Solar Power Rundown for February 1

The solar industry is buzzing (or should I say, twittering) with today’s big-ticket news item, the United Kingdom’s official plan for a feed in tariff. Curious about how much output you could actually expect to see from a solar panel installation in Liverpool or Edinburgh? Check out this awesome tool from the EC’s Joint Research Centre.

Mid-Atlantically, solar’s gaining traction: Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Solar Rebate program, launched last year, catapulted the state into the northeast solar market with a vengeance, and a study released today “shows that [PA's] expanded Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS) could create over 125,000 new job-years of construction and ongoing operation jobs between now and 2026.” Nearby Maryland has $5-6 million to spend on installing solar panels on public buildings; Frederick County wants some of those funds to go solar, though the projects will be third-party owned and financed.

Ever wonder where solar panels go when they die? Belgium-based PV Cycle is behind efforts to recapture and recycle solar panels at the end of their life cycle; Solarfun has become the latest solar panel manufacturer to get on board.

In a press release from the DOE, Steven Chu outlines President Obama’s $28.4 billion FY2011 energy budget requests, which include:

• Expanded use of clean, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal
• Expanded loan guarantees ($40 billion) for renewable energy projects
• $108 million in R&D funding for solar energy and other renewables
• Proposed elimination of over $2.7 billion in tax subsidies for oil, coal and gas industries; This step is estimated to generate more than $38.8 billion dollars in revenue for the federal government over the course of the next 10 years.”

Pondering solar panel reincarnation and government policies is hard work. Relax to some Jack Johnson, the surf-pop singer whose next album, recorded at his Hawaii studio, will be 100 percent solar-powered. The album is due for release in mid June.