Arizona wants to be the “solar-energy hub of the world,” Kristin Mays, chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in the state, said at the Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco this week.

The state last week enacted a law that offers new incentives, including a tax credit of up to 10 percent, for solar companies that set up shop there.

At the Intersolar North America conference in San Francisco this week, some state rivalry became apparent as Arizona leaders argued the state’s advantages compared to California. “We know the Mojave desert’s off limits. Well, the desert in Arizona is open for business,” said Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, to laughter from the audience.

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The prospect of green jobs has proven very attractive to Californian job seekers. According to a survey released this week by the Vote Solar Initiative, a solar advocacy group, more than 5,400 people are participating in solar job training programs this year in the state.

“It is clear that Californians of different economic and educational backgrounds are all looking to solar to provide much-needed career opportunities, and the state’s training institutions have stepped up to meet that rising demand,” said Claudia Eyzaguirre, the author of the report, in a press release.

But it’s not clear whether the state will have enough jobs to support these trainees. Part of that will depend on the kinds of jobs they are training for.

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He’s right… that kind of cost-benefit analysis doesn’t really work. If you’re going to put up tens of thousands of dollars for a wind system (or a solar energy system), you probably want to see a return on that investment in years, rather than in decades. I got so interested in the topic that I wrote a post about things you should consider before putting your money down on a renewable energy system at SUNfiltered. Wind energy systems have their own requirements, so here are a few of the things you’ll want to take into consideration.

Will wind energy work on my property?

As with any renewable resource, some areas are better than others for home wind energy. Some of the questions you’ll need answers for include

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In a slew of announcements this week, a picture of what the future of plug-in vehicle charging might look like is starting to emerge.

The Problem:

There are 54 million garages for the 247 million registered cars in the US, meaning that the majority of cars are parked overnight in parking structures, parking lots or curbside.

As a result, most potential plug-in vehicle consumers do not have an adequate place to charge their vehicles. This problem is even more pronounced in urban areas like San Francisco, where only about 16% of cars are parked in garages overnight and the rest end up curbside or in parking lots.

Also, although the US power grid probably has enough overall capacity to supply energy to a nation of plug-in vehicles, it may not have the ability to charge them when they all plug-in and demand energy at the same time — say 6 pm every weekday.

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Venture capital investments in clean technology reached an impressive $5.18 billion last year in North America and Europe. North American-based companies received three times the investments of the European-based companies. Not surprisingly, energy generation was responsible for $2.75 billion in investments, with solar energy shining.

“In 2007, solar emerged as a significant investment theme, and it was notable to us that of the top five solar deals of the year, three of the largest were solar investments in China and India,” said Cleantech Group Managing Director of Global Marketing Kristina Messdaghi.

Emerging solar technologies appear to be very promising, potentially dropping the cost of solar energy considerably. Nanosolar coating for example may lower the cost of solar energy to $1 a watt and does not require silicon. Over the last few years, this technology has received significant investment from venture capitalists.

Solar manufacturing capacity has been increasing considerably. Sharp Solar announced early last year that they will double production in Europe from 110 to 240 MW annually. Sharp increased production in Japan in 2006 to a staggering 600 MW. The Nanosolar plant in San Jose, California plans to produce 250 MW in 2008 and 430 NW in 2009.

Policy has helped fuel this increase in demand for solar energy. 20 countries in Europe now have electricity buy-back guarantee programs. 40 states in the U.S. have net-metering programs, with New Jersey, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Maryland having highly regarded programs. Net-metering requires the utility companies to purchase surplus electricity generated from small-scale wind and solar systems, thus giving an incentive to system owners. Such programs also reduce the cost of residential solar and wind systems because they eliminate the need for batteries, while boosting the efficiency of the solar system.

Cleantech has certainly gained recognition by many venture capitalists and is seen by many as a lucrative opportunity. Many investment opportunities are also springing up for more casual investors with renewable energy mutual funds and exchange traded funds.

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