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Community Solar Bill (SB 843) Advances In California

 

The California State Assembly’s fiscal committee voted to approve SB 843 today! If passed by the full assembly the bill will allow customers of major utilities like PG and E to buy a share of the clean energy generated by a shared community renewable energy project and recieve a monthly credit on their energy bill for that share. 

Show your support of the bill by following the link below, and help make the benefits of solar technology accessible to all Californians!

http://votesolar.org/tag/sb-843/

 

 

 

First Ever California Solar Permitting Guidebook

With the help of a wide variety of stakeholders, including our Executive Director Alison Healy, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research has released the first California Solar Permitting Guidebook!

The guidebook explains current requirements for solar PV installations, describes key steps in the permitting process, and recommends ways to improve local permitting. It also includes several template documents that local governments can customize for their own use to improve permitting. The guidebook can be helpful to a wide variety of parties, including local agency staff, solar contractors and property owners.

Plans are underway for the arrangement of a national solar permitting guidebook!

Town of Windsor Approves New Water Conservation Program

As a result of the Windsor Town Council vote on July 18, 2012, Windsor residents will now be able to participate in Windsor Efficiency PAYS®, a new, innovative water conservation program that provides residents with immediate savings on utility bills and requires no upfront cost or new debt. The program provides for the installation of very efficient products and appliances, as well as dry-summer, drought resistant landscaping that will reduce water use, conserve energy and save money!

Check out this link to learn more –> PAYs Press Release 7_18_2012

Interview with Sage Howell the Training Captain for the Santa Rosa Fire Dept.

In order to help make firefighters jobs safer cities like Santa Rosa have created a solar fire training program that teaches firefighters how to identify PV systems and how to work around them in a fire. Below is an interview with Sage Howell the Training Captain for the Santa Rosa Fire Department. 

Watch for Solar Fire Training with San Jose Fire Dept. expert Matt Paiss here at SSC!

New Solar Panel Designs Make Installation Cheaper

With solar panel prices falling more than 80 percent in the last few years, many solar companies are turning their attention to reducing the cost of installing them. Two leading solar companies, Solon Energy, based in Berlin, and Trina Solar,based in China, have announced new designs for mounting solar panels to roofs—the companies say these designs can reduce the installation time by more than half, greatly reducing labor costs. The new designs reduce or eliminate the tools and hardware needed to install solar panels, and standardize solar installations! With this technology and reduced prices, solar installation on residential buildings will be a 

Read more here!

“EnergyBuddy” Energy Monitor

Check out Future Dashes new energy monitor, the EnergyBuddy, that offers a cool light show. The EnergyBuddy was first unveiled as a prototype but is now inching towards a full launch. It is a complete home energy-tracking system brought to you by Cali-based startup FutureDash. Starting at $99, it keeps tabs on users’ energy consumption with a square-shaped gadget that connects to your network via WiFi or Ethernet. The square glows red, yellow or green depending on how much electricity you’re guzzling, and you have the ability to specify what qualifies as acceptable usage. This would be a great addition in many households in order to help people monitor and improve their energy consumption!

Click here to read more and to watch a video!