Posts tagged solar energy

Brett,
I love the new format. Congratulations on a great move. I will follow your blog.
I will also honor you by inviting you out for a day of fun in the surf on my 2 personal watercraft. I spent 10 hours last Saturday in a wetsuit on the water riding shore breaking waves from Channel Islands Marina to Santa Barbara and back. I did that day solo, but would like to invite you on a similar adventure in the near future.
Now, my question.
What are the current state of rebates, regarding home solar, and what are your recommendations for individuals? Buy or Lease, execute now or wait for lower prices?
Rick
Again, congratulations on the great new format for Blue Earth. — Asked by richardmdry

Hi Rick,

I can’t wait to get on your PWC’s.  We just have to offset the carbon :~)   Thanks for the offer.

solar panels

In terms of getting a solar harvesting system, I personally would do it now.  I put mine on about a year ago, and have been thrilled with it.  Better yet, you will pay probably 25% less today than I did a year ago.  Make sure you get competing bids from good installers to make sure your return on investment is decent.

In terms of buying or leasing, that is a matter of your own cash flow and energy requirements.  Get quotes for both, then determine what you want to do based on opportunity cost for your money.  If you can invest your money in other places and get a 20% return, then by all means lease!

If you just feel like owning your system, and don’t have many places to get a good return on your money, then go ahead and buy it. You will not be sorry you did.

Plants are good at doing what scientists and engineers have been struggling to do for decades: converting sunlight into stored energy, and doing so reliably day after day, year after year. Now some MIT scientists have succeeded in mimicking a key aspect of that process.

singularitarian

I have heard that an MIT solar project is a paint that can be applied to any metal surface, which converts it into a sun harvester, based on the way plants photosynthesize light. The above may be referring to that project.

China Blocks a US Solar Supplier

In what appears to be no-win situation for the American company First Solar, a Mongolian order to provide panels for a giant solar plant has been squashed by the Chinese government.

The order was written in November of 2009 to great fanfare, coinciding with President Obama’s visit to China.  Only, once the US delegation left and it became time to start construction, the Chinese reviewed that order.

Now, it looks like First Solar is out, and Chinese manufacturers are in.

So, call your Congress person and demand that the US implement a huge tax on Chinese panels coming into the US.  That will make China really think before they close out US manufacturers from their marketplace.