Now that we’ve got some old clunkers off the road, we can look towards the future of transportation.  When we threw in our two cents on the growth of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles last week, we touched on the concept of solar parking lots.  Also known as “solar trees,” photovoltaic panels are elevated on stands on the roofs of already-established garages or parking lots.  The panels themselves mimic branches of a tree, providing shade for the car while lowering the internal temperature on hot days.  An excellent use of previously underutilized space, solar parking lots can power nearby buildings, feed clean and renewable energy back into the grid, and establish the fueling infrastructure needed to popularize electric vehicles.

A fairly new and niche part of the solar market, solar parking lots are beginning to spring up in the States as the Tesla and GM Volt rise on the horizon.  One of the first to get in on the action was, as usual, Google.  In 2007, the innovative technology company installed 1.6MW of solar energy at its California headquarters.  On a random day in August, the panels pumped out 5,024 kilowatt-hours of electricity.  That’s enough energy to run your dishwasher 3,138 times!   And some of this renewable energy is fed directly into the company’s two solar carports, designed to shade employee cars and offer battery charging for those with electric vehicles.  Of course, Google is not the only one building solar parking lots.  Kyocera, UCSD Hopkins, UCSD Gilman, NREL, the City of Napa, and several others have all knocked on the door of the most prominent player in the solar parking lot field: Envision Solar.

Based out of San Diego, Envision Solar’s ParkSolar™ systems are aesthetically pleasing and extremely exciting.  Where net metering is available, such structures can shift from stand-alone electricity systems to distributed sources of clean and renewable energy.  Not only can the excess power from the solar panels be fed back into the grid, but cars that are fully charged can also loop back and fuel the grid when demand is peaking.  A double whammy of energy, if you will.  And Envision doesn’t plan to stop at carports.  The company has the idea to bring solar trees to the average American backyard: offering a LifeShade™ of eight solar panels designed to complement a patio, act as a canopy while lounging poolside, and provide power for both the grill and whatever else you may have running outside.  Other ideas are solar powered barns, stand-alone solar trees, and even entire solar villages.

So what does all of this mean for us, the consumer of electricity?  Not only will we have more options for how to power our homes and our cars, our supply of clean energy will also increase as more and more solar parking lots and other innovative solar structures are brought into the market.  And as more PV capacity is installed nationwide, the price for kilowatt-hour of solar energy will fall.  Here at GetSolar, we’ll be sure to follow the rising popularity of solar parking garages, as such “solar trees” will help save two different types of green: both our money and our planet.

Seeing is believing — there is no substitute to seeing solar PV panels or solar thermal technologies in action. Hence the National Solar Energy Tour, sponsored each fall by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES). Usually organized by local groups affiliated with ASES, the events enable individuals to learn about solar and other forms of renewable energy by touring project sites in their area.

Solar Oregon, a non-profit, recently released the 2009 schedule for its Oregon Green and Solar Tours. Taking place over the course of September and October, the tours will demonstrate how everyday Oregonians are using solar, energy efficiency measures, and other forms of renewable power to shrink their electricity bills. Some 4,000 people last year toured homes and businesses using solar PV or solar thermal technologies.

For you Oregonians out there, get out there and see what’s going on in your area. For the rest of you, be sure to check out the ASES calendar (link above) to discover tours near you.

Peco Energy Co.’s plan to purchase solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) to help meet its alternative energy goals has  just been approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The utility has proposed an SREC purchasing plan to last for the next ten years, and its approval is another excellent step forward in Pennsylvania’s solar market. Peco says it will purchase 80,000 SRECs within the decade, a potential investment of more than $24,000,000.

Governor Rendell put the state’s first solar rebate program into action earlier this year, fleshing out the solar incentive policy which had previously only included tax credits. Now, the net cost of a solar installation in Pennsylvania can be more than 60% below gross (for residential solar installations, the rebate provides up to $22,500 on top of the 15% state tax credit and the 30% federal tax credit). Potential income from the sale of SRECs can now help residential and commercial solar installations pay for themselves even more quickly.

Rendell was also behind the state’s adoption of a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) back in 2004. The RPS calls for 18% of the state’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2020. Allowing Peco to purchase SRECs–as opposed to other alternative energy credits or certificates–means the market for SRECs will both firm up and, hopefully, skyrocket within the state, as other buyers will almost certainly be approved if the state approved this one. In New Jersey, basing a solar incentive program largely around the trading of SRECs has shown great early success: each megawatt-hour of electricity produced by a solar installation is bundled and sold on the New Jersey market as a single SREC, and the proceeds go back to the owner. Each SREC has been selling for an average of over $400 (and often more like $600, though the lows have dipped under $200 per certificate).

It will be interesting to see how Pennsylvania’s leap into the SREC market will affect nearby Jersey. Peco has been approved to purchase the SRECs from anywhere within the regional grid (PJM Interconnection LLC), which services all of part of 13 states–of which New Jersey is one.

It’s official: the “cash for clunkers” automobile rebate program came to a close yesterday.  But did the government act too soon?  While the removal of older and less fuel-efficient vehicles gave a much needed boost to the car industry and the economy in general, it’s only natural to wonder if trade-in incentives will be offered again when the environmental benefits will be even greater.  When will this occur?  With the introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, commonly referred to as PHEVs.

Current hybrid models, such as the Toyota Prius, rely on gasoline to charge the hybrid battery.  PHEVs, on the other hand, gain their primary source of propulsion power directly from the electricity grid.  A useful primer on PHEV technology is available here.  The first PHEV anticipated to hit the U.S. market, slated for mass production in November 2010, is General Motor’s Volt.  Drivers will be able to fully charge the vehicle from a standard home outlet (110 volt) in 6.5 hours, and halve the charging time when using a 220 volt line.

So what does this electrification of transportation mean for solar?  First, energy nerds are dreaming up ways to charge the vehicles with renewable and decentralized power, aka solar energy.  With photovoltaic panels on a homeowner’s rooftop or access to a solar parking garage at work or while running errands, solar enthusiasts are confident that PHEVs will expand solar market possibilities.

Skeptics are concerned, however, that the connection of PHEVs to the grid will increase electric demand too much, endangering grid reliability and raising electricity prices.  So the question is: how much power would each PHEV drain from the grid? According to a study conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute, the average PHEV will draw only about 1.4 to 2 kW of power while charging – equivalent to that of a dishwasher. And the DOE’s Annual Energy Outlook 2009 found that a growth in electricity demand would only increase by .1% for every one million PHEVs on the road.  An increase that could indeed be met by distributed solar.

With the implementation of smart grid technologies, PHEVs will also be able to act as mini-distributed energy storage devices.  Known as vehicle-to-grid, or V2G, this concept is likeley to win support from utilities as it has the potential to provide them an extra layer of grid support.  For example, after a vehicle’s battery is charged, the utility (or even the homeowner) may be able to directly withdraw power from the car battery in order to meet peak demand, acting as a greener alternative to firing up a peaker plant.  The vehicle, in essence, could be an auxiliary service to the grid, increasing the network in both efficiency and reliability.  It’s also great news for solar energy, as the electricity to charge the battery at home has to come from somewhere.  Why not solar?

Here at GetSolar, we’ll be sure to keep our eye on the nascent plug-in hybrid electric vehicle marketplace.  We believe it has the possibility to spice up the solar market and expand it with new and exciting operations and services, like solar garages.

If you were at last year’s largest business-to-business solar energy conference, you might remember the incredible crush of attendees, the packed exhibit hall, the lines in front of vendor booths. If not, well, that about sums it up. And this year’s co-sponsors for Solar Power International (SEPA & SEIA) have announced that the 2009 show will be double the size of SPI ’08. This is in terms of both exhibitors and of square footage.

SPI ’09 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center October 27-29. More than 900 exhibitors will fill over 200,000 square feet, compared to about 420 and 90,000 at last year’s event, respectively. Solar panel manufacturers, solar installers, utility companies, green energy consultants, you name it: this is the go-to event for solar industry networking. If you’re an interested consumer, the public is invited in to the exhibit hall on the second evening of the conference.

Last year’s guest of honor was Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; this year, Robert F. Kennedy will be delivering the keynote address.

Good news for small companies working on bringing advanced solar energy technologies to market!  This past Thursday, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the stimulus bill would funnel over $37 million to the Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) programs.   The gesture shows that the federal government is really willing to put some money behind all the talk about renewable energy.  When the financing was announced, Secretary Chu linked the importance of funding the infant industry with both job growth and a healthier environment:

Small businesses are engines of job creation and innovation, and we need their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to drive a clean energy economy.  By helping small businesses bring clean technologies to market, we can create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and reduce carbon pollution.

The first round of grants will give an extra leg-up to small business (fewer than 500 employees) operating in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, particularly manufacturers of advanced solar energy technology.  Now that we understand the link between a growth in solar energy and the birth of a smart grid, it’s also a welcome sight to see controllers for smart grid applications included in the list of eligible industries.  But interested parties should get ready to submit paperwork immediately – applications for funding must be made within two weeks of the announcement, by September 4th.  Let the scramble begin!

Bad news seem to be dogging solar manufacturers left and right, what with declining solar panel prices and a worldwide supply glut, but Chinese solar powerhouses like Suntech Power Holdings and Yingli Solar are already on the offensive. As yesterday’s New York Times reports, Suntech—China’s largest solar panel manufacturer—is planning on selling solar panels in the U.S. for less than the combined cost of the materials, assembling and shipping. No numbers were provided, but if we consider the already-low marginal costs of production in China, it’s an aggressive move that is likely to galvanize some American producers to action.

China’s push for solar hegemony stateside is reminiscent of the Japanese automakers and Korean electronics manufacturers who arrived in the U.S. more than a decade before, strengthened on extensive government support at home and employing cost-cutting practices against which many American companies were ultimately unable to defend. As the Japanese carmakers did decades ago, Chinese solar companies are encouraging the executives of their U.S. divisions to join industry trade groups in order to perform some damage control, lest anti-Chinese sentiment grow. And with companies like Suntech and Yingli planning to build factories in the U.S. and assemble their products here, the prospect of such frustrations taking root are not just paranoid thinking on the part of the Chinese.

The NY Times makes it clear who has the upper hand:

The Obama administration is determined to help the American industry. The energy and Treasury departments announced this month that they would give $2.3 billion in tax credits to clean energy equipment manufacturers. But even in the solar industry, many worry that Western companies may have fragile prospects when competing with Chinese companies that have cheap loans, electricity and labor, paying recent college graduates in engineering $7,000 a year.

Add generous state support to the low marginal cost of production—

Since March, Chinese governments at the national, provincial and even local level have been competing with one another to offer solar companies ever more generous subsidies, including free land, and cash for research and development. State-owned banks are flooding the industry with loans at considerably lower interest rates than available in Europe or the United States.

—and it’s no wonder some solar professionals, such as Thomas M. Zarrella of GT Solar International, believe that Europe and the United States will eventually become consumers, not major producers, of solar products. Only half of that statement is something we’d like to hear!

But is it much too soon to throw in the towel? America’s Arizona-based First Solar has remained profitable, and the Obama Administration’s new tax credits offer potential benefits for many smaller companies. Of China’s many solar panel manufacturers, only the larger players have been gaining market share, and even Suntech performed poorly the second quarter of 2009. After all, the lowered solar panel prices worldwide have not, in large part, been Chinese-controlled. Diminished European subsidies, a global glut in solar panel supply and of course the economic downturn have all contributed to the solar industry’s latest woes—though consumers have benefited from these market-driven price cuts, with cost per watt having dropped to $2.00–$2.40 from a high of $4.20 in 2008.

Whatever your views on multinationals on American turf may be, it’s difficult for consumers to complain about lower prices for solar panels, especially if they’ve already been considering them for some time now. And as we’ve all come to know well, the solar market is a rapidly evolving space, with winners and losers subject to the tides of the economy and the pull of supply and demand. We’ll be keeping a close eye on these developments for sure.

Lately, we’ve written a lot about feed-in tariffs. (For instance, read here for details on the possibility of a nationwide feed-in tariff program, here for info on Oregon’s pilot program, here for Sacramento’s regional program and here for Vermont’s statewide program.)

In February, the city of Gainesville, Florida became the first U.S. municipality to establish a feed-in tariff. Depending on one’s perspective, the program may be viewed either as a fantastic success or a total boondoggle. One thing is certain, however: LOTS of Gainesville residents are interested in getting solar.

As reported by Megan Rolland of The Gainesville Sun, there is a six-year waiting list to sign up for the program.

The number of energy-producing solar panels in Gainesville has skyrocketed since the city implemented its new solar incentive program in March.

In fact, a waiting list for the program – which is the first solar feed-in tariff in the United States and offers above-market-rate prices for electricity produced by privately owned and installed solar panels – now stretches until 2016.

As you’ll see in Rolland’s article and Kevin’s comment (see the “boondoggle” link above), the tariffs have proved to be a contentious matter. The case of Gainesville shows that, while promoting the adoption of solar power yields undeniable benefits, there remains considerable debate over the most appropriate way to do so.

One of the problems of a too-popular solar incentive program is that demand can outstrip supply. That is, it can run out of money. (Yeah, New Jersey, this means you.) The Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), which runs one of the state’s very popular solar rebate programs, has announced it needs more funds for commercial solar rebates. The state requires its utilities to offer evenly distributed funding for commercial and residential solar projects, and while the residential funding for 2009 is far from exhausted, more expensive commercial projects have eaten up that portion of the utility’s budget.  APS is seeking an additional $143 million for the program. Under it, commercial projects can receive $2.50/watt DC or choose a production-based incentive.

What’s raising a bit more fuss than APS seeking more money is its proposal to treat schools as residential projects for the purposes of awarding rebates. This would help eat up the “extra” money earmarked for residential solar installations still sitting in APS’s coffers, but understandably, many solar professionals are concerned that this would damage the residential solar market in Arizona. Often, there is a year-end rush of applications as homeowners try to get solar incentives accounted for in their year’s taxes, and it’s possible that if APS awarded residential funds to school projects that there may not be enough money left over for this procrastinators’ crush. One solution may be for APS to award the schools the rebate money on a one-time basis rather than permanently switching their eligibility status. Stay tuned–this could get interesting.

One thing seems clear: if you’re a homeowner in APS service territory and you’ve been thinking about installing solar panels, now’s the time. Contact us to see if solar makes sense for you.

A new survey of nearly 1,000 voters in Texas revealed what many might have guessed from the Lone Star State’s brush with solar incentives earlier this year: Texans want more solar power. 53 percent of those surveyed said they would support incentives for solar even if it meant adding a few dollars on to their monthly electric bills (electric bill surcharges are the favored way to fund solar rebates). And 61% of those surveyed agreed that solar should supply more of the Texas energy portfolio.

1,000 people do not make for a rock-solid sample in a state with a population of over 24,000,000 million. Still, results were spread across a variety of age, gender, race, and political party lines, demonstrating that the average Texan recognizes the value of incorporating solar power and other renewable energies into the state’s energy future. Hopefully this survey will add strength to the voices calling out for change in Texas.

The survey was conducted in April by Baselice & Associates, Inc., and funded by the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. The Foundation has a history of supporting sustainability efforts in Texas.