Photovoltaics | Solar One

HCS Report: The Story of Sun Garden Homes

by bezerbezeron 04/21/2015 in Community Solar, Green Building, New York City, Photovoltaics, Solar Power

hcsnyc_blog Solar can be a great fit for NYC cooperatives that are looking to contain their ever-rising operating costs and save for necessary capital improvements. When a large roof is matched with a large ConEd bill, substantial savings can be realized, year after year, once solar is installed. However, no matter how compelling the argument may be, making the case for solar to an overextended volunteer board and a diverse shareholder base that is unfamiliar with the technology can be a challenging, time-consuming and even highly frustrating undertaking . . . and one that many solar contractors are not willing to take on.

So what can be done?

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Get Ready for a Global Solar-Powered Energy Revolution

by Dinaon 04/16/2015 in Community Solar, Economy, Photovoltaics, Solar Power

solarchart
For absolute proof that solar power is the future, check out this graph from the Earth Policy Institute, which shows the trajectory of solar world-wide over the past 40 years.

As the price of panels has plummeted, the capacity of solar installations has grown exponentially. In fact, solar power use has increased 53 times since 2006.

How many other industries have grown 53 times larger in 9 years?

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What “Repo Man” Can Teach Us About Solar’s Residual Value

by Dinaon 04/13/2015 in Community Solar, Economy, Photovoltaics, Solar Power

repoman If you’ve never seen Repo Man, Alex Cox’s 1984 sci-fi dystopian comedy tale of a kid who gets caught up in the repo business, starring a very young Emilio Estevez, it’s highly entertaining, and highly recommended. But the repo model also has some interesting value for the future of solar power.

So what does repossessing cars have to do with solar panels?

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For Women’s History Month, the Top 10 Women in Solar

by Dinaon 03/26/2015 in Green Collar Jobs, Photovoltaics, Solar Power

womeninsolar March is Women’s History Month, which is a good excuse to bring up the contributions of women to the industry that’s creating jobs nearly 20 times faster than the economy as a whole in the US– solar power.

From teaching workshops about solar installation to running major solar corporations, women have earned their place at the solar industry table.

Keep reading to learn about Women in Cleantech & Sustainability‘s list of the top 10 women working in solar.

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SolarCity Launches Worldwide Microgrid Service

by Dinaon 03/18/2015 in Community Solar, Photovoltaics, Renewables, Solar Power, Sustainability

Realizing that they already had all the elements in hand, US solar provider #1 SolarCity is now offering “microgrids as a service” to municipalities, island nations, hospitals, military bases, schools and communities,. remote or otherwise, who want to increase their resiliency and rely less on conventional electric power. And not only can they do it, but they can do it with little or no upfront cost,and provide power cheaper than a utility.

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Happy 270th Birthday to Alessandro Volta, Inventor of the Electric Battery

by Dinaon 02/18/2015 in Design, Education, Photovoltaics, Technology

avolta270 Happy 270th birthday to Italian physicist Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta, Italian physicist and inventor of the first chemical-electric battery, known as “the Voltaic pile”. And now you also know where the word “voltaic”, as in “photovoltaic” which means “electricity from light”.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a fan, and Volta was invited by the Emperor to demonstrate the battery at the Institute of France.

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