The installation job allowed family-owned Advanced Solar to employ four people for several months and lets them keep two extra employees permanently on the payroll, said company co-owner Jacob Fields

“Times have been really tough for us, so this job really helps us,” Fields said, noting recent recession and real estate slump forced the small business to pare its staff from 82 in 2006 to roughly 50 today.

Advocates of renewable energy see great potential for solar power in sunny Florida, but cite a slate of reasons why commercial buildings have been slow to embrace sunshine for heating water.

Many people lack awareness of new technologies available and “may think it’s too expensive,” said Advanced Solar co-owner Daniel Goldberg.

Solar heating systems tend to pay for themselves over time because of savings on electricity, but some building owners may hesitate to make the up-front investment in today’s uncertain economy, he said.

via Federal Reserve building in Miami installs solar water heating system, showing potential for “green” jobs.

PACE funding allows a homeowner to increase their property tax as a way to finance solar energy and other energy efficiency programs.

“California needs your help immediately. The Federal Housing Finance Agency FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struck a body blow this month to California’s landmark efforts to lead the nation in weatherizing homes and placing solar panels on buildings, bringing to a halt more than $450 million in retrofit projects.” PUC President Michael Peevey and Commissioner Dian Grueneich wrote in a letter Tuesday.”Absent immediate federal action, California’s launch of the largest retrofit program in the country cannot happen,” they said.They said that California has allocated $50 million in federal stimulus funding for PACE programs to be implemented by more than 200 cities and counties. That, they said, would translate into more than $400 million in spending.

via State sues agencies over blockage of solar program – SignOnSanDiego.com.

via Evergreen Solar Announces Selected Preliminary First Quarter Results Apr 19, 2010.

via Evergreen Solar Struggles to Survive — Seeking Alpha.

Another way to think about this is the marginal cost of upgrading to solar: If it’s time to replace your old water heater anyway, then you’re looking at $500-$1000 to replace with a standard water heater. If you qualify for rebates the additional cost of going solar can be as little as $1000-$1500 more than you would have had to spend on a regular tank.Solar water heating as an investment: Your total investment after incentives will be around $2000. Most people will save at least $400 to $600 per year. That’s an annual 25%-35% return on investment, tax free, no capital gains tax. To beat that in the stock market you’d have to receive at least a 50% return annually, before taxes.If you bought Google stock the day it was first offered in 2004 you would have seen a tremendous return of 39% annually. But if you sold the stock you’d be taxed possibly 25% in capital gains. Using this comparison, a solar water heater is mathematically a stronger investment than Google stock!

via Solar water heaters in Austin, how much do they cost?.

By: Bharat Book Bureau

Report on US Solar Photovoltaic Market Analysis and Forecasts to 2013 Report ( http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Report-on-US-Solar-Photovoltaic-Market-Analysis-and-Forecasts-to-2013.html )  analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the leading Solar Photovoltaic companies in the US.

The US is the dominant Solar PV market in the world with the remarkable growth observed during the period 2001-08. The market has grown from 168 MW in 2001 to around 1,111 MW by the end of 2008. The unprecedented growth witnessed by this market is credited to the supportive policy framework of the federal and state governments for the Solar PV technology in collaboration with high-end solar investments by major companies like First Solar, Inc., Solar World AG. The other major reason for the growth can be credited to the state of California which has accounted for 70% of the PV installations in the country. Solar PV market in California has grown rapidly due to the strong policies favoring solar energy initiated by the state government. California has taken up specific campaigns like “Go Solar” encouraging solar power in the state thereby making it the leading solar power generator in the US.
 

The ongoing financial crisis will not make significant impact on the growth of solar PV industry in the US. The supportive economic incentive programs at federal and state level for solar PV and the extension of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) program will boost the future development of the US solar PV and drive further investments into the sector. The extension of ITC means that the states in the US can now ramp up efforts like solar loan programs and renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in a big way. This would spark the US solar industry’s move towards more efficient panels and lower costs. In this backdrop, the annual solar PV installations in the country are expected to increase from 280 MW in 2008 to 1515 MW by 2013. The cumulative solar PV installed capacity is expected to reach 5,293 MW by 2013. However, the credit crunch in the US is likely to affect the small players in the solar market who will be finding it difficult to compete given the credit crunch. As a result, the small scale solar companies are expected to be swallowed by the big giants thus leading to consolidation of the US solar industry.
 

Policies Boosting Grid-Connectivity

The Grid-connected solar PV escalated from 31% of cumulative solar PV installations in 2001 to 61% by 2008. The key to the increase in share of on-grid capacity is mainly due to the incentives provided by the federal and state governments like the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), Feed-in tariff, California Solar Initiative etc. The Cumulative on-grid solar PV accounted for 677 MW in 2008 of which the state of California alone accounts for 468 MW. The other major states with the high cumulative installed capacity are New Jersey (63MW), Nevada (27 MW), Arizona (27 MW), New York (21 MW) and Colorado (21 MW). The states of Michigan announced an ambitious plan popularly known as “45-by-20″ target. As part of this plan the state pledged to have 45% of the electricity to be generated by renewable energy by 2020. Washington State introduced a new feed-in tariff program for the development of renewable energy.
 

The Growth in the US Solar PV Cell Market

The Solar PV cell production in the US has seen a steady increase in volume over the last five years. The US PV cell production has grown from 100 MW in 2001 to reach over 300 MW by 2008 at a CAGR of 15%. The cell production companies in the US are focusing on the next wave of solar PV technologies. Currently, the US accounts for approximately two thirds of global thin-film production. First Solar, Inc. is the leader in terms of solar cell production with the US market share of 40% with a cell production capacity of 140 MW in 2008 followed by United Solar Ovonic, LLC (17%) with 60 MW capacity and Solar World (10%) with 35 MW capacity. Other companies like BP Solar (the US), Evergreen Solar and Schott Solar GmbH have also made their presence felt in the US solar cell market.
 

The growth in cumulative installed capacity of solar PV with supportive economic incentive programs at federal and state level. This along with increase of activity in cell production signals strong growth prospects of the solar industry in the US.
 

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Bharat Book Bureau facilitates companies to take the lead of their industry with best practice business strategies and intelligence, through a unique combination of published reports, databases, country reports, company profiles and customized research services. Bharat Book Bureau provides strategic information tools to the executives, business analysts, and knowledge managers that will help them to probe into and support critical, timely business decisions and strategies.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Solar Photovoltaic industry trends in the US

via Renewable Funding, Leading Financier of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Programs, Acquires Information Technology Company ProjectDX.

Take a minute and vote for Jake L at www.americasgreenestschool.com

Fast tracking a national Renewable Energy Standard, beginning with 10% by 2012.

Developing new infrastructure for electricity transmission

Enabling transmission to distant renewable energy resources.

Funding technology to develop wind energy in “wind-rich” coastal areas.

Streamlining the permitting process for wind energy projects.

Extending an economic stimulus grant program for wind projects

Providing a long-term extension of the wind energy production tax credit.

via 29 Governors Bring Great Expectations for Wind Blueprint to Congress : CleanTechnica.

Students can enter by visiting www.AmericasGreenestSchool.com. On the site, they can learn more about making their school more environmentally friendly and submit a 500-word essay that describes what makes their school “green.” Activities such as setting up in-school recycling programs, keeping lights turned off when not in use, using environmentally smart landscaping and encouraging students to ride school buses instead of driving to school are all ideal solutions for creating a greener school.

Of course, not all schools are green already. Students can edge their school toward contention for the “greenest school” title in later contests and help the planet right now. Terra Wellington, author of the forthcoming book “The Mom's Guide To Growing Your Family Green,” offers these 5 easy tips to get your school started going green:

* Ride the bus: Riding the school bus is a great way to reduce your school’s carbon footprint. The American School Bus Council estimates that each diesel school bus takes 36 cars off the road, which significantly reduces fuel use, emissions and traffic congestion. In fact, 3.1 billion gallons of fuel are saved annually by students who ride school buses instead of riding in cars.

* Use both sides of the paper: Ask your teacher if you can print reports and other homework assignments “double-sided” to save paper. By printing double sided, your paper consumption is halved, significantly reducing waste.

* Become a light monitor: Ask your teacher to use the classroom’s natural light whenever possible. When the classroom is empty, make sure lights are turned off and computers are in standby mode. A standby setting can reduce power over 90 percent, helping to conserve energy.

* Pack a litterless lunch: Don’t use any disposable containers to pack your lunch from brown bags to plastic baggies. Instead, use containers that can be washed and reused. In a litterless lunch, the only items left over should go to compost, like a banana peel.

* Recycle: Ask your teacher or principal about setting up a recycling bin for paper, plastic bottles and cans. If your school already has a program, encourage others to participate.

via Greenest School Contest And 5 Tips For Students.