The people who buy solar panels are your typical tree-hugging, left-leaning, well-to-do ex-hippies, right? Wrong! One Block Off The Grid polled nearly 200 solar homeowners to learn a little bit about what kind of person uses home solar. The answers might surprise you. For example: they don’t do it for the environment. Saving the world is nice, but the majority of polled homeowners who went solar did it for the money. Without the economic benefit of going solar, nearly 3 in 4 homeowners say they wouldn’t have done it. [Read this article]
Solar
Infographic: 9 Surprising Things About People Who Go Solar
Date: 04/25/2012 | Source: Mother Nature Network 
Is Solar Power Possible In Cold Climates?
Date: 04/25/2012 | Source: Green Living Ideas
Rising utilities are leaving many homeowners wondering just how high their energy bills will get in the coming years. With solar power becoming more affordable, many are looking to the sun for energy. While it may seem logical that only sunny states can benefit from this natural resource, it’s actually a good choice regardless of where you live. While southwestern states definitely have an edge in the solar market, solar energy companies are enjoying increases in customers from all around the country, including northern states. The number one country in solar power, however, is Germany which falls 51 degrees north of the equator. That’s about the spot of Winnipeg in Canada. Germans receive about 64 sunny days per year and yet lead the way as one of the world’s pioneers of solar energy use. So long as the temperature gets to 32 degrees, the solar panels can warm up and melt light snow making them efficient. [Read this article]
Solar Power Growth Jumps To New Record
Date: 03/14/2012 | Source: Reuters
The national solar industry installed a record number of panels in 2011, more than double 2010, and is likely to see strong growth again this year, according to a new report. Solar installers built 1,855 megawatts of photovoltaic projects in 2011 for a total of $8.4 billion, up from 887 MW in 2010, according to a report released by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The growth in U.S. demand comes as the makers of the panels that turn light into electricity have struggled to earn profits amid a glut of supplies on the global market that eroded margins. “The U.S. was a strong market in 2011 and we expect it to be strong again in 2012,” said GTM Managing Director Shayle Kann. For 2012, GTM and SEIA said new construction would grow 35 to 50 percent, reaching 2,500 to 2,800 MW, as a backlog of large projects is completed. The 2011 figures rank the United States as the fourth largest solar market in the world behind Germany, Italy and China. The U.S. share of the global market was only about 7 percent last year, but that share should double by 2016 as U.S. demand continues to grow and European demand starts to decline. [Read this article]
The World’s Tallest Solar Panel Array
Date: 02/14/2012 | Source: AOL Energy
Solar energy is headed to the penthouse. Atop Deutsche Bank’s 745 foot skyscraper Wall Street building is the world’s tallest solar panel array; a 122.4 kilowatt photovoltaic system designed to reduce the building’s electricity consumption. The building is the global financial giant’s Americas headquarters and the presence of the solar array is “one part of a comprehensive global program to reduce the Bank’s consumption of fossil fuels and shift to more renewable forms of energy,” Deutsche Bank Americas CEO Seth Waugh said in announcing the completion and operation of the solar system. Deutsche Bank has been making a play for green energy and climate-friendly businesses in the past several years. [Read this article]
MIT Developing Paintable Solar Cells Made Of Plants
Date: 02/03/2012 | Source: Clean Technica
In a report published by Scientific Reports, researchers say they’re successfully working toward making low-cost solar cells from plants. While, technically, all plants are some sort of solar cell, the key here is the word “low cost.” The project in question is focusing on a way to produce “biophotovoltaics” without all sorts of sophisticated lab equipment. The new system is incredibly user-friendly and costs a lot less – mix green plants (like grass clippings) with custom-designed chemicals, and out comes a photovoltaic material made with the power of photosynthesis. MIT researcher Andreas Mershin explained just how easy the process is: “Take that bag (of chemicals), mix it with anything green and paint it on the roof.” That’s it – mix and paint. Mershin wants to see this inexpensive method used in developing countries, for example, where electricity is scarce and the power grids are unreliable. [Read this article]
Solar-Powered Car Stops In California On Trip Around The World
Date: 02/03/2012 | Source: Los Angeles Times
A solar-powered car on a quest to circumnavigate the globe kicked off a 49-day trek across the U.S. in Half Moon Bay, California. Propelled only by the sun’s rays, the two-seat SolarWorld Gran Turismo sports car is slated to travel 21,000 miles and set a “Guinness World Records” record for the longest distance covered by a solar car, according to its co-creator SolarWorld. “The SolarWorld GT is an ambassador for sustainable personal transportation, reminding us that the power to shift our driving habits away from dirty fossil fuels is within our grasp,” said Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas. “Clean energy from the sun is there for the taking – without depleting the Earth’s riches.” The car will make five planned stops along a 3,774-mile route from California to South Carolina. [Read this article]
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