Looking Good @ SPI
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009Gaelan, our VP of Marketing, just sent these pix from the floor of Solar Power International ‘09. Looking good!
Author Archive
T- minus One Day and Counting…
Monday, October 26th, 2009Solar Power International kicks off tomorrow in CA. If you’re planning on being in Anaheim, be sure to check out groSolar at booth #309. Also, Jeff Wolfe will be speaking on the Thursday morning CEO Panel, “Surviving the Solar Shakeout.” As many of you know, Jeff is very active in the solar industry and this is a great opportunity to hear him speak. We will update the blog with pictures as they come in. Check back soon!
Powered By The Sun
Monday, October 19th, 2009
Maryland Businesses Decry U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Stance on Global Warming Policy
Friday, October 16th, 2009We wanted to get this press release out to the masses:
Local leaders join national companies in speaking out against the Chamber’s stance on climate
TAKOMA PARK—Business leaders in Maryland today spoke out against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of its obstruction of climate legislation. A number of major companies, including Apple and Levi Strauss & Co., have recently resigned from the Chamber because they disagree with the Chamber’s stance on global warming. Local businesses joined the national companies in declaring that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce doesn’t represent them.
“Every business talks ‘green’ these days, but the real test of a green commitment is where a business stands on supporting progressive environmental legislation at the state or national level,” said Gary Skulnik of Clean Currents. “Clean Currents is proud to stand firmly in the true green camp in supporting serious legislation to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, as opposed to the U.S. Chamber and its head-in-the-sand approach.”
The U.S. Chamber spent $26 million on lobbying Congress in the first half of 2009, double the total of second-biggest lobbying firm ExxonMobil. The influential Chamber has also opposed every major piece of climate legislation introduced on Capitol Hill – it opposed McCain-Lieberman in 2003 and 2005, Lieberman-Warner in 2007, and Waxman-Markey in 2009.
“As a business owner it is clear to me that this is the time to make major investments in the industries that will power our future and create millions of career-track green-collar jobs,” said Richard Deutschmann, VP of Policy & Market Development for groSolar, a national solar energy company. “A recent study indicated that investing in the clean energy economy could provide as many as 1.7 million new jobs. That’s exactly what our ailing economy needs.”
“We must do all we can to minimize climate change which is already affecting global biodiversity. At current projections, 50% of the world’s species could be facing extinction by the end of century,” said Keith Bowers of Biohabitats. “The bottom line is that all living organisms depend on natural capital.”
Traditionally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claimed to represent the collective interest of American business. The recent public resignations have exposed the Chamber as majorly out of step with the today’s businesses.
“As a business owner I stand with major companies like Apple, Pacific Gas and Electric, Microsoft, and Nike that have spoken out against the Chamber because they understand the modern economy,” said George L Peters Jr, President & CEO of Sustainable Urban Infrastructures, Inc. “I don’t stand with the backward looking, mired-in-the-failed-status-quo energy policies of the U.S. Chamber.”
The companies have left the US Chamber entirely, left the Board of the US Chamber, or spoken out against the US Chamber, include:
o Apple, Inc. – Resigned
o Exelon – Resigned
o PNM Resources (NM) – Resigned
o Pacific Gas and Electric Co (CA) – Resigned
o PSE&G – Resigned
o Levi Strauss & Co – Resigned
o Nike – Resigned from board, will quit Chamber next year
o Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, San Jose Chamber of Commerce, Alcoa, Duke, Entergy, Microsoft, Toyota – Say chamber doesn’t represent their views on climate
###
Maryland business leaders available for interview:
Keith Bowers, President, BioHabitats
Baltimore, MD
410.554.0156
www.biohabitats.com
Baltimore, MD
410.554.0156
www.biohabitats.com
Richard Deutschmann, VP Policy & Market Development, groSolar
Jessup, MD
443-451-3512 office, 410-707-4368 mobile
groSolar.com
Jessup, MD
443-451-3512 office, 410-707-4368 mobile
groSolar.com
George L Peters Jr., President & CEO, Sustainable Urban Infrastructures, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
410.967.5620
www.sustainableurbaninfrastructures.com
Baltimore, MD
410.967.5620
www.sustainableurbaninfrastructures.com
Gary Skulnik, President/Partner, Clean Currents, LLC
Rockville, MD 20850
301-754-0430 x701, 202-413-8534 (cell)
www.cleancurrents.com
Rockville, MD 20850
301-754-0430 x701, 202-413-8534 (cell)
www.cleancurrents.com
Jagger and Kristi Go Solar/ Solar Sweepstakes
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
An update for all of you “Mornings with Jagger & Kristi on Magic 92.5″ fans in San Diego. Jagger & Kristi’s solar installation is almost complete. Listen to what Jagger & Kristi have to say about their system.
Also, if you live in the San Diego area, own a home and have SDG&E as your electric company you can sign up to win free solar electricity. The winner will be drawn at the Kick Gas Festival, Saturday, October 24 at Qualcomm Stadium. You can enter to win at www.KickGasFestival.com. Hurry and enter soon – the festival is only a couple of weeks away!
DC Green Festival
Monday, October 12th, 2009Our Mid-Atlantic sales office participated in the DC Green Festival this past weekend. We have attended for the past few years and it’s always a great event with lots of green information, food, drink, music and some green celebrities. Here is a picture of Brandon Carter, one of our Outside Sales Reps in Maryland with Ed Begley, Jr.
Ground Mount Solar in New York
Monday, October 5th, 2009We recently completed a 4 kW ground mount solar installation in upstate NY. The homeowners came back to groSolar after a successful roof mount PV installation 2 years ago.
The Canadian Invasion!
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
We’re really excited about a new solar module brand that we are offering. We searched high and low and met with module manufacturers all over the world in order to find a PV module that offers the performance, quality and price that you expect from groSolar. We’re happy to announce that we are bringing you modules from Canadian Solar. We’re able to offer you more watts per dollar, high quality and ease of installation at a great price.
A few of the reasons why we chose Canadian Solar:
- Well established supplier with over 600 MW of module manufacturing capacity and has a well established track record for the commercial and residential PPA market
- World-renowned technical expertise
- Modules have uncompromising quality, durability, performance and value
- Commitment to product innovations with high quality standards and sustainable business practices
- Fully complying to IEC, TUV, UL international quality standards
- Lowest power tolerance of any imported module: +/-2.1% – CSI stands behind their power ratings
- Industry leading 6 years product warranty and 25 years performance warranty
- Strong framed module, passing the mechanical load test of 113 PSF versus 50.2 PSF for most other manufacturers.(113 PSF is equivalent to withstanding over 212 mph wind speeds.)
We’re currently offering the CS5P (230 watt module) and the CS6P (200 watt module).
Mt. Pleasant Solar Co-op
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
We have been very lucky to work with a local DC cooperative that is working to help their neighborhood go solar by making it convenient and affordable for everyone in their neighborhood. The Mt. Pleasant Solar Cooperative is an association of 70-plus households in the Mt. Pleasant community of the District of Columbia. They were founded because of the urgent need they felt to reduce their impact on global warming. They decided to use the coop model for two reasons. First, they decided that if they were going to go through all the work to figure out how to install solar technology, they realized they would have a bigger impact by including more people in the project. Second, they needed a way to make solar power less expensive and thought that through bulk purchase and sharing expertise and expenses they could bring down the cost.
Their immediate goal is to satisfy the solar needs of their neighborhood and ultimately to develop a model that can be rolled out in neighborhoods across the country.
The Mt. Pleasant Coop held an open house on Saturday, September 19th to show the public the success of this program. Check out some of the photos below and see the link to the news story here.
5×5x5 Awards
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009groSolar was recognized for its impressive growth last night at the 7th Annual 5×5x5 Growth Awards from Vermont Business Magazine. The 5×5x5 Growth Awards recognize 5 companies in 5 sectors who have experienced major growth over the last 5 years. This is the second year that groSolar has been recognized. groSolar experienced 3429% sales growth over the last 5 years.
John Boutin - President Vermont Business Magazine, Scott Carpenter - KeyBank, Jeff Wolfe - CEO groSolar
