Happy Earth Day, everyone! Today’s solar power rundown will be short. Very short. Almost embarrassingly short. Why? Because we were especially busy today helping individuals and businesses find the solar energy solution that’s most appropriate for their respective situation. It’s got a great excuse, I know. But don’t worry too much — we’ll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week’s solar news. For now, we’ve got three stories for you:

Story 1: As a 40th anniversary Earth Day gift, Sungevity, a California solar home installation company, is offering the White House a free 17.85 kilowatt (kW) rooftop solar electric system, via Trans News World. Not to be outdone, San Jose, California-based Free Hot Water is offering a free solar hot water system. I, for one, love gimmicks — especially when they involve solar panels. Here’s a snippet from the article cited above:

A solar hot water system was briefly installed on the White House roof in the 1970’s, but the system was quietly removed in the 1980’s. In 2003, the National Parks Service installed a small solar electric and solar thermal system on a White House grounds maintenance shed, which are still functioning today. The solar advocates involved with this initiative strongly believe that solar should be returned to the White House roof.

Story 2: Utah solar rebates are, as of yesterday, available to homeowners, businesses, non-profit organizations and government entities. The Beehive State is funding the incentive program with $3 million in federal stimulus money. Home solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will be eligible for a solar rebate worth the lesser of $8,750 or 25 percent of system costs; commercial solar PV installations may receive a rebate worth 25 percent of system costs, or $50,000, whichever is less.

Story 3: Farm and Dairy, an online newspaper, today has an interesting profile piece of Earth Day organizer Denis Hayes. It’s worth a read.

That’s all for this Thursday, 2010, 40th Earth Day.