Solyndra in perspective

Published on September 28, 2011 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Infographics.

Right wingers are quick to point fingers at solar company Solyndra and their owners for waste after the government awarded them a multi-million dollar grant last year. Now, the company is bankrupt, a result of poor decision-making at the firm and a greedy few at the top.

No matter what industry you talk about, there are bound to be some bad apples out there. Hell, psychopathology runs rampant in a sizable portion of fortune 500 companies. Only a matter of time before you see some ill consequences of poor management in the solar industry.

Dave and his crew at 1bog have released another infographic to put the matter in a little better perspective. Yes, the font is a little small, click it to enlarge!

Serious about solar but could use a laugh?

Published on July 15, 2011 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: fun.

Here’s a great Colbert skewering of what the natural gas industry has been up to with their hydraulic fracking lobby:

Feel better about the country and your power bill by getting a solar quote!

U.S. government energy subsidies by type of electricity produced

Published on June 11, 2011 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Infographics.

I made this chart this afternoon after being frustrated arguing with some coal wonks about how subsidies for renewables are a waste of taxpayer money.

These people are certainly entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. As you can see, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power receive multiple times the amount of government cheese as other renewables. These figures are straight from the U.S. Energy Information Association.

Please share and enjoy.

Solar power is exploding, getting cheaper – we’re here to help

Published on by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Affordable Solar.

You might be asking yourself what the above image has to do with solar power at all. Pretty colored rocks, right? Well, you’re right, those are pretty colored rocks. They’re actually grains of sand under a high powered microscope. By the way, solar panels are made of silicon, which is produced when you melt sand! So, boom there you go! Pretty cool, huh?

What’s even cooler than this, is the amount of solar panels produced and shipped over the past several years. Check out the graph below:

Mr. Dinwoodie (fun name, serious business) of Sunpower: “That 17 gigawatts installed in 2010 is the equivalent of 17 nuclear power plants — manufactured, shipped, and installed in one year. It can take decades just to install a nuclear plant. Think about that. I heard Bill Gates recently call solar “cute.” Well, that’s 17 gigawatts of ‘cute’ adding up at an astonishing pace.”

That’s right, last year the solar power industry installed roughly SEVENTEEN nuclear power plants worth of solar capacity. Nothing to sneeze at! The other good news about all this, is that companies are developing best practices for producing, installing, and educating people regarding how it all works. That includes us at Solar Power Rocks! That means, the cost to install solar have dropped significantly. Now, in many parts of the country from New Jersey, to Massachusetts, to Philadelphia to Los Angeles, your solar investment pays for itself in 6 years or less, and you get paid by your utility company afterward for them to be able to say they’re getting some power from a clean source like your roof!

What’s more, Dave over at One Block Off the Grid has made it so that even if you don’t have thousands of dollars lying around, you can still do this with a power purchase agreement, meaning you go solar at no cost upfront, and you get all the benefits of generating your own electricity still with a lower power bill. Sign up here for more information!

At Solar Power Rocks!, we’re dedicated to taking the “confusing” out of the entire process for you. We’re not interested to get more and more new customers. We’re mainly interested in helping people who have already reached out to us understand the whole process better. By signing up with 1Bog, you also sign up to be with us on our side too. You got a question? We answer it in an unbiased, friendly way. That’s the way we do business, and our values of integrity, authenticity, and helpful support guide everything we do. Curious about solar? Reach out here. We’ll be in touch.

Warm regards,

Dan, Dave (the 1Bog guy too!), and Solar Fred

Fossil fuel and renewable energy subsidies need parity

Published on April 28, 2011 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Environment, Infographics.

According to a study by the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. fossil fuels industries enjoyed direct federal payments totaling roughly $18 billion between 2002 and 2008. Of course, that doesn’t include the $54 billion in tax breaks.

Over the same time period, subsidies to renewable power producers totaled just $5.5 billion.

Now, the government included corn based ethanol as a “renewable source” of energy which is frankly maddening, considering more fossil energy is used to produce ethanol from corn than the ethanol’s calorific value.

Really, the graph should look more like this:

I just watched Bill Ritter, Colorado’s former governor, debate a couple fossil and nuclear industry knuckleheads. He valiantly pushed for solar energy adoption and enhanced legislative efforts on a recent intelligence squared debate:

http://www.vimeo.com/20896432

While the two coal and nuclear advocates fired away at the premise of ratepayer subsidized renewable energy, he spoke calmly regarding the enormous benefit the solar industry has had on Colorado communities, jobs created, and clean energy served up. I couldn’t help but have the following stream out of my mouth as I watched:

“Ratepayer subsidized solar?! Aww that’s terrible!!, I take it you’re much more comfortable with TAXpayer subsidized coal and oil, right?”

Massachusetts set to be next major solar market?

Published on February 10, 2011 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Massachusetts.

Good things are happening in the Massachusetts State Legislature

Great news coming out of Massachusetts. Rules were approved last month on how homeowners can get guaranteed money for going solar in the state from their electric companies.

Here’s how it worked out: In 2008, the state legislature required that electric companies get at least a chunk of the energy they produce from clean, renewable sources. These rules, just written up in January 2011 now say exactly how much you can be paid for having one of those sources be your rooftop with solar panels on them.

If your utility company isn’t able to show they hit their targets for deriving electricity from clean sources, they are bounded to pay a special fee directly to the state. The rules were just written to clarify the exact amount your utility company would need to pay for each bit of electrons that they aren’t able to get from a clean source.

Basically for you as a homeowner in Massachusetts considering solar, you now have some additional guarantees, since instead of paying a fee to the state for a certain amount, your utility company will now be willing to pay YOU for the right to say your clean electricity you generate with your solar panels feeds into their electric network.

For an average sized 5kW solar system, you can expect about $2,000 per year in payments directly to you from the utility company for having solar on your roof! That’s in addition to the added value the panels give to your home (20x your annual electric savings), your actual utility bill savings, and environmental savings as well!

For more info on how this all works and how you can start getting paid big bucks each year, get a solar quote! Our friendly experts will help you pencil all your costs and return on investment out step by step, and will also be able to offer you savings for going solar as a group!

Jim Houser featured on Obama’s State of the Union

Published on January 26, 2011 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Uncategorized.

In addition to being a great case study at SPR last year, Jim Houser was mentioned just minutes ago in President Obama’s state of the union address this evening. Check out our interview with him!

If electricity was free and clean, what would you feel better using it for at home?

Published on December 28, 2010 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Affordable Solar.

On yet another drippy weekday afternoon in Portland, I figured it was time to break out MSPaint and create something solar, warm and fun. So, I did. Our stick figure hero above has just cracked open a frosty beverage on a warm summery day. Boy is he happy, as the electricity his refrigerator is using to chill down his brew comes from the sun, and the electricity is now free, since his solar panels paid for themselves 4 years ago and will last at least a good 20-30 more years.

This could be you, too! Instead of chilling down a tasty brew, what would you feel better about using electricity for?

Send me your responses in the comments and I’ll draw you a picture for each one!

Popsicles for the kids?

Your entertainment system?

Your plant greenhouse?

Your hair dryer? (Thanks Joanie!)

Your winter mancave (women allowed), complete with Chicago Bears football, beer, and a brandy chest? (Thanks Dave K.!)

Leaving your holiday lights on overnight? (Thanks Robin!)

Your 90210 surround sound marathon? (Thanks Staci!)

Blasting your electric baseboard heat while enjoying a margarita as it snows outside? (Thanks Jenn!)

Your electric dryer? (Thanks Eric!)

Chilling out on the porch with a mint julep, listening to the gentle sounds of the bug zapper? (Thanks Matt!)

Thank you and an update!

Published on December 9, 2010 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Solar Trends.

All the differences in solar incentives are opportunities to create beauty out of chaos!

Over the past 3 years, over a million visitors from all corners of the globe have come to our site to become less confused and more informed about solar power incentives available in their states. Out of that million, thousands have been curious enough to at least get a quote for panels on their own roofs. Hundreds have gone on to the next step to install solar!

I am constantly coming up with better ideas to recognize and reward behavior like that. One of the simplest and most effective ways is simply to say thank you in a public space like this post! So, thank you! Your desire and curiosity to learn more about solar fills our sails with energy on a daily basis. Truly, your questions and willingness to share your experiences further creates an environment of learning and collaboration which is rarely found online.

What started out as a state by state guide to going solar is now becoming more of a regional city effort. You’ll note for example in Pennsylvania, we’re adding suburb pages in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to further drive the point home about how great an investment in solar is with more of a local flavor. More cities are on their way, and it’s been fun to learn about the traditions, local cuisine and people that make those areas such great places to live.

In the pipeline for the coming months (aside from the added suburb solar information and incentive pages) are actual stories from real readers like you who have gone solar. We feel it’s best to learn from those who have a story to tell, and we think we’re pretty damn good at telling stories. We’re excited to share them.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holidays,

- Dan

We need better solar champions

Published on November 15, 2010 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: solar marketing.

Dave pleas for a new national solar dialogue in a well written jaunt this morning. We need Oprah, Sarah Palin, or Jim Cramer to spread the word. Click here to see why.