Posts by West Coast Solar

California has always been at the forefront of solar energy technology. The latest evidence of this is a report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a solar energy advocacy group, and GTM Research, released on June 11. The report states the Golden State led the nation in new solar capacity for the first quarter…

Reuters reports that the Solar Impulse, a plane powered entirely by energy generated from photovoltaic panels, has completed the second leg of a 4-part trip across the United States. The first segment of the trip took the plane from San Francisco to Phoenix in early May, and the second leg went from Phoenix to Dallas. The plane…

A recent report by Environment America, an environmental advocacy organization, sheds light on how California’s solar energy capacity compares with that of other states. The study, titled “Lighting the Way: What We Can Learn from America’s Top 12 Solar States,” was released on July 24 and reveals some interesting information about California solar power. One of…

Solar power solutions continue to catch on in California as more people are discovering the incredible benefits of renewable energy sources. This is good news for anyone who cares about environmental issues and energy independence. California ISO, the agency that runs most of the state’s power grid, announced through Twitter on May 23 that solar power…

Solar energy had a big year in 2013, with over 4 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity added in the United States alone. The growth of the industry doesn’t appear anywhere close to slowing down. NPD Solarbuzz, a market research company that tracks photovoltaic solar installations, has forecasted that worldwide solar installations will total 49 GW in 2014. That’s…

One of the keys to the continued growth of California solar energy is to make this technology available to all residents, no matter their earnings. While middle- and high-income earners continue to take advantage of the benefits of solar, there is a perception that renewable energy is too expensive for lower income families, despite the fact that…

Recently it was reported that the solar energy industry in the United States added about 930 megawatts (MW) of installations in the third quarter of 2013. These numbers are impressive, but providing some context makes them even more remarkable. According to Greentech Media, solar power made up 72.1 percent of all new electrical generating capacity in October.…

New analysis by a prominent energy lawyer indicates that California could reach its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goal before the official due date of 2020. Under current law, state utilities must derive a third of their electricity from renewable sources such as California residential solar. But Jerry Bloom, the chairman of law firm Winston & Strawn…

The solar installation market in the United States continues to expand, with growth in the last quarter coming in at 15 percent. However, despite that increase, solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturers had actually experienced a slowdown over the last two years as a result of an oversupply of solar cells. Chinese manufacturing had been “dumping”…

The cost of going solar continues to plummet. A new report from the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), a solar advocacy group, and GreenTech Media, a clean technology news site, states that photovoltaic (PV) panel costs have dropped 60 percent since the first quarter of 2011. PV Magazine reports that solar panel prices fell to $3.04 per…

The demand for energy-efficient homes in California is rising, and home builders are producing more homes with rooftop solar panel systems than ever before. According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2012, over 4,000 new homes in the state were built with rooftop solar systems. That is almost double the number of solar-powered homes that…

A United Nations-backed report has confirmed what many in the renewable energy industry already knew – that the dramatic drop in price of solar energy has helped encourage investment growth in renewable energy. The report, produced by French think-tank REN21, showed that global energy-generating capacity from renewable sources rose by 115 gigawatts in 2012, compared with 105 gigawatts…