InterSolar Deja VuQuestPoint

I’ve seen this place before. It’s InterSolar North America thats’ returned to San Francisco for InterSolar 2010. It’s easy to understand why people from around the globe love San Francisco. It is a green city and a cultural,economic, technological, intellectual and social mecca for new thinking and change in the world. Renewable power and the solar industry in particular offer a glimpse of a world free from oil pollution. In reality though the future is now not just a distant dream. For example the city of Freiburg is a town of 200,000 people not far from the Black Forrest in Germany whose residents stood up and won against a planned nuclear power plant that was slated to be built in their district. Instead they created a fully sustainable city that integrates solar power. It is considered the greenest city in the world. It serves as a model for municipalities around the globe who emulate its principles and practices. It is a city where 10,000 of its citizens work in green related jobs. The city of Freiburg had a exhibit at the convention.

InterSolar NorthAmerica is an international trade show and conference for information and education on solar photovoltaic products and services. InterSolar also conducts conferences in Munich, Shanghai and Mumbai. This years’ conference attracted 30% more exhibitors than last year and more than 20,000 visitors. But the story isn’t just in the numbers. It’s in the curiosity of the visitors who attend the show; It’s in the fact that federal stimulus dollars are finding its way to new solar power plants that are opening where shuttered automobile plants once stood. SunPower the northern California solar panel manufacturer plans to open a plant in Milpitus California. In Arizona the Obama administration has just approved a $2 billion project to build the largest solar power plant In the US. Then there are In new innovations such as solar panels built into carports and electric vehicle charging stations. California and indeed the United States is poised to lead the solar power revolution.

The unfortunate loss of life, environmental and economic devastation from the BP oil explosion and subsequent oil gusher dramatically points out the need for clean renewable energy solutions such as solar power.

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OBAMA TOUTS NEW ELECTRIC CAR BATTERY PLANT

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City of Lancaster Announces Plans to Partner with SolarCity to Launch Solar Lancaster

Unique Public/Private Partnership Will Create Affordable Solar Options for Local Businesses, Non-profits and Homeowners

The City of Lancaster and SolarCity® today announced plans for Solar Lancaster, one of the most expansive solar community programs ever undertaken. The program, one of the nation’s first combined public/private solar partnerships, has been created to offer all Antelope Valley residents, businesses and non-profit organizations more affordable ways to adopt solar power. The program, which will be considered at tomorrow’s Lancaster City Council meeting, will provide a blueprint for other cities across the nation that want to use cleaner power, create green jobs and reduce dependence on polluting power sources.

Solar Lancaster can allow area homeowners to pay less for solar power than they previously paid for electricity via SolarLease®, SolarCity’s award-winning residential financing option. Businesses and non-profits will also have the option to install solar with no upfront cost, and pay only for the solar electricity their solar arrays produce each month through a power purchase agreement. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris will sign on as the first residential customer of the program. Sierra Toyota of Lancaster will be the first business to install solar as part of the program, with a 632-kilowatt installation at its new dealership.

“I’m delighted we will be offering a program which will allow Antelope Valley residents, businesses and non-profit organizations to go solar at an extremely affordable price,” said Mayor Parris. “As a City, we’re dedicated to offering ways to help our community go green. We will all benefit from this program, which will help reduce our carbon footprint while creating a number of new jobs in our community.”

SolarCity has opened a local office in the Lancaster Business Park to facilitate the operation of the Solar Lancaster program and create local jobs, and SolarCity plans to help create a local solar training program in partnership with the University of Antelope Valley. Lancaster is also working with SolarCity to install 2.5 megawatts of new solar capacity across six different City sites including City Hall, Clear Channel Stadium and the Lancaster Performing Arts Center.

“The City of Lancaster is demonstrating that individual communities can make a difference with programs that make clean power more affordable than other power sources,” said Jim Cahill, SolarCity’s regional director in Southern California. “Solar Lancaster will create a landmark opportunity for Antelope Valley residents, businesses, schools and other non-profits to install renewable power at an affordable price.”

“Through programs like Solar Lancaster, we are taking full advantage of our renewable natural resources to produce clean energy while also creating sustainable, well-paid jobs in a growing industry for our local residents,” said Parris. “This truly is the future of the Antelope Valley.”

To learn more about the program or to obtain a quote on solar power installation, businesses and homeowners can visit www.solarlancaster.org or call 888-765-2489.

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