According to a recent report, more than 80,000 solar energy systems were installed in the United States in 2007. Growth is expected to continue: the $2.5 billion residential solar market of 2007 is expected to approach $40 billion by 2014. With more and more homes and businesses going solar, agents and brokers will need to [...]

Not that the recent economic downturn/crisis/recession/depression/whathaveyou has us in the best mood to be financing large purchases—like solar PV systems. But seeing as federal taxes are due next week (yay), I thought I’d make a quick note on why energy efficient mortgages—or EEMs, for short—make a lot of sense when it comes to bankrolling your [...]

Have you ever had your day at the beach ruined by your cell phone or stereo running out of batteries? Such annoyances may soon be a thing of the past. A Spain-based firm, Derma-Volt, is developing a suntan lotion that, when applied, will cause the underlying surface to generate electrical current. The key to the [...]

(1) Cash. This is how P. Diddy rolls. If you can swing it, paying cash for your solar PV system is the best way to go, especially in times (like these) when credit is tight. Added bonus: you may get to share rank with America’s brightest stars, like Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson and [...]

While AIG chief Edward Liddy was taking a pounding from the House Financial Services Committee,  AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIGFP), an AIG company, announced on Wednesday its sale of its interests in three solar PV plants in Spain. The three plants — operated variously by City Solar, Proener and SunPower — represent a combined 35 [...]

With tons of sunshine and some pretty solid incentives (notably those available from APS, RPS and UES), Arizona is a great place to install a solar energy system for a home or business. By the looks of it, AZ lawmakers are aiming to make the state a great place for solar energy companies to locate [...]

Looks like Tennessee is developing a knack for attracting cleantech companies. The German firm Wacker Chemie AG plans to build a $1 billion facility in Bradley County. The factory will produce polycrystalline silicon — a principal component used to make solar panels — and is expected to create up to 500 long-term jobs. As relayed [...]

As you may know, residents (and businesses) can take a 30-percent federal tax credit when purchasing  solar PV systems. You also may know, however, that reading about tax rules is about as much fun as watching silicon degrade, molecule by molecule. Luckily, the freshly amended investment tax credit (ITC) is fairly straight forward. It provides [...]

In reviewing the itinerary for this weekend — an inaugural prelude that will feature Bono, Bruce and Beyonce, among others — I stumbled upon this, from the New York times Technology section: As President-elect Barack Obama prepares for his inauguration, a number of groups have planned balls in Washington to celebrate his arrival. One such [...]

When I dream, I like to dream big. I think we all do — that’s why we call it dreaming. To take an example, I envision a future when I can buy electricity for my home, and sell electricity from my solar PV array… On both spot and futures markets… On my iPhone. (Why? Because [...]