Tag Archives: u.s
PV Rebates Ending Soon in California
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which coordinates California’s solar incentives programs through the California Solar Initiative, said earlier this week that residential solar incentives in an increasing number of utility service areas are reaching fulfillment. And the solar industry and its supporters, like the Vote Solar Initiative say that’s a good thing. But another [...]
Secretary Chu Discusses The State of U.S Solar
Last Friday (Feb. 22) outgoing Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu hosted a Google+ Hangout along with a host of solar experts and discussed the progress that solar has made in the past few years. Particularly regarding the progress that the U.S. has made on reducing the costs of solar power and the trajectory the [...]
Net Metering: Why California Solar Needs It
For so many Californians who have chosen to install a solar electric system, the phrase Net Metering is simply a way of describing the way power from roof-top solar panels will reduce their own electric consumption and spin the meter backwards. But Net Metering also allows owners of solar systems to receive credit for clean [...]
PREDICTION: U.S Will Produce More Wind Power Than China Before 2020
Looking into my green crystal ball, here’s my bold prediction about the US-China wind energy race. Around this time last year, I blogged about some misconceptions on U.S. and China’s installed wind capacity and wind energy generation, highlighting that the U.S. was producing 64% more wind energy than China in 2011 with the same amount of turbines. I explained [...]
U.S States Solar Initiatives and Capacities
This article was contributed by Solar Contact The U.S. solar industry broke records in 2012, and it is expected that 2013 will be another record year for installed solar capacity. Last year the U.S. solar industry installed approximately 3.2 GW of capacity. Even as powerhouse solar markets like California slow down, other [...]
U.S Solar Permitting Costs: Bringing Them Down
It used to be — way back in history, like 2008 — that the biggest barrier to growing solar markets was the cost of the modules. Since then, module costs have come down around 80% — to the point that hardware costs are no longer the largest part of the overall cost of a solar [...]
WTF? Residential Solar So Much Cheaper in Germany
In a follow-up to a 2012 study conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL), researchers found that the average number of man-hours to install a PV system on a residence in Germany is 39. That’s a significant difference from the 7.5 man-hours LBL’s researchers found when they surveyed German PV installers in Sep. 2012, [...]
In Focus: President Obama’s Next-Generation Energy System Plan
Tuesday’s State of the Union (SOTU) speech included much that was music to environmentalists’ ears. The headline, of course, is the commitment to take serious action to address the most significant challenge our generation faces – climate change. And, with it, the extreme weather and public health burdens that are already making life harder for [...]
In Focus: What LEED Thinks They Do
While the USGBC believes that LEED is helping save the world from environmental degradation and climate change, others may have a different view. Many project managers, even if they are interested in sustainable design and resource efficient practices, shutter at the amount of additional paperwork that is required for actually achieving a LEED Certification. The [...]
In Focus: Obama’s SOTU Climate Change Remarks
Those who haven’t seen my writing elsewhere may be surprised to learn that I’m a self-described proud, Liberal progressive Democrat who enthusiastically supports President Obama. Last night’s speech had a lot in it that I liked–and I’m well aware that many of my readers will disagree. But like I say, it takes all kinds… He [...]
U.S Voters Support Carbon Tax
The last-minute fiscal cliff deal offered short-term salvation for important clean energy tax incentives, but critical programs across-the-board still face “sequestered” cuts starting in March if US lawmakers can’t agree on where to trim the budget. The Department of Energy alone faces an 8.2% cut if sequestration takes effect. A new survey suggests that rather than just slashing [...]
Doubling U.S. Energy Productivity By 2030
The Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy released a report today with recommendations that would put the U.S. on a path towards doubling its energy productivity by 2030. The Commission, which is chaired by U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and National Grid U.S. President Tom King, is a diverse coalition of energy leaders that [...]