China, Germany and Canada are powering up solar recognizing importing oil is not the future. Where is the United States in this? Dispite numerous wars protecting human rights… mostly in oil producing nations, a disaster in the Gulf of Mexico we have all forgotten about, America is still trending up.

There are a few bright spots in the country but mostly those heros are on the local levels. When you think solar California might come to mind, but New Jersey is coming in second. Wait, o Ya, Illinois just passed a new energy law requiring 25% of their power from solar, wind and other renewables by 2025. [continue reading…]

The solar installers market in America is potentially around 40 million homes of which only a fraction of which have installed home PV. Though some of the solar rebates have dwindled in because of their popularity, there are some serious discussions going on regarding solar feed-in-tariffs. That is where you get paid fair market price for your excess electricity generated by solar. [continue reading…]

To much of the solar world this is old news, but it is still new exiting news to most Architects and high end homeowners. It was also exciting to see the technology which was part of a Sanyo continuing solar education credit course we took last week in Sacramento. Sanyo Solar teamed up with Florian Canopies to produce a hybrid solar roof that is truly cutting edge. [continue reading…]

When you first put the amp meter on the DC wire run coming off the roof of new solar panels and someone shouts out “there are 340 volts being produced by the panels now”. That is when solar in Sacramento gets sexy.

When our Sacramento solar company’s sales staff first engages a customer about installing home solar panels, they talk about things like feasibility of the site for installation, costs and rebates. All of that is very cool and necessary, but it’s not sexy. [continue reading…]

Solar powering Saudi Arabia? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, let it be said, let it be so. As oil supplies decline, Saudi Arabia’s own electrical energy is becoming expensive. By one estimate, it’s as much as 25 cents a kilowatt-hour, at wholesale. Saudi Arabia gets all of its electricity from the oil field. Flared gas provides 45%, heavy fuel oil provides 13%, diesel; 22% and crude provides the remaining 20%. So as oil prices rise, its domestic desalination and electricity costs rise too.

But the kingdom has solar insolation that is the envy of the world. So the Governor of the state power company ECRA (Saudi Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority) is hoping to get state approval for solar incentives to help solar begin to power some of the kingdom’s 50,000 megawatt electricity needs, according to ArabNews. [continue reading…]

Especially during these challenging times, more and more people in the Sacramento and Northern California area are installing their own solar systems. Installing solar for your Northern California or Sacramento home isn’t really as hard as most people seem to think. In fact, with proper planning, folks can benefit from their own solar kits. [continue reading…]

Did you know that home solar technology has been widely available since the 1960’s? Yet in spite of its wide spread use, it is still a mystery to many. We will try and debunk the myths and shed some light on the process to show how easy it is to get into solar.

Solar is a “scalable technology”. That means a solar installation in Sacramento can be adapted to almost any application from a portable solar panel to large scale utility solar installations. [continue reading…]

California’s Greenfield Union School District near Bakersfield is installing solar panel arrays on rooftops, in parking structures, and across grounds at 10 of its campuses to create a district-spanning solar system that will produce 2.2 MWp (megawatts at peak sunlight).

Talk about a school that clearly is walking the walk while saving money using solar to increase their cash flow. Now they can teach their students about solar technology, innovation, and smart financial planning all in one while saving precious funds demonstrating example. Well done! [continue reading…]

Just in time for spring, Blue Pacific Solar, a Sacramento California-based retailer, has expanded its solar product lines. In support of one of its core business, portable solar power chargers. With new products from a leading USA manufacturer, Blue Pacific Solar is able to better meet the needs of both serious expeditions & campers. [continue reading…]