A new report by market researcher NPD Solarbuzz says that California once again lead the U.S. in solar installations for the second quarter of 2012. The Golden State added 53 percent of all the solar power installations that were completed during the three month period from April 1 to June 30, for a total of 521 megawatts (MW) of capacity. Overall, the country installed 976 MW in the second quarter, about a 24 percent increase over the previous quarter. This was…

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 of 2013. While the report doesn’t detail statistics from individual states, overall the nation added 723 megawatts (MW) of solar…

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 is being piloted by two former members of the Swiss Air Force, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, as part of a…

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 the most salient facts is that although the Golden State led the nation with 1,033 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity…

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 hit a statewide peak of 1,872 megawatts (MW) of generation. This means that enough solar energy was flowing into the…

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 almost five times as much solar as the United States currently possesses, and it’s an indication of just how affordable…

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 there are financing options and programs available for these citizens. Luckily, a new law recently enacted by Governor Jerry Brown…

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. Considering that the United States is in the midst of a natural gas boom, the dominance of solar energy is…

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 LLP’s energy, project development and finance practice group, predicts that the state will meet its goal long before 2020. The…

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” panels into the U.S. market, which dramatically lowered prices, making installations cheaper for homeowners and businesses. Now that existing inventories…

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 watt, down from $5.08 in Q1 of 2011. This also represented a 9.4 percent decline from the last quarter, when…

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 were constructed the year before. Many analysts speculate that California homeowners are beginning to realize how much money they can save…