US Could Save $80 Billion With Renewable Energy

Posted on November 17, 2011 by quest

New findings of the nonprofit Civil Society Institute finds, Contrary to “Common Wisdom,” Fossil Fuels Are Not the Cheaper Route for Nation’s Future. It is a myth that switching to safe, renewable energy would mean an unreliable U.S. power supply that also is too expensive to afford. That is the major conclusion of a new Synapse Energy Economics report prepared for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute that details a future with more energy efficiency and renewable energy and less reliance on coal and nuclear power.

Titled “Toward a Sustainable Future for the U.S. Power Sector: Beyond Business as Usual 2011“Synapse-Toward-a-Sustainable-Future-11-11, the new Synapse/CSI report outlines a realistic transition to a cleaner energy future that would result in a net savings of $83 billion over the next 40 years. The Synapse report also details other major benefits, including: the avoidance of tens of thousands of premature deaths due to pollution; the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs; sharp cuts in carbon pollution; and significant cuts in water consumption for power production.

The new Synapse report findings for CSI are particularly significant in view of the fact that a strong majority of Americans want the U.S. to make the investments needed to be a clean energy leader on a global basis. More than three in four Americans (77 percent) – including 65 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of Independents, 88 percent of Democrats, and 56 percent of Tea Party members — agree with the following statement: “The U.S. needs to be a clean energy technology leader and it should invest in the research and domestic manufacturing of wind, solar and energy efficiency technologies.”

Sprint Honored at Global Green Sustainable Design Awards

Energy Secretary Testifying Today

New Solar Solutions Could Put Angelenos To Work

Posted on November 16, 2011 by quest

While Los Angeles is fast becoming a major player in the electric vehicle industry, a new jointly authored report by UCLA and USC research teams finds that Los Angeles is lagging behind on solar energy installation despite a significant trained workforce ready to perform clean-energy solar jobs. Further, the study finds that the areas in Los Angeles with the greatest potential for rooftop solar power – and thus the greatest capacity to support solar-related jobs – include many areas suffering from high unemployment and economic need.

The report urges officials to adopt a rooftop solar energy program known as a solar FiT (or feed-in tariff) that enables business owners and residents to install solar panels on their rooftops and sell surplus energy to the local utility. Such a program has been endorsed by a coalition of environmental groups, labor leaders, business organizations and other stakeholders. Thus far city leaders have failed to enact policies that would take advantage of this resource and put city residents to work.“Unless civic leaders ramp up efforts to expand solar programs, the city and region face the prospect of being left behind,” states the report, Empowering LA’s Solar Workforce: New Policies that Deliver Investments and Jobs.LABC_Solar_Workforce_Study_2011 “This report is, above all, a wake-up call to policymakers to make certain they are utilizing an important workforce segment – and creating policies that will put qualified people to work.”

While California has set a goal of generating 33 percent of its energy from renewable energy by 2020, the study reveals that the LA region lacks sound policies to meet these goals and employ ready green-economy workers. In fact, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has one of the weakest solar track records among major California utilities, generating less than one sixth as much solar power per customer as the state leader, Southern California Edison.The report, presented by the LABC Institute, will be formally released at the LA Business Council’s “Building LA’s Workforce” Summit at UCLA today, Nov. 16. It will be discussed at the event by a panel that includes three leading mayoral candidates– City Council President Eric Garcetti, Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilwoman Jan Perry.

Charging Up EV’s In Southern California

California’s Ninety Nine Percent Buying Solar Energy

Posted on November 15, 2011 by quest

PV Solar Report, an authority on California solar market data and SunRun, a leading home solar company, today announced that families in median income zip codes make up the majority of California’s home solar market. Two thirds of California home solar installations in 2009, 2010, and 2011 year-to-date have been in zip codes with median annual household incomes of less than $85,000 and not in the wealthiest areas of the state. In addition, the number of residential projects in lower income zip codes continues to increase as solar prices decrease. The top cities on the list are not California’s wealthiest and are home to more mainstream families. For example, Bakersfield and Fresno are among the state’s top five solar cities with annual household incomes averaging between $40,000 and $50,000. By comparison, Malibu, which was not even in the top 25, has a median annual household income of $160,000. The percent of total installations in California’s highest income zip codes is only 2-3 percent.

SunRun Director of Government Affairs Ethan Sprague said, “The data from PV solar report shows this model is working, and that it’s not just the wealthy driving and benefitting from solar adoption. We are working to educate consumers that solar is finally affordable.” “This is exactly the market transformation that the California Solar Initiative (CSI) was designed to achieve when it started in 2007. SunRun owns, insures and maintains solar panels and installs them on a homeowner’s roof. Families pay a low monthly rate for clean energy, fixing their energy costs for 20 years. The service makes solar accessible to more Californians because families who could not afford cash purchase can now go solar. One of every four SunRun customers reporting income makes less $50,000 per year.

“It’s exciting to analyze how the industry is growing right now, especially when trends indicate that solar is becoming more mainstream and not just reserved for the wealthiest individuals,” said Stephen Torres, founder and managing director of PV Solar Report. “Solar prices are coming down, it’s great for job growth from installing, financing, and servicing solar in local communities, and models like SunRun are helping drive growth because they eliminate large upfront investments.”

Solar Power Wars

Lakers Players Shoot For Green Solar Energy

Posted on November 14, 2011 by quest

The news that the NBA season is in peril isn’t good news. As just reported in the New York Times, “The union representing National Basketball Association players formally disbanded Monday and declared it would take its standoff with the league’s owners into federal court, a development that pushed the league as close as it has ever been to losing an entire season of play.”But recently Sungevity, a recognized national leader in solar innovation and customer satisfaction, announced the hiring of Lakers’ stars Metta World Peace and Devin Ebanks as part of the company’s “Rooftop Revolution” campaign – marking the first time out-of-work NBA stars are put their energy into the nation’s hot solar market and emerging green economy. In the land of abundant sunshine, the two Lakers drove Sungevity’s solar-powered, bio-diesel ice pop truck to Los Angeles hot spots and provided free, all-natural treats while promoting the ease and affordability of residential solar panel installation. “Without basketball or dancing on my schedule, I need a job!” joked Metta World Peace. “Sungevity is about positive, renewable energy, and I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than interacting with the fans and promoting the power of the sun to the city of Los Angeles.”

Ten years ago, there were just 500 home solar rooftops in California. Today, that number is over 60,000 and California is well on its way to reaching its goal of one million solar roofs by 2018. With the recent reintroduction of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Solar Incentive Rebate Program on September 1, homeowners can enjoy added savings on their solar units. The LADWP is awarding rebates until the $40 million budget earmarked for its fiscal year runs out.

“While we share Los Angeles’ hopes of seeing Metta and Devin back on the Staples Center court soon, we’re thrilled to have them on our team promoting solar energy as the key to minimizing utility costs and gaining energy independence,” said Danny Kennedy, Founder, Sungevity. “Between our fast, free iQuote process and the LADWP solar rebate program, there has never been a better time for Los Angeles residents to go solar.” Leveraging web-based solar analytics and satellite imagery, the company’s online iQuote process – combined with its Solar Lease program – provides homeowners with the easiest, most affordable solar energy solution. Sungevity is growing at a rapid pace, increasing its customer base by ten-fold and quadrupling employee headcount over the past year. The company currently provides solar services in five states including, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, and is the exclusive residential solar partner for Lowe’s, the world’s second-largest home improvement retailer.

McKibben ‘Not On Our Planet

Don’t Hate Electric Vehicles Hate Pollution

California One Gigawatts of Solar And Growing

Posted on November 11, 2011 by quest

Environment California Research & Policy Center released a new report documenting that California’s innovative Million Solar Roofs Initiative, halfway through its legislatively mandated timeline, is on pace to meet its goal of installing 3 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2016, is helping to reduce the cost of solar energy, and is creating thousands of jobs throughout the state. These findings come just as California hits the milestone of installing more than 1 gigawatt of rooftop solar power across the state—a milestone that only five other countries in the world have reached.

“California can become the Saudi Arabia of the sun if it continues to get behind big, successful solar programs,” said Michelle Kinman, Clean Energy Advocate with Environment California Research & Policy Center and co-author of the report, Building a Brighter Future: California’s Progress Toward a Million Solar Roofs. “All signs point to a bright future for solar power in California, meaning cleaner air, cleaner energy, and more jobs.”

The 2006 Million Solar Roofs Bill (SB 1 – Murray) was historic in both scope and scale, representing the first unified state effort to turn solar power into a commonplace and affordable energy resource for average citizens. The law established a 10-year, statewide interagency effort, now called the Go Solar California campaign, which includes programs that fund solar projects on homes, commercial businesses, farms, and government and non-profit buildings. Read the Full Report

Transforming Solar Sense

IKEA Charging Up EV’s In Southern California

Posted on November 11, 2011 by quest

IKEA-USA a leading home furnishings retailer, today officially plugged-in four Blink Pedestal electric vehicle charging stations at its Carson, California store as part of its partnership with ECOtality, Inc., a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. This initiative represents the second such project for IKEA in the United States. Installation also is planned at seven other IKEA stores in the Western U.S. To charge an EV at IKEA Carson, drivers pull into a designated parking spot, swipe their Blink InCard (RFID card), plug the charger into the EV, and then shop and eat at their leisure in the IKEA store while the vehicle is charging.

Maike Buhmann, IKEA Carson store manager said, “We are thrilled at how these electric-vehicle charging stations further the sustainability of IKEA Carson, and now are available to the public.” “We appreciate the support of ECOtality and Southern California Edison – our partners in helping facilitate and promote the use of EVs in Southern California.”ECOtality is the project manager of The EV Project, a public-private partnership funded in part by a federal stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Energy made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to provide the necessary infrastructure to support the deployment of EVs. Globally, IKEA evaluates all locations regularly for energy conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works with Global Forest Watch to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. The company is the process of installing solar panels atop more than half of its U.S. locations. In addition their sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material (paper, wood, plastic, etc.); incorporating environmental measures into the construction of buildings in terms of energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, skylights in warehouse areas, and water conserving restrooms; and operationally, phasing out the sale of incandescent light bulbs and facilitating recycling of customers’ compact fluorescent bulbs.

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 330 IKEA stores in 40 countries, including 38 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainable efforts into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment.

The Challenging World Solar Challenge Race

Chevy Volt Tested After Fire