Tag Archives: california
New California Buildings to have Solar Ready Roofs
June 1 Update: The California Energy Commission voted 4 to 0 in favor of the new Energy Code. —- California’s latest update on its energy efficiency code for new homes and commercial buildings is doing a wonderful thing: It requires them to be “solar-ready!” That puts into place common sense design standards that ensure a building can [...]
Rooftop Solar Ceiling Lifted in California
California raised the ceiling on the amount of rooftop solar that qualifies for net metering – where utilities pay building owners for sending excess energy back to the grid. In a unanimous decision, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) lifted the maximum capacity of rooftop solar systems from the current 2400 megawatts (MW) to 5,200 MW, enough electricity to supply about 2.1 million homes. [...]
California and Arizona: Full Solar Ahead
Arizona and California solidified their reputation as national leaders in solar energy production and installation following several solar arrays recently being constructed in the states. With more people and businesses realizing the benefits of solar energy around the country, solar installations in the Grand Canyon State and the Golden State are going up at a [...]
Improving Lives with Solar
It was a sweltering 110 degrees on the roof, but that didn’t deter the Applied Materials employees who volunteered to install solar panels on two homes in a modest San Jose neighborhood recently. Gallons of water, ample sunscreen, and plenty of breaks under highly-coveted shade trees fortified the volunteers who worked alongside students from local [...]
Irvine School District Proposes 11 Solar Parking Canopies
Large scale application of solar panels can alleviate much of our dependence on the grid. This has been demonstrated in the Irvine Unified School District, where the use of rooftop solar panels at 15 sites saved $220,000. Now plans are in progress to install solar panel parking canopies at 11 different campuses for further cutting [...]
Siemens’s eHighway Coming to California
Germany multinational corporation, Siemens, has been working to make ‘eHighway’ systems a reality. The system combines hybrid trucks with overhead electrical wires that enable the heavy vehicles to run on electricity. The technology has already been tested in Germany to successful results. Now, the corporation is looking towards the United States, Los Angeles and California [...]
In Focus: The LA Solar Incentive and FiT Programs
For those of you who may not know, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has developed a Solar Incentive Program (SIP) to support solar energy in Los Angeles. This Solar Incentive Program can help you with the cost of installing a new solar system. The Solar Feed-in Tariff Program, which allows owners of large-scale on-grid solar systems [...]
Los Angeles: The New EV Hub?
Along with winning the the E-Visionary Award from the World Electric Vehicle Association, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got some other related good news. Colorado-based Boulder Electric Vehicle decided to lease a building there to assemble its electric trucks. At full production, it’s expected to build 1000 vehicles a year and employ 150 people. “Face it, L.A., [...]
California Schools Save $220 Million Going Solar
The Mount Diablo Unified School District in Northern California is about to make a huge commitment to solar energy. The school district and SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ:SPWR) recently celebrated the completion of 40 SunPower solar power systems that will be outfitted on schools and facilities throughout the district. 11 more systems will be completed by the [...]
Sacramento Airport Now LEED-Silver Certified
Sacramento International Airport is now LEED-Silver certified, having finished a $1 billion terminal and 19-gate concourse. The new Terminal B’s green features exceed California energy efficiency standards by 25% – it has a cool roof, expansive glass curtainwalls with solar shading, evaporative cooling for baggage areas, along with what’s become standard for green buildings: high [...]
In Focus: CLEAN L.A Solar
Los Angeles recently revealed an ambitious plan to turn rooftops of local homes, businesses and multi family buildings into one giant solar farm. Put together, all the potential buildings for solar rooftops add up to 12,000 acres of surface space and if all of this is covered with photovoltaic panels that can efficiently tap into [...]
Califonia: Putting On A Cleantech Clinic
A new report confirms what most felt in their guts – that California is a leader in the solar industry. Nonprofit group Next 10 released the fourth annual report on clean energy technology compiled Collaborative Economics. “We’ve been trying to ask the basic question of – can we grow the California economy and reduce greenhouse [...]