Green Options

Other states could learn from this innovative idea. Distributed solar could be a way that cities with regions of urban blight to re-purpose all those empty big box stores so their roofs could supply neighbors with power, and in the process, bringing about urban renewal and lots of clean energy American jobs.

Solar hot water systems are finally getting the respect they deserve. After a lengthy cost-benefit analysis the CPUC has decided to go ahead with a statewide program to provide financial incentives to encourage the rapid development of the solar hot water industry in California.

Being able to take advantage of solar incentives for could be a huge boon to community groups of all kinds, from churches to schools to gardening clubs and could be a great model to other states where urban dwellers lack rooftops of their own.

In just the first ten days, Wyoming voters used up their share in the funds from The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act designed to end dependence on dirty energy. They voted with their feet against the Senators they sent to vote for dirty energy.

The people who live in Detroit could really use some good news after taking the hardest landing as the Age of Oil clunkered to a close. A massive homesteading retrofit program to bring free energy from sunshine would be just perfect.

In 2007, Michigan’s Governor Granholm had instigated one of the most progressive climate targets of any state in the US, to achieve an EU Kyoto Accord level of greenhouse gas reduction of 20% below 1990 by 2020.

To get there, she set out a combination of renewable energy incentives that make solar roofs in the nearly abandoned city a slam dunk, and which could bring out-of-pocket costs down to as little as $6,000.

In another indication of its popularity; the New York legislature just voted an astounding 192-0 to offer municipal financing for clean energy improvements on homes and businesses through Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE programs, backed by Federal bonds.

Just in time to apply to the Department of Energy by tomorrow’s deadline. New York State will be joining with many other cities and states with a total of $80 million in requests for the popular and cost-effective green job stimulus funding.

You don’t have to get a credit check to buy electricity from a utility. Now you don’t need one to buy solar electricity either. A company in New Jersey is offering a solar PPA to homeowners to buy power off their roof with no credit check.

What with the Vice President promoting the PACE model of super affordable city financing for solar; and the econo-apocalypse-related drop in solar panel prices, you’d think that solar was in the bag by now, but group buying on top of all that will still buy the cheapest solar for your roof.

For example, in the Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs and Coachella area, you could now get all your electricity free for the next 25-40 years for $10,000! That’s about $90,000 lower than you would have paid your utility for 25 years.

One Block off the Grid’s completely unique model of group buying combined with the financing of their partnering banker SunRun (which offers one of the few solar financing options to remain viable in the downturn) has made group purchasing the cheapest way for going solar ever.

The solar company 1BOG selected for this neighborhood; HelioPower is able to install that neighborhood for $5.49 a watt—the lowest rate 1BOG has ever negotiated for their group discount.

We’re all familiar with the vast solar thermal power stations in the desert that use mirrors to make steam to drive turbines. Giant solar thermal arrays are already making electricity in the desert in Spain and California. But what if we could have just one of these units in the backyard, just for our own use?

That’s what motivated a team of MIT students to find the way to make the cheapest solar power station out there. Mass produce it for the home user and market it under their own new start up RawSolar.

Sure, it melts steel. But even more practically for the home owner, it makes steam in a flash:

I am finding a strange thing as I sign up solar neighborhoods with 1 Block off the Grid - which is a great community organizing tool for getting more solar on more roofs more economically - because if everyone interested in solar can go ahead at the same time as their neighbors they can all get a better rate than if they were all approaching different solar installers and installing at different times.

I had expected that the people who haven’t learned much about solar would be the more difficult to reach. Instead, I am finding that some of the people who have gone to the trouble to get an estimate are the worst candidates for solar.

They tell me that a solar salesperson has told them that solar just doesn’t pencil out for them. What!!!?

Now, it’s true that solar saves more for people with higher bills. But solar is cheaper, even if you have the tiniest bill. For example:

Move — to Louisiana:

According to SolarPowerRocks! Louisiana has a state tax credit of 50% for solar roof installations, the most generous state subsidy for solar — Combined with the 30% Federal tax credit for solar that we all get now; (you knew about that, right?) so in Louisiana you can put a solar roof up, paying only 20% of the cost: (30% + 50% = 80% off).

The way this credit is designed it will benefit modest homeowners the most. If you need a $25,000 system, you get the full 50%. If you need a larger system you get less than 50%, because it maxes out at $12,500.

So, if you have ten plasma tvs and a pool pump and run the A/C day and night, you won’t get as much help with running all that…but

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