Not enough Roof Space for your Solar Energy needs?

KINETIC solar racking and mounting has some great ideas when you don't have enough roof space to generate all of the solar power that you need.

http://kineticsolar.com/wall-mounted/

SolarCity Gigafactory To Spark Manufacturing Revival In Buffalo

To help jump start new industry in the area, the State of New York is investing $485 million into a Gigafactory in Buffalo that will manufacture up to 10,000 solar panels a day. In total, the state will invest as much as $750,000,000 to construct and equip the enormous factory.

http://solarlove.org/solarcity-gigafactory-manufacturing-revival-buffalo/

California Utility to Close State's Last Nuclear Plant, Replace it With Solar and Wind

Pacific Gas & Electric, which owns the Diablo Canyon facility, will allow the operating licenses for the site's two 1,100 megawatt reactors to lapse in 2024 and 2025, rather than seek a costly 20-year extension from regulators.  The utility plans to replace the facility with 100 percent renewable energy: not only wind and solar projects but batteries to store the electricity generated by the solar panels and wind turbines, energy efficiency incentives for customers, and a demand response program that compensates customers to cut back on their consumption during peak hours.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-06-21/california-utility-to-close-states-last-nuclear-plant-replace-it-with-solar-and-wind

Coal to solar: Retraining the energy workforce

As more coal-fired power plants are retired, industry workers are left without many options.  "Many of these coal miners have transferable skill sets already," says Christopher Turek, the director of Solar Energy International. "These range from mechanical and electrical expertise, all the way to their confidence in working in a highly technical field with a strong focus on safety."  "Fortunately, the solar energy industry sector is growing at an incredible rate--and they are hiring."

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Coal_to_solar_Retraining_the_energy_workforce_999.html

Dubai Announces Plans For World's Lowest Cost Solar Plant

Dubai announced June 27 that it would build a massive 800-megawatt solar plant that will produce electricity at an average cost of 2.99 cents a kilowatt hour.  This rock-bottom price offered by the developers doesn’t benefit from any obvious subsidies and is the lowest price offered by any solar plant in the world. PV panels convert sunlight directly into electricity. This project suggest that there is a lot of potential in the tried-and-true PV panel model.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mclifford/2016/06/29/cheaper-than-coal-dubai-to-build-worlds-lowest-cost-solar-plant/#573863bc2a34

Google can tell you if solar roof panels will pay off

Google has got a good look at your roof, and can tell you if it is worth the investment to install solar energy panels. The new tool "uses high-resolution aerial mapping (the same used by Google Earth) to help you calculate your roof's solar energy potential, without having to climb up any ladders," Google engineer Carl Elkin said in a blog post.

http://phys.org/news/2015-08-google-solar-roof-panels.html

Keeping The Grid From Overloading

Occasionally, California's grid has reached its maximum carrying potential, usually the result of multiple coincidences. The majority of wind power in California is generated at night, but at times continues blowing in the morning. At the same time, the sun starts powering solar panels. With demand normally light right around dawn, the grid can surge with excess electricity. Those kinds of a surges can fry equipment and cause service to be interrupted.

The grid, theoretically, could instruct the home system to charge the battery. Afterwards, when power is needed, the grid can call on the battery to deliver it.  The solution to wild electrical fluctuations in the grid seems to be a combination of ideas. Solar, batteries ,and software will solve a many of these problems.

http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/grid-overloading.html

Molten Salt Battery and other Information on Renewable Energy

When it comes to green energy, the intermittent nature of renewable sources like wind, solar, and tidal power presents a difficult problem for the electrical grid management. Peak energy production often doesn’t correlate well with peak energy demand, necessitating a means of storing excess energy when consumption is low.

Money spent on investment into grid scale energy storage will carry more weight than money spent in better renewable energy technologies.

(When on the site below, click on the sidebar menu for links to other Renewable Energy Topics).

http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/molten-salt-battery.html

PDF - SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC INSTALLATION GUIDELINE

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection - Office of the State Fire Marshal (CAL FIRE-OSFM), local Fire Departments (FD), and the solar photovoltaic industry have developed this guideline for installations to increase public safety for all structures equipped with solar photovoltaic systems

https://www.gov.ca.gov/docs/ec/CalFIRE_Solar_PV_guideline.pdf

PV Safety and Firefighting

Fire safety is typically the last thing people think of when planning their rooftop solar-electric system, but it quickly becomes a hot topic when a blaze ignites. Here’s a look into the potential hazards of PV systems when a fire breaks out—and how to minimize risks to firefighters.

http://www.homepower.com/articles/solar-electricity/equipment-products/pv-safety-and-firefighting

Home Solar Panels: Pros, Cons, and Hidden Costs

Solar energy has hit the mainstream. Once limited to consumers with deep pockets and strong environmentalist values, solar panels are less expensive than ever and are saving customers huge amounts of money per year.  As a result, solar has a fast-growing appeal among middle-class Americans.

But if you’re considering making the solar switch, how will you pay for the equipment? Who installs the panels, and under what terms?

https://www.expertise.com/green/home-solar-panels-pros-cons-and-hidden-costs

The Great Solar Panel Debate: To Lease Or To Buy?

More than 600,000 homes in the U.S. have solar panels today — up dramatically from just a few years ago, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Leasing programs that require little or no money up-front have played a key role in that growth.

But here's a question for homeowners: Is it better to lease or buy?

In Maplewood, in northern New Jersey, two next-door neighbors with similar houses arrived at different answers. Elizabeth Ebinger bought her panels — while Tim Roebuck signed a 20-year lease.

http://www.npr.org/2015/02/10/384958332/the-great-solar-panel-debate-to-lease-or-to-buy

The Real Cost of Leasing vs. Buying Solar Panels

Buying solar panels requires an investment and more decision-making than leasing, but over the long term the benefits of owning your system are hard to beat.  Buying your solar electric system outright is best. It usually costs $15,000 to $20,000 after tax credits and can reduce your electricity bill by 70 to 100 percent, depending on the size and orientation of your roof and local regulations. 

Most systems pay for themselves in five to seven years.

http://www.consumerreports.org/energy-saving/real-cost-of-leasing-vs-buying-solar-panels/

Report: U.S. solar market on track for record-breaking year

“While it took us 40 years to hit 1 million U.S. solar installations, we’re expected to hit 2 million within the next two years,” Tom Kimbis, SEIA’s interim president, said in the news release. “The solar industry is growing at warp speed, driven by the fact that solar is one of the lowest cost options for electricity and it’s being embraced by people who both care about the environment and want access to affordable and reliable electricity.”

http://www.cleanenergyauthority.com/solar-energy-news/