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.

The Tobacco Road and Research Triangle areas of North Carolina have a decent number of solar homes that sell power back into the grid—about 60--but down in the city of Charlotte there are only one-fourth that number: A mere 15 homes so far. That could change as North Carolina power companies rush to boost the amount of electricity they generate from solar energy by the end of the year, per state law.

The state of Colorado will launch a new energy rebate program April 19, complete with a comprehensive new Web site that will provide rebate and financial incentive information, as well as conservation and energy-saving tips.

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.

A forward-thinking utility in Florida wants to help more homeowners and businesses save energy. Tampa Electric is setting aside $1.5 million over five years for energy efficiency incentives for customers.

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.