Archive for the 'General Interest' Category

The 101 kW PV installation on our roof is going well. It is about 30% complete and our installation crew has had some clear, crisp Vermont weather to work in.

Great quote from Jeff Wolfe for an upcoming interview with B-Green Collaborative:

Beating back climate change and transitioning the world’s energy supply to renewables is inarguably the biggest economic opportunity we have ever seen. It makes the internet and telecom economic boom seem like a pop rather than a boom.

The full interview should be up on B-Green Collaborative in a couple of weeks.

Our corporate offices, in White River Junction, VT, are in a shared building on Old River Road and  we’re very excited because our landlord is going solar! RSD Companies, a trucking and transportation company (and also our landlord), will be purchasing power from a 101kW system that will be installed by us on our roof! This is the largest installation east of the Green Mountains and North of Boston. The project just got underway this week. Check out the photos below and check back for updates.

Our installation crew saying hello!

Brian directing the crane

This entire area will be covered with solar panels

Back in August we told you about Jagger & Kristi, morning DJ’s on Magic 92.5 in San Diego, going solar. Well, their system was recently installed and is up and running. Check out the picture of Jagger in front of the solar array and here is the nice email we got from Jagger & Kristi:

Just wanted to shoot a quick e-mail and say Thanks for the great Solar experience. We are lovin’ it. We were so thrilled when the system was fired up for the first time and our meter started turning backwards. So amazing! It really does give you a different feeling, going solar!

Your installers were great and very helpful at understanding how things work!

Here are a few shots of the finished project. We actually have a tree-trimmer coming to cut our trees back so we can see the panels better from the street!

Gone Green and not going back….

Best,
Jagger & Kristi

At Solar Power International last week, Rhone Resch, SEIA President & CEO, declared a Solar Bill of Rights. This truly is a bill of rights for the energy future of our country and not just companies in the industry. Read the full version below:

To secure a policy environment that allows solar energy to compete and empowers consumers to choose, Rhone Resch declared today, October 27, 2009, in the City of Anaheim, California, a Solar Bill of Rights:

We declare these rights not on behalf of our companies, but on behalf of our customers and our country. We seek no more than the freedom to compete on equal terms and no more than the liberty for consumers to choose the energy source they think best.

1. Americans have the right to put solar on their homes or businesses. Restrictive covenants, onerous connection rules, and excessive permitting and inspections fees prevent too many American homes and businesses from going solar.

2. Americans have the right to connect their solar energy system to the grid with uniform national standards. This should be as simple as connecting a telephone or appliance. No matter where they live, consumers should expect a single standard for connecting their system to the electric grid.

3. Americans have the right to Net Meter and be compensated at the very least with full retail electricity rates. When customers generate excess solar power utilities should pay them consumer at least the retail value of that power.

4. The solar industry has the right to a fair competitive environment. The highly profitable fossil fuel industries have received tens of billions of dollars for decades. The solar energy expects a fair playing field, especially since the American public overwhelmingly supports the development and use of solar.

5. The solar industry has the right to equal access to public lands. America has the best solar resources in the world, yet solar companies have zero access to public lands compared to the 45 million acres used by oil and natural gas companies.

6. The solar industry has the right to interconnect and build new transmission lines. When America updates its electric grid, it must connect the vast solar resources in the Southwest to population centers across the nation.

7. Americans have the right to buy solar electricity from their utility. Consumers have no choice to buy clean, reliable solar energy from their utilities instead of the dirty fossil fuels of the past.

8. Americans have the right, and should expect, the highest ethical treatment from the solar industry. Consumers should expect the solar energy industry to minimize its environmental impact, provide systems that work better than advertised, and communicate incentives clearly and accurately.

We 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.

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).

Live in the San Diego area? Own a home and have SDG&E as your electric company? Interested in solar energy? Then sign up to win a chance at one of three $1,000 cash prizes or one lucky winner will get their home powered by the sun for free! Say what?! Free solar electritiy? Yep, that’s right. groSolar has partnered with 91x and Magic 92.5 to offer one lucky winnter free solar electricity. How do you apply? Go to 91x.com/gogreen or magic925.com/gogreen for full details and entry form. Apply online or fill out the sweepstakes form on the back of the 91X sticker (slap it on your car and you could win even more prizes!)

Check out the link to the radio commercial on 91X below. We got a kick out of it!