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 the previous year. Although two thirds of all renewable capacity still comes from hydropower, the amount from solar is steadily…

California leads the nation in solar generating capacity with 3,761 megawatts (MW) of installed solar power. So it’s no surprise that the state was named one of the most solar friendly by the Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire (CSRN). The publication surveyed the solar programs (or lack thereof) in several regions and found that the Golden State provided both the ideal climate for solar panels, as well as good policies to encourage the construction of more photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure.…

A new report from the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) states that California residential solar customers are increasingly relying on financing agreements in order to switch to photovoltaic (PV) power. In their report, CPI found that 75 percent of the state’s solar installations in 2012 were financed or leased, up from 10 percent in 2007. In light of this fact, it’s worth considering why this trend has emerged: Leasing lets you save money now: Homeowners who want…

Every day, we hear about more companies that are signing up for solar power purchase agreements (PPA) which allow them to enjoy stable, predictable energy costs and better plan for the future. This week, it was announced that USG Corporation, a manufacturer of building supplies and systems, had entered into a PPA with Green Light Energy Corp. for its manufacturing plant in Plaster City, California. With a solar PPA contract, a company agrees to have a…

Sources are reporting to the Washington Post that the White House has finally followed through on a promise to install a solar energy system on the roof of the most famous residence in the world. The details of the system, including the cost, size and supplier, have been kept under wraps, but it was confirmed that after a delay of three years, contractors had begun installation. It’s not the first time that solar power has made its…

The town of Breckenridge, Colorado, located west of Denver in the Rocky Mountains, is known both as a ski resort and a pioneer in solar energy. The city has established two community solar gardens, where residents can purchase panels to take advantage of the state’s generous tax credits and rebates for renewable energy. Adding to that legacy, the Breckenridge Town Council recently enacted legislation that exempts solar panels from the town’s sales tax of 8.725 percent.…

While a lot of families that are opting to go with Bay Area solar power are living in existing homes, there’s been a trend lately toward incorporating photovoltaic (PV) panels into new homes under construction. A recent article on Bloomberg.com points out that six of the 10 largest home builders in the country, including KB Home, have been integrating solar in their new construction. At the same time, some cities, such as Lancaster, California, have been mandating solar…

The HB-SIA, a plane powered entirely by sunlight and photovoltaic panels, completed a journey across the United States from San Francisco to New York after making stops in Phoenix, Dallas, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. It is the first time a plane has been flown cross-country entirely on solar power. The plane was designed and built by Solar Impulse, a Swiss organization founded by two pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, who wanted to promote clean…

Most people associate Northern California solar energy with progressive politics, given that environmentalism and improving air quality are major items on the progressive agenda. However, there are quite a few conservatives who are also discovering the benefits of this technology. Consequently, there has been a push from the right, as well as the left, to promote solar power for residents and businesses. The best example of this phenomenon is taking place in Georgia, where a group of…

We reported recently on the U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, published by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Greentech Media (GTM), which showed the massive, accelerating growth of the solar industry has continued into the first quarter of 2013. What was even better news was that California is leading this expansion, having added 71.3 megawatts (MW) of new solar generating capacity in Q1. But one of the more interesting aspects of this number is that 13.2 MW of…

The U.S. Armed Forces are moving towards solar energy to meet their power needs in the future. A report recently released by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), an organization that promotes the solar power sector, highlights some of the recent attempts to integrate photovoltaic panels into the military’s energy infrastructure, which currently relies heavily on fossil fuels to power its bases and vehicles. This has severe consequences for both the Pentagon’s finances as well…

Shrinking budgets and cutbacks are a major challenge for public schools still reeling from reduced state and federal aid. As a result, many institutions are looking for ways to curtail expenditures without eating into the already small appropriations devoted to things like textbooks, class resources and teacher pay. The Jefferson Elementary School District (JESD), located just south of San Francisco, may have found a solution by switching to Bay Area solar energy to provide its…