In recent years, a number of pro sports teams have seen solar panels installed at their home venues. It appears the Washington Redskins aim to join the list.

According to the Washington Post, the NFL team will soon announce plans to install solar a big energy system at FedEx Field. Composed of 8,000 solar panels, the 2-megawatt (MW) system is expected to generate enough electricity to offset the facility’s annual electricity consumption by about 15 percent. The array will also create a covered carport, featuring 10 electric-vehicle charging stations and enough spaces for 850 cars.

The Redskins organization will enlist NRG Energy, a New Jersey-based energy services company, to handle the design and installation of the project.

Speaking about the Skins’ soon-to-be-announced solar plans, David Krichavsky, the NFL’s director of media affairs, noted …click here to read more

South Carolina gets plenty of sun. But a combination of cheap conventional electricity and the lack of robust renewable-energy incentives has so far kept the state from realizing its full solar potential.

Until now, maybe.

Announced several weeks ago, South Carolina Electric & Gas is planning a single solar project that will — in one fell swoop — triple the amount of solar photovoltaic (PV) power installed statewide.

At around 2.6 megawatts, the array will comprise 18,095 solar panels and cover 10 acres of roof space at Boeing Co.’s new 787 Dreamliner assembly plant at Charleston International Airport.

As relayed by the Charleston Post and Courrier, it was recently announced that …click here to read more

Lakeside Dairy in California’s central valley has installed a big solar power system that will cut its use of conventional electricity by 75 percent.

Developed, designed and installed by SPG Solar — one of the biggest commercial solar installers in California — the 891-kilowatt (kW) solar array comprises 3,240 Suntech solar panels and two big Solaron inverters.

According to GetSolar’s online solar power calculator, an 890-kW DC solar power system in the dairy’s region should produce around 1.2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in its first year of operation. That’s enough juice to power about 100 typical U.S. homes annually.

Like many businesses, Lakeside Dairy installed the system in part to help smooth operating costs.

“The recent volatility of milk prices …click here to read more

General Motors is continuing its slow but steady push to improve the energy efficiency of its operations and increase its use of renewable energy.

This week, the vehicle manufacturer announced that work began on a large photovoltaic (PV) solar energy system at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant in southeastern Michigan, via Osha Gray Davidson.

At 516-kilowatts (kW) in size, the solar power array will produce enough electricity each year to fully charge 54,750 Chevy Volt electric cars, which (aptly) GM assembles at the plant. …click here to read more

Toys “R” Us is the latest company to transition to solar power — and it’s doing so in a big way.

The New Jersey-based retailer today announced it will install two photovoltaic (PV) energy systems in an effort to reduce annual electricity costs and green its operations.

At 5.38-megawatts (MW), the first system will be big. Real big. In fact, …click here to read more

Georgia Power isn’t exactly known for its use of renewable energy resources. In fact, given that the utility meets about 75 percent of its power supply with coal, you could plausibly argue the Southern Company subsidiary is known for the opposite.

Nevertheless, more solar energy projects in Georgia may soon be on their way. As relayed by PV Tech, Georgia Power is looking for about one megawatt (MW) worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to be built within its service territory: …click here to read more

This is by no means the first time we’ve seen IKEA install solar panels at one of its stores (just see here, here, here, here and here).

But the furniture retailer’s latest project is somewhat noteworthy: at 290 kilowatts (kW) in size, it’s the third largest solar energy system of its kind in Burbank, California. (Costco and Warner Bros. studios are number one and number two.)

IKEA’s newest system comprises 1,260 solar panels …click here to read more

When it comes to large solar energy installations in the commercial, institutional and industrial sectors, rarely are the solar panels and the host building owned by the same entity.

In other words, say Walmart installs solar power atop one of its stores. Instead of going it alone and owning the system itself, the retailer instead contracts with one or more other companies to get the project done. A solar company may design, install and maintain the system, which may actually be owned by, say, a third-party financing firm. Walmart, for its part, simply agrees to purchase the system’s electricity output at a fixed rate for a specified term.

This arrangement — and variations thereof — is commonly called a power purchase agreement (PPA).  …click here to read more

The symbolism can’t get much better. In southern West Virginia, a region known for its coal, a new rooftop solar energy system has been installed in Williamson and is now producing clean energy.

It’s a region heavily invested in coal mining. But as unemployment figures have grown in recent years, so too has the opportunity to change the minds of West Virginians about how they get their energy. It’s not a coincidence that the rooftop solar energy system was built and installed by unemployed and underemployed coal miners and contractors.

The idea to install the rooftop solar energy system was first introduced a year ago by The Jobs Project, an organization that promotes renewable energy throughout Central Appalachia. The focus is not so much on solar power as a way to save money on utility bills or help the environment (though those two factors don’t hurt). Rather, the group promotes renewable energy as a way to create long-term, good paying jobs.

Nick Getzen, spokesman for The Jobs Project, explained exactly what the group is trying to do:

“This is the first sign for a lot of folks that this is real, and that it’s real technology, and they can have it in their communities. In no way are we against coal or trying to replace coal. There’s still going to be coal mining here. This is just something else to help the economy.”

There’s already proof that the group’s method of marketing solar to the region is working. According to Bloomberg, demand for solar energy in West Virginia is on the rise, and it has a lot to do with The Jobs Project teaming up with Mountain View Solar & Wind of Berkeley Springs roughly a year ago. The two organizations introduced a privately funded job-training program in which trainees earned $45 an hour.

Don’t expect West Virginia to turn into a solar energy leader overnight. But hopefully the state can make the transition on rooftop at a time.

After announcing in October 2010 plans power eight of its stores and warehouses throughout California with solar energy, the Swedish furniture and home product retailer IKEA made it known last week that it isn’t done yet.

As reported by the Daily Pilot, IKEA has recently applied for a permit to install solar panels at its Costa Mesa store in southern California. If all goes as planned, IKEA will install a 1,120-panel solar photovoltaic (PV) system atop the facility. The system will generate enough electricity, says Costa Mesa Building Official Khanh Nguyen, to light up 2,500 regular light  bulbs for a year. The system would also eliminate 42,000 pounds of carbon dioxide during that same stretch.

If completed, IKEA’s solar array will be the largest commercial PV rooftop system in Costa Mesa, as it will surpass a similar installation completed last year at a neighborhood community center.

IKEA Spokesman Joseph Roth acknowledges the financial commitment the company is making, but says it’s well worth it:

“It’s a very significant investment. But we have concluded that it’s definitely very cost-effective for us from a financial standpoint and it reinforces our commitment to the environment.”

The Costa Mesa project would be the company’s ninth in California. All told, the company’s California solar installation projects will amass over 21,000 solar PV panels and put out close to 6.75 million kWh every year — roughly the equivalent of about 615 average American homes.