California ranks among top six solar states

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/23/business/la-fi-mo-california-top-six-solar-states-20130723

 

California ranks 6th among the top 12 states in per-capita installations of solar electric energy generators. Solar power is expanding rapidly, with solar voltaic panel capacity 10 times greater than what it was in 2007. California leads in cumulative solar-electric installations with 2,900 megawatts.  Michelle Kinman, a clean energy advocate for Environment California, said  "California's progress should make us confident that we can do much more." The report also said that solar power plays an important role in helping California meet a target that it generate 1/3 of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

 

I think this is a good way to go. California is stepping up their production of solar electricity generators. I think it's cool that they are leading by example and I like how they set high goals for themselves, such as using solar energy to generate 1/3 of its electricity by 2020. The only thing I don't understand is why the states producing more solar energy than others random? The top producers are pretty spread out across the U.S. instead of one region producing more than others. Why aren't all 50 states on the same page when it comes to producing solar electricity?

California solar installations jumped 26% in 2012

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/11/business/la-fi-mo-california-solar-growth-20130711

From 2011 to 2012, California's solar installations jumped 26%. Their goal is to reach 3,000 megawatts of solar power by 2017. The 26% jump took them 391 watts closer to their goal. The state can now produce 1,629 megawatts of solar energy, which is enough to power 150,000 homes. California is now 66% of the way toward meeting its 2017 goal, with an additional 19% in pending projects.

I think this is really cool and every state should do this. We could all use the sun to provide us with a lot of power for homes and businesses. If you read farther into the article, it says that it’s the largest program of its kind in the U.S., with a budget of nearly $2.4 billion. Most of that money is put into incentives such as per-watt rebates that have gradually declined as the solar industry grows. They also have Solar Investment Tax Credit which means 30% of the cost of each residential or commercial system is paid back to the owner of the home or business. So if you're receiving tax credit on top of the incentives, why wouldn't you want to build solar roof tops for your home or business? It's a power alternative that pays for itself plus the incentives and tax credit you receive from the government.

Solar Power Growth Outspaces Wind Energy

http://www.elp.com/articles/2013/09/solar-power-s-growth-outpaces-wind-energy.html

 Solar power is outpacing wind power for the first time ever. The U.S. and China have the two largest wind markets in the world. Globally, demand for wind turbines is predicted to shrink by 5 percent this year, for the first time since 2004.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this article. Both wind and solar power are great natural ways to produce electricity. It has to be cheaper to build solar panels rather than huge wind turbines so I can see why solar energy is becoming more popular than wind energy.

New Solar Project in Arizona

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/business/energy-environment/arizona-utility-tries-storing-solar-energy-for-use-in-the-dark.html?_r=0

A new solar energy project named Solana stretches 3 square miles in a patch of desert about 50 miles southwest of Phoenix. A network of parabolic mirrors focus the sun's energy on black painted pipes. These black pipes carry the heat to huge tanks of molten salt. When the sun sets, the plant draws heat back out of the molten salt to continue making steam and electricity. The emerging technology is one way that the utility industry is trying to make electricity from the sun available even when it is not shining, overcoming one of the major shortcomings of solar power.

I think this new project solar energy project is awesome. I like the idea of using solar energy because it may be expensive to build all the solar panels at first, but in the long run it pays itself off and can even save you money. The sun is an unlimited resource and it will never go away so why not take full advantage of the energy and electricity it can provide us with?