Solar Robots to Manufacture Goods

This is one of those things that can be great and bad at the same time. The article talks about using solar automation in the solar production and drive the cost down to make it more affordable for people to install solar panels. The down side would be the loss of jobs and at this time we can't allow that to happen. Read the article and let us know what you think.

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The cost of cheaper solar panels comes at the cost of jobs

A Solar Land Rush

The Department of the Interior’s move last month to accelerate development of large-scale solar power plants on federal land in six Western states could give an edge to companies that have already staked lease claims in 24 new “solar energy study areas.”

The initiative covers 670,000 acres overseen by the department’s Bureau of Land Management in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. During the solar land rush of the last two years, scores of developers large and small have sought the best solar sites, and the bureau is currently reviewing 158 lease applications for solar projects covering 1.8 million acres.

But the B.L.M. has yet to approve any leases and the new program is supposed to speed processing of land claims by identifying large tracts of the desert most suitable for solar development and then giving priority to projects proposed for those areas.

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Areas for solar power are getting snatched up quick!

$2M in late solar rebate checks go out

Hawaiian Electric Co. has mailed out $2.4 million worth of late rebate checks to contractors who installed residential solar water heaters.

Company spokesman Peter Rosegg says the checks went out Friday and an additional $100,000 will be mailed Monday.

The company wrote the checks under orders from the state Public Utilities Commission after HECO fell behind.

Under the program, contractors knock $1,000 off the price of a system for homeowners and then apply to the utility for reimbursement.
PUC chairman Carl Caliboso says the panel isn't sure how the program got so far behind.

HECO says a number of circumstances led to the backlog, including a surge in installations after electricity rates spiked last year.




There is a surge in solar installations

Home Builder in Arizona is Building All Homes With Solar Panels

Its at Encanterra, a new golf-resort community in San Tan Valley near Queen Creek, that is doing something still unusual in Arizona — including rooftop photovoltaic systems as a standard feature on their new homes.

It’s not just an option. Since last August, anyone buying a home in the community at Combs and Gantzel roads got solar energy as part of the deal.

A total of 24 of the solar electric systems, which convert sunlight into electricity, have been completed in the community, according to American Solar Electric, a Scottsdale-based subcontractor that is installing the systems. They are churning out a collective 85 kilowatts of electricity to power the houses.

Another 38 are under construction, which will bring the community’s total generating capacity to 215 kilowatts when completed.

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hopefully more builders will adopt the technology once consumers start to expect it.

Nanopillars Promise Cheap, Efficient, Flexible Solar Cells

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have demonstrated a way to fabricate efficient solar cells from low-cost and flexible materials.

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More and more people will be able to afford to go solar

World's largest solar plant may be built in Cle Elum

The sunny, Central Washington town of Cle Elum could be the site of the world's largest solar photovoltaic power plant, if a Washington company makes good on plans announced today.

Teanaway Solar Reserve hopes to gain approval from Kittitas County to build a 75 megawatt plant, made up of 400,000 photovoltaic panels. The energy produced would be enough for 45,000 homes, said Howard Trott, the Kirkland man who heads the operation.

Trott said he expects the plant to be operational by 2011.

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More homes to be powered by the sun!

Solar flowers are set to bloom at Prudential Plaza

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. said it has installed giant "solar flowers" in Boston's Prudential Plaza as part of an exhibit designed to promote the 2010 model of the Toyota Prius, the company's hybrid model.

The flower sculptures, which reach up to 18 feet high, "are partially powered by solar panels on the back of their petals and the base of their stems," Toyota said in a press release. "Each of the five Solar Flowers provides seating for up to 10 people, access to free WiFi service, and power to charge cell phones and laptops."




Its not hard at all to charge your accessories with solar power

Tips for iPhone users

Tips from buymeaniphone.com






Maybe you learned something you didn't know

Vintage Solar Fashion

This is a Solar Vintage fan by Scottish designer Elena Corchero of Lost Values. They also have jewelry and parasols.




Look cool with solar accessories in the day and use them as lights at night.

Solar energy helps to power huge ship at Port of Long Beach

The huge car carrier ship called the M/V Auriga Leader idled at the Port of Long Beach, burning through enough electricity to power 100 homes as workers loaded and unloaded a fleet of Toyotas.
the Auriga Leader sports 328 solar panels on its top deck -- a small array that provides 10% of the energy used by the giant ship while she is docked.
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Though there is no single technology to quickly reduce ship's emissions this is a great start to a cleaner world.