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Showing posts with label solar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solar. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Solar forest serves as parking lot cover
I have seen parking lots with solar coverings, but I haven't seen a concept as aesthetically pleasing as this.
I love the way the panels rotate to follow the sun, and you can plug your electric car into them.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Solar farming - an avenue to renew the Homestead Act?
A French farmer is taking a huge gamble, adding $26 million in solar-power generating infrastructure to his farm, which prior to this counted eggs and grains as the main income generators.
The farmer is building five giant sheds covered by 36,000 square meters of solar panels. These should generate up to 4.5 megawatts of electricity, or about enough to power 4,000 homes, according to this Reuters article. The farmer expects to generate about $2.5 million in electricity sales per year.
This is made possible by legislation creating 20-year contracts with favorable incentives to sell electricity to the grid. France aims to have a third of its electricity come from renewables by 2020.
On the farmer's part, he is taking a huge risk, as that's quite an investment.
As the United States moves toward more renewable energy, I'm reminded of the legacy of the Homestead Act, which gave able-bodied Americans 160 acres of government-owned land and a mule as long as they developed the property.
Now, the U.S. government long ago gave away all the decent farmland, and the Homestead Act was finally put to rest with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
But I think of the huge swaths of land in the West that are basically desert, good for nothing - except solar. If the government were to organize one section of this land, and offer the land for free, along with federal loans to develop solar power, there might be a good reason to renew the Homestead Act.
These plots could be situated so they all conveniently fed into a single electrical grid.
If the project worked, this same model could be applied in other sunny areas, and in areas where wind power could be generated.
The farmer is building five giant sheds covered by 36,000 square meters of solar panels. These should generate up to 4.5 megawatts of electricity, or about enough to power 4,000 homes, according to this Reuters article. The farmer expects to generate about $2.5 million in electricity sales per year.
This is made possible by legislation creating 20-year contracts with favorable incentives to sell electricity to the grid. France aims to have a third of its electricity come from renewables by 2020.
On the farmer's part, he is taking a huge risk, as that's quite an investment.
As the United States moves toward more renewable energy, I'm reminded of the legacy of the Homestead Act, which gave able-bodied Americans 160 acres of government-owned land and a mule as long as they developed the property.
Now, the U.S. government long ago gave away all the decent farmland, and the Homestead Act was finally put to rest with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
But I think of the huge swaths of land in the West that are basically desert, good for nothing - except solar. If the government were to organize one section of this land, and offer the land for free, along with federal loans to develop solar power, there might be a good reason to renew the Homestead Act.
These plots could be situated so they all conveniently fed into a single electrical grid.
If the project worked, this same model could be applied in other sunny areas, and in areas where wind power could be generated.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
From behind bars to the rooftop
California has an innovative program to train ex-convicts to install solar panels, which is a booming market in the state.
Some solar-installation companies say these new employees are among their most productive and trustworthy, according to this WSJ article.
It would be great if more states had programs like this. And prison inmates should be put to work fabricating rooftop wind turbines, in addition to license plates. The turbines could be installed on government buildings, saving taxpayer money.
Some solar-installation companies say these new employees are among their most productive and trustworthy, according to this WSJ article.
It would be great if more states had programs like this. And prison inmates should be put to work fabricating rooftop wind turbines, in addition to license plates. The turbines could be installed on government buildings, saving taxpayer money.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tax credits for solar really do create economic growth
Because of federal and state incentives, the booming solar industry in California is adding exponentially more to the economy, according to this story.
Two years into the California Solar Initiative, the taxpayers’ investment of $775 million in solar rebates has yielded $5 billion in private investment in solar projects and rapidly expanded the state’s renewable energy industry, according to the report. That’s helped create strong solar companies like solar cell maker SunPower (SPWRA) and markets for thin-film solar companies such as First Solar (FSLR). The decade-long program is on track to achieve its target of 3,000 megawatts of rooftop solar and in the first two years of the program more solar has been installed in California than in the previous 25 years.
Check out the report from the California Public Utilities Commission. According to a CPUC press release, "On average, for every $1 in incentive committed by the California Solar Initiative, an additional $6 in private funds is invested in solar technology in California."
More states need to introduce aggressive tax credits for solar, wind and other alternative energy production. And if the federal government went even higher than the 30% tax credit, we'd see huge investment by business.
As I've written before, the key to reducing our trade imbalance is curbing our energy imports. And if we curb our energy imports by creating a domestic economy based on green energy production, we will create an export boom.
Remember the huge boom to our economy from the Silicon Valley days? We can do it again, but this time the effects would truly be sustainable.
Two years into the California Solar Initiative, the taxpayers’ investment of $775 million in solar rebates has yielded $5 billion in private investment in solar projects and rapidly expanded the state’s renewable energy industry, according to the report. That’s helped create strong solar companies like solar cell maker SunPower (SPWRA) and markets for thin-film solar companies such as First Solar (FSLR). The decade-long program is on track to achieve its target of 3,000 megawatts of rooftop solar and in the first two years of the program more solar has been installed in California than in the previous 25 years.
Check out the report from the California Public Utilities Commission. According to a CPUC press release, "On average, for every $1 in incentive committed by the California Solar Initiative, an additional $6 in private funds is invested in solar technology in California."
More states need to introduce aggressive tax credits for solar, wind and other alternative energy production. And if the federal government went even higher than the 30% tax credit, we'd see huge investment by business.
As I've written before, the key to reducing our trade imbalance is curbing our energy imports. And if we curb our energy imports by creating a domestic economy based on green energy production, we will create an export boom.
Remember the huge boom to our economy from the Silicon Valley days? We can do it again, but this time the effects would truly be sustainable.
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