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Here is a fun article I found about German solar energy.
Aug 13 (Reuters) - A large number of German solar companies are reporting second-quarter results on Thursday, with investors looking for signs of a sustainable upturn in the industry, which has been hit by a sharp slump in prices.
Here are five facts about the German solar industry:
* The German solar market is expected to become the world's largest in 2009, overtaking Spain, as measured by megawatts of installation, according to industry association EPIA.
* Germany is home to industry bellwethers such as Q-Cells (QCEG.DE), one of the world's largest maker of solar cells, solar inverter maker SMA Solar (S92G.DE) and SolarWorld (SWVG.DE), which makes silicon and solar panels.
* Germany's 15,000 solar companies employed 70,000 people in 2008. This number is expected to rise to 200,000 by 2020, according to German solar industry association BSW.
* Sales in the industry amounted to about 7 billion euros ($9.9 billion) in 2008, while the export quota of photovoltaic companies was 46 percent.
* According to BSW, photovoltaics will account for 1 percent of Germany's power consumption this year, with that share seen rising to 25 percent by 2050.
Germany leads the way in solar energy.
Bruce and Roseanna Phillips are getting $17,000 worth of solar panels installed on the roof of their Cordova Park home for about $2,000.
On top of that sweet deal, the bank of solar panels will generate enough electricity to take a big chunk out of their monthly power bill.
The Pensacola couple is taking advantage of a host of cash incentives and tax rebates the Sunshine State and the U.S. Department of Energy are offering to amp up residential solar energy usage like never before.
Read The Full Article
Take advantage of rebates and get your solar panels installed today
PSE&G Solar, a subsidiary of the big New Jersey utility, said on Wednesday that received the regulatory go-ahead to add 80 megawatts of solar capacity in its territory by the end of 2013, effectively doubling the amount of solar power in the state. That will maintain New Jersey’s position as the nation’s second-ranked state for solar photovoltaic installations, behind only California.
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California still holds the top spot for solar power, but New Jersey is making their push.
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.
Article
The cost of cheaper solar panels comes at the cost of jobs
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!
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
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.
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.
Read The full article.
More homes to be powered by the sun!
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
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.
As America celebrates its 233rd birthday this holiday weekend, there will be an extra light in the sky along with the fireworks. Across the country, Americans will be treated to spectacular views of the International Space Station as it orbits 220 miles above Earth.Many locations will have unusually long sighting opportunities of as much as five minutes, weather permitting, as the station flies almost directly overhead.
To find out when to see the station from your city, visit:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings
The station circles Earth every 90 minutes. It is 357 feet long, about the length of a football field including the end zones, and 45 feet tall. Its reflective solar arrays are 240 feet wide, a wingspan greater than that of a jumbo jet, and have a total surface area of more than 38,000 square feet.
Have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend.
The Tsutsumi plant that builds the Prius is one of five ISO14001 certified Eco-factories in the Toyota network. The factory has a 50,000m2 solar array on its roof that generates 2,000 kW per hour of electricity, about half of the plant's total requirements. Another 22,000m2 of the factory is covered in a photocatalytic paint that converts NOx to oxygen and nitrogen. A number of initiatives including zero land-fill waste, water recycling and reduced volatile organic compound use are all part of the overall effort to reduce the impact of building Priuses.
Lets not only make eco friendly cars. but eco friendly factories that build the cars.
A solar cell which has broken a world record for efficiency has been unveiled by photovoltaic technology producer QuantaSol and will be displayed at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition this week.The designer and manufacturer of strain-balanced quantum-well solar cells developed a single-junction device which achieves efficiency of up to 28.3 per cent, which is thought to be the best performance as of yet.
More Efficient Solar Power Here We Come
Shasta High and Mountain View Middle schools, both in Redding, recently installed grant-funded solar panels on campus, joining Foothill High, West Valley High and Shasta College in adopting the technology.
The solar panels serves as a toolbox - equipping schools and students with the means to study chemistry, Earth science, mechanical engineering, green technology and math. Apart from the educational aspects of the panels, officials hope the green technology will spark the imaginations of students.
Go Green!
Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. and Perpetual Power (P2) have announced the completion of four solar-powered deep water wells at Limoneira Company’s Ducor Ranch. When operating at full capacity, the 6,400 ground-mounted, high-efficiency photovoltaic panels can generate 1MW of AC energy for the Limoneira Company, which grows and processes lemons, avocados, oranges, specialty citrus, pistachios and cherries on its orchards in Santa Paula, Calif. Limoneira’s solar electric system is expected to produce 2,300,000 kWh of electricity annually.
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Solar Guacamole anyone?
Facts about solar energy usage
- Solar Energy is measured in kilowatt-hour. 1 kilowatt = 1000 watts.
- 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) = the amount of electricity required to burn a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.
- According to the US Department of Energy, an average American household used approximately 866-kilowatt hours per month in 1999 costing them $70.68.
- About 30% of our total energy consumption is used to heat water.
Knowledge is Power
It's no shocker that California leads the US with 67% of solar power, but how do other states match up? Number 2 is New Jersey with generating 9% and Colorado ranked 3rd at 4.5%. These 3 states count for over 80% of the solar energy generated. The full article discusses New Jersey and how such a little state became number 2 on the list of 50.
Read How NJ Rose To #2 in US Solar Power
NJ appears to have a bright future in solar.
