Rooftop Solar
February 5, 2024
Solar rooftops are becoming increasingly popular as a way to generate clean, renewable energy and reduce reliance on the traditional grid. But with various options available, […]
May 11, 2023
If you’re interested in taking the plunge to get solar panels installed on your roof, there are a few things that you’ll want to know and […]
September 5, 2022
Solar panels can be a great way to start using renewable energy for your home or business. However, before you get too far down this path, […]
June 11, 2021
The traditional electric current has been an excellent use for humans for many years. However, it has also caused many fire accidents that cost the lives […]
December 14, 2016
Solar Rooftop India Prices Solar rooftop has been the ugly baby of India’s renewable energy industry. Despite tall promises made by the Indian government to install […]
May 23, 2016
Update on Google Sunroof Google Sunroof project is rapidly gaining traction in the US market, having reached 20 US metro markets in January 2016, from merely […]
July 29, 2013
Punjab achieves its 300 MW of Reverse Auction plan for Solar India’s northern state of Punjab which accounts for a large part of the agricultural production […]
June 10, 2013
Indian states come around to promoting Solar Rooftop Installations after being fixated on ground mount plants Indian states have finally come around to supporting rooftop solar […]
December 14, 2012
The Solar Policy unveiled by Tamil Nadu has generated a huge amount of investor enthusiasm with a target of generating almost 3 GW of solar power […]
December 11, 2012
The Indian state of Tamil Nadu recently released a solar energy policy which aims to rapidly add solar energy capacity in the state by making it […]
December 10, 2012
In Greenworldinvestor we have already covered the India’s Federal Solar Subsidy Policy JNNSM from its inception 2 years ago. Now as the Government embarks on the […]
October 5, 2012
The US state of Georgia is seeing an interesting battle between the dominant utility and a new upstart Georgia Solar Utilities Inc that is proposing to […]
October 4, 2012
Solar Rooftops Gujarat which has been a trailblazer in installing solar energy in India has once again shown the way in distributed rooftop solar generation. Note […]
February 14, 2012
Solarcity which is the largest US Solar Installer has got sued by Sunpower for stealing trade secrets. Note Sunpower which was recently bought by French Oil Giant Total is facing tough times. Sunpower which makes the most efficient solar panels in the world is facing tough competition from super cheap Chinese solar panels. In fact according to Total CEO the company would have been already bankrupt with Total support. Beside making solar panels, Sunpower is also one of the biggest solar integrators and developers. The company has been in the business of installing solar panels after it acquired solar system installer Powerlight.
January 9, 2012
Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) Prices in New Jersey have been falling at a sharp rate from a high of $600 to $225 as high returns from falling solar panel prices and other tax breaks.This has led to a massive growth in solar installations in the state making it the 2nd largest state by solar capacity.New Jersey installations have crossed 500 MW and made it a huge green job driver in the state.However this boom has made the market driven SREC prices fall quite sharply.Though not falling as sharply as Pennsylvania where SREC prices have become a joke ,they are still low and falling.
January 6, 2012
US Solar Projects including the 1000 MW Blythe Solar Project is now available for solar developers,installers at fire sale prices.The Insolvency Administrator is looking to sell parts and the whole of the solar project business of Solar Millennium and its US subsidiary Solar Trust of America.Note before filing of bankruptcy,the solar project developer had around 2000 MW of solar projects in the pipeline.
January 2, 2012
The Chinese solar panel producers too are facing tough times with many companies running at low utilizations and almost everybody running losses.Some companies with huge debt burdens like LDK are running because of government largesse as they are effectively insolvent for all purposes.Expect more bankrutpcies in the coming year .It will take a very foolish or a very brave company to expand solar capacity this year.
Only USA Solar Installers are having a good time with below cost solar panels availabe increasing the returns and leading to massive increased.It looks like 2012 will be a good year for US solar installers who are expanding rapidly to take advantage of the falling solar module prices.Even Buffett is going all into solar development space acquiring billion dollar project in a classical case of vulture investing.
July 6, 2011
Solar Power in Australia has grown massively in 2010 and 2011 driven by state feed in tariffs also known as the solar bonus scheme or solar credits.This has resulted in the capacity limits being reached and most of the state solar subsidy schemes have been withdrawn (see the current state feed-in-tariff schemes below).However the Australian federal government is still offering the Renewable Energy Credit Scheme under which solar power generated is eligible to get solar credits which can be solar in the open market for cash.This will still drive the use of solar energy as the falling prices of chinese solar panels has made solar energy near electricity price parity in a number of places.Australia which gets a lot of sunshine is ideal for solar energy which promotes climate change mitigation as well besides reducing pollution.Australia has the highest average solar radiation of any continent in the world, which means solar industry has the greatest potential.
July 6, 2011
Soar Rebates are a very important decision making factor when buying solar panels for your home or office or factory.The reason is that solar energy today is still not competitive with fossil fuel energy.However the costs of solar energy have declined dramatically in the recent past.It is estimated that solar energy will be competitive with coal,gas and other fossil fuels in 2-3 years in most places around the earth.In fact it has already reached "grid parity" in a number of countries like Italy,Hawai where there is a lot of sunshine and the cost of electricity is also high.Australia too has a large number of sunny hours which makes it ideal to install solar panels.State governments in Australia have been at the forefront of giving rebates and subsidies to promote solar energy in the country.This has resulted in a large boom of solar installations among residents in the country who are taking advantage of the generous subsidies.Though recently a number of provinces like New South Vales and Victoria have reduced the solar rebates , the falling cost of solar panels in Australia has still made it attractive enough for people to put up solar panels.
Most of the state government Feed in Tariff Schemes have closed down under a deluge of applications and have reached the limit.Now the rebates for solar energy is federal in nature where you can receive a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Solar Credit for the solar energy generated from solar panels.Here is a list of the solar rebates and subsidies available in different states of Australia.
July 5, 2011
State governments in Australia have been at the forefront of giving rebates and subsidies to promote solar energy in the country.This has resulted in a large boom of solar installations among residents in the country who are taking advantage of the generous subsidies.Though recently a number of provinces like New South Vales and Victoria have stopped the solar rebates , the falling cost of solar panels in Australia has still made it attractive enough for people to put up solar panels.Now the rebates for solar energy is federal in nature where you can receive a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Solar Credit for the solar energy generated from solar panels
June 30, 2011
Huge Solar Panel Projects are being planned in the USA by solar developers and utilities as solar panel prices have fallen by 20-30% in the second quarter of 2011 as solar panel manufacturers are faced with oversupply and inventory issues.Note building both coal and nuclear power plants in the US has become increasingly difficult with pollution and climate change issues coming to the fore.While natural gas is getting a boost due to cheap shale gas discoveries,solar energy is picking up pace due to the government support in the form of DOE Loan guarantees and Treasury Grant programs like 1705.Recently two very large solar panel projects have been announced or are in the process over the next 3-4 years.
April 12, 2011
Solar Power Plants have mushroomed in different parts of the world as Global Solar Demand has increased by more than 150% in 2010.Solar Power Plants built on the Ground differ from that put on the Roofs of Houses as they require to go through feasibility,environmental assessment,grid connection,siting etc. which is typical for a large industrial project.The time taken to build a solar power plant project is also much more than a rooftop residential solar installation.Solar Farms are being mainly being built in countries which have subsidy program like tax rebates,feed in tariffs etc.However building a solar plant has become quite easy unlike in the past as solar panel,solar inverters and installation expertise is more easily available.The regulations and permits for building a solar plant or a solar farm on the other hand differ from country to country and region to region depending on federal and state laws.For a Large Solar Plant like the Aqua Caliente,there are a number of permitting steps that have to be passed before the plant can be built.For smaller power plants in the 5 MW range the requirements are less.In general the smaller the size of the solar installation,the lower the number of regulations required.Here are the steps required in building a Solar Power Plant
April 11, 2011
Solar Power Plants till a couple of years were quite small compared to the mainstream energy power plants.Most power plants were in the double digit range with no Solar Farms having the capacity of 100 MW or greater.This is in reference to PV Solar Power Plants and not to Solar Thermal Plants which are bigger in size.Note Solar Thermal Plants by the very nature of technology require larger sizes to be economical just like Thermal or Nuclear Power Plants.On the other hand PV Power Plants do not gain much in economies of scale and government prefer giving subsidies to distributed rooftop solar installations rather than large solar farms.
March 8, 2011
The US is the world's largest electricity producer and consumer with a total electricity capacity of around 1 Terawatt.The share of Solar Energy in the US Electricity Production is negligible compared to around 19% for Nuclear Energy and around 2-3% for Wind Energy.However Solar Energy in the US is set to grow at high double digits over the next 2 decades as the Costs of Solar Energy Decline with prices of other Energy Forms set to rise.In some states like Hawaii and California,solar energy prices are already at grid parity with retail electricity prices.Some states like New Jersey,Colorado,Arizona have seen sharp increases in solar energy adoption over the last 2-3 years boosted by state specific government policies and subsidies.With the US Federal 30% Cash Grant on System Costs and falling systems prices for solar systems,the growth in inevitable.The US Solar Market has seen the rise of a number of innovative and fast growing system integration and installers.Some companies have come up with innovative financial solutions to solve the high initial investment hurdles in solar systems through leasing and financing plans.Here are a list of Top US Installers/System Integrators.Note the list will keep expanding in the coming years as the size of the US Solar Energy Market Grows.
March 6, 2011
Rooftop Solar Energy in Australia sees a Boom leading to Subsidy Cut Pressure in Spain,Czech Deja Vu
Other states are looking to do so as well.Like other Solar Subsidy Programs elsewhere in Czech,Germany,Spain,Australia too has seen solar energy costs fall much faster than subsidies.This has led to a boom in solar installations as the returns become very high.These costs are ultimately passed on the customer electricity bills drawing howls from the states.Large Wind Energy Producers like Origin Energy have also seen the prices of RECs decrease so that is not feasible to build new wind farm projects.On top of all this confusion,the Australian government can't make up its mind on a Carbon Tax which will help it to meet the 2020 20% Green Energy Target.