Affordable Solar Power for Californians!

        In these times, Californians have the option of putting rooftop solar panels onto their residential buildings, but they may fall short because of the cost. That's where affordable solar power comes in with the help of two statewide California solar programs!
        Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) is one of the programs that help provide non-costly solar power. This program evaluates and qualifies eligible buildings for solar incentives to help offset the project costs of installing solar on housing. The goals for this project would include: stimulating the adoption of solar power in affordable housing areas, bringing more awareness into the community about solar power, improving energy utilization, and decreasing the electricity costs for low-income households.
       Another program is known as Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH), which is funded by many public and private sources. It is also administered by a nonprofit organization, Grid Alternatives, which holds one-on-one meeting sessions to engage low-income families with the knowledge of sustainable energy as well as promotes workforce development through the rapidly growing presence that solar power is gaining. Grid Alternatives is also a licensed solar installer so they are able to lead teams of the solar power industry to aid them in installing solar panels.
      However, installing rooftop solar panels can be quite expensive because the "soft costs" of the installations are involved, which includes the costs of permitting, site design and grid connection. Thankfully because of the SASH program, Grid Alternatives helps families through the entire process of installing the rooftop solar panels, as said previously. The SASH program also includes the option to apply for weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades to help California low-income households obtain the best quality assurance with energy sustainability.

Grid Alternative features industry and community volunteers in installing solar electric systems in residential areas

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.

Sports and Solar Power Energy

       The 2013 National Football Season may be six months away but one team is helping their community in sustaining a new outlook of their football stadium from a spectator sport to one who is involved with environment sustainability. Sunpower Corporation, a company involved in manufacturing solar panels, roof tiles, and high-efficiency photovoltaic cells, has been giving the opportunity to help the recent Superbowl Finalists, the San Francisco 49ers, by providing them with a solar panel system for their new stadium.

Santa Clara stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers will be playing their home games

       Sunpower Corporation has a partnership with NRG Energy, a large American-based company specializing in green-tech energy projects, and they are both collaborating on providing Santa Clara stadium with energy sustainability. NRG Energy is actually most known for its projects such as the electric vehicles' charging stations in California and wind farms in Texas; the company will be installing a number of solar elements on the stadium, giving it enough energy over the course of the year to offset the power consumed during the 49ers home games.
       This new system will be installed as three solar array bridges of solar panels of 400 kilowatts are done at the training center as well as there being a solar canopy built over a green roof terrace. The installation of the solar canopy defines it to be pro-football's first green rooftop, specifically as a 27,000 square foot canopy covered with vegetation, which will help insulate stadium's luxury suites as well as help to reduce stormwater runoff.

        However, this announcement of Sunpower Corporation and NRG Energy is not an unfamiliar one; it is part of the green trend spreading through NFL and other spectating sports. Metlife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, has 1,350 solar panels installed, producing 350,000 kilo-watt hours (or 10% of the stadium's energy on game day).

       The Fedex Field, home of the Washington Redskins, has also been involved in the green trend by having produced a total of 8,000 solar panels, providing them with 1/5 of their required energy needs.

Fedex Field having solar panels, which were installed by NRG Energy

       Major League Baseball participates in having stadiums of renewable energy sustainability in wind and solar power: San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals.

3D Printing can indeed help the Solar Power Industry too!

     The exact definition of the term "3-Dimension Printing" would be referred to as a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape of a digital model by using an additive process, which is the process of layers of material being laid down successively in different types of forms. Since the 21st century has begun, 3D printing has been used increasingly in various types of industries in society such as jewelry, dentistry, prototyping and even human organs.
     Energy strategist John Licata, whom also founded Blue Phoenix Inc., an independent energy and metals research company, comments his enthusiasm in seeing potential of how 3D printing can revolutionize solar panel and photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturing. In this present stage of the rising solar power industry, it is accurate to point out that solar panels is somewhat lacking in energy storage and thus, solar cells must be developed to be more sustainable.
     With this complexity of solar power, John Licata has brought to our attention of possibly producing 3D solar cells, which, in turn, can capture more sunlight directly than with conventional PV cells. He believes that "they are more precise (using copper, indium, gallium, selenide: CIGS), less complex and has less weight." Researchers in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe they can be 20% more efficient than solar panels.
     Another key factor he points out is the cost, which if 3D printing is successful in producing more efficient solar cells, it could drop the production cost by 50% (because they wouldn't be using costly materials as glass, poly-silicon, or indium). Not only this but he believes it would provide us more convenience in the future because it may be able to produce extremely thin solar cells onto paper, plastic or even fabric instead of the expensive glass used in solar panels. This, he theorizes, would help produce mass appeal for solar energy if it can be turned into wearable high-tech clothing, radios or other electronics. Perhaps in the future, we may find 3D printing incorporated with the use of solar power energy, who knows what the future holds for us.

Shopping for Solar Panels are easy!

      Are you interested in obtaining a solar panel onto your rooftop to save money on those utility bills that just never seems like it's going to end? Well, maybe this will help your matters: there is a new free online solar panel shopping service that can help you research and shop for solar power systems from solar power companies that will offer the best incentives for you.
      It is known as the Online Solar PV Marketplace, which Distributed Energy Research & Solutions, Inc. (EnergySage) had announced and released recently. It has been developed for the convenience of interested consumers, forming an open-market platform between potential customers and solar panel installers and for President Obama's Sunspot Initiative. The term "sunspot" has been formed as the President's call for a "Sputnik movement" to stimulate American innovation as the foundation for economic revival. It originally was developed in the year 2011 to make solar power as cheap and accessible as fossil fuels. Simply put, it tries to obtain information for potential solar consumers, which as said, Online Solar PV Marketplace offers.
     Because of this development which no longer barricades the opportunities between solar consumers and solar providers, EnergySage has been awarded $500,000 from the Department of Energy as a Sunshot startup investment. "EnergySage is thrilled to receive this Sunshot award," said Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage. He also claims "by making it easier for consumers to navigate the solar PV system purchase process, we are lowering customer acquisition costs, lowering prices, helping installers improve profitability and ultimately, expanding the market exponentially."
     As you may be curious in the shopping experience, it opens as you take an online survey to outline relevant details about your property. You are, then, able to list your property on the marketplace and EnergySage's preselected network of solar companies will start bidding on your job. Instead of having to compare different types of variables from different companies, you will receive all bids in clear, standard format for easy access to be able to decipher. EnergySage only participates in this relationship by obtaining a small commission fee from the solar companies, which you do not have to worry about because the marketplace is, once again, free for use to businesses, nonprofit organizations, or even residential buildings.
     Check the marketplace out here to start looking!

Free Solar Panels for Honda customers?

       Tesla Motors has been getting ahead in the electric vehicle market because of their newly produced car, Model S. Many car manufacturers are concerned with the shift in the market; this actually includes Honda Motor Company Ltd, the Japanese car manufacturing company to be established in 1948. Honda has recently decided to have a partnership with Solarcity, an American provider of energy services, to offer cheap solar power to eligible customers. They promised that with this incentive, they will be guaranteeing a utility bill for solar power producing a lower rate than grid-supplied energy. This not only includes cheap solar energy but, it also means the eligible Honda and Acura customers would be obtaining a rooftop solar panel installation, covering all the costs including the cost of the panels itself.
       The agreement that has been established between Honda and Solarcity is a power purchase agreement, which is a popular tactic to finance solar installations. Power purchase agreements are designed as contracts between two parties, whereas typically the property owner pays for electricity at a reasonable price rate for a period of time but the installer has continual access to own, operate, and maintain the system for that time period. It's not unusual for this partnership to also offer insurance, maintenance, repair and monitoring during the specified time period.
       Honda customers are able to pay for their bills up front in two ways: either pre-pay for the solar electricity or pay at a monthly rate which is lower rate than their utility bill. Surprisingly, Honda and Solarcity had invested $65 million into a fund for this agreement, which covers dealerships and customers located within Solarcity's few state service areas. This includes other efficiency upgrades for customers such as weatherization, a practice of protecting establishments and its interior from all weather (sunlight, precipitation, wind) and modifying it to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.
     Not a bad deal if they're planning to be ahead of the other car manufacturers to be on a head-on competition with Tesla Motors, right? What do you think?

Latin America is Focused on Solar Energy!

     Argentina and Venezuela, which are the least renewable energy countries in Latin America, is planning on expanding on solar capacity as the government is willing to support their finances with a few incentives. International developers have actually been helping Argentina by planning plants, which gets as twice the solar radiation of Germany, which is the largest solar market at this time.
     According to Marcelo Alvarez, head of solar for trade group Camara Argentina de Energia Renovable (CADER), he claims that in 2012, Argentina has applied to build 11 projects of 20 megawatts each. By doing so, this would be helping President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's administration in meeting 8% of Argentina's power by 2016, in which the present time in 2013, it is now 2%.
     Argentina plans to build 3,000 megawatts in clean-energy capacity, of which approximately 10% may come from solar energy. About 625 megawatts are mainly in operation, which most of them are small hydropower projects and solar energy reigns only 6.2 megawatts.
     In 2011, regulation has been passed that allows developers to negotiate premium tariffs with the government and grid operation without relying on clean-energy tenders arranged by Energia Argentina SA, the state energy company. Officials have been concentrated on organizing and developing long-term contracts for power from the plants, bringing an interest from companies residing in Spain to China.
     However, Argentina has granted long-term contracts for 895 megawatts in 2010, whereas it included 20 megawatts awarded towards Genneia SA for Argentina's first large solar parks, enabling the energy to be enough to power 30,000 homes. In this, Energia Argentina SA has been backing five companies in starting the projects before the government is able to sign off the tariffs that will support the renewable energy industry.
    In reference to a report by the Inter-American Development Bank and New Energy Finanace, Brazil has been leading Latin America in installed renewables capacity. Latin America and the Caribbean have more than 6,000 megawatts of solar sites under development, which includes about 2,800 megawatts in Chile and 1,400 in Brazil.