I don’t know about you, but when I think about dozens of gas-guzzling racecars circling a track, burning rubber tires at over 100 miles-per-hour, I don’t exactly think environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, NASCAR is working overtime to develop a green identity. And, by some measures, it’s putting its money where its mouth is: the sport’s latest effort even set a new world record.

NASCAR’s Pocono Raceway is now home to a newly-installed, 3-megawatt solar energy system expected to produce 72 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of solar energy over the next 20 years. That would be enough energy to cover all of the track’s electricity needs, as well as the needs of 1,000 local homes over that time span. The $16 million, 25-acre photovoltaic (PV) solar farm made up of 40,000 solar panels is the largest solar installation at any sporting venue in the world and will be online this weekend – just in time for NASCAR’s Pennsylvania 500.

Brian Igdalsky, President of Pocono Raceway, had the following to say about the installation:

“This new system will not only satisfy the Raceway’s energy needs, it will allow us to help power close to one thousand homes and lower carbon dioxide emissions by 5,100 tons every year.”

So you’re interested in solar hot water? We’re happy to hear it. Solar water heating is an effective way to lower your utility bill. And, compared to solar electric — or photovoltaic (PV) — systems, solar water heaters are typically less expensive. (For more info on the differences between these technologies, see our post Solar Hot Water vs. Solar PV.)

If you’re trying to determine whether your property is a good candidate for a solar hot water system, consider the following.

All else equal, consumers who use a lot of hot water — and therefore spend a good chunk of their electricity or gas bill on water heating — stand to gain the most by installing a solar hot water system. If people are taking hot showers, washing clothes, or using a high volume of heated water for any other purpose, solar hot water is a great option. Top candidates include:

• Hotels
• Swimming pools
• Laundromats
• Communal living areas, like military camps and bases
• Correctional facilities
• Any residential building– single family or larger

Since commercial candidates are likely to have the largest hot water demands, they stand to benefit most quickly. A huge percentage of a laundromat’s operating costs probably come from hot water, so meeting a portion of that demand via the sun’s thermal energy can provide substantial savings. Homeowners can benefit significantly, too, and in many states – like Hawaii, Arizona, and California — can take advantage of solar incentives to help them install solar hot water systems. (More on these programs to come.)

So, as review: if you’re spending a lot of money heating water — or expect your hot water demand to increase in the future — you may want to consider a solar water heater. If your hot water demand is modest and your electricity bill is high, however — say, because you’re paying a high per-kilowatt-hour rate for your power — a solar PV system may be a better bet. Ultimately, if you’re trying to decide which solar energy technology is right for you, don’t be shy about asking questions!

Finally, it’s worth noting that there’s nothing to say you can’t install solar PV and solar hot water…

Here it is, your moment of solar power for this Friday, July 30…

Pocono Raceway, an official NASCAR track, this week inaugurated a brand-new, 3-megawatt solar installation. We’d originally reported on the Pennsylvania solar project about a year ago. But we think Keith Barry of Autopia put it best today:

While we’d gladly spend the day drinking beer outside a rented RV to watch a solar car covered in ads for Home Depot and Coors Light taking turns at a buck fifty, diehards need not worry: it’s only the track that’s gone solar.

…

[B]ut don’t expect to see Jeff Gordon dropping DuPont sponsorship for Burt’s Bees any time soon. The solar array was originally a response to deregulation of the local power industry — which track officials estimate would’ve raised the track’s electric bill by 40%.

Did somebody say Tesla Roadster?

In Arizona solar news, Tucson Electric Power (TEP) has OK’d a plan to allow individual homeowners purchase chunks of output from communal solar installations in Arizona. If you’re a TEP customer who doesn’t have either a good roof for solar or sufficient area for a ground-mounted system, the Bright Tucson Community Solar Program may be a useful way to shield yourself from electricity price inflation over the coming years. If you’re a Tucson resident who does have a decent roof for solar panels, however, you’re probably better off with your own installation.

Solyndra, a California solar company that makes cylindrically shaped solar modules, has inked a deal with Southern California Edison (CSE) for an 16.2 megawatt solar project that will cover 18 rooftops across CSE territory.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), the Tempe, Arizona-based manufacturer of solar thin-film modules, announced quarterly earnings yesterday. Second-quarter profits fell from a year earlier, and shares are down about five percent today. But some analysts, like Daniel Ries with Collins Stewart in New York, are optimistic the company’s pipeline of utility-scale projects will buoy earnings in coming quarters.

For some reason, I can’t help but thinking this is somewhat ironic.

Finally today, Nevada goes solar and gets salty: “Nevada got approval Thursday from the state’s Public Utilities Commission for the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a 100-megawatt thermal solar plant estimated to generate 480,000 megawatt hours of electricity annually once completed.”

That’s all for today. Have a relaxing weekend and we’ll see you back here next week.

Three days ago, Vodafone revealed a new product in Mumbai, India designed specifically to serve the millions of mobile subscribers living in rural parts of the country with limit access to electricity.

The Vodafone VF 247 has an integrated solar panel so those living in such electricity-poor areas can take advantage of their abundance of sunlight. It’s at once a mobile phone and an FM radio receiver, complete with a built-in LED light.

The phone was designed with the Indian market in mind. Try not to faint as I tell you this: it doesn’t have a high-definition camera or the ability to integrate with an App store (deep breaths…). Are you still conscious? Good. Here’s the craziest part: Vodafone doesn’t care. The company has no plans to market the phone outside India. Vodafone is simply trying to provide an alternative meant to charge up to those with little, unpredictable or no electricity.

After eight hours of sunlight, the VF 247 can remain on standby mode for at least eight days or provide four hours of use before it must be charged again.

Marketing solely to India may be a wise business move for Vodafone: according to manufacturing.net, there are nearly 20 million people in India who are mobile phone subscribers. Building a strong relationship with those consumers could eventually lead to the marketing and selling of other Vodafone products to those same customers.

Yolo County in northern California was able to piece together a variety of clean energy bonds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and a 15-year, one percent interest loan from the California Energy Commission (CEC) in order to install a 1-megawatt (MW) solar energy system at its county jail in Woodland. Located north of Davis and northwest from Sacramento, Woodland’s new 3,560-panel installation was completed and officially put online at a 9 a.m. ceremony on Tuesday morning. The feat was done at no out-of-pocket cost to the county.

The solar electric system was approved by Yolo County in February of this year and was completed in only six months. It is expected to produce 80 percent of the energy needs of the Yolo County Justice Center, which includes the Monroe Detention Center, Leinberger Memorial Center and the juvenile detention facility.

The panels installed are said to be the most efficient solar panels on the market — SunPower’s 305 modules. Thanks to a tracking system that follows the sun throughout the day, the solar panels receive as much as 25 percent more sunlight than a fixed-panel array. The tracking system did cost more to install, but the extra output is expected to generate higher revenues through a performance-based incentive available under the California Solar Initiative.

Could we could be witnessing the start of a a new trend? Solar energy systems installed at correctional facilities? Earlier this month, the federal government it would install solar at two federal correctional buildings. One is in Fairton, New Jersey and the other is in Petersburg, Virginia. Are similar projects on the horizon?

Being featured on Good Morning America this morning, solar power has been put in a very pleasant spotlight. If any industry deserves its five minutes in the sun, it’s solar, an we’re always happy to hear that topics related to solar, other renewables, and energy efficiency are reaching a broad audience.

This segment showed us solar from the particular perspective of solar leasing– a financing approach that allows customers to get solar on their rooftops while paying low or no upfront cost, often in return for signing a power purchase agreement (PPA), which is a contract obligating them to purchase the solar panels’ power for the next 15 to 20 years or so. This approach can be an attractive option for those looking to go green.

But, compared to outright ownership, leasing can reduce homeowners’ ability to profit from solar over the course of the panels’ useful life. Moreover, the overall impact on your post-solar bills will be determined by the specifics of your PPA — namely, the per-kilowatt-hour price charged by the agreement’s provider. It’s a trade-off that can work well for some people and be less than optimal for others.

The key, as always, is to get as much information as possible and understand all relevant solar options before you make a binding decision. Providing this kind of information is why we write this blog in the first place — we urge you to examine details on our site, DOE, SEIA, and other reputable sources of solar information.

And in this spirit of accuracy, let us correct a few details from the Good Morning America Report and add a few side notes of our own…

• Federal solar tax credits (to the tune of 30 percent) are available in all states. (The GMA host referred to “tax rebates,” which is a misnomer in this instance.)
• Some states have strong statewide and/or utility programs as well. For more info on this, see our state incentives page or the DSIRE database.
• Solar energy doesn’t directly decrease our dependence on foreign oil since oil is used for transportation, not to generate electricity. It may well accomplish this goal when electric cars hit the market en mass, but that’s another story. For now, solar eliminates emissions that result from generating electricity using coal or natural gas.
• If the cost of PV panels deters you, you can go solar using a solar hot water system (which is significantly more affordable). To save energy in general, getting an energy audit and investing in building efficiency can also be incredibly effective.

That’s about it. The more aware and informed we all are about solar, the better off we’ll be energy-wise. So despite the “lease only” perspective it offers, we’re grateful for the Good Morning America Effect.

Not to be outdone by President Obama, who several months ago visited an up-and-coming California solar manufacturer, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) traveled to Fremont, Calif., this week to visit the manufacturing plant of Solaria, a clean technology company that designs, manufactures and markets photovoltaic (PV) modules.

Boxer used the visit to discuss with Solaria executives the future of solar technology development and reaffirm her commitment to the growth of clean tech jobs throughout the country, especially in California.

Senator Boxer tours Solaria’s cafeteria

Solaria is a case study in how solar energy companies can simultaneously generate clean energy and create jobs. Situated in northern California, where a good deal of the nation’s solar energy activities take place, Solaria expects to grow ten-fold over the next two years and double its current staff in the next calendar year, according to Solaria’s CEO Daniel Shugar.

Shugar praised Senator Boxer during her visit to the manufacturing plant for what he called, “her commitment to supporting policies that further the growth and deployment of solar in California.”

When it comes to solar hot water, these are The Little Islands That Could. Hawaii’s strong investment in solar water heating technology has given their state the enviable designation of Solar Hot Water Leader within the United States. It’s also made these water heating systems an even more attractive investment. Check out the size of Hawaii’s market compared to other key states:

Source: Solar Energy Industries Association

Consider the fact that Hawaii’s population is a mere 2.5 percent of California’s, and you can see why the 48th 50th state deserves notice.

Hawaii supports solar hot water with a mix of policies:

• An upfront solar hot water rebate of $750 for residential systems ($125/deferred kilowatt-hour for commercial systems)
• A state tax credit of 35 percent
• The broader 30 percent federal tax credit
• A requirement that all new single-family homes come with solar hot water system installed

Let’s look at what this means for a typical residential customer. Say the initial system cost is $7000 (a conservative estimate — Hawaii Energy Efficiency Program estimates the average initial cost is $6,620). After the upfront rebate of $750, your contractor bill would be $6,250. With the 30 percent federal tax credit, your expenditures would total $4,375. Finally, after the state tax credit of 35 percent, your ultimate costs would come to a mere $2,500. Of course, this is assuming that you have the appetite for these tax credits — check with a tax expert to see if this is the case.

According to some of our partner installers in Hawaii, this incentive system would set the solar hot water “break even” point at two years!

As noted above, for a tiny island state with a population just over 1 million, their contribution to, and example for, the solar hot water market is truly commendable. Many of these efforts stem from Hawaii’s lack of traditional energy resources and the corresponding need to import oil and gas. Their Renewable Energy Policy begins by explaining:

The objectives in the area of Alternate and Renewable Energy are to promote commercialization of Hawaii’s sustainable energy resources and technologies to reduce the state’s high dependence on imported oil, increase local economic development, and reduce the potential negative economic impacts of oil price fluctuations.

So there you have it. Strong motivation to implement renewables lead to strong strategy.

If you were thinking of moving to Hawaii and the weather alone didn’t lure you across the Pacific, their energy policy should definitely convince you!

We’ve found yet another subplot in “Inception,” this summer’s sci-fi thriller that has been packing theaters across the country for the last several weeks. (No need for a spoiler alert here — proceed at will.)

Throughout production, the film’s base camp — with the exception of two trailers — was running on portable, solar-powered generators. (No, you’re not dreaming.) The panels were provided by Pure Power Distribution, a solar company based in Santa Monica, California. According to PPD, the generators pump out 600 amps/72,000 watts of “pure sine wave power with no noise and no emissions.”

Here’s what the movie’s lead actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the use of solar in the making of the film:

“A lot of this movie was made with solar power. It’s the first movie I got to do with solar power. I had a conversation about it with Alan Horn, who’s the head of Warner Bros. The generators that we had on the set were all powered by solar energy. It’s going to be a big conversion to do stuff like that every day, not just in making movies but everything in the world. We do a lot of things in the world that are wasteful. We keep talking about this all the time. Hopefully, fingers crossed, with these small steps, we’ll make that transition on a much larger scale in the future.”

We’re hoping that the popularity of this film will increase the use of solar energy in the making of more movies. With the support of DiCaprio and director Christopher Nolan, the possibility of a solar outbreak in Hollywood lots sounds both exciting and, dare we say, possible.

Check out more pics of on DiCaprio’s Facebook page.

Judging from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s actions this week, it seems America won’t be getting a renewable energy standard (RES). With mid-term elections coming up and the beltway as contentious as ever, Democrats just don’t have the votes, according to Reid, to enact an RES at the national level — let alone put a price on carbon in the broader economy.

While the Nevada Democrat may be taking heat from his own party for not pushing harder for the RES, Reid doesn’t appear swayed: the version of the bill he unveiled Tuesday is by most measures modest. So, if we’re not getting cap-and-trade, and we’re not getting a renewable energy standard, what will we be getting?

As relayed by CSMonitor, the provisions in Reid’s energy bill include:

• Providing incentives for turning the nation‘s heavy truck fleet to natural gas and toward electrification of the nation‘s transportation sector.
• Promoting “clean energy job creation” providing $5 billion of rebates to encourage homeowners to make efficiency upgrades as part of the Home Star program.
• Fully funding a Land and Water Conservation Fund over the next five years to ensure that vital US lands and waters are protected into the future from climate change damage.
• Increasing the $1 billion liability cap of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to $5 billion and increasing fees to pay for it by requiring that oil companies pay 49 cents per barrel into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.

Granted, whatever the Senate passes will have to be reconciled with the House energy bill, which was passed last year and includes a cap-and-trade provision. It’s too early to tell, in other words, exactly what Washington will do (which is almost always true).

But assuming the $5 billion worth of efficiency rebates becomes available via the HomeStar retrofit program, what will be the impact? To put that $5 billion figure in context, our crack team of interns has come up with the following measures:

• Assuming an average price of $35 a pop, America could buy 142,857,142.86  WaterSense-certified showerheads
• According to the draft bill, a $500 rebate would be available for the purchase of a wood pellet stove. At this rebate level, the funds could support the purchase of ten million such stoves.
• 3.3 million rebates (at $1,500 a piece) for wall insulation upgrades.

Most exciting for us: it looks like solar water heaters will be eligible for rebates under some circumstances (see page 333 of the bill). Finally, note that the maximum rebate available for Silver Star and Gold Star efficiency upgrades would be capped at $8,000 per homeowner.