“With Heavy Government Help, Solar Continues Expansion in the West. Gains in the industry are made at a cost, including taxpayer-funded subsidies set to end in 2016. Will they pay off to make solar a larger player in the home energy market?”

Whenever I read those blogs or listen to the talking heads make those statements about home solar my blood really starts to boil. What they neglect to say is “American taxpayers have been heavily subsidizing big oil for over 100 years” or “40% of our military budget is spent defending foreign oil fields!”. [continue reading…]

For most of 2011, the stocks of solar power companies of all kinds, from providers of raw polysilicon to developers of finished utility-scale plants, have been taking a beating on world and U.S. stock markets, partly because solar has been the industry most singled out for attack by bearish short sellers.

In an article for MSNBC, Garvin Jabusch writes ” I cannot describe this phenomenon any better than did Roberto Pedone in a recent column for thestreet.com”: Besides the banking sector post-2008 financial crisis, I can’t think of a group that’s as hated and despised as solar stocks. … For whatever reason, this entire complex of solar energy has become a favorite target of short-sellers. There are so many names in the solar sector that are heavily shorted that it’s hard to find a name the bears aren’t leaning all over. [continue reading…]

When the grid goes down, a home standby generator will keep things going. Solar powered generators with battery backup power do not rely on fossil fuel to keep your home powered. A solar powered generator in your home is the ultimate security in emergencies. [continue reading…]

Living off-grid with solar means freedom to live your life as you choose not subject to unprecedented utility rate increases. Kerri and Dave M. made that choice and are living a modern dream for most homeowners, they haven’t received a single electric bill since moving into their newly built log home more than two years ago. [continue reading…]

One of the most important considerations when you are planning your installation is locating your home solar kit to maximize solar exposure. You should start your planing by positioning your solar panels so they are not shaded from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Many installers and homeowners alike fail to consider the impact of even negligible shade caused by overhangs, second stories, trees, exhaust vents, power lines and chimneys.

Each solar panel consists of dozens of cells that, when even partially shaded, will result in decreased performance, which is like throwing KWH and money down the drain. Lower performance means more electricity purchased from the utility, and less financial return on your solar investment. For those grid-tied home solar systems that qualify for performance-based incentives, even more revenue is lost with poor performance. Because of the resistance caused by an inactive portion of a series circuit, the impact of shading across a series of cells can be severe. [continue reading…]

The French oil and gas giant Total (the world’s fifth-largest), shelled out a cool $1.38 billion for a controlling 60 percent stake in SunPower Solar Corporation. Based in San Jose, California, SunPower’s deal with Total is already having repercussions across the entire market. Solar, like wind and geothermal, can be a capital-intensive business. [continue reading…]

There is some controversy among solar companies that PV installers permitting process is unnecessarily complicated and bureaucratic in many cities. I am sure that may be true in many cases, but our experience most of the required information is based on a fundamental principal of local government protecting the interests of the community.

Most municipalities in California are working to streamline the solar installation permit process and lower costs but they are faced with the same challenges as most households. If solar installers do a complete job of submitting the permit application including an electrical design that meets code requirements, the process is greatly expedited. [continue reading…]

For many reasons, decided that installing my home solar panels was the best approach the least of which is the significant labor and markup cost savings over contracting with professional home solar installers. After some investigation and research, I took a big gulp, then moved forward.

Sizing my own residential solar system was relatively easy for two reasons. The first is that our utility bills give the usage for each month for the past year. This eliminates the need to make up a whole system load chart. We could decide the size of the solar array we needed simply from these utility bill numbers. The annual total showed that we are using an average of 5.87 KWH per day, which I rounded up to 6 kWh per day. [continue reading…]

There are some that argue that a home solar leases being offered by some solar companies is the renewable energy equivalent of a banks subprime mortgage and will have serious repercussions in the years to come.

One popular residential solar lease program permits the solar company to own the equipment and enjoying all the benefits and tax credits available while Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner saves $10 per month on their utility bill. There are voices in the industry that are shouting at the top of their lungs asking why would a homeowner let some solar company attached equipment to their house they don’t own? So instead of renting your electricity from the utility company you are now renting it from an unnamed financial institution? That does sound a little crazy after you say it out loud. [continue reading…]