The new business model lets homeowners save money the very first month, rather than breaking even a decade after an initial investment of $5,000 to $10,000.

Analysts with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that the solar lease business is surging in southern California. And the model is being adopted in less affluent neighborhoods that had avoided customer-owned systems.

The NREL study found a positive correlation between customers outright buying solar energy systems and customers living in neighborhoods where the average household income was $150,000 or more.

But for third-party-leased solar panels, that positive correlation appeared in neighborhoods where the average household income was just $100,000 or more.

The study did not look at individual adopters, who can have many different reasons for installing solar. Still, the study strongly indicates an attraction for third-party leasing in neighborhoods with less affluence than those most likely to go for the customer-owned option.

If what’s true in southern California proves true for the nation, it means that rooftop solar power could attract an additional 13 million Americans — and that will push solar energy into the mainstream.

Jeff, Dana, Pat and Sam at the helm!

Jeff and Pat in solar mode!

Renova introduced their ever expanding Renova Solar Lease Program options at the most recent Southern California Edison “Solar Connection Event” that was held Monday February 27th at the Palm Desert City Hall.  This was a very, very well attended event where Renova was able to help the public get a firmer understanding of just how using an operational lease to go solar is the right thing to do for their savings, the community and the environment.

visit http://www.renovaenergy.org/contactadv.php for more information!

This is not indicative of what’s happening with solar, and it is disturbing that some politicians and pundits are using this unfortunate situation as an excuse to heap unwarranted criticism on solar.

In the past few days, you have probably heard wild inaccuracies and blatant misstatements about solar energy’s promise and the state of the solar industry.

Here are the facts about solar:

• The solar industry employs more than 100,000 Americans, more than twice as many as in 2009. They work at more than 5,000 companies, the vast majority being small businesses, in all 50 states.

• The U.S. solar industry grew by 69% in the past year, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy.

• Since the beginning of 2010, the price of solar panels has dropped by 30%, and costs continue to fall making solar an even more viable choice for residential and business customers.

• The U.S. was a net exporter of solar products in 2010 by $2 billion. We were even a net exporter to China.

• Solar power in the U.S. now exceeds 3,100 megawatts (MW), enough to power more than 630,000 homes.

• Continued industry growth enhances our energy security and diversifies our domestic energy portfolio.

The solar industry is growing and for good reason. It was my wish to deliver the facts to you.

“Now, here we are in the definitive phase: it’s no longer a question of tests, but the real thing,” said Solar Impulse Chairman and round-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard. “And the next flights will not be made in the “familiar cocoon” of Payerne aerodrome, but in the whole of Europe…”

The Solar-Impulse prototype aircraft (designated HB-SIA) will be piloted from Payerne to Europe’s 14th busiest airport in Brussels by CEO André Borschberg, who co-founded the project along with Piccard in order to show just how far renewable energies can take us.

“Flying an aircraft like Solar Impulse through European airspace to land at an international airport is an incredible challenge for all of us, and success depends on the support we receive from all the authorities concerned,” said André Borschberg.

Developed by a team of 70 people and 80 partners over seven years, HB-SIA is a very impressive feat of engineering and, as you might expect from a plane that flies on the power of the sun, quite a lesson on just how much you can achieve with only a small amount of energy.

Keeping weight to a minimum is obviously critical and despite the aircraft’s huge 63 meter (208 feet) wingspan, its carbon fiber frame and specially designed components weigh in at just 1600kg – which is a little like stretching your family car to be the width of an Airbus A340.

The wings carry almost all of the 11,628 solar cells on board, but even with more than 2000 square feet of photovoltaics, there’s not a great deal of energy available to drive the four electric motors.

The Solar Impulse website breaks down the equation like this:

“At midday, each square metre of land surface, in the form of light energy, receives the equivalent of 1000 watts, or 1.3 horsepower of light power. Over 24 hours, this averages out at just 250W/m². With 200m² of photovoltaic cells and a 12 % total efficiency of the propulsion chain, the plane’s motors achieve an average power of no more than 8 HP or 6kW – roughly the amount of power the Wright brothers had a available to them in 1903 when they made their first powered flight.”

Eight horsepower. My lawnmower has more grunt, but then again it doesn’t fly to heights of over 27 900 feet!

A second plane with better performance and a larger cockpit is under construction for the around the world trip.

After a stint in Brussels from 23 to 29 May, the aircraft will make its way to Paris for the 49th International Paris Air Show (20 to 26 June 2011) where it will be displayed both on the ground and in the air – flying demonstrations are planned each morning if the weather is favorable.

Solar Impulse at a glance:

• Wingspan: 63,40 m
• Length: 21,85 m
• Height: 6,40 m
• Weight: 1,600 Kg
• Motor power: 4 x 10 HP electric engines
• Solar cells: 11,628 (10 748 on the wing, 880 on the horizontal stabilizer)
• Average flying speed: 70 km/h
• Take-off speed: 35 km/h
• Maximum altitude: 8 500 m (27 900 ft)

The first international flight can be followed online at the Solar Impulse site.

Google has chipped in a US$168 million investment in what will be the world’s largest solar power tower plant. To be located on 3,600 acres of land in the Mojave Desert in southeastern California, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) will boast 173,000 heliostats that will concentrate the sun’s rays onto a solar tower standing approximately 450 feet (137 m) tall. The plant commenced construction in October 2010 and is expected to generate 392 MW of solar energy following its projected completion in 2013.

Although solar power tower development is currently less advanced than the more common trough systems, they offer higher efficiency and better energy storage capabilities. Parabolic trough systems consist of parabolic mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto a Dewar tube running the length of the mirror through which a heat transfer fluid runs that is then used to heat steam in a standard turbine.

Solar power tower systems such as the ISEGS on the other hand focus a large area of sunlight into a single solar receiver on top of a tower to produce steam at high pressure and temperatures of up to 550 ° C (over 1,000° F) to drive a standard turbine and generator. The ISEGS also uses a dry-cooling technology that reduces water consumption by 90 percent and uses 95 percent less water than competing solar thermal technologies. Water is also recirculated during energy before being reused to clean the plant’s mirrors.

Overshadowing the 20 MW PS20 solar power tower plant in Spain, the scale of ISEGS can’t be overstated. It will be the first large-scale solar power tower plant built in the U.S. in nearly two decades and will single-handedly almost double the amount of commercial solar thermal electricity produced in the U.S. today and nearly equal the amount of total solar installed in the U.S. in 2009 alone.

The entire complex will consist of three separate plants developed by BrightSource Energy that will be built in phases between 2010 and 2013. The energy generated from all three plants will be enough to supply more than 140,000 homes in California during peak usage hours, with the project contracted to provide 1,300 MW to Southern California Edison and 1,310 MW to Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Google says it has now invested over $250 million in the clean energy sector but its $168 million investment in the ISEGS is the company’s largest investment to date. The size of the investment reflects Google’s faith in the technology and it hopes that other companies will follow its example and make similar investments in renewable energy.

this map shows territorial potential though if we develop this way I guarantee turmoil.  I guarantee that all of the positive musings connected to a “Renewable Middle East” will be dashed by continued Utility monopolistic energy dominance, transmission faults and true bureaucratic trait.  Building large builds large problems.  Centralizing the solar potential centralizes our region as a target for concentrated rate increases by those dominant Utilities to offset infrastructure rehabilitation and help them grow a bureaucracy.  There is no community in bureaucracy.  There is less of everything and more cost to get there.

Solar photovoltaic potential was, is and will always be a “decentralized” answer.  Distributed generation is the actualization of solar generation potential over a territory and the natural, intelligent way to convert and supply current to a increasingly demanding community.  The map above is a nice example of the folly of a few…the map below:

is the visual that allows us to see the nature of the solar potential available freely to all that live in the region…and what is available to be generated by and give direct benefit to, the majority who occupy that space.  The more solar radiation captured and used by the majority is naturally the status quo….it is the state in which the majority is naturally determined to live.

Designed in-house and released to the public through its free RenovaMobile App, the Renova Solar Map was built to track the installation of every solar system installed in Southern California Edison’s Valley territory.

”We have been asked by multiple individuals and organizations if there was a way to determine how far along the Coachella Valley is in terms of the total amount of solar which has been installed,” said Vincent Battaglia, CEO of Renova Energy Corp.  “Being able to easily determine the answer to this will be of benefit to cities, organizations and individuals,” he added.

The tracking program was developed using proprietary software and funded entirely by Renova for open distribution through its RenovaMobile App.  “Our desire was to take the available solar installation information and provide a free easy-to-navigate portal in which to get a summary.  By integrating data from the GoSolarCalifornia website onto Google maps through a MYSQL database, we have succeeded in creating a web-based pilot program database that will be expanded to the other utility territories over the next year,” Battaglia added.

Once the RenovaMobile App is downloaded and opened, users can interact within a Valley map showing installations by City.  Users can also perform a search within the Renova Solar Map program table by type of module or installer, and a complete list of all relevant installations will emerge.  Press on one of the search results, and additional related installation information will be given.

The free RenovaMobile App can be downloaded from www.renovaenergy.org/mobile.php directly into user’s smartphones. This will allow users to leverage solar information specific to the Coachella Valley through the Renova Solar Estimator, as well as peruse the Renova video library.

Renova Energy Corp. is the largest locally owned and operated commercial and residential Solar Developer in the Coachella Valley, offering design, financing and maintenance of solar installation.  Located in GreenZone in Palm Desert, Renova also operates the Renova Energy Academy, training area residents with classes in primary and advanced solar installation techniques and related subjects.  More information can be found at www.RenovaSolar.com.

The 174-kW solar project at their Dune Palms Road, multifamily housing community in La Quinta is the first system for CVHC, but the group has plans for more.

“I applaud the Coachella Valley Housing Coalition for undertaking this project to help provide a greener future with clean energy, while at the same time, taking advantage of the incentives and opportunities that exist while saving precious energy dollars,” added Vincent Battaglia, CEO of Renova.  “They are setting an example for the many other non profits which will inevitably follow.”

Renova executives estimate that the use of solar energy at the Wolff Waters Place installation will save the organization more than $32,000 annually in electricity costs. The project was funded internally by the non-profit to reduce the property’s direct electric utility expense.

Renova Energy Corporation is the largest locally owned and operated commercial and residential Solar Developer in the Coachella Valley, offering design, financing and maintenance of solar installation.  Located in GreenZone in Palm Desert, Renova also operates the Renova Energy Academy, training area residents with classes in primary and advanced solar installation techniques and related subjects.  More information can be found at www.BigSolar.org.