At a special meeting two days ago, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education approved plans for solar installations at nine schools throughout the district. The projects will be financed through an agreement with REgeneration Finance LLC. The Santa Monica Mirror reports that “The offer will save the district almost $1.1 million in energy costs and avoid the production of 23,822 tons of greenhouse gases over the next 25 years”. The luck schools are:

• Grant Elementary School
• Franklin Elementary School
• McKinley Elementary School
• John Muir Elementary School
• Will Rogers Elementary School
• Roosevelt Elementary School
• Juan Cabrillo Elementary School
• Pt. Dume Marine Science School
• Webster Elementary School

Since the special meeting was an opportunity for community members to voice any concerns or point out roadblocks to the plan, we can assume that Santa Monica-Malibu families are only too happy to see solar energy start offsetting the energy usage at their local schools.

California solar installations grew to a total capacity of 1,102 megawatts last year, but projects for non-profits and government buildings continue to be the trickiest to finance. Since the bulk of available solar incentives are tax-related, these entities are at a disadvantage financially; but this is where developers and financiers like REgeneration come in, often owning the solar installations and simply selling the clean electricity they produce back to the nonprofit at locked-in rates. The nonprofit benefits from lower, predictable energy costs and the use of clean energy, while the owning entity gets a great financial investment–and solar becomes, as usual, a win-win situation.

If you haven’t been following the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon since its first run in 2002, you’ve been missing out. The Solar Decathlon invites teams of college students from around the world to submit ideas for a net-zero energy house of approximately 800 square feet. 20 of these teams are then selected to fully plan, design, and build their homes.

For the event itself, the competing teams bring their houses–literally, the whole house–to the Mall in Washington, D.C. where they are open to the public for several days as well as to judges. Each team’s home is judged in ten different arenas, among them Architecture, Comfort, Affordability, Market Appeal, and Energy Balance. The team with the highest points in any one category wins in that discipline, while the team with the highest overall points wins the Decathlon.

Each Solar Decathlon is a two-year event, broken up into planning (first year) and execution (second year). The 2007 and 2009 events were both won by teams from Germany. Germany, however, was not among the schools selected to compete in next year’s event, though the 2011 Decathlon will pit teams from five countries and four continents against one another. So who will win this time? The contestants are:

DOMESTIC

INTERNATIONAL

• New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington
Team Canada: University of Calgary
Team China: Tongji University
Team Belgium: Ghent University

You can learn more about the competing teams and about the event on the Solar Decathlon’s official website. Here are just a few of the concept models for the competition, to whet your appetite…

Team Massachusetts

Team New Zealand

Southern California/Caltech

Team Canada

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) released a report earlier today on solar market behavior in 2009. “US Solar Industry: Year in Review 2009″ (PDF) reveals some sobering truths about the effect the recession had on the growth of solar energy in the United States–but also showed that the residential solar sector doubled in size.

Home solar installations comprised in large part the 37 percent growth in total installations over 2008. Solar hot water heating didn’t do quite so well, but still managed a respectable 10 percent growth over 2008. However, solar pool heating–often considered a luxury item and not eligible for many of the same incentives as other solar energy systems–fell by 10 percent.

And during the year of high unemployment rates and financial hardship for many Americans, the SEIA report says that the solar industry was doing its part by providing clean energy jobs: “In total, the solar industry and its supply chain now support roughly 46,000 jobs in the U.S. With growth expected to continue, that number is likely to surpass 60,000 by the end of 2010.”

Federal tax incentives and state regulations were credited with driving growth across all sectors. American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funds have found their way into many state budgets to support clean energy programs, so the two are heavily intertwined. California solar continued to lead the way with the most new installations (220 megawatts) and the highest overall solar capacity (1,102 mW), while New Jersey was a firm runner up (57 mW and 128 mW, respectively).

Effects of the economic downturn were most clearly seen in total grid-tied solar electric growth, which at 38 percent “fell short of the 84 percent growth in 2008.” Yet cost continued to fall dramatically–although home solar installations are more labor-intensive than large commercial systems and therefore more expensive, and industry growth relied heavily on the residential sector in 2009, installation costs still fell by about 10 percent overall. This is because solar module prices have been decreasing sharply due to technology advances and cheaper materials; because solar panels account for such a hefty percentage of total cost, any significant change in their market value will be reflected in the end cost to the consumer.

The SEIA report predicts that 2010 will be a banner year for solar growth in the U.S. The industry group is pushing hard for the federal government to extend its current alternative to the 30 percent tax credit for commercial solar installations–with tax equity at a nearly all-time low, the traditional investment tax credit is of little or no use for most businesses. To address this, it’s currently possible to receive an equivalent amount as a grant. If this alternative expires as planned at the end of the year, it could put a damper on larger-scale solar moving forward.

All things considered, the solar industry performed remarkably well across all sectors last year. Home solar certainly took the cake, indicating that solar’s unique ability to fill the small-scale distributed generation energy market is becoming more widely recognized and accepted. As more states begin to offer their own solar rebates and as the cost of solar technology continues to fall, we should have many more years of solid growth. A robust solar market can and will play into the health of the American economy in the future. The positive trends even in a year of severe recession demonstrate that this is one industry doing things right.

Last year, San Diego was named California’s top solar city by advocacy group Environment America, but Los Angeles has been making headlines left and right with some of the most daring solar plans in the country. So which city really deserves the title “Hottest California Solar Market”?

The July 2009 report (PDF) gave San Diego top marks for number of solar rooftops as well as total solar capacity, while the City of Angels came in a close second on rooftop solar installations–but only fourth on total capacity. But long-term commitment to solar means a lot, so let’s take a look at each city in turn.

SAN DIEGO

With nearly 19,500 installed kilowatts of solar power at the time of last year’s report, San Diego has earned the right to be laid back about developments like the new 945 kW solar plant at a city water treatment facility. In fact if you’re curious about where to find solar installations throughout the city, check out the San Diego solar map highlighting individual projects.

San Diego also got props in the July report for low solar permitting fees–and the city no longer deserves such praise. At the beginning of this year, city officials hiked solar permit fees from less than $100 to nearly $600, a move that drew a lot of flak from the industry for throwing up a possible roadblock to small scale solar growth.

What about incentives? Residential solar installations in SDG&E territory are now receiving the newly stepped-down CSI rebate of $0.65/watt, which accounts for around 13 percent of solar costs. (Ah, acronyms; refer here for background.)  Now, if you’re an SCE customer, that utility is still a couple steps behind on the CSI and is still offering a much sweeter $1.90/watt for home solar projects.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders doesn’t think the city’s love affair with solar is over, though; in a statement about the new 945 kW system mentioned above, he said: ““San Diego has made major strides in our energy-management efforts over the past decade…We’ll continue to look for ways to manage the energy we use and to generate power with solar and other renewable sources.”

LOS ANGELES

Energetic, solar-passionate Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been doing all he can to make the case for solar in his city. His goals were in fact deemed too lofty by city officials, and his ambitious plan to get 380 mW of solar energy installed in the city by 2020 has been snagged by economic concerns. In order to provide either the rebates or the feed in tariff necessary to reach such this goal, municipal utility LADWP says it needs to hike its electric rates more than 5 percent, a move city officials have blocked with an eye to residents’ wallets in this recession.

So: love the plan, L.A., but execution is still a bit iffy. However, the city may win out over San Diego in terms of real, voiced commitment to solar. And while LADWP may be contemplating changes to policy moving forward, right now its solar rebate is perhaps the most generous in the state.  Check out our California Solar Series for more info–Part 1 details the LADWP and SCE rebates, while Part II addresses the smaller municipal utilities of Burbank, Glendale,Vernon, Azusa, and Pasadena.

And L.A., it turns out, has created what may be a unique niche in the solar industry: providing a way out of the violent cycle of gang life by training former gang members as solar installers.

As far as solar permitting fees go, the Vote Solar permit map puts L.A. at a mid-level $307, though fees actually used to be much higher. The county average is a bit higher at $370, but still beats out San Diego.

SO WRAP IT UP ALREADY.

Okay, so where does this leave us? San Diego is winning on past achievements, but many of its residents are looking at lower solar rebates than their L.A. counterparts and growth may be slowing a bit from its frenzied rate of the last couple of years. Los Angeles, on the other hand, has a way to go before catching up to San Diego in terms of actual installed kilowatts of solar–but has a dedicated mayor pushing hard for future growth, as well as excellent solar rebates for home solar. L.A. may be just starting its most serious solar growth spurt.

Both cities are clearly leaders in solar energy policy and implementation. This may be a photo finish right now–but give L.A. a few more months, and it seems likely that the city will edge ahead of its neighbor to the south. What do you think? If you live in Southern California or work in the California solar market, we’d love to hear which city you believe is winning the solar race–and why.

This Friday and Saturday, the 2010 installment of one of the largest and most successful student-run conferences in New England will pose the question: How have our energy needs and systems evolved, and how will they continue to evolve in the 21st century? The Tufts Energy Conference began in 2006 as two small discussion panels–and just four years later, has some big-name backing and expects over 400 attendees.

Sponsored by British Petroleum (BP), Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I), Enel North America and The Dow Chemical Company, the conference has clearly caught the eye of the energy industry. Keynote speakers at the conference include Michael Eckhart, president of ACORE (American Council on Renewable Energy); Howard Berke, co‐founder and executive chairman of Konarka Technologies; and energy policy expert Sue Tierney, managing partner at Analysis Group.

The conference will be held on Tufts University’s Medford, Massachusetts campus. There will be daytime panel discussions and workshops, and on Friday evening, an open-to-the-public energy showcase. Registration is not required for the energy showcase, but if you’d like to check out any of the panels–such as “Evolving Fossil Fuels” or “Renewables To Scale”–you’ll need to register here.

Major Arizona utilities SRP and APS have recently each announced reductions to their available solar rebates. SRP will begin offering the new, reduced rebate level after April 30 (so if you’re an SRP customer, get a free quote now, people!), while APS has applied to the Corporation Commission for permission to do the same thing.

Reduced rebates do not spell disaster for solar in the state, though. Because solar panel prices have been dropping over the last year or so, installation costs are lower than they ever have been. A more moderate rebate these days will offset the same–or even higher–overall percentage of the cost as a more generous rebate may have done two years ago.

In addition to rebates available through your utility, Arizona residents can take advantage of a $1,000 state tax credit as well as the federal tax credit, which is equivalent to 30 percent of post-rebate system costs. All of these incentives combine to offer relatively quick payback on your system (expect 7-10 years if you have an ideal site) and a good return on your investment.

Want proof that Arizona solar continues to push forward? The government is putting its money where its mouth is by installing solar panels on three public buildings in Maricopa County. These solar installations will be financed through an agreement with CarbonFree Technology, should save the county about $1 million in energy costs over the next 20 years, and should be up and running by the end of this year. Two of the installations will be on parking garages, with the third to go on the Downtown Justice Center.

And supporting the market from the other direction is a new solar installer training course at Phoenix College-Downtown, as GetSolar’s Adam Sewall reports in today’s Solar Power Rundown. Maybe American Solar Electric will hire program grads–the Arizona solar integrator is planning a serious expansion. One market they’ll be focusing on is Tucson, where utility TEP is looking to add 33 more megawatts of solar capacity to its energy portfolio.

How long does it take for a thriving solar industry to find uses for $4 million? About three hours, it turns out. On Friday, one of two solar rebate programs in Massachusetts opened to applications at 9:00am and closed before noon, all of its quarterly-allocated funds having been spoken for. The Commonwealth Solar Stimulus Program funds solar installations for commercial projects 10-200 kW in size.

Governor Deval Patrick has announced that Block 2 of the Solar Stimulus–made possible by federal ARRA funds–will go towards 56 solar installations throughout the Bay State. The installations will add 4 megawatts of solar capacity to the state, which is working towards a goal of 250 mW of solar energy by 2017.

Recipients of funds included schools, farms, non-profits and small businesses throughout Massachusetts. Here’s a sampling of the projects that received funding this time around:

• Greater Boston Food Bank, Mass Moca, Barrett Distribution, Boston College High School and three other projects received about $160,000 each for installations that nudged the program cap of 200 kW
• Cambridge’s Shady Hill School, granted $147,130 for two solar installations totaling 122 kW
• Massachusetts Audubon Society, granted $30,360 for three solar installations totaling 20.24 kW
• VFW Parkway Car Wash in Roxbury, granted $48,340 for nearly36 kW
• Cape Cod Organic Farm, granted $14,760 for nearly 10 kW

Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles said, “Massachusetts is in the midst of a solar revolution. By the end of this year, the Commonwealth will see a nearly 20-fold increase in solar installations over what we had when Governor Patrick took office.” When Patrick took office, the state had 3.5 mW of installed solar capacity; accounting for all projects currently in the pipeline, the state expects to have more than 60 mW installed by the end of 2010.

This morning at 9:00 a.m., Block 2 of the Commonwealth Solar Stimulus Rebate Program opened to applications for $4 million in funding for commercial solar installations. At just before noon, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center sent around a nice email letting everyone know that all funds have been spoken for and the program is now closed. Executive Director Patrick Cloney wrote to express his “heartfelt appreciation to everyone involved in the solar industry in Massachusetts for his or her continued hard work in expanding solar renewable energy generation within the Commonwealth.”

You may remember that Block 1 of the Solar Stimulus program also “sold out” in record time. Each quarter, projects 10-200 kW in size get their paperwork in order and wait for the program’s opening to submit for funding. Projects can’t remain in queue after each quarter has closed, so each new block of funding presents equal opportunity for all comers.

Home solar installations and small commercial projects under 10 kW in size may still apply for funding through the state’s other solar rebate program, Commonwealth Solar II. Rebates for these systems are effectively capped at 5 kW even though larger systems may participate; they’ll just be proportionately less incentivized. And all projects can submit for participation in the state’s new solar renewable energy credit (SREC) trading market, in which each logged megawatt-hour of solar energy can earn its system’s owner $300-600. Sound like a good deal? It is. If you’re not sure if your home or small business would be a good fit for solar, just fill out our info form and we can help you figure it out.

Moral of the story: if you have a large solar installation in mind in the Bay State, start the process of getting quotes today. Then choose an installer and get your ducks in a row so you can be ready to submit for funding from Block 3 of the Commonwealth Solar Stimulus.

The California Solar Initiative manages solar incentives for the state’s three investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E). PG&E and SDG&E just met their last CSI goals for residential solar capacity and have scaled their rebates back accordingly, from the previous $1.10/w to the current $0.65/w.

If you’re not familiar with the tiered structure of the CSI, you can get a solid footing in the program here. Essentially, the CSI lays out ten different levels of financial incentives for residential and commercial solar installations. The two classes of projects are tracked separately. As soon as a predetermined number of megawatts are installed in each class within a utility’s service territory, the utility is required to move on to the next “step” of the CSI for that customer class.

Right now, PG&E and SDG&E are making the transition to Step 7 out of 10. Think $0.65/w isn’t going to help a lot with the cost of your home solar installation? Wrong. With highly competitive installation cost per watt within California, that modest-seeming rebate still pays for about 12-13 percent of the cost of a system. Tack on the 30 percent offset from the federal tax credit, utility bill savings, protection from energy rate inflation over time, and income from the renewable energy credits (RECs) generated by your system, and you’re still looking at a sweet ROI and a reasonable time to payback.

Step 8 of the CSI for residential solar rebates will be just over half of Step 7 levels, paying out at $0.35/w. If you live in San Diego, Central Coast, or other service territories of these two utilities, get competitive quotes on solar today so you can be sure to take advantage of the highest possible rebate levels. If you’re an SCE customer, excellent! Because SCE is still on Step 4 of the CSI for residential projects, your home solar installation could qualify for a generous rebate of $1.90/w.

You’ve done it, folks: you’ve reached the middle of the week. Time to take a quick coffee break to reward yourself and catch up on today’s solar energy news…

The single coolest item on the docket today is the successful maiden voyage of a solar-powered plane in Switzerland. The carbon fiber aircraft has 12,000 solar cells built into its wings, will circumnavigate the globe in 2012, took six years to build, is powered by four electric motors and high-performance batteries, and weighs about as much as a mid-sized car. According to German test pilot Markus Scherdel, “Everything went as it should” during the Solar Impulse’s 87 minute flight (via Reuters).

In other solar tech news, IBM and Saudi Arabian researchers are developing a new system for water desalination that relies on “ultra-high concentrator photovoltaic arrays”, according to Green, Inc at the NYT. The key to the technology? The futuristic-sounding “liquid metal thermal interface” to keep solar collectors cool enough to do their job. The Saudi plant will eventually provide clean water for 100,000 people.

California solar news is particularly hot today: CBS reports on the Governator’s tour of a solar cell plant in Sunnyvale. Calisolar plans to expand its capacity from 60 mW to 200 mW, in the process creating 150 jobs for the state.

Down the coast a bit, SunEdison has activated a 945 kW solar power plant on a water treatment facility in San Diego, via PV Tech. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders says, “Large-scale municipal projects like this one show our continued commitment to renewable energy and its benefits both for our environment and the taxpayers.”

Last but not least in California news, CNET reports that San Jose-based Chromasun has raised $3 million in first-round investing for its large scale solar air conditioning. While the product can’t provide all of a building’s cooling needs, “the idea is that the chiller will run on solar power during peak times, offsetting the most expensive periods to purchase electricity.”

Not to neglect solar efforts on the Eastern seaboard, here’s a shout-out to insurance company MassMutual: the company issued a press release announcing plans to install over 500 solar panels on its facility in Springfield, Massachusetts. By using a mix of solar PV and solar thermal technology, the company hopes to see energy expenses cut by $100,000 per year. For more in Massachusetts solar happenings, see our update on the state’s rebate program from earlier today.

And that’s it for today! We’ll see you back here tomorrow for more of the good stuff.