New Jersey-based Trinity Solar, New Jersey’s largest solar energy provider and named by NJBIZ as the 26th fastest growing company in the state, has reached a major milestone with its 2,000th solar electric installation – nearly double the number of any other solar provider serving the Garden State. This is a landmark achievement not only because of the sheer quantity of systems Trinity has installed, but also because Trinity has firmly established itself as the preferred solar provider in New Jersey.

“We’ve seen a substantial uptick,” reports Ed Merrick, Trinity’s Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “We’ve grown our installation base to over 150 per month, with the majority of our systems being installed in New Jersey. The state is embracing solar power.” Trinity also serves customers in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Merrick credits several factors for the surge in interest in Trinity, starting with substantial savings. According to Merrick, residential customers are first excited to learn that generating their own power via solar panels can save them up to $2,000 annually on their electric bill.

Next comes the realization that solar buildings can produce income – in most cases thousands of dollars a year – when owners sell energy credits back to utilities. Finally, Trinity Solar offers multiple financing options that eliminate the start-up fees that once deterred clients.  With Trinity, home or business owners are able to go solar at a greatly reduced cost and immediately reap the rewards of a lower energy bill.

JERSEY SHORE

DRIVE ELECTRIC VEHICLES

SunPower Corporation sponsor of the 250-megawatt (AC) California Valley Solar Ranch power plant, announced today the project has been offered support via a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.187 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). California Valley Solar Ranch is expected to create 350 jobs during construction, will power approximately 100,000 homes, and will be one of the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plants in the world, when complete.

NRG Solar, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. will assume all ownership and financing responsibilities for the project, subject to certain conditions. SunPower will design, build, and initially operate and maintain the solar power plant.Construction is expected to start in the second half of 2011, contingent on permitting and financing, with a portion of the project expected to begin operations by the end of 2011 and the balance coming on line in 2012 and 2013. “The offer of a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee from the DOE’s Loan Programs Office is a significant milestone for this project, which will make a substantial contribution to California’s effort to generate 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020,” said Tom Doyle, president of NRG Solar. “In addition to creating hundreds of jobs and displacing carbon dioxide emissions, the California Valley Solar Ranch will demonstrate photovoltaic technology at a large scale.”

“With this loan guarantee, San Luis Obispo County is one step closer to benefiting from more than $315 million of economic development from the California Valley Solar Ranch, while protecting thousands of acres of local habitat,” said Howard Wenger, president of the utility and power plants business group at SunPower. “The Department of Energy is driving innovative technology deployment to reduce the cost of central station solar power plants. Together with NRG, this is a transformative investment that the federal government can uniquely deliver to nurture innovation, create immediate jobs and stimulate the economy.”  The DOE Loan Programs Office was designed to accelerate the domestic commercial deployment of innovative and advanced clean energy technologies at a scale sufficient to contribute meaningfully to the achievement of national clean energy objectives, including job creation and reducing dependency on foreign oil.

UPDATED EVENTS

Jobs for the Future (JFF) today released three new publications examining innovative ways community colleges are serving their students, communities, and emerging workforce needs. JFF develops, implements, and promotes new education and workforce strategies that help communities, states, and the nation compete in a global economy. In more than 200 communities across 43 states, JFF improves the pathways leading from high school to college to family-sustaining careers.

Informed by research from the MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award program and other JFF initiatives, the briefs highlight effective examples of preparation in mathematics and for careers in health care and the green economy. Each offers new perspectives on the issue of college and career readiness. “Across the nation, community colleges are leaders in providing educational and career opportunities for students of all ages and supporting local economic development,” said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “The profiles of innovation in these publications provide good news for students and the future of America’s workforce.”

“Community colleges are instrumental in preparing, retraining, and reenergizing the U.S. workforce for the 21st century,” said Marlene B. Seltzer, president and CEO of Jobs for the Future. “The colleges featured in these briefs provide prime examples of creative solutions that specifically address community-based challenges.” The report highlights community colleges development in developmental math healthcare training and going green. The emerging and expanding green economy has the potential to create not just jobs, but career opportunities across the United States as green manufacturing, products, and services fuel demand for workers at all skill levels. Community colleges are leading the way in defining and addressing these opportunities, developing programs in expanding fields from solar energy to green construction; creating new and better training programs for green jobs; and developing educational pathways that lead to the Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees that are key for advancing in these emerging careers.

GREEN WEBINARS

The City of San Jose and SunPower Corp. today announced that it is offering rebates to all San Jose homeowners and small business owners on purchases of a new, high-efficiency SunPower solar system. In addition to discounts on SunPower high-efficiency solar systems, this new comprehensive solar program offers homeowners free educational workshops through the City of San Jose, access to solar loans through designated financial institutions and introductions to qualified SunPower dealers who will conduct a free, no obligation solar evaluation. “We are proud to partner with SunPower on this innovative program to encourage new solar installations in San Jose,” said Mayor Chuck Reed.  “These incentives will make it possible for more homeowners and small businesses to enjoy the financial and environmental benefits offered by solar energy.”

SunPower, based in San Jose, is an active member of the community and supports many local events each year. Last fall, the company announced plans to expand in San Jose and will move into its new, three-building facility to accommodate planned, long-term growth later this spring. “The SunPower City Alliance program makes it easy and affordable for those considering installing new solar systems at their residence or workplace,” said Tom Werner, SunPower CEO.  “We are pleased to offer our neighbors this attractive opportunity to install the highest efficiency solar panels on the market today, with the highest reliability and guaranteed performance.”

SunPower’s broad Alliance Solar Program was launched in 2007 and is open to organizations and businesses wanting to partner with SunPower to educate their members or employees on the benefits of solar, and offer them rebates on a high-efficiency SunPower solar system.

BUILDING GREEN

Without a vision there is no mission; without a mission there is no action. The vision of a world being powered by solar energy might seem impossible – but it makes sense to seek a way to make it possible.

Man on the Moon
In most cases, the impossible is in fact feasible, if we just try. If you had asked in the 1950s whether it was possible to send a man to the moon, people would most likely have laughed in your face. Only a little over a decade later it happened. Although there are some skeptics who still believe it all happened in a Hollywood studio… but who can blame the disbelievers? In the USA anything is possible.

Now, let’s take a look at solar PV. All of the last decade’s forecasts in global market growth have been surpassed. With the exception of the somewhat modest growth experienced during the “crisis-year” 2009, 2008 to 2010 saw the global market growing an astonishing 100%. Numerous markets, for example Italy and Germany, have demonstrated that a growth rate of over 100% is indeed very feasible. So, if they are in a position to do so, more countries will hopefully follow suit. It is a proven model. The solar industry is growing with increasing speed – so fast, in fact, that analysts are worried about an oversupply situation this year for solar cells and modules. The “Impossible” Scenario

SOLAR EVENTS