Up on the rooftop: Brightening prospects for solar technology
It's midnight, do you know where your solar panel is?
I read somewhere yesterday where thefts of solar panels are on the rise, no doubt due to the rather dear price that they still command. Hopefully, that's on a pace for change, given that many of us have less disposable income than we did in the past. For me, one of the brightest spots in the whole $700 billion bailout package approved last week by the federal government was the decision FINALLY to extend tax credits for investments that people make in solar and wind technology. I know that many solar companies and utilities are breathing a sigh of relief. We've waited long enough for this legislation. Now, let's have at it. No more excuses.
The good news is that at least some of us have been plowing forward without waiting for the government. Here are just a few examples of new installations that I've become aware of during the past couple of months, ones that demonstrate the spirit of interest in solar projects across all facets of our society.
- One example: The San Domenico School (a Catholic school in Northern California) is planning to install a 412-kilowatt solar power system in conjunction with Recurrent Energy, which describes itself as the "solar as a service" company. Their deal calls for 2,300 photovoltaic panels to be spread across campus in rooftop and ground arrays, handling approximately 85 percent of the school's electricity needs. Recurrent will make the investment and handle the installation with two partners, Solaris Solar and GreenLight Solar. It will sell the power back to the school at a pre-negotiated rate. The project is set to be operational by the end of the year; the school administration spent several years exploring its options.
- Recurrent Energy is also behind a 1-megawatt solar project in Visalia, Calif., with The North Force (the apparel and outdoor equipment company). Also set to be completed by the end of 2008, the design and construction of this project will be handled by EI Solutions, which supposedly has handled the largest corporate solar installation in the United States—the one at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The installation in question will be located ON and NEXT TO to a new 800,000-square-foot distribution center. It will feature 5,445 Suntech photovoltaic panels. Another pretty cool feature is that the panels will be mounted on RayTracker GC single-axis solar trackers from Energy Innovations that follow the sun, maximizing the amount of energy that any single panel can collected. Similar deal as the San Domenico school: Recurrent invests, The North Face buys back the power that the solar technology is producing on its property.
- To consider how interested Californians, at least, are in solar power, consider that another San Francisco-area organization, 1 Block Off the Grid, has just begun talking about the results of its solar power project in the city. The organization blitzed San Francisco residents to educate them about subsidies for solar technology. It signed up 180 residents, and 70 were prequalified to receive an on-site evaluation. Approximately 35 have signed up for solar installations. The first of those installations was finished on Sept. 27 and others are expected to be completed by early November, according to the organization. Six new cities will be targeted for the next wave of solar advocacy.