April 2008 Archives
Solar and Wind Power are catching on in Colorado which has become somewhat of a greentech or "green technology" hub. Boulder, which was at one point going to be the capital city of Colorado instead of Denver, has always been known as an entrepreneurial hub or hot spot ranked right up there with Silicon Valley, but with new discounts, rebates, and incentive programs including an Xcel energy Smart Grid test, Boulder is really taking off.
By some reports, the US solar industry has grown by nearly 50% over the past two and a half years since 2007. In many countries this increase has been even more substantial. Colorado has certainly experienced enormous growth in sustainable energy, including solar, over the past five years as new companies have relocated or sprung up to leverage the tax advantages that Boulder shares with it's citizens. A big part of these rewards come directly from Xcel energy and their Solar*Rewards program. The dream and goal of many Xcel Solar Rewards program members is to actually receive a check from Xcel at the end of the year based on their own electricity generation. To date, Xcel has paid out nearly twenty million dollars to homeowners using solar energy!
It's great that incentives exist to encourage solar adoption, rebates and rewards help to soften the blow of an initial fifteen thousand dollar system... The high end systems can cost as much as fifty thousand dollars. In Colorado homeowners who use solar can often recoup as much as fifty percent of their solar costs through local and federal rebates, but it isn't guaranteed and in many cases it depends on exactly where your home is located. Being outside Boulder Cit limits might mean that you don't qualify for the same incentive program.
By some reports, the US solar industry has grown by nearly 50% over the past two and a half years since 2007. In many countries this increase has been even more substantial. Colorado has certainly experienced enormous growth in sustainable energy, including solar, over the past five years as new companies have relocated or sprung up to leverage the tax advantages that Boulder shares with it's citizens. A big part of these rewards come directly from Xcel energy and their Solar*Rewards program. The dream and goal of many Xcel Solar Rewards program members is to actually receive a check from Xcel at the end of the year based on their own electricity generation. To date, Xcel has paid out nearly twenty million dollars to homeowners using solar energy!
It's great that incentives exist to encourage solar adoption, rebates and rewards help to soften the blow of an initial fifteen thousand dollar system... The high end systems can cost as much as fifty thousand dollars. In Colorado homeowners who use solar can often recoup as much as fifty percent of their solar costs through local and federal rebates, but it isn't guaranteed and in many cases it depends on exactly where your home is located. Being outside Boulder Cit limits might mean that you don't qualify for the same incentive program.
Xcel Energy is spending over one hundred million dollars on a new smart grid "beta test" in Boulder Colorado. The goal is to test out new forms of technology in the grid structure that will allow for wind, solar, and other alternatives to contribute efficiency. Eventually these technologies, having been tested and proven in Boulder, will trickle down nation wide.
The Xcel Smart grid is just one example of the work going on in Boulder since 2004 when the Climate Action Plan was put into place to strive for Kyoto Protocol compliance. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gases below 7% of 1990 levels and Boulder has made advancements towards this goal with biodiesel, natural gas, solar, and wind. In Boulder, private enterprise is responsible for ~59% of carbon emissions so these efforts have had to take place without cutting away profitability and the primary source of funding for these projects has come from an electricity tax which goes directly to the source of CO2 emissions but only amounts to about $10 a year for the average Boulder homeowner.
Boulder's solar rebate program is setup to provide incentives to local homeowners (within Boulder city limits) to speed adoption of sustainable technologies and reduce Carbon emissions. There are two aspects of this program, basic discounts to businesses and home owners who put up solar panels designed to incentivize adoption and a second aspect which goes towards funding solar power for nonprofits and other organizations that might not otherwise have been able to afford solar. This is all funded by a sales and use tax in Boulder, both in the form of a rebates from the sales and use tax and also money directly from this fund. The fund has tremendously increased the number of solar users in Boulder and also lead to numerous solar companies moving to Boulder, making it a green-tech hub.
There are a large number of climate smart programs in Boulder to help educate the community and you can learn more at BeClimateSmart.com and from the following three interviews with Kevin Afflerbaugh, the Boulder Sustainability Coordinator. More on these topics at the CU Student Blog Front Range Environment
The Xcel Smart grid is just one example of the work going on in Boulder since 2004 when the Climate Action Plan was put into place to strive for Kyoto Protocol compliance. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gases below 7% of 1990 levels and Boulder has made advancements towards this goal with biodiesel, natural gas, solar, and wind. In Boulder, private enterprise is responsible for ~59% of carbon emissions so these efforts have had to take place without cutting away profitability and the primary source of funding for these projects has come from an electricity tax which goes directly to the source of CO2 emissions but only amounts to about $10 a year for the average Boulder homeowner.
Boulder's solar rebate program is setup to provide incentives to local homeowners (within Boulder city limits) to speed adoption of sustainable technologies and reduce Carbon emissions. There are two aspects of this program, basic discounts to businesses and home owners who put up solar panels designed to incentivize adoption and a second aspect which goes towards funding solar power for nonprofits and other organizations that might not otherwise have been able to afford solar. This is all funded by a sales and use tax in Boulder, both in the form of a rebates from the sales and use tax and also money directly from this fund. The fund has tremendously increased the number of solar users in Boulder and also lead to numerous solar companies moving to Boulder, making it a green-tech hub.
There are a large number of climate smart programs in Boulder to help educate the community and you can learn more at BeClimateSmart.com and from the following three interviews with Kevin Afflerbaugh, the Boulder Sustainability Coordinator. More on these topics at the CU Student Blog Front Range Environment
Sunflower Solar has recently partnered with Houston, Texas-based Standard Renewable Energy (www.sre3.com). This alliance will allow both companies to offer consumers a wider range of renewable energy technologies.
Sunflower Solar’s main expertise had been in solar photovoltaic (PV), but they now offer solar thermal, wind, energy audits and high-efficiency air conditioning and heating appliances. The new business model brings businesses and homeowners a suite of energy efficient products and solutions – all in one place.
The company’s focus will revolve around their unique RE3 suite of solutions: Review, Reduce, Renew. In other words, evaluate your energy efficiency with an energy audit, reduce energy waste with small things like weather stripping, and finally, use renewable energy to generate your remaining power. It is understood that this order of operations makes renewable energy more cost-effective.
Standard Renewable Energy now operates in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. It has been praised for successfully bringing renewable energy to predominantly red states and counties.
Kelly Whiteford of Boulder’s former Sunflower Solar says, “the name Sunflower Solar will be missed, but we are confident that we will be recognized as having the same expertise and customer service. We are also excited to have the ability to offer our clients more energy efficient products and services.”
Sunflower Solar was founded in 2005 by Will Sisk and Zeke Yewdall. They have expanded quickly over the last three years and now employ over 30 people.
Kelly Whiteford of Boulder’s former Sunflower Solar says, “the name Sunflower Solar will be missed, but we are confident that we will be recognized as having the same expertise and customer service. We are also excited to have the ability to offer our clients more energy efficient products and services.”
Sunflower Solar was founded in 2005 by Will Sisk and Zeke Yewdall. They have expanded quickly over the last three years and now employ over 30 people.
It's great to be excited about up and coming solar technology from companies like Nanosolar but there is also something to be said for acting now and enjoying what's already on the market. For that reason I put together a widget that sources search results from Ebay titled as "Solar Panels" between the price range of $200 and $700 which is streaming in the box below!
Any time someone visits this page they will be presented with the most up to date deals from Ebay on Solar Panels, and in this way hopefully gain some insight into what solutions are already being used, bought, and resold!
Any time someone visits this page they will be presented with the most up to date deals from Ebay on Solar Panels, and in this way hopefully gain some insight into what solutions are already being used, bought, and resold!
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