Solar Blog: July 2015

According to WSLS 10 News, a California woman is on a mission. Marissa Muller is riding her solar bike from California, across the U.S., ending in New York. Her "wellness revolution" mission is to get people to live a more sustainable, healthy life.

Installing solar panels on a roof is one of the most environmentally friendly, cost-cutting decisions homeowners can make in their lifetime. This can be contingent on a few factors though.

According to Fox News Boston, as more people begin to take advantage of residential solar panels, a new issue is beginning to arise.  Firefighters responding to hot summer fires are reporting a growing concern over solar panels on roofs.

According to the San Francisco Business Times, numerous cities in California ranked in the top seven of solar power system installations per 1,000 people in major U.S. metropolitan areas. These cities include San Diego, San Jose, Riverside, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have discovered a new way to manage efficient solar energy conversion using the infrared region of the light wave spectrum.

According to CleanTechnica 98 percent of new electricity generation was produced by renewables during June. Of that new capacity, 44 percent was derived from wind power, 41.5 percent from solar and 13 percent from biomass. Only 2 percent came from natural gas sources.

According to Time, Hillary Clinton has pledged to install 500 million solar panels if elected president. This nationwide installation surge would be created by the end of her first term in office.  In addition, Clinton also called for an increase in other renewable energy sources.

According to the San Francisco Business Times, nearly 2,000 jobs were recently added to the clean energy and transportation sector of California during the first quarter of 2015. The top five states creating the most jobs in this field include Georgia, California, Texas, New Mexico and Michigan.

According to KRCR News, a Redding City Council meeting has adopted a new ordinance to expedite the permit approval and pulling process for small residential rooftop solar energy systems. Before, residents would have to get a permit from local cities and counties to install solar panels.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), as the solar energy market matures, more project financing and public market investments are becoming commonplace.