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Will the sun keep shining for solar and other renewable energies?
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Can we fully utilize the Sun's rays?
This past week, the Solar Energy Industry Association held their annual confab in Philadelphia. Solar is just one of the “alternative energies” that are so much in the news now. The SEIA folks picked Philadelphia as their host convention city well before solar and renewable energy were a big media sensation. However, the timing of the conference in Philadelphia was rather fortuitous. It just so happens that both the city and the state have recently adopted incentives to encourage the installation of solar systems (and other renewable technologies). This is in addition to the new Federal incentives included in Obama’s stimulus bill. The conference offered tours of some of these. This is a good cross section of some current area solar projects—(http://mseia.net/SolarTours.html)
In terms of solar, the city of Philadelphia and the state have both adopted significant initiatives within the past year. Philadelphia has even issued a full-blown sustainability plan, called Greenworks. Its “energy” section includes specific solar energy initiatives—including the generation of enough solar electricity to power 350 homes by 2011 and about 9,000 households by 2021. The state, for its part, recently funded a $100 million solar rebate program. This PA Sunshine program offers a variety of rebates for residential rooftop and solar water heater systems. Since rooftop systems can go for $20,000 plus, this rebate can help somewhat. It also applies to solar water heaters, which are completely different and whole lot cheaper.
The support for this type of initiative is not limited to the city and the state. In Montgomery County, four townships and boroughs have signed onto the Pennsylvania Clean Energy Communities Campaign. These are Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, and Upper Dublin. (http://communities.trfund.com). The major requirement was that each town had to commit to utilizing clean energy for at least 20% of their energy needs by 2010. In return, they would qualify for a 1kW solar panel system (valued up to $10,000). While it might the same or a different system, the Abington Library will be getting a solar panel also. Upper Dublin has an interesting twist on this. It is now purchasing ALL of its electricity from “clean energy” sources. Also, while not part of the “Clean Energy Communities campaign per se, Montgomery County became the first 100% wind power county in the country back in 2007.
Back in 2007, renewables (including solar) were almost like a “wouldn’t it be nice” idea. These new policies are indicative of the fact that these “alternative” energies are now part of the electricity equation. They may not be a very big part compared to coal, or oil, but they are here and they are growing.
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