Solar Power Heats Up in Midwest as Costs Drop, Electricity Rates Rise

The Midwest gets plenty of sunshine—some towns see as much sun as Miami and San Antonio—and the big cost considerations that for years have held back solar power in the region have changed, according to a story in the Kansas City Star. Solar-panel prices have plunged and tax rebates and credits have now cut the payback time for solar power from 25 years to 10 years. As a result, more businesses and homeowners are installing solar photovoltaic panels in Kansas City.

Colorado to Offer Energy Rebates Starting Today

As we mentioned in a recent blog post, Colorado opens its new energy rebate program today. The Denver Post reports Colorado consumers can apply for rebates on energy-efficient appliances and home energy upgrades from the $18 million economic stimulus program. Rebates range from $50 to $400 on qualifying appliances. In addition, the program offers rebates of $400 to $15,000 for home insulation or installation of residential or commercial solar- and wind-energy systems. Get more info at RechargeColorado.com.

Solar Racers Defy Overcast Skies on Grand Prix Race Day

Hundreds of middle school and high school students raced solar cars in a Solar Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif., April 10. The cars were model-sized; most finished the race despite overcast skies. In January, participants were given a small solar panel and a motor; they had to incorporate those pieces into their car design.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center will open block 2 of funding for the Commonwealth Solar Stimulus rebate program and Commonwealth Solar II rebate program today, April 9, 2010.

Solar Energy Plane Passes First Test

The Solar Impulse aircraft, a pioneering Swiss bid to fly around the world on solar energy, successfully completed its first test flight in western Switzerland on Wednesday. It flew for 87 minutes propelled by four, 10-horsepower electric motors, which get their energy from 12,000 solar cells. Pioneering around-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard founded the project. The team plans to undertake the world tour in five stages by 2013.

Green Mountain Power, a utility company serving 25 percent of Vermonters, said the number of customers using small-scale renewable energy sources to generate their own electricity has more than doubled since 2008. The largest growth came from customers who generate electricity with solar panels, the company said in an April 6 press release.

Arizona Cuts Solar Incentive Amount Because Program Is So Popular

Despite the down economy, demand for solar-power installations has been so large it threatened to drain Arizona’s solar rebate fund by June. So the Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) moved to reduce the amount of each rebate, in order to make the fund last longer and to provide solar incentives to more people. More APS home and business customers put solar panels on their roofs last year than in the previous eight years combined, and about 113 residential customers a week have applied for solar rebates from the utility this year, according to the Arizona Republic. The APS has proposed cutting its solar rebate from $3,000 per kilowatt to $2,150 a kilowatt.

Kaiser Permanente to Install Solar Panels at 15 Sites in California

Health care giant Kaiser Permanente announced March 30 that it has made a deal with Recurrent Energy to put solar panels on buildings at 15 Kaiser sites across California. All told, the panels will generate 15 megawatts of power—or what approximately 11,000 homes use in any given instant. Each site will receive about 10 percent of its power from the rooftop panels. Recurrent will install the solar panels and Kaiser will spend $95.6 million over 20 years for power from the panels. That amount is about the same, or a little less, than buying electricity from the grid at today’s prices. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Kaiser wants to use on-site, sustainable energy for 25 percent of its electricity needs by the year 2020.

Suntech Power Finishes Solar Installation at Harrah's

Suntech Power Holdings announced it completed a 1 megawatt solar power installation at Harrah’s Rincon Casino in Southern California. The project consists of 4,000 solar panels on five-and-a-half acres of land and will provide almost 90 percent of the power needed to run the casino’s HVAC system. The casino-hotel contains 662 rooms.

Colorado’s Advanced Energy Buys PV Powered

In a deal worth up to $90 million in cash and stock, Advanced Energy Industries bought Oregon-based PV Powered, a company that makes inverters, an essential part of solar power systems. According to OregonLive.com, Advanced Energy also sells inverters, which convert the direct current (DC) electricity generated by solar panels into the alternating current (AC) power usable by households and other customers on the electrical grid. Advanced Energy sells to large commercial and industrial users, while PV Powered targets residential and small commercial solar customers.