April 2008

According to the Department of Energy, solar panels could, if placed on about 0.5% of America’s mainland landmass, provide for all of our current electricity needs.

Clean-energy fever is being fuelled by three things: high oil prices, fears over energy security and a growing concern about global warming. The provision of energy, the industry’s cheerleaders say, will change radically over the coming decades. Polluting coal-and gas-fired power stations will give way to cleaner alternatives such as solar and wind; fuels derived from plants and waste will supplant gasoline and diesel; and small, local forms of electricity generation will replace mammoth power stations feeding far-flung grids.

For more from writer, Maurice Barnfather, on this subject, see "Solar Power," Rightside Advisors.

From the media…In today's San Jose Mercury News by reporter, Matt Nauman: "Tax-credit stalemate imperils green energy industry." Two lobby groups, the American Wind Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association put the potential job loss if the credits aren't renewed at 116,000 U.S. jobs.

In testimony given earlier this year, Applied Materials' Blair Sweezey said the extension of the renewable tax credit could create 55,000 jobs and generate $45 billion in economic investment in the
solar industry across the country. But, if the credits weren't renewed, he said 40,000 jobs could be lost through 2009.

What's a "solar season?" The time of the year when the harvest of the sun ray's for powering our homes and other devices is the most abundant. Just how far back have we humans used the sun for our purposes? The U.S. Department of Energy provides a fascinating look at "The History of Solar" in a timeline perfect for solar enthusiasts of all ages.

Some fascinating facts:

In 7th Century B.C., the first record of our use of solar, we adopted magnifying glass to concentrate the sun's rays to make fire and burn ants!

By 2nd Century B.C., the Greek Scientist, Archimedes, used the reflective properties of bronze shields to focus sunlight and set fire to the wooden ships from the Roman Empire, who were launching a military seige on Syracuse.

By 1st to the 4th Century A.D. the Romans started to use the sun's warmth in ways reminiscent of what we see today. They used large south facing windows stream solar heat , thus warming up the water in their famous bathhouses.

In today's headlines, NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, said Monday much of the technology to make energy generation cleaner and more efficient is available now. The challenge, however, is deploying it and making it cheaper.

CNNMoney.com staff writer, Steve Hargreaves, reports from an industry meeting sponsored by the Edison Electric Institute, a utility trade group.

Immelt said GE is investing in a wide range of energy technologies. He specifically mentioned solar as one that has great potential.
The cost of solar power should fall from 30 cents a kilowatt hour today to under 15 cents "in a relatively short time," he said. "That should open up a sweet spot for solar."
By comparison, American consumers currently pay about 10 cents an hour on average for electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The U.S. utility industry will likely be a recipient of clean technologies developed outside the U.S., Immelt added, whether it be cleaner coal processes fine-tuned in China or renewable technology pioneered in Europe.
But he encouraged the industry and U.S. government to take the lead in capping greenhouse gas emissions and developing clean sources of energy.
"The time to act is now," he said. "When you lead in clean energy, you create jobs. This is a place the U.S. could lead."

According to the statisticians over at Cooler Planet, by the end of 2007, solar power systems in California have saved over 533 kilotons of carbon emissions from going into our atmosphere. A kiloton is 1000 tons. That's a whole lot of carbon emissions NOT in our atmosphere. To look at these amazing stats yourself, visit the California Solar Power History page, brought to us by Cooler Planet.

News Update: CNNMoney.com report today:

NEW YORK (Associated Press) – Solar energy stocks jumped Friday as analysts said one of the sector's leaders is well positioned for revenue and earnings growth.

PacificCrest analyst Mark Bachman, in a client note about SunPower Corp., said domestic demand is "running ahead of expectations set just three months ago, attributed to the possible lapse of the investment tax credit. U.S. customers are pulling projects into 2008 to avoid the uncertainty."

While some people wonder whether there's too much hot air in the clean-tech sector, the man who has advised California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on environmental matters says the industry is just beginning to reach its potential.

This report according to Green Tech blog writer, Carl-Gustav Linden, today in his recap of a CNET.com interview of "California's green guru," Terry Tamminen.

Regardless of who sets up shop in the Oval Office in January, sweeping changes in federal energy and climate policy are expected to give the clean-tech industry a big boost, says Terry Tamminen, former director of the California Environment Protection Agency and now a clean-tech adviser for
Pegasus Capital Advisors.