How about these right… I think you’ll find the following nuggets of wisdom particularly insightful. Leave your comments below. Check out the second one in particular…

Three Lowcountry organizations receive grants for renewable energy projects

Berkeley Electric Cooperative will be installing solar water heating systems in homes through a grant awarded to Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc. And …   Read More…

Homeowners Turn to Solar Technology to Cut Their Utility Bills

When people thought of solar panels for residential use a decade ago, many of them had a vision of an eco-friendly log cabin-like house …   Read More…

Solar Power Rundown for Monday, March 8

The loan — along with the solar power system — would be attached to the property, not the owner, and would remain if the property is sold. …   Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Technorati Tags: solar power for homes

Solar and wind are among the most economical sources of renewable energy that people can tap into in their homes through solar panel and wind turbines respectively. Solar energy can be converted through photovoltaic technology to produce solar electricity that can then be used in our homes. Wind turbines on the other hand produce electricity from the wind. Though solar and wind are still under utilized in industrial sector, they are becoming a common source of energy for homes.

When building a homemade or installing a ready-made energy system, one must consider the following factors

Solar panels rely on sunlight to produce power, the stronger and longer the sunlight exposure, the better the electricity generated. In other words, solar generated electricity is limited to areas with good sunlight exposure. Plan to build or install enough solar panels to meet your home energy needs. People who live along the equatorial will need fewer solar panels compared to someone who lives further away from the equatorial. However, one of the advantages of solar energy over other sources of alternative energy is the easy access. The sun is everywhere (for the most part) and anybody can harvest the free electricity it provides.

Wind generated power is equally significant, but unlike solar generated energy, wind is dictated by the location where someone lives. It is easier to harvest enough wind in a wide open flat area than a place covered with hills, mountains, tall trees or thick vegetation. In other words, without reliable wind supply, it is unrealistic to invest your resources on building or installing wind electricity system. Wind turbines need sufficient wind force to turn and produce electricity in the process.

It is a good idea to combine the two sources of alternative energy if you can feasibly do so. One of the homemade power systems can be a reserve source of electricity. Wind electricity can be the primary source of electricity during winter and solar panels during summer. Installing a ready-made solar or energy system in a residential home can be costly, but there is always an option of building a homemade one given the right Do-It-Yourself (DIY) guide.

Another source of clean electricity worth mentioning here is magnetic power generator. It is a power generator that uses magnetic forces to produce free energy. This energy runs the generator which in turn produces free electricity.

Technorati Tags: renewable energy sources

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Technorati Tags: 21ventures, 3g, energy, g3, low, orionsolar, power, Renewable, Solar

Hey Readers! I’ve been comin across some crazy stuff the past few days from a few different blogs around the web which I just had to share with you. Check em out below…

Latest Solar Power For Homes Auctions | My Efficient Planet

Latest Solar Power For Homes Auctions. March 8th, 2010 by My Efficient Planet Leave a reply ». Solar Power Your Home For Dummies (For Dummies (Home &. US $18.38. End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 14:05:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $18.38 …

Wonderful Facts About How Solar Power Can Certainly Reduce Your …

Solar energy for houses is becoming much more well-liked each year. As the price of production decreases it's becoming an inexpensive alternative for numerous homeowners. The government increases this possibility with the tax rebates it …

Simple To Build House Solar Power And Just How To Convert It To …

Thus, we can conclude that solar power is the next best thing to having free of charge and green electricity. But we all know that to be able to rid our homes of the monthly electric bills and totally live off the grid, we should spend …

Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

Technorati Tags: solar power for homes

Last week, Big Solar exercised some of its growing clout by killing an anti-solar bill in the Arizona legislature. Here's what happened:  state Republican senator Debbie Lasko introduced a bill that would have gutted Arizona's renewable portfolio standard as we know it. Thankfully, a threat by Chinese solar giant Suntech Power Holdings to withdraw plans to put its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Arizona rallied enough pressure to remove the bill from the floor. It was of great relief to solar proponents in the state, but unfortunately, Lasko's H.B. 2701 was not the only threat to Arizona's fledgling solar industry.

Republican Representative Carl Seel has introduced a bill that makes Lesko's look tame in comparison. His legislation would remove the right of the Arizona Corporate Commission – the state board that regulates utilities – to mandate renewable energy standards at all. Arizona passed their RES in 2006, requiring power providers to get 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2025, including a certain percentage from solar photovoltaics.

The Goldwater Institute, a very conservative thinktank named after infamous conservative Barry Goldwater, tried to sue the state, claiming that it was unconstitutional to force any such mandates or regulations on private utilities (unless, it seems, those regulations or incentives promote nuclear, coal or natural gas power plants). Goldwater Institute lost that lawsuit, but has responded by facilitating Representative Seel's H.B. 2381 that would render the Arizona Supreme Court's decision moot.

Furthermore, Arizona's republican governor, who reportedly helped kill Lesko's bill after industry pressure mounted, also killed a regional cap-and-trade program that Arizona pioneered to put a price on carbon-emitting energy sources.

The recent wave of attacks on solar power in Arizona is troubling for a state that has some of the best solar potential in the world. There are states where one could argue that solar power is not the best renewable option, like the windy Dakotas or the geothermal-laden Northwest, but Arizona is practically made of sunshine. Why any group or lawmaker would want to kill solar power in that state is beyond this writer.

But H.B. 2701 had 51 co-sponsors, and green-leaning governor Janet Napolitano is gone. While Suntech Power Holdings and the industry managed to kill Debbie Lesko's anti-solar bill, a huge victory among recent attacks, and may very well succeed in killing Carl Seel's anti-RPS bill, the fact that such contention exists in Arizona may scare off potential solar industry additions to the state. Several states are working to attract green tech industries and the market is highly competitive.

However the fate of Arizona's solar industry is decided, it will likely be decided soon, as Suntech's potential industry followers are unlikely to wait around for long while California, Oregon, Michigan, Colorado and other states wait with open arms and less uncertainty.

Photo Credit: Interesting Energy Facts & CleanMPG

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WNBC came to Solar One to tape Sarah showing a child, Brandon, how to build a solar car. Brandon, who is looking for a permanent home/adoption has been in and out of foster homes most of his life. He is interested in science so this was a perfect fit.

Solar One was happy to participate in this segment, and we wish Brandon a lot of luck in his search for a permanent home!

WHEN – Wednesday, March 10, between 6 and 6:30pm and again on Sunday, March 7, between 7 and 8am on NBC Channel 4.

The segment will also be available online beginning on Thursday, March 11.

The ins and outs of tomorrow's energy grid will be tested on an unprecedented scale in Chicago. Local utility ComEd, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, will use $5 million in Recovery Act funding to institute the program, which will initially outfit 8,000 homes with advanced smart meters in order to test how well consumers manage their energy consumption when monitoring and programming are available. The project will also include outfitting 100 homes with distributed solar power systems, creating “mini-utilities” through which ComEd can glimpse the smart home of the future.

Eventually, the project will extend to cover 131,000 Chicago homes. The first $8,000 will test a small range of smart meters for comparative purposes. 3,100 customers will receive a basic energy use display meter, 1,500 will get a touch-screen version that allows for electricity monitoring and internet access, and 400 will also receive programmable thermostats that allow remote control of heating and cooling systems.

The program will also enact an unprecedented pricing program in which pilot participants will be offered a six-tiered pricing approach.

The 6 options are widely accessible. They are:

• Regular current flat rates
• Rising rates based on higher-than-average consumption
• Hourly rates based on day-ahead wholesale rates
• Rising rates based on peak demand
• Rebate for customers that reduce consumption during peak demand
• Time-of-use pricing in which costs differ between peak and non-peak loading periods

The goal is to teach homeowners how to be more efficient consumers of energy, as well as find out which smart grid products are most efficient at helping to make that happen. America's electric grid is aging and, quite frankly, dumb. Half the battle in easing the pressure on our unkempt, deregulated grid is to reduce peak demand while increasing the use of distributed renewable energy. Moreover, a key ingredient in any smart grid is a smart consumer, a fact that ComEd and the feds' joint venture in Chicago will hopefully illustrate in the real world  — and in real time.

Sources: CleanTechnica, Cooler Planet

Photo Credit: Anastasia Marie & Rockefeller Group Development

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Fueled by TVA incentives and federal tax credits, participation in Generation Partners http://www.tva.gov/greenpowerswitch/partners/ has tripled since last spring from 69 to 194 installations -- 181 are solar and 13 are wind.

The combined generating capacity of the Generation Partners portfolio has grown from 454 kilowatts to more than 1.49 megawatts. While the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine, the combined energy from today's Generation Partners installations is expected to make enough electricity over a year to equal the annual consumption of more than 120 average Tennessee Valley households.

"Surpassing 1 megawatt is a milestone for this program," said Susan Curtis, TVA senior manager of Generation Partners. "It shows a growing desire of many residents to take a personal stake in clean renewable energy for our region. TVA and its distributors want to help."

Though a small contributor to TVA's 33,000-megawatt system, the power from Generation Partners, a pilot program launched in 2003, comes with clean-air savings. The 547,877 kilowatt-hours Generation Partners produced in fiscal 2009 represents 497 metric tons in avoided carbon dioxide emissions from fossil power plants.

USFloors Inc. of Dalton, Ga., recently became Generation Partners' largest participant with the installation of a 144-kilowatt system. It has 672 solar photovoltaic panels covering 14,500 square feet on a warehouse rooftop that can be seen from Interstate 75. Already, the sustainable flooring company is planning to modify a second existing solar array of 31.5 kilowatts to more than 300 kilowatts.

"There is no question that both TVA and North Georgia Electric Membership Corp. have been crucial elements in making this come to fruition," USFloors President Piet Dossche said. "Without them this would have been less attractive."

Generation Partners offers homeowners and businesses financial incentives for qualifying solar, wind, biomass and small hydroelectric systems of less than 1 megawatt. TVA pays each new participant $1,000 to offset startup costs and agrees to buy 100 percent of the green power they produce. TVA will pay the retail rate, plus any fuel cost adjustment, plus a 12-cent premium per kilowatt-hour for solar and 3 cents per kilowatt-hour for wind, biomass and hydro.

"Many of the homeowners and businesses we serve support renewable energy technologies and want to invest in renewable energy systems, which is encouraged through this program," said Steve Ward, energy services coordinator at North Georgia Electric Membership Corp., based in Dalton.

Federal renewable tax credits and the expanded Generation Partners pilot program are driving consumer interest in renewables, he said, noting North Georgia Electric Membership Corp. has two businesses and three homes now participating in Generation Partners and applications from four more.

"Based on the participation in the program we have had so far and the many inquiries about it, we do expect to see more renewable energy systems installed in 2010," Ward said.

"The incentives make the project viable," said Richard Grogan, president of Total Quality Instrumentation Inc., a renewable energy sales and installation company in Cookeville, Tenn., whose 44-kilowatt solar array pushed Generation Partners past 1 megawatt in capacity.

Total Quality's system includes 220 solar panels atop the company's 10,000 square-foot building and a 34-foot-tall wind turbine. Grogan said he was delighted with his first monthly bill from his TVA distributor, Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corp. It showed that renewables not only generated enough electricity to meet his company's needs for the month, but also a $40 credit.

"We just started in environmental installations late last year," Grogan said. "We have done four windmills and two solar systems. We have many systems in the works waiting on grants. Upon approval, our next install will be a 44-kilowatt system in Nashville on an airport hangar."

"We are going like gangbusters," said Jim Purcell, program manager at Nashville Electric Service. NES has 23 homes and 21 commercial buildings either in the process of installing solar panels for Generation Partners or already plugged in, including two public housing projects with 65-kilowatt solar arrays.

"I am fairly confident that the incentives that are out there from TVA are making these green companies work for us," Purcell said, noting a growing number of Nashville-area installers. "Based on what I am seeing, the early returns are excellent."