More homes throughout California’s Central Valley are enjoying the benefits of renewable solar energy, as evidenced by a steady increase in the number of solar panel permits filed in the first half of 2010.

According to a July 18 article by John Lindt for the Sierra2theSea News Service, almost 700 residential solar units were installed in the Central Valley counties of Fresno, Kern, Tulare and Kings from the start of 2010 through mid-July. This figure is more than double the number of solar panel permits filed in the four counties during same time period in 2009.

The rise in solar panel permits and installations is due in large part to the California Solar Initiative. Established in 2007, CSI is a solar rebate program for customers of California’s three investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).

With the help of the CSI program, residential, commercial and industrial building owners can receive funding for solar installations on both new and existing properties. Since the program’s inception, more than 700 megawatts of power capacity have been installed or are in the planning stages, states the Sierra2theSea News Service article.

Managed by the California Public Utilities Commission, the CSI program aims to install 1,940 MW of new solar generation capacity throughout the state by 2016. The publicly-funded initiative has a 10-year budget of $2,167 million and is part of the Go Solar California campaign.

In addition to influencing the growing numbers of solar panel installations in the Central Valley, the CSI program has contributed to a increased use of photovoltaic solar power across California. A 2009 Impact Evaluation commissioned for the California Public Utilities Commission featured several examples of CSI’s positive effects on the state’s increasing adoption of renewable energy practices, including:

During 2009, CSI projects led to the creation of more than 390,000 MW-hours of electricity. This amount of energy was enough to fulfill a year’s worth of electricity needs for around 66,000 homes.

Last year, CSI programs were associated with the installation of over 13,000 PV systems. These ten-thousand-plus projects equaled 146.7 MW of rebated energy capacity, and marked a 55 percent rate of continued growth for the number of systems installed in the state.

For additional information on Sierra2theSea News Service, the California Solar Initiative,  Go Solar California campaign, and the California Public Utilities Commission, please visit:

http://www.sierra2thesea.com/sierra2thesea.com/Home/Entries/2010/7/18_Residential_Solar_Permits_Way_Up_in_Central_Valley.html

http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/csi/index.php

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/NR/rdonlyres/70B3F447-ADF5-48D3-8DF0-5DCE0E9DD09E/0/2009_CSI_Impact_Report.pdf

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Solar/

Post from: Boots On The Roof

SolarFred reported yesterday that DTE Energy of Detroit, Michigan has a pilot program for customers to go solar.  That’s such fantastic news that I checked the DTE Energy website and sure enough, SolarCurrents is the name of the Detroit Edison program designated to make solar an affordable option and start Michigan off in the direction of Renewable Energy.

A few interesting pieces of information- first, under the Installers link, DTE Energy has five buttons directing solar enthusiasts to find an installer near them.  Of all the links, I recommend Solar.Estimate.org- we’ve been working closely with the founder of that award winning solar installer network website and he has lists of qualified individuals all over the country.  (Boots on the Roof Alumni are listed there- if you’re an alumni and not listed, check the Alumni Network Blog Section for information on how to join up!)  I wouldn’t recommend looking in the yellow pages for a qualified installer, even though it’s listed.  The solar industry is expanding using internet communications and many professionals in renewable industry use the internet for their outreach as opposed to the yellow pages. 

Second, with a 50% unemployment rate in the city of Detroit,  the first piece that municipal governments and DTE should consider is a massive educational campaign to get Detroit electricians and construction crews back to work.  For the health of the industry, both a robust independent installer network and a supportive and collaborative IBEW Local 58 can come to answer that call.  (The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58 is the Metro Detroit Electricians Union and was organized on November 28, 1891.  What great name steeped in such history; Detroit is the right place for union and business to work side by side to bring a new energy matrix to a brilliant and beautiful state thirsting for renewed economic possibility.)

If you’re in the Detroit Metro Area and you’re looking for information on the DTE Energy Solar Program, learn more here.  If you’re an electrical worker in the metro area looking to move into renewable energy but don’t quite know how, learn a little more about it and get involved!   And if you’re a homeowner looking to go solar but don’t quite know the next step, check out Solar-Esimate.org here for more information on finding a solar installer near you.  (Always check if they’ve been trained by Boots on the Roof or another reputable institution of education.)

Post from: Boots On The Roof

Boots on the Roof revels in being able to share the great successes of our alumni with the world!  Renewable Energy education of any variety is only as valuable as the work students are able to begin after class’ completion.  Fact- Boots on the Roof Alumni are working all over the country doing incredibly interesting projects and pardon me for taking a moment to share:

 One Alumnus called in to report that he’s gained employ with Baja Construction – doing large renewable installations on car ports and other free standing structures.

Another alumnus reported business at Solaris United which, and we’ll post shortly, is embarking on a project to help Haitian recovery through renewable energy.   Boots on the Roof will begin by applauding all efforts to use renewable resources to support a Haitian re-development with further efforts forthcoming.  The citizens of Haiti are in all of our prayers. 

Another former student is currently working with Gridlock Solar and is working in the field with their business development manager who I interviewed at Solar Power International! 

Another alumnus is helping to get solar equipment to installers and home owners with Solar Parts USA.  Get in touch if you’re looking for materials at great prices!

An alumnus and alumna together have opened a wildly successful store The Son’s Power in Lewisburg, PA.  Definitely stop by and check them out!

If you’d like to add your name to our list of successful alumni now employed and working in renewable energy, check out our 6 Day PV Boots Camp.  It’s were everyone got their start on their roads to success!

Congratulations again guys- keep up the great work!  Your continued and sustained efforts are what keep us going here at Boots and ultimately will rejuvenate our national economy.  Way to go!

Post from: Boots On The Roof

Boots on the Roof has emerged from the holiday shut down ready to take on the New Year, train the next batch of renewable energy professionals, and help more Americans find jobs in the booming renewable energy industry. 

Boots on the Roof Alumni have gone above and beyond anyone’s expectations of success in last years’ economic downturn.  Our alumni are positive, prosperous people full of potential!  Anyone who made an investment in their education last year has worked diligently to see that return. So let’s recap 2009-

A renewable energy store has opened in Lewisburg, PA: check out The Son’s Power .  Profitable businesses have emerged in Santa Cruz , Santa Clara, SoCal and other places.

Boots on the Roof Alumni have done great renewable energy Installations in NY, NJ, CT, NH, PA, NC and MT, GA, TX!  (I’ll admit, it seemed that our alumni had more hurdles to forge through on the East coast than the West but after going through our photo album it’s apparent that the East coast has definitely kicked the West coast’s butt for total installations!  Way to go! Alternatively, the West coast just hasn’t posted quite as many pictures so I challenge you to prove me wrong!  Post your photos on the network and I’ll do a recount.)

D Burke's latest!

Our alumni are distributing L.E.D.s, solar panels, working in sales consortiums, striking out on their own and then joining bigger businesses – getting deal after deal after deal under their belts.  We’ve got affordable developments going renewable because of Boots Alumni.  We’ve got newspapers writing articles about alumni businesses.  We’ve got alumni hiring alumni for business development all across the country!

I can’t even get into what we have in store for Boots in 2010 and especially for our Alumni Network!  Bigger things are happening than I’m even allowed to talk about at this point.  (And when I get to disclose, all info will be funneled through the network.)  We’re hoping to do a big reveal in time for our internal summit the first week of February.  I advise everyone to get bidding, keep selling, continue designing, finish installing, post your pictures, make some good money, hire some people and  stay tuned for the big news as soon as I can possibly get it to you.  2010 is going to be huge!

Post from: Boots On The Roof

One of the bugging questions of solar power is that it only works while the sun is out. So nighttime power must usually come from traditional methods. Recently though there has been improvement in trapping solar energy in a way that’s useable during the nighttime, other than in simple batteries. This so called “Holy Grail” lies in solar salt technology, where salt stores the energy from the sun.

We normally think of salt as a solid, but when heated a tremendous amount by the sun it becomes a liquid and stores heat very well. Its this molten salt that can be used to run turbines and produce energy long after the sun goes down. With enough solar salt power plants there would be a tremendous amount of energy from the sun to be used at night.

As with nearly all of these power plants theres some debate on the aesthetics of its land usage and efficiency. But talking up a small part of dessert land is an excellent way to use this highly efficient design for solar power, and the technology is only getting better. Look for more of these kinds of solar power plants in the coming years, these will provide a vital role in solar power production, as they function at night.

Post from: Boots On The Roof

 Many thanks to our first Alumni guest blogger for sharing his story!  Enjoy!! 

Part I. Change is an inside job.

 Looking back at December of 2007 while writing the 2008 operating budget for the company I was working for it is still hard to imagine the dramatic economic events that would take place in October of 2008. For better than 30 years the home building industry in this country was more than just a source of income for my family, it was a source of pride to know I was a small part of people’s lives. There is something earthy, patriotic and fundamental about residential housing that always appealed to my inner self.

 This series of writings for Boots On The-Roof is about the change that would occur over the next twenty-four months in my career and the series of events that lead me into the world of photovoltaics. The past is history, the future uncertain but the present belongs to me. I will take you up close and personal on my change into the world of renewable energy and walk you down the path to what turned out to be a new direction for me.

 Move forward to October of 2008… crash! I am by no means an economic authority, but I could see this country was in trouble. I had been feeling the down swing throughout 2008 but had always weathered the economic cycles over the year so I was not too concerned at first. However, as the year progressed, it was increasingly clear to me that this was going to be different this time. When I was finally called into the president’s office near the end of September 2008 and he started the conversation with “difficult times” I somewhat felt a sense of relief that I was finally out from under the dark cloud that was over me and in charge of my destiny again.

 I immediately launch myself in to the world of searching for a new job at first falling back to the industry that had served me so well over the years. As I progressed over the next 4 months, a realization things were going to be different this slowly began to encircle me. Competition for the few jobs that were out there was intense. Job spec standards were raised to a ridiculous level, I suppose because they could be.

 In February of 2009, I was faced with two choices. Either continue swimming in the red sea with the others in my industry or develop a blue ocean strategy. Many of the skills I had were transferable so I started to look at different options… then the call came. The call was from a recruiter who was seeking a manager to run sales for a building materials company in Southern California who had opened a solar power division 6 months earlier. The lead did not go very far because like the industry I had just emerged from, the company was looking for that MBA from an ivory league school rather than a street guy like me. However, the gears in my head started to turn and I started looking at this thing called photovoltaic’s.  

 The more I looked at the world of solar over the next few weeks I quickly became hooked. Renewable energy is not a new idea but because this country is so driven by fossil fuels, it has never been given the consideration it deserved. You would have to be living on a desert island not to see renewable energy as the wave of the future. I looked at it hard enough and finally said to myself not only, “I can do that”, but solar looks challenging and fun so now “I want to do that”. Who wouldn’t want to work in an industry with people who are passionate about what they do while they make a positive contribution to the future of our country.

I grabbed a few books on photovoltaics and attended a one-day over priced seminar on silicon cell manufacturing in San Jose. I then began my search for some place that would teach me what I now wanted now to learn. California in general and the bay area in particular seemed to be the center of renewable energy so I begin to zoom in there. I tripped across Boots-On-The-Roof and having a healthy Midwestern skepticism spent some time checking out this school in Fremont.

Through the course of this process of investigating Unitek, I called and got in touch with Sadaf , a Boots on the Roof admissions representative. I was immediately impressed by Sadaf’s professionalism and could tell right off that Sadaf was knowledgeable; detail oriented and followed through with what she said she would do when she said she would do it. Wow! A place that was professional enough to put people like Sadaf on the front lines.

“To learn is to change. Education is a process that changes the learner”, 1960, George Leonard, Education & Ecstasy 

Next stop, Boots On the Roof to learn solar.   ~CB

 Stay tuned for more!

Post from: Boots On The Roof

Pacific Power Management, founded in 2002, develops, finances, and operates power plants.  Their customers experience long term electricity savings and even better, their power purchase agreement requires no investment! This means that you save money and get lower monthly electricity rates. Pacific Power Managements also uses renewable energy credits, which means 1 megawatt-hour of electricity is renewable! Customers often realize instant savings and have the ability to own the system with no upfront cost.  There’s also no equipment or maintenance cost either! (Can you say cost friendly?!!)

Pacific Power Management is growing. They just completed the largest solar power system in Placer County, a 483 kW power plant.  The 483 kW solar power plant generates over 660,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year! (That’s a lot of electricity!) PPM does just about everything in the solar industry. They manage all of the design work, engineering, financing, installation and monitoring! Now imagine all the jobs that are available. You can be the one working in these fields!  Since the company is growing, more job opportunities will open up and you can get to work ASAP, with the right training of course!  Visit their website and learn even more about Pacific Power Management!

So, are you looking for a job in the solar industry? Do you want to learn about installation, design, and monitoring? Well, start today and begin your career in the solar energy world.  Visit bootsontheroof.com and check out our classes we offer!

Post from: Boots On The Roof

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, established in 2006, develops and operates solar plants that provide clean electricity to customers.  Let’s hear it for renewable energy! Using inexhaustible and environment friendly renewable energy to generate electricity is a great way to help our eco-system! Fotowatio uses the cleanest technology to generate solar energy possible. In Spain, Fotowatio advocates renewable energy adoption and has taken that message international with offices in Spain, Italy and now here in the US!  The company strongly believes that “Renewable energy is no longer something of the future, [it’s] the present.”

Fotowatio established its North American headquarters right here in San Francisco, CA.  We (among other cities) need more green business and Fotowatio fits in perfectly!  Now that Fotowatio is here and growing in the Bay Area, what are the odds that there will be at least a few new green jobs available because of it?  Check out Fotowatio’s major installations around the country like the 14-megawatt system at the Nellis Air force and the 2-megawatt solar installation at the Denver International airport!!  Now, think about it for a second, if the army goes green, the country could go green!  How many jobs can you imagine will be necessary to make that happen? You can go to Fotowatio’s website and see all their accomplishments and projects that they are working on to better the solar energy world. 

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures is growing in the USA and giving opportunities to many job seekers.  Do you know about the solar industry?  Are you eager to learn?  Are you interested in green business?  Well, look where our economy is growing and just know with a solar education, you can definitely be a part of it! Learn today!

Post from: Boots On The Roof

Nanosolar is a company that was established in 2002 that designs, engineers, and manufactures solar power that focuses on clean, reusable, and affordable energy.  Nanosolar already has a European panel assembly factory in Germany automated to produce one panel every ten seconds! Nanosolar announced the production of its thin film solar material at a factory in San Jose, California.  That’s just down the street!  Nanosolar’s also produces a product-special utility panel that has many advantages for its solar system operations.  There are more watts delivered because the panels are wired in longer arrays using less cabling, also the whole array is mounted in a shorter time.  The company proclaims that they have the highest-current thin panel and the first photovoltaic module that is certified by TUV for system voltage. (That means it works!) 

Now that the factory in San Jose, California is growing, it’s getting close to the level of production that it needs to make its solar panels.  There are going to be plenty of jobs to look out for.  When the factory reaches its level of production, the job market will be booming and everyone will want a job in solar! How amazing will that be?! You can be working in a solar company, like Nanosolar, and help with the environment and economy at the same time.  Therefore, Nanosolar is staffing up its facilities rapidly for engineers, machine operators and shift managers. An example of this growth is in Luckenwalde, Germany.  These positions will also open up in the U.S soon so make sure to look out for it! Visit their website and see videos and pictures of all their accomplishments!

The progressive direction that Nanosolar is going in is incredible.  They have series of jobs and internships opened up! Know solar? Interested? Visit SimplyHired and VentureLoop to get more info! Why not join all the success and get started!

Post from: Boots On The Roof

Solyndra, founded in 2005, is located in Fremont, CA (Solar Capital of America)!  The company designs and manufactures photovoltaic systems comprised of cylindrical panels and mounting hardware for the commercial rooftop market.  Solyndra provides the lowest installed cost and the highest solar electrical energy output because it converts more of the sunlight that strikes the rooftop area into electricity.  The cylindrical modules capture sunlight across a 360-degree photovoltaic surface (because it’s round!) which is capable of converting direct, diffuse and reflected sunlight into electricity. The panels perform optimally when mounted horizontally and packed closely together. The end result is significantly more solar electricity per rooftop per year! Solyndra is helping alternative energy break through the next level in the solar world! You should check out their website for photos!

Solyndra, as a company, is growing .  Solyndra is getting recognized for their accomplishments and opening doors for many job seekers. They stated on Friday that they will create over 2,000 jobs! They are building a new $723 million dollar solar-panel factory and after manufacturing is complete, installing them will create even more jobs!  They estimate 24,000 buildings per year that will have mounted Solyndra solar panels produced from their new factory. (Yay! for reduced carbon emissions!) Let the new era of green industrialization begin! These green jobs are the future to a better economy!   With the current economic conditions, this is a great chance.

With the rapid growth in the solar energy industry, it’s a great time to look at Solyndra’s leadership! Do you want a job in solar? Well, if you know solar, do a search and see what is out there. You can get started today and better your future!

Post from: Boots On The Roof