Colorado gives green light to add a lot more solar power

Colorado regulators on Wednesday unanimously approved a sweeping settlement agreement that will change how customers of Xcel Energy Inc. in the state get and pay for their electricity.

The agreement, between Xcel (NYSE: XEL) and 24 of 26 parties in three cases before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, involves adding a massive amount (392 megawatts) of new solar power supplies in Colorado, and testing whether customers will cut their electricity use if prices vary by the time of day or the amount of power consumed.

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2016/11/09/colorado-gives-green-light-to-xcel-s-plan-to-add-a.html

Careers in Solar Power

Clean energy such as solar power is expected to be a key piece of the growing "green economy," and jobs in solar power show great potential for new employment opportunities. Jobs are expected to grow in all the major sectors of the solar power industry: manufacturing, project development, construction, operation and maintenance, and installation.

http://www.bls.gov/green/solar_power/

5 Robots that are Revolutionizing How We Clean Solar Panels

The world’s solar panels need cleaning to maintain efficiency, and it’s not always the most practical thing for humans to be walking about with a bucket and sponge. Take desert solar farms, for instance. Operators need a way to clean the endless rows of solar panels, and it turns out robots are perfectly suited for the job.  

There are tons of startups out there working to build the latest and greatest in solar panel robot cleaners, but we’ve picked out five favorites below.

https://www.revolvesolar.com/5-robots-that-are-revolutionizing-how-we-clean-solar-panels/

Planning a Home Solar Electric System

To help evaluate whether a home solar electric system will work for you, you should consider the following:
Your available solar resource -- do you have clear and unobstructed access to sunlight for most or all of the day, throughout the year?
The system size -- do you have a roof or area large enough to accommodate it?
The economics -- is it worth the investment?
Local permits and covenants -- are there any issues with installing a system?

http://energy.gov/energysaver/planning-home-solar-electric-system

Google Earth images shed light on where solar rooftops make sense

NEW YORK, Oct 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - During his free time on the job as a Google employee, Carl Elkin began tinkering with the company's 3D mapping program, wondering if it could identify rooftops that receive enough sunlight to make installing solar panels worthwhile.

Soon after, a team followed Elkin's lead and designed Project Sunroof. The project website uses Google Earth's high-resolution aerial images to calculate any roof's solar energy potential.

Thousands of lines of computer code analyze factors such as the shade trees cast on a roof, its orientation and local weather patterns, he said.   Project Sunroof then connects users whose roof is suitable for solar panels with companies that install them.

http://news.trust.org/item/20161026225646-fawfb/?source=gep&google_editors_picks=true

Are We Nearing the End of Cheap Fossil Fuel Energy?

A 1987 book revealed the following quote attributed to Thomas Edison, circa 1931:
“We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using Nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy — sun, wind, and tide. … I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait till oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left!”

85 years after Edison’s famous quote, we are now at a tipping point where “nature’s inexhaustible resources” are finally a competitive source of electric power. Fortunately, we didn’t wait until we ran out of fossil fuels, or had to chop down our fences, before we finally put our money where it belongs.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/10/are-we-nearing-the-end-of-cheap-fossil-fuel-energy.html

Utility-scale solar power is now cheaper than new coal and nuclear power plants.

The lowest wholesale solar price bid from a solar project developer (unsubsidized) is 2.42¢/kWh. That’s cheaper than what new natural gas, coal, or nuclear power can provide practically anywhere in the world.

Even excluding that record-low bid, and not taking into account the large social costs of coal and natural gas electricity, utility-scale solar power is cheaper than new coal, nuclear, natural gas peaking, and IGCC power plants. It is comparable to combined cycle natural gas power plants, but again, that is without taking into account the social costs of pollution from extracting and burning natural gas.

http://cleantechnica.com/2016/08/17/10-solar-energy-facts-charts-everyone-know/