The Los Angeles Business Council promises excellent jobs and 600 MW of electricity if the city can institute a solar finance program. The proposed solar finance program would be funded by the Department of Water and Power. It would allow Los Angeles to create 3% of its electricity from the sun and attract solar companies to the area to create jobs.

The program, which has been implemented in Florida and Germany, is already a success. It will encourage business owners and homeowners to install solar on their homes and commercial buildings.

All excess electricity generated can be sold back to the utility company at a set rate for the next 20 years.

Solar has already created 4,300 local jobs, but investment by the city of Los Angeles through solar financing would further propel the solar industry.

The program will be paid by the Department of Water and Power. It is estimated that the program will cost $35 million a year from its $4 billion budget. Already, the budget includes $800 million for renewable energy programs. By teaming up property owners, Los Angeles can deploy solar with this robust finance program.

Looking for Solar Finance for your business?
Contact Rich Hessler Solar 

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Inverters and Their Role in Renewable Energy

Inverters may be the one piece of electrical equipment that most solar energy users do not know much about.  They are very discrete, unobtrusive boxes that convert direct current (DC), in this case from solar panels, to alternating current (AC) for practical use.  With the use of proper transformers, switching, and circuit controls, AC can be converted to any voltage and frequency.

Apart from solar panels, inverters are also used to transmit power from batteries and fuel cells.

Most property owners using solar electricity use grid tie inverters.  These inverters are capable of feeding back energy into the utility grid because it produces alternating current with the amplitude and frequency as the energy provided by the utility distribution network.  These are quite useful as they can shut off in the event of a blackout.

Micro-inverters are used to convert direct current from individual solar panels into alternating curre nt solely for feeding it into the utility grid.

A commercial generator or uninterruptible power supply uses a battery and an inverter to store alternating current for a main power distribution outage.  Once main power is restored, a rectifier is used to supply direct current electricity for recharging the battery.

Though inverters are frequently unnoticed when admiring a solar system, there role is what makes any solar energy generation project possible. 

According to a new report from Yole Developpement, a French industry analysis firm, the growing photovoltaic market has resulted in a multi-billion euro market for European inverter manufacturers.  The photovoltaic inverter market is expected to double in value during the coming years.  Analysts project the industry to be worth an estimated $8.1 billion by 2014. 

Rich Hessler Solar
Solar Business Services:

• Solar Financing
• Solar Sales Training
• Lead Generation
• Quickbooks Pluggins
• Website Design
• Solar Project Consulting

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The Benefits of Distributed Energy

Distributed energy.  Sounds good.  It is.  It's actually the ultimate goal when it comes to dealing with our energy crisis.  In the back of our minds, we want to minimize our impact on the environment.  But when it comes down to discussing energy, we simply want to make it affordable, improve the quality and the reliability of the supply.  Distributed energy does just that.  It refers to the many new technologies that have small, modular, power-generating capacity and are combined with load management and energy storage systems to provide energy at or near the point of consumption.

Traditional methods of producing energy used more centralized operations that generate power onsite and deliver it to consumers through high-voltage power lines.  Examples of these more centralized operations are nuclear power plants, coal burning plants, and hydroelectric damns.  It goes without saying that these particular methods are have significant impacts on the environment.

Distributed energy requires consumers to produce their own energy onsite to feed into their utility's electrical grid.  Distributed energy involves a wide range of technologies including wind turbines, solar power, fuel cells, microturbines, reciprocating engines, load reduction technologies, and battery storage systems.  These distributed energy technologies are used to produce baseload power, peak power, backup power, remote power, power quality, as well as cooling and heating.

The effective employment of distributed energy also relieves congestion in transmission lines, prevents energy rate fluctuations, stabilizes the electricity grid, and re-establishes energy security.  Because distributed energy sources need to be connected to the grid, they also support and strengthen the central-station model of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.  

 The Department of Energy is currently developing technologies to integrate renewable and distributed energy systems into the electricity grid at the distribution level.  Americans must make efforts to retrofitting their properties with renewable and distributed energy systems that improve the overall effectiveness of our energy infrastructure.

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The Benefits of Distributed Energy

Distributed energy.  Sounds good.  It is.  It's actually the ultimate goal when it comes to dealing with our energy crisis.  In the back of our minds, we want to minimize our impact on the environment.  But when it comes down to discussing energy, we simply want to make it affordable, improve the quality and the reliability of the supply.  Distributed energy does just that.  It refers to the many new technologies that have small, modular, power-generating capacity and are combined with load management and energy storage systems to provide energy at or near the point of consumption.

Traditional methods of producing energy used more centralized operations that generate power onsite and deliver it to consumers through high-voltage power lines.  Examples of these more centralized operations are nuclear power plants, coal burning plants, and hydroelectric damns.  It goes without saying that these particular methods are have significant impacts on the environment.

Distributed energy requires consumers to produce their own energy onsite to feed into their utility's electrical grid.  Distributed energy involves a wide range of technologies including wind turbines, solar power, fuel cells, microturbines, reciprocating engines, load reduction technologies, and battery storage systems.  These distributed energy technologies are used to produce baseload power, peak power, backup power, remote power, power quality, as well as cooling and heating.

The effective employment of distributed energy also relieves congestion in transmission lines, prevents energy rate fluctuations, stabilizes the electricity grid, and re-establishes energy security.  Because distributed energy sources need to be connected to the grid, they also support and strengthen the central-station model of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.  

 The Department of Energy is currently developing technologies to integrate renewable and distributed energy systems into the electricity grid at the distribution level.  Americans must make efforts to retrofitting their properties with renewable and distributed energy systems that improve the overall effectiveness of our energy infrastructure.

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In late 2009, Electrical District No. 3 (ED-3) started offering up to $15,000 rebates on professionally-installed photovoltaic solar systems. The was so much interest in the program that ED-3 looked at ways to reduce its popularity. Already, the response has exceded the funds set aside for the rebate.

The ED-3 solar rebate program is funded by a renewable energy fee it charges customers - 30 cents a month for residential users and $12 a month for commercial. These fees help the company raise $300,000 a year, some of which is used to continue funding renewable energy projects.

Unfortunately, these projects pale in comparison to major utility companies such as Arizona Power Service (APS) and Salt River Project. These companies charge its customers between $1.88 and $3.46 a month for renewable energy projects and incentives. This will provide APS with $86.7 million in tariffs in 2010.

Despite collecting a large amount of money to fund renewable energy, APS and SRP are planning to scale down their solar programs. The number of pv solar installations in 2009 is greater than the previous 8 years combined.

One way APS will accomplish this is through reducing it's maximum rebate to ~$13,000. If APS does not takes this action, the funds set aside for this year will run out by June.

Still, thanks to the generous rebates offered by the federal government and APS, a solar system costs $8,000 - $12,000 out of pocket (instead of $30,000 - $35,000). Imagine purchasing a solar system at $8,000 that will provide you with electricity for the rest of your life!

In addition, any excess energy produced by your solar system will run your meter backwards, giving homeowners a rebate on their electricity.

APS is also looking into raising fees to support these renewable energy programs. APS is discussing whether the renewable energy fees are something the residents of Phoenix would want to pay.

This brings up one important point - the residents of Phoenix are paying for the solar rebates. Why would anyone continue paying for other homeowners to install photovoltaics instead of taking advantage of this offer? Getting a solar system 60% off in a state with as much sunshine as Arizona seems like a no-brainer.

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Renewable energy is created by natural resources that are regenerable or replenishable. This means that after energy is consumed, natural processes regenerate the source. These resources include sunlight, wind, rain, tides, geothermal, biofuels, and more.

Unlike fossil fuels, these resources will not run out and produce little waste. Here is an overview of how humans harness sunlight, wind, rain, tides, geothermal, and biofuels.

Sunlight:

• Photovoltaics - converting sunlight directly into electricity
• Solar Thermal - using sunlight to heat up water/oil. The hot water is used in homes and hot water/hot oil are used to spin a turbine to generate electricity.

Wind:

• Turbines - spinning turbines generate electricity

Rain:

• Dams - rain collects into rivers to return to the ocean. Dams harness the "downward" movement of water to spin turbines to generate electricity. Someday, water might be pump behind a dam during the day (and maximum photovoltaic electricity production) to be used to generate electricity at night.

Tides:

• The movement of tides can be harnessed to generate electricity. Since the tide is almost always moving in or out, electricity production is consistent.

Geothermal:

• Heating - water warmed by geothermal resources is circulated in floors and walls, providing home heating.
• Electricity Generation - hot water can be used to spin a turbine and generate electricity.

Biofuels:

• Algae - nutrients, algae, and sunlight are combined to produce different types of fuels. Unlike the fuels underneath the earth, fuel produced by algae is renewable and removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
• Corn - Corn is converted into ethanol, which is used to power cars and generate electricity.

We all know that renewable energy is the future of our civilization. Someday, fossil fuels will run out and force us to adopt renewable energy. Right now, renewable energy is supported (to a very small extend) by governments worldwide. With government rebates, it is economically feasible to switch to photovoltaic for electricity production. If you want to discover how photovoltaics are economically feasible, sign up for this free photovoltaic webinar.

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Renewable energy is created by natural resources that are regenerable or replenishable. This means that after energy is consumed, natural processes regenerate the source. These resources include sunlight, wind, rain, tides, geothermal, biofuels, and more.

Unlike fossil fuels, these resources will not run out and produce little waste. Here is an overview of how humans harness sunlight, wind, rain, tides, geothermal, and biofuels.

Sunlight:

• Photovoltaics - converting sunlight directly into electricity
• Solar Thermal - using sunlight to heat up water/oil. The hot water is used in homes and hot water/hot oil are used to spin a turbine to generate electricity.

Wind:

• Turbines - spinning turbines generate electricity

Rain:

• Dams - rain collects into rivers to return to the ocean. Dams harness the "downward" movement of water to spin turbines to generate electricity. Someday, water might be pump behind a dam during the day (and maximum photovoltaic electricity production) to be used to generate electricity at night.

Tides:

• The movement of tides can be harnessed to generate electricity. Since the tide is almost always moving in or out, electricity production is consistent.

Geothermal:

• Heating - water warmed by geothermal resources is circulated in floors and walls, providing home heating.
• Electricity Generation - hot water can be used to spin a turbine and generate electricity.

Biofuels:

• Algae - nutrients, algae, and sunlight are combined to produce different types of fuels. Unlike the fuels underneath the earth, fuel produced by algae is renewable and removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
• Corn - Corn is converted into ethanol, which is used to power cars and generate electricity.

We all know that renewable energy is the future of our civilization. Someday, fossil fuels will run out and force us to adopt renewable energy. Right now, renewable energy is supported (to a very small extend) by governments worldwide. With government rebates, it is economically feasible to switch to photovoltaic for electricity production. If you want to discover how photovoltaics are economically feasible, sign up for this free photovoltaic webinar.

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