 8 a.m., Colorado’s Xcel utility opened up its registration for a new solar gardens/virtual net metering program. It took just 30 minutes to shut the doors on applications. The utility had received 13.5 MW in those 30 minutes, more than triple the 4.5 MW allowed. This excitement is one reason why I believe that community solar
It's been two years since Kachan & Co. first published its definition of what industries and categories constitute cleantech. A lot happens in two years, so it's time to refresh our taxonomy. A clean technology taxonomy, a list of nested categories, is important. It shows where a clean technology “fits.” It helps vendors understand their competitiv
Germany, a leader in renewable energy, recently set a world record when it produced 22 GW of power on May 26th, 2012. At that point in time, half of the country's electricity was generated from solar. Germany's current capacity for solar energy reaches about 28 GW and the country aims to reach 66GW by 2030. By the end of 2011, Germany had about 2
For those of you who may not know, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has developed a Solar Incentive Program (SIP) to support solar energy in Los Angeles. This Solar Incentive Program can help you with the cost of installing a new solar system. The Solar Feed-in Tariff Program, which allows owners of large-scale on-grid solar systems t
Almost every state in the country has net metering laws on the books. But only a few states allow a lesser-known policy that is critical for the expansion of distributed renewables, particularly community-scale solar — that’s aggregate, virtual, or group net metering. And there are a lot of good reasons to want to see its expansion. The basic prem
It’s that time of year again. For the last three years, I’ve consistently made a summer donation to The Vote Solar Initiative, the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), and Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). This year, I’ve also added SolarPAC, the political action committee set up by SEIA. The amount I donate to each is not so much an obl
Will I need batteries for my solar system? How much does it cost to go completely off the grid? These questions often come up as people start thinking about going solar. So, what does it really mean to go "off-grid" with a PV system? First, let's take a look at a traditional grid-tied system. Grid-tied Solar When most people install a solar ele
Electric heaters provide an inexpensive way of heating your home but they can also present risks, mainly in the form of fire hazards. For that reason it is essential to give proper maintenance to your heater. 1- How old is your heater? With the passage of time, electric components can become damaged or dysfunctional, raising [...]Advertisement