Posts by West Coast Solar

A new report by market research firm IHS states that the solar industry and its customers will not be seriously affected by various changes to net energy metering (NEM) policies that have been proposed in several states across the country. Although there have been concerns that alterations could make NEM less generous for solar customers, the IHS study indicates that…

Crews have finished construction of the California Valley Solar Ranch, a 250 megawatt (MW) capacity plant near San Luis Obispo, California, that is now the biggest operating solar generator in the state. It was built by SunPower and will be run by NRG, producing enough electricity to power 50,000 homes. The facility covers 4,700 acres, although only…

Gina McCarthy, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate after having spent several months waiting for Senate Republicans to come to an agreement with President Obama. McCarthy, who has worked for many years in the EPA, will be taking over the agency at a time when…

As we’ve written before on this blog, leasing and financing options for residential solar energy solutions have made this technology accessible to more families than ever before. New data from the California Solar Initiative (CSI), as analyzed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), shows that these programs have been enormously successful with homeowners. The…

Some homeowners may find that the biggest obstacles preventing them from purchasing and installing a solar panel array on their house are restrictions and policies put in place by their homeowners association (HOA). Due to a number of reasons, these groups often have serious reservations about allowing their members to build such systems on their…

On March 26, the Lancaster, California, City Council passed an ordinance as part of the city’s zoning code that will require new homes to feature solar energy solutions, making it the first U.S. metro to push this kind of initiative forward. According to Greentech Media, a leading industry news source, the new regulation states that housing developers…

The public is slowly becoming more aware of the dangers of climate change and the need to decrease human production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. As such, utility companies and investors are spending more time and money developing renewable energy projects that will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, provide a limitless source…

Many utilities have resisted the growth of distributed solar generation (DSG) because they are concerned that it could eventually undermine their traditional business model. Their argument is that, as more customers switch to Northern California solar energy, rates for non-solar customers will rise, which will encourage even more customers to switch to a photovoltaic (PV)…

Solar power used to be relatively new concept that existed only on a small scale or in experimental projects that had little hope of being commercialized. As such, many Californians still think of it as a quaint technology that wouldn’t be viable or affordable. But photovoltaic panels have come a long way in the last few…

Media coverage of Northern California solar energy tends to focus on the benefits of solar electric systems and the value they provide in terms of lower electricity bills. One area that you may not know as much about is solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems, particularly when it comes to water heating systems that rely…

While more people across the United States are continuing to realize the benefits of solar energy solutions, we understand that having panels installed on your roof is still a big decision that requires a great deal of consideration. In a recent article, New York media outlet the Buffalo News highlights what you should keep in mind…

In early March, two influential green technology companies announced a joint plan to study the effects of solar photovoltaics (PV) on the electric grid in Sacramento, California – an initiative that could pave the way to greater solar power adoption throughout the city. Stem, an organization that analyzes energy consumption and develops solutions for optimizing it,…