US solar energy industry continues record setting growth in 2011

please sir may I have another

Ha ha ! Wish i could have seen their faces ! You have my undying admiration .

Let's just say, they weren't smiling at me in appreciation. And thank you, I am so incensed by this. It's hard to keep quiet walking by one of their stations, especially when you see people going in and out like nothing happened.

Righteous rant!

For some reason, I am unable to vote some comments up, Hope you get plenty of ups!

Good for you Janforgore. IF I didn't need fuel for my vehicle to drive back and forth to the doctors and food shopping I would do the same thing. I would love to put solar panels on the house but a fixed income prevents me from doing it. Would love to convert the vehicle to either LNG or LPG but again the cost is prohibitive.I never bought fuel from BP as their prices were higher than average and I will never buy fuel from them even if my tank was on empty for lying to all of us about their little oil leak.

Every time I hear a radio or TV whitewashing or greenwashing (Fracking) these companies, it really chaps my *ss. Way to go, Jan. Would have loved to see it on youtube, but some things are just for us to experience I guess. You are a voice of sanity and ballsy too! Relive the moment(s) in times of stress to smile. "Face piles And piles of trials. With smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave".

I read in Mother Earth News that it is more expensive to have an "off-the grid" solar system, but if the grid goes down, it won't work independently. Set up this way by the power companies, no doubt. If you send excess electricity back through the grid from your power source, the company has to cut you a check or give a credit on the next bill. It would be fun getting that - in any amount- but it wouldn't be worth being tied in. I just always thought an important part of having alternative energy is the ability to be self reliant...The article didn't talk about starting on-the-grid and then converting to off later.

Some info you may not know. All the power plants I worked at used the power they produced to run their equipment. This is called station load and unless we synced the generators onto the electrical grid we could be self sustained for however long the fuel supply lasted.
So being tied to the grid isn't needed as long as you can sustain yourself then put the excess out onto the grid so if the grid goes down you will have power no mater what.
This is how I would have my solar system where I can store the excess power and give it to my neighbor. One of the perks from producing power all those years.

Like JanforGore, I believe wave technology has great potential. 24/7 tides going on -- all that energy all the time...

Keep pushing those in power Bailey. Tell them it is what you want and that you are watching what they do on this.Tell them you want a cleaner healthier planet and will accept nothing less. Make them work for your vote.

We all should have gotten a bit of that 1.037 billion the department of energy just GAVE to futuregen ( clean coal ? ) . We just do not have the right connections .... Stuff like that makes me so angry .

Thats nice but there is no such thing as clean coal. Besides if they had given us any of that money we would has just done good things with it. They really don't want that to happen. They would perfer it was wasted on things that make them money. Not save the planet.

you have a return on investment of 7-9 years in most states with the various tax credits at federal, state and local levels. I'd check to see if your city/county/state offers "solar gardens" which allows a neighborhood to distribute installation costs and buy in bulk, bring that even farther down. Either way, not a bad investment considering the state of the market and its uncertain future.

Rewards where they actually produce something would be better than just funding research. Where's the capitalism in their approach?

I know there is no clean coal , i was being sarcastic . Futuregen was actually almost dead , as it should be . The DOE , saved it with this "gift" . It should have gone to Clarion or any of the truly clean energy sources that could use the help to LOWER their prices .

There IS no capitalism in this approach . Corporate welfare for no benefit whatsoever , plain and simple .

Well would mean that The Government would have to do the righjt thing. Thats not going to happen. They have been bought by The coal companies. They also have stock in coal mineing and coal powered energy. That would be like shooting themselves in the foot.

Welcome to the US democracy in the wake of Citizens United vs FEC.

7-9 years

"The lifespan of the products is significantly less, with plastic solar cells lasting just five years compared to current cells lasting at least in the region of twenty before their efficiency declines.

Bransfield-Garth says that this too will improve and is not necessarily a problem in a mass consumer market, considering the low cost of the product."

Read more: http://www.techeye.net/hardware/company-says-printed-plastic-solar-cells-are-pvs...

That been said, this is may be an interesting find, however, no where in the artcile do they actually give a price.

To the 7-9 years...on the current pannels. TORNADOS, Hail, lightening, tree branches, they say twenty five years but I like to see a study in actual use.

Fact is, for the average home which is a 1,000 to 1,500 sq. ft roof, you don't have enough direct sun time or roof space, and especially if the roofs are for two story homes. And the current cost to the consumer is 8,000-10,000. Contractors who install the panals. tell you if you live in the city, you will not get any savings. So in effect, if you want the panals to work, then you are promoting SPRAWL.

This just somewhat explains why solar power still hasn't made it big in blue and middle class america.

Gotta tell you, we were tickled pink to see solar panels and associated equipment on sale at COSTCO online and in their stores. Yeah, pricey for the multitudes struggling in this economy, but the systems they offer can be added to, so a homeowner can add to it as they can afford it.

And like JanforGore suggests, we need to keep the pressure on TPTB to make sure companies developing more ways to use the sun get AT LEAST the same incentives all the big extraction industries have received for decades. And argue for more/better tax credits for people who buy the technology, even when they do it a bit at a time as they can afford, to lessen the strain on the coal and nuclear fueled grid.

They have solar panels at COSTCO? I have to check into that.

What is really cool about the system they are now selling is that you can add to it when you want/can. How cool is that! We saw it online and the system was on the shelf when we went into town last week.

I saw somewhere that Lowe's has made a deal to distribute home solar systems too.

I don't know if they have them in the stores yet, but it wouldn't hurt to check with them I wouldn't think.

Anytime you buy something, Lowe's can always recommend professional installers that are reliable and not expensive if you ask also. It could save you a lot of grief if you are not a die hard DIY fan.

I have built trucks from spare parts I think I put up solor panels. Plus I like to see how things work so when they break I can fix them myself. I was at one time a very handy person. I am now trying to get back to that place.

We don't have a costco around here. But I will look on line to see what they have.

You nailed it right on the dot, Solar panels have a lifespan of about 25 years. Family friend has been installing them for the last 15 and has never had any problems with them wearing out. They're as hard as a windshield so they don't worry about of hail. I suppose I one could worry about a tornado ripping them off their house...but then again your house would be gone so I suppose powering it would be the lesser concern. Like I said before the upfront cost to the consumer is typically the largest barrier to purchase, people often don't have enough money to invest so that they can reap the returns. OR they returns on investment are too low if the right state and local incentives do not exist.

The problem with solar is that its competeing with subsidized coal and fossil fuels. We subsidize the pollution, its not like that pollution doesn't cost us citizens in health care costs (look up skyrocketing asthma and constant lung cancer rates even though smoking has decreased dramatically). So the TRUE cost of coal isn't what you're paying on your electric bill.

This is a study by HARVARD giving estimates to the true cost of coal, they say to add 18 cents per kwh. That addition alone brings PERSONAL solar nearly all the way to cost parity with coal, economies of scale would obviously bring solar down even further.

http://chge.med.harvard.edu/programs/ccf/documents/MiningCoalMountingCosts.pdf

Are the systems self-contained, or hooked up to the existing grid? I think there is a big price difference. I'll look for the link to the article and post it.

The 2 articles I posted are Do-it-yourself projects. Might be some good info in them.

I have seen some real good do-it-yourself kits thats the way I will go I do believe.

If your friend is evidence of growth, then my entire zip code is mine. With the exception of one house, there are no solar panel homes. I even looked into getting solar power a/c unit, can't do that in humid areas. As mentioned in your piece, the price of solar panals are high, but that isn't the only issue. Most subdivision homes have small roofs, and have limited exposure to direct sun. So as I mentioned before it is beyond cost prohibitive, it is just not practical. Ironicly, the older the subdivision, the bigger the trees, the less sun exposure. This is why, I support research into compact batteries, that can be safely housed, that need minimal attention. They also need to be able to hold a large charge and not severly degrade when recharged. And if I could have one more wish, the batteries would need very little water. Though I agree that your studies show that solar power is credible, it has not been shown to be practical for modern urban life.

I believe the current trend only encourages spraw, and helps corporations

Think of how many green jobs would have been created if the entire stimulus was spent on solar panels and installation for homes.

Seems like a no brainer to me. But Wall Street cares more for their bonuses than for a clean healthy environment. I mean, how can they make a profit off that? :::::sarcasm.::::

I think some need to truly understand ALL of the connotations of the word profits.

True, everybody has a rooftop... but they don't issue stocks to replace the dying stocks held by crude oil stockholders transitioning over to solar. Middle boys will survive! The old wineskin can't stand your uppity attitude, so for a few weeks following your above post walk closer to the walls, and scrunch over some. You know, the way a rat runs.

ARE YOU CRAZY MON? NO NO NO NO, a thousand times NO. No way Jose. Fly free little bird back to Capistrano (pronounced like Drain-O).

(We liked you before you started talking smart.)

Try cranking up the hot water heater temperature setting then only turning it on at the circuit box once a day for a 15 minute run while showering or doing dishes. I got my bill down to $36.68 two months ago, but with increasing AC it went to $58 last month. 2-bedroom apartment.

And turn off the circuit for the kitchen divider that KEEPS THE DISHWASHER MOTOR SEMI-TURNED ON.

You do realize , they will never willingly decentralize the power grid , because , the balance of control over this vital resource would shift to the common people , who would then become independent from any fear , influence or price gouging of said resource . We literally , must TAKE BACK OUR POWER !

TARP freed banks and provided solvency to banks, the stimulus could have though. But why not just impose a GHG tax, use what the government collects from it to redistribute to the citizens. That way we don't put all of our eggs in one basket (solar), allow the freedom of the market to maximize GHG reductions while simultaneously minimizing cost?

I agree. There are other renewable alternatives as well ( I particularly am interested in tidal energy) that could be researched and implemented via a revenue neutral carbon "incentive." I think it's time we make the polluters pay instead of the citizens.

Have you heard of the Fresnel lens ? I understand , it boils water with the sun, a fair amount of it , in 20 minuets ... Helps keep the home cool in summer . We are not using the energy all around us , that nature has used for millions of years , to great purpose .

Boiling solar cells wouldn't work too good, but if many cells were on a WHEEL, and the wheel was spinning so that no individual cell remained under the lens very long, you could MULTIPLY THE SOLAR POWER 6000%.

hehehehe Multiplication, BY DESIGN, that's the ticket, that's what takes us way way way over the wall from Want to Plenty.

Of course to do that trick we'd hafta be Smart. And if we were that smart we'd be making the rest of my engines that also do magnifications. Obviously such craziness can't be allowed, ever. We might actually find ourselves with True Home Power [and no meter hanging outside].

Cant have that!!! Too Uppity! TOO INDEPENDENT; TOO 1776 OF US.

By using tricks of magnification like that you can multiply the natural powers around us. one to two hours of sunlight could power a home for 2-3 days. We're barely limping along now, like a buncha CRIPPLES.

I have another system that rivals Nuclear Power, without any waste, doesn't use atomic anything. But right now with things the way they are it's no sense releasing it. We can make the Quantum Leap to FULL AND WONDERFUL ENERGY INDEPENDENCE any ol' time we want, once the yoke of our oppressors is off our neck.

They own the Patent Offices and the Dept. of Energy. You only get what they allow you to get.

In other words my friend those who are supposed to be your Benefactors have become your Jailers.

Well put. Intrinsic flaw in the human race; ignorance: the inability to differentiate between the true costs and accounting costs. Or in other words, people not understanding the concept of an externality...we're all doomed.

That is the core of it. "Profits" only taken in a monetary concept.

Not while my mind is still free .

It is a lens to focus solar energy , to heat things , such as water . There is also a parabola mirror that can boil water in 2 minuets . Someone told me the Greeks used it to light the original Olympic flame . Not sure , but it has been around , we just aren't using it .

In a Jail cell they can decide to not bring you Food; in our Jail cell they don't give us Energy inventions (except the ones they can charge many $$$ for). We live inside their box.

I have several very nice systems that use mirrors, haven't released them either. The climate here is poor.

Most Americans talk a good line about Freedom, makes em feel all cozy & warm to do so, but ultimately we are thought of as children, treated as children, candy they have withheld from the children. It's very degrading feeling like a stomped out cigarette.

Shouting you're Free when you're on the sidewalk all smashed up is sweet. Being surrounded by other free smashed up cigarette butts is good comaradery I guess, it seems to work for the majority.

Bill Gates is an interesting person, continuing to overcharge so he can soothe his maleness by giving money to charities, denying his customers of any leftover monies so they can give to charities also. So Gates gets to feel great while millions get to feel like non-charitable slobs (more sidewalk trash).

An interesting trade. One man gut-hogs what should belong to all.

Our Benefactors are also our Jailers. However, for as true as that is we have also become our Jailers too. I recently decided to afflict my neighbors by placing decals on the front and back of my car. I've never done that before. I have long realized that the local Power Brokers have been working hard against my religious messages in very effective ways containing me within their system box (Jailhouse). I also changed my license plate to read => JC STEM. The decals read => 2000 YRS AGO STEM CELL HEALING JN CH 9.

Then I printed out messages and encased them in good plastic transparent tape, putting them on the back side vent windows. One is religious the other two explain #1 how to stop cancer and #2 what products I used in 2006 to stop my awesome chest cancer that hit the right half and rt arm.

But I did NOT do it to "afflict them" => I DID IT TO EDUCATE THEM. It is they who have decided to feel afflicted. However, for the Power Brokers (mostly Jews, Catholics and Protestants running this burg who despise truths that don't issue forth from them instead issuing forth from a JW) it is quite a large affliction. Soon as they start becoming aware ~from their people ratting me out like paid spies~ they will recognize me as looking a lot like SAMSON when he pulled the pillars down upon his many thousands of Philistine captors.

I'm still that same smashed up cigarette being walked on but they know I'm down here... and they know I'm free of their neck yokes. All they have is the purse. I have all the GOLD. KNOWLEDGE IS GOLD. THEY HOLD DOLLAR BILLS. Which of us is "smashed up"?

Their worth is printed on Monopoly board paper. My worth is imprinted in my brain neuron circuitry (invention principles of various energy systems) and in my heart by showing godly love to my neighbor people in publicly viewed decals HOW TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES by causing their body to over-produce healthy stem cells faster than cancer can kill them, or diseases destroy them such as Multiple Sclerosis (scarring), Parkinson's (synaptic control of muscles), diseases like Alzheimer's. I've had them all and many more, some caused to be much worse by physician-written prescriptions that starved my body & brain for oxygen.

Freedom? I have freedom from doctors (and doctor insults, and doctor intimidation whenever I mention I saw something on the Internet hahaha that makes them recoil harder than a shotgun blast to their head). I have freedom from poorly-engineered combustion engines that sorely need to be melted down into slag. So I'm not having the monies to build my engines because all us [smashed up cigarettes being walked on every day] lack financial cohesion and trust, the Puppet Masters are on alert, their pillars of their Temple Treasuries are about to be emptied.

I wish I could up you more

And the true cost of a barrel of oil (or a cucumber or watermelon... if we didn't have "slave labor" to harvest them) The Chinese constructed alot of the rail system - like on the 60's Kung Fu show with David Carradine. You can tell I'm a history buff, ha,ha , but really, the stuff about the Chinese doing the labor and gettin sh*t on part was probably pretty close to right.. I bet the rich people called them lazy and a drain on our society, along with those drunkard Irishmen, just like they do the Hispanics now.

Yes, and how many even knew about it? Seems these things are kept under wraps most times.

So true, Republicans cannot even call themselves "conservatives" because they don't even know what the word means anymore. I also think from time to time where we would be as a country if a certain other visionary had actually been allowed to take his place as president., and it makes me weep. So I try not to do that too much.

Our democracy is overrun with corporations, its not just the Republicans. We lost our democracy with the Citizens United vs FEC case. The "political-economy" takes on a whole new meaning in the light of that Supreme Court case.

Good thinking ....

Voted you up.

Oh, of course not. Their oil and blood soaked money tell them differently.

Voted you up.

thanks, I vote all yours up.

Amazing how many Koch/ALEC sockpuppets there are here.

How much of the 500 million promised today for technology development do you think will be devoted to solar, or alternative energy in general?

solar boilers [steam turbines] are more efficient.

I just want to see an end to the dirty toxic energy sources that are killing our planet and us. We need to be more aggressive on all of what is not.

Based on past history, not enough. It seems those in control are trying to skew the meaning of the words to include nuclear, "clean" coal and natural gas as actually "alternative" or "clean" energy. Even tarsands! It is insanity.

Oh you are so right on that jan...I occasionally drive by an electric power plant here in Virginia, and right out front they have this giant billboard with a smiling face of a coal miner and the words "Clean Coal Energy" prominently displayed. The power plant sits right at the border of Virginia and West Virginia....I usually try to flip the bird to the billboard as I drive by...yeah, I know, my irreverence doesn't do any good, but it feels good.

Yes and this is what angers me about Obama. He goes right along with it after saying we need renewable energy. When he spoke about it in the State of the Union address and actually classified "clean coal", natural gas and nuclear as "clean" I couldn't believe he would cave to them like that. He was even in talks with Harper in Canada about excluding tarsands, the most carbon intensive dirty energy source from Co2 emission caps. The greed is out of control.

The irony is, or at least one of the ironies is that I worked with a researcher who collaborates with other researchers around the globe to actually find a way to make coal clean...they are light years away from actually doing it, and at this point, the cost is highly prohibitive, so you have to wonder (not really), what is the point?

The point? It gets votes at election time. If only Obama would tout CO2 sequestration in soil that can be done naturally now which actually has a double fold benefit ( less CO2 emissions and healthier soil) he might actually have some of us who are wary of him on this believing he really gives a damn about the environment. And look, I do understand to a point that in that cesspool in DC there are limits to what can be done, but if you are truly your own man, you don't let that stop you.

You may be right about that . Last trip to Seattle , i saw i solar farm and 2 wind farms , just on the way . It is happening .

It's quite apparent every politician has a GUN POINTED AT THEIR HEAD or is a traitor & sell out. Or both. Either way Jan, the politicians are all on the same side and all the voters are on the other side. I wonder which side gets thrown into the arena facing the LIONS? Duh.

There are more of us than there are of them. I say we push them harder until they fall into the arena.

Fat paychecks is their blood.

You beat me to it. The average person can't afford to install solar or wind energy. I know of an instance where it cost them $35,000 for a wind mill. Fine, he sells his energy back to the utility company, but it will take him approximately 17 years to break even.

tell me about it, I have a good size roof, but even with 104 degree heat, if I plasterd solar panels on every part of it, it still wouldn't even cover the cost of my a/c, and forget rebates, you have to be hooked up to the grid to get the rebate, which means you'll pay 8,000 instead of 10,000. And if you built your on panels, city won't allow you to hook to the grid.

I know I'm bit cynical, but man on the moon and all, come on already

What city is this?

And of course, oil companies making billions in windfall profits while destroying the planet which is also costing us billions doesn't matter? Cost effectiveness and indirect costs are what are always left out of this equation. And I know people who own businesses and homes who are saving money by using solar energy.

jan I think you neged me but no hard feelings, I still up the story , it is encouraging, but I really don't think corporations needed it more than private home owner does

Even if only the sunbelt derived it's total energy from solar, that would take tremendous strain off of traditional energy sources. Northern states will ultimately pursue other alternative energies. As solar technology evolves the cells may become efficient enough to even produce sufficiently throughout the north. Also, there are numerous sunny areas throughout the north.

Washington state is NOT in the sun belt , and according to a study done by WSU it could get 70% of its energy from solar alone . Combine this with the hydro we already have ..... and you may understand why Seattle has just placed 3 of 150 e car charging stations in the city . Nuclear and oil and coal will go the way of the Dodo , and the last one in is a sorry so and so ....

Have you considered jellyfish wind turbans ? Clarion electric has whole systems for a about 4 thousand ... when last i checked .

No, I didn't "neg" you and why would you even consider mentioning that in a response? It happens to me every damn day I am here even in this thread because the deniers and those carrying a grudge because I dare to post about climate change/biodistress and stories like this and not back down think that by voting me down they will silence me. FAT CHANCE. And there are many things happening regarding solar that we never even hear about in the MSM because the fossil fuel lobby owns it. And it's time for that to change.