Archive for the ‘Department of Energy’ Category
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
As Congress begins debate on the Climate Bill, those attending Solar Power International 2009 got an update on solar progress in Washington. The 11:00 am session on issues that affect everyone in the industry was surprisingly under-attended. Perhaps that reflects a dazzling exhibition hall and our perennial frustration with Congress.
John ...
Posted in Cap and Trade, Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Commercial Solar Finance, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Feed-in Tariffs, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Co-authored by David M Adams of Buildings and Energy and Norman Brand, Ph.D., J.D, with support from Marsha Shenk, a pioneer of Business Anthropology
As tens of thousands arrive in Anaheim, California for the Solar International Convention there is lots to talk about: Renewable Portfolio Standards, Feed-in Tariffs, the Stimulus Package, ...
Posted in Cap and Trade, Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Feed-in Tariffs, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | 1 Comment »
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
On Sunday, October 11th, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed new legislation that creates a solar Feed-in Tariff paralleling solar policy in the EU. A Feed-in Tariff (FiT) is a premium price paid for renewable energy, in this case solar power. Under the new law, if you build a solar facility ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Monday, September 21st, 2009
On Thursday, September 17, BrightSource formally announced that they are abandoning efforts to build a solar farm on 5,000 acres of public land in the Mohave desert near Ludlow, California. Though the announcement ended months of contentious - and at times, bitter - conflict between a well funded and well ...
Posted in Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Friday, September 18th, 2009
In a September 15th NY Time op-ed piece, Thomas Friedman makes that case that innovative solar technology is invented in the US, but only finds manufacturing customers overseas, primarily in China and Germany.
Applied Materials, he writes, is a US company that makes the machinery that produces microchips and another silicon ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Green Jobs, Health Insurance Reform, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
All across the West, firefighters are forging through a long hot summer of wildfires. Along with their boots, helmet, Nomex clothing, fire shelter, and canteen they carry a pocket-sized reference of "Ten Standing Orders" and "Ten Situations that Shout Danger."
A red skull and crossed bones smiles at them from ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants | Comments Off
Monday, August 31st, 2009
What's the cost of installing a solar power system - on or adjacent to a commercial building - and how much energy will you save?
As always, location is a key factor. Below are the numbers for a small 2,800 SF office building in Portland, Oregon.
Basic Cost & Payback
In Oregon, a ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Commercial Solar Finance, Department of Energy, Oregon, Portland, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
1. What is the 30% DOE cash grant program?
For a limited time, the US Department of Energy and the US Treasury will pay 30% of the cost of new solar power installations started and/or completed in 2009 or 2010. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [1] signed into ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Solar Cash Grants | Comments Off
Saturday, July 25th, 2009
In about 65 days, the US Treasury will begin to issue cash grants to owners of solar power systems of all sizes. The grant is equal to 30% of the project's cost. This includes households, solar developers, businesses, commercial buildings, and utilities. The grant is scalable. On a $34,000 home ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Green Buildings, Green Jobs, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off