Solar Market Needs Investors

       According to Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the cost to install solar panels is declining as the solar panel prices have dropped 41% last year compared to 2011. This, in turn, has helped United States solar installations grow 75% in 2012, from the amount of 1,855 megawatts in 2011 to 3,300 megawatts. Because of this steady growth in the solar market, researchers believe that by 2016, solar installations will continue to progress to an estimating amount of 9,000 megawatts.
      However, because there is a lack of investments in the solar market field, these solar projects will never be built or obtained. Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts that the industry will need $3.1 billion of equity investment in 2013, compared to $1.8 billion in 2012. Also, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is committed to helping expand the number of investors in solar projects as the opportunity of investing in such projects would yield much profit and it will enhance sustainability in society today.
      Large investors are able to choose between two strategies in terms of investing in these solar projects. The commonly used method would include making investments in large, utility scale projects. For example, recently, there have been residential solar developers creating funds for investors to take stakes in a large number of residential and small commercial solar projects. The other strategy is to have homeowners, whom don't have the upfront capital to purchase solar systems (which estimates the cost up to $15,000 or more), given the option to pay nothing down for solar equipment.
    EDF continues to plan an effort to reach out to potential solar investors to make the environmental case for investing in solar and other renewable projects. After all, investing in solar energy helps spur economic development, create American jobs, allow for energy independence and lessen our carbon footprint.

Walmart in Ohio is now powered by solar!

Walmart has announced that it has worked with SolarCity on progressing towards 12 Walmart stores & Sam's Clubs all over Ohio with installing solar panels that generates up to 6,000,000 kWh of energy, enough to power more than 820 homes and is also apprehended to accumulate about 5-20% of each store's energy consumption. Walmart has committed to increasing the use of renewable energy on all the stores in Ohio and across the country. Pretty effective knowing almost all Walmart stores are open 24 hours and finally being able to say bye bye to those outrageous electric bills.

"Walmart's installation of solar on 12 store rooftops is the largest solar commitment ever made by a retail business in Ohio," said Bill Spratley

Uruguay Plans Cheap Solar Energy!

       The South American nation, Uruguay, is offering contracts to buy power equivalent to 200 megawatts of solar farms at the world's cheapest rates. Ramon Mendez, a director of energy at the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, has remarked that President Jose Mujica is planning to sign a decree that will require Uruguay's national power utility to purchase electricity from projects at a set rate of $90 a megawatt hour. The nation plans to produce some of the world's cheapest energy, referring mostly to solar and wind energy projects.
         China is offering Uruguay $160 a megawatt hour while Germany offers $154.33 a megawatt hour. Four months after the decree is passed, developers have the opportunity of proposing offers at a first-come first-serve basis. Mendez recalls that three companies have already proclaimed in selling at the price of $90 a megawatt hour. However, if the offers fail, they will plan to wait another couple of years until the equipment prices drop and they will try again.
        The decree that is to be issued also calls for a bid of developing a 1-megawatt and a 5-megawatt plant. Both these projects are to provide the national power utility power for 25 years at a price. Though this decree is currently in circulation, 80% of the nation's electricity is derived from hydroelectric power plants, costing on average $80 a megawatt hour. In a 2011 auction, Uruguay was offered a contract of  power at $63 a megawatt hour from wind developers. This nation has many projects in development to sustain their population as a low-cost nation.