Now who said that solar power was really the main solution to all our green problems? After all, if you really do think about it, solar power comes directly from the sun. There are no by-products with using solar power. Solar products are also green and they can be a wee bit expensive but in the long run, you would be saving much for you would not have to shell out to pay those expensive electricity bills you run each month. And then we also are helping our environment as well.

However, there is another side to that story and it was disclosed in a report I found just today. Here’s what it says:

Installing “green” energy saving measures in the home is so expensive it can take more than 200 years to cover the cost.

Solar panels are one of the least cost effective upgrades, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), which today published The Greener Homes Price Guide.

What’s your take on this?

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Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Solar, USA

As part of a program to provide the University of California at San Diego with renewable energy from several sources including sun, wind and bio-gas fuel cells, the school has “planted” a virtual grove of Solar Trees[TM] on the upper levels of a pair of parking garages. The “trees” provide energy for the school as well as shade for student vehicles. The grid-tied electrical infrastructure needed for the project also allows outlets for the spaces so when plug-in hybrids and electric cars begin to appear on campus they can be accommodated.

The school avoided paying any upfront cost by partnering with three different local companies who took care of the purchase and installation of the Envision Solar grove. The energy will be metered and the school will be billed monthly for the electricity received. The Solar Trees[TM] are said to be extremely sturdy and capable of enduring high winds as well as incidents of “driver error.” Although not present in this installation, other Envision solar groves include rain water capture as well. Press release is after the break.

[Source: The Earth Times]

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[Valencia, Spain]

Mechtild Rothe becomes the first woman awarded the Becquerel Prize.

After Conference General Chairman Daniel Lincot kicked off the 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) closing session, the 2008 Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in Photovoltaics was awarded to Mechtild Rothe (Deutsch) by Professor Dr. Adolf Goetzberger, Chairman of the Becquerel Prize Committee, and Dr. Wolfgang Palz.

Mechtild Rothe is Vice President of the European Parliament where she has been a Member since 1984 and belongs to the German SPD (Social Democratic Party or Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands). Ms. Rothe has been a longtime champion for renewables and photovoltaics in the European Parliament, and her accomplishments include leading the successful effort to establish the 3 GWp (GigaWatt-peak) by 2010 target for photovoltaics in the European Union.

Per this bio:

“Mechtild Rothe was e.g. Rapporteur in the EP for the Directive on the promotion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources (2001/77) and Rapporteur of the Directive on energy services and energy efficiency.”

Today, Ms. Rothe is leading the opposition to a “harmonized” European wide green certificate trading system in lieu of and undermining the successful Feed-in Tariff model for fostering and scaling renewable energy technologies to compete with entrenched and subsidized legacy conventional energies such as fossil fuels and nuclear.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Rothe called for an EU Treaty for Renewable Energy Sources to displace the Euratom Treaty in the 21st century. She also trumpeted the German initiative to create an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA):

to provide practical advice and support for industrialized and developing countries seeking to expand their renewable energy sectors, and to work toward improved regulatory frameworks.

Also serving as President of EUFORES (European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources) and Vice-President of EUROSOLAR e.V. (The European Association for Renewable Energy), Ms. Rothe said the prize had given her “renewed energy” for the fight.

Next up from the 23rd EU PVSEC closing session will be the conference technical highlights.

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DUE TO THE TROPICAL STORM THAT SEEMS CERTAIN TO DRENCH THE NY-METRO AREA TOMORROW, WE WILL POSTPONE THE FINAL NIGHT OF THE SOLAR-POWERED FILM SERIES UNTIL SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7 at 8PM. FOR AN UPDATE ON THE GREEN EDGE ECO-SCAVENGER HUNT, CLICK HERE. AND BRING YER COOKIES ON SUNDAY FOR THE COOKIE COMPETITION! FOR MORE INFO ON THE FILMS, CLICK HERE.

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Plans for a solar project have been recently disclosed in Phoenix. Who disclosed such plans? The city of Phoenix, APS, and the Phoenix Suns. Such project is projected to be built in the US Airways Center.

In behalf of the city of Phoenix, APS, and the Phoenix Suns, four of their big men were the ones to talk of such plans. Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns guard), Steve Kerr (Phoenix Suns general manager), Don Brandt (President and CEO of APS), and Michael Johnson (council member of the city of Phoenix) had been the ones to unveil the project. They have said that the whole solar project is going to be installed in the center’s garage’s fifth floor and would be working by2009.

Kerr disclosed, “We expect the solar technology to reduce the traditional power usage for a portion of the center’s Casino Arizona Pavilion load by about 25 percent or the equivalent of 26 Suns home games each season.”

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Filed under: Etc., Solar, Green Daily

Is it a secret image taken in Area 51 of a spacefaring vehicle? Has the Mothership come for all of us? Or is it just the aerodynamic slipperiness of the Xof1 (Power of 1) solar powered car?

It’s the latter, but that didn’t stop someone up in Alaska from thinking suspicious thoughts as Canadian Marcelo da Luz drove his Xof1 down the road. A concerned citizen up there reported a UFO sighting and the police ended up pulling da Luz over to find out what was going on. It was the seventh time that the Xof1 was pulled over on it’s emissions free journey.

As you might remember from our 2006 report, da Luz is driving across North America in his sun-powered ride, and you can get more information at the Xof1 project website.

[Source: NPR, Xof1]

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The Rise & Shine is your daily source for all solar industry-related news.

California News

Home to Receive Solar System. OCR Solar & Roofing will install the first BP Solar system on a home in Trilogy at La Quinta today, 9am-12pm.

Suntech to Supply The North Face with 1MW of Solar Panels. Suntech will supply 5,445 panels for a 1 MW system at The North Face’s West Coast distribution center in Visalia, CA to be installed by EI Solutions, on RayTracker GC single-axis solar trackers.

FedEx Freight and BP Solar Complete Second Solar Power Installation. BP Solar announced today the completion and activation of a second project together - a 269 kW solar system for a FedEx Freight distribution center in Fontana, CA.

National News

Duke Energy Seeks Solar Suppliers to Launch $100 Million Solar Plan. Duke Energy is seeking bids from companies to supply solar panels, electrical equipment and installation services as part of the utilities proposed $100M North Carolina solar plan. Starting in early 2009, Duke Energy wants to install electricity-generating photovoltaic solar panels at up to 850 North Carolina sites.

Thou Shalt Install Solar. Some members of an Amish community in northeastern Indiana hope to get electricity from solar and wind power.

Home, Green Home. Even as housing markets in many countries collapse, demand is growing for low-impact ?green? homes.

Phoenix Suns Go Solar. The 194-kilowatt AC solar energy system will be designed and installed by EI Solutions Inc., and financed and operated by Tioga Energy.

Sunrise Solar Joins The Solar Energy Industry Association. Sunrise Solar intends to commercialize and distribute cutting edge alternative solar energy technologies and equipment.

SBD International To Build Thin Film Solar Cell Manufacturing Facility. SBD plans to build a thin film solar panel plant in Florida to serve the Caribbean and South American markets.

Financial News & Markets

Suntech Shares Rise on Solar Power Deal. Suntech shares rose Thursday after the company said it has been selected to supply 5,445 solar panels for a 1MW solar electricity system in Visalia, CA.

Solar Panel Prices Might Not Decline As Much As Thought. Where most analysts had been expecting solar panel prices to fall 10% to 20% in 2009, some industry executives and analysts now are expecting a decline of less than 10%, and perhaps less than 5%.

Markets & Market Research

Energy Storage Solutions for Grid-Tied PV. Saft is tying up with Conergy and Tenesol launch SOLION, a large scale energy storage deployment project to supplement residential photovoltaic systems.

Solar Sunroofs, Emerging Technology For Your Car. Sunrise Solar has introduced the latest in sun roofs: solar sunroofs for your car. The solar panel would in effect replace ordinary tinted glass.

International News

Day4 Energy to Supply 2.5MW Solar Electric System in Italy. Day4 Energy will deliver a 2.5MW power generation system to be installed by the company’s Italian channel partner Ing Gaeta Sistemi Elettrici SrL.

LDK Solar Signs Polysilicon Reactor Agreement. LDK signed a $32M contract with GT Solar to purchase polysilicon CVD reactors for installation in LDK Solar’s manufacturing.

Hoku Announces Customer Realignment of Polysilicon Capacity. Hoku will sell and deliver polysilicon to Solargiga over 10 years beginning in early 2010. Hoku has reallocated its planned polysilicon capacity and ended contract negotiations with Sanyo and Global Expertise Wafer Division.

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REC Solar is an industry leader in grid-tied solar systems, especially in California where the company has installed more systems than any other. In order to spread the solar word even further, REC Solar and MySpace.com teamed up to educate Denver residents and visitors at the recent Democratic National Convention. To do that, the two [...]

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