Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, and for many of us, this day marks an opportunity to think about ways to help take better care of our planet and its resources. Sort of like making a New Year’s resolution―but the stakes are global, and infinitely higher.

Obviously, going solar makes a large impact on this effort, and it’s a trend that is catching on all over the country. According to a study conducted by The Solar Energy Industries Association, American homes generated twice as much power from rooftop solar panels in 2009 than in 2008.

Now that the government has lifted the $2,000 cap on tax credits for residential solar panels, homeowners can deduct a full 30% of their costs of going solar at tax time. With this new savings incentive, it’s expected that more and more people will be opting in to solar in 2010.

As we stand on the edge of a solar power boom, the industry landscape will be growing more and more crowded, and the marketing noise will be rising. So when it comes to buying a solar power system, who do you trust?

Right now, there is no “Microsoft of the solar industry,” so many consumers are left to their own devices when choosing an installer. With no readily available guidelines, many potential customers become overwhelmed, and their quest for solar becomes stalled indefinitely.

Founded in 2001, Akeena Solar is the country’s most trusted solar installer, with thousands of satisfied customers throughout the United States. We’ve taken the lead in developing the next generation of solar technologies with our Andalay panels, which set a new industry standard for error-free installation and robust, unparalleled performance.

Our commitment to complete customer service and satisfaction begins with a free, no-obligation Solar Evaluation, and continues as our engineers design a custom installation plan, and our project managers coordinate all of the paperwork for permits, hookup, rebates, and incentives.

So if you’re considering a move to solar this Earth Day, I hope you’ll think about Akeena. We’re helping America get greener, one home at a time. To find out if solar is right for your home, just request a free Solar Evaluation.

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Putting America Back to Work, One Solar Panel at a Time

It’s no secret that the US, like many other countries right now, is in desperate need of new jobs for the unemployed. The President is acutely aware of this, and enacting legislation that will create jobs for millions of Americans is one of the primary missions of the current administration.

President Obama’s energy plan calls for a $150 billion investment in clean technologies over 10 years, aggressive targets for greenhouse emission reductions, and programs to promote energy efficiency, low-carbon bio-fuels, and renewable energies.

The state of California has been at the forefront of the clean tech movement from the very beginning. Of the $3.95 billion in US venture capital received in 2007 by companies producing eco-friendly products and services, California garnered $1.79 billion. And most of those investments were directed toward companies in Silicon Valley, where the excitement and innovation around solar, wind, and hydro power is reminiscent of the early years of the technology industry.

California―and Silicon Valley in particular―has become a leader in clean tech because of the State’s longstanding support for alternative energy. Clean tech growth and the new jobs created by this revolution are at risk if legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is repealed. Historically, environmental protection and economic growth go hand in hand, and studies have shown that energy efficiency measures and renewable energy standards would help to create the jobs that will contribute significantly to California’s economic recovery.

Lowering or removing the renewable energy standards will significantly slow demand for clean tech products and services, diminish the resources of alternative energy innovators, and reduce the growth of the companies at the forefront of the industry. And that means fewer jobs created in a state that desperately needs to put its people back to work.

Now where’s the sense in that?

A Single Step

According to the US Department of the Interior, the desert areas of the southwestern states alone have the potential to be able to meet the electricity needs of the entire United States through solar energy. That’s pretty amazing information, isn’t it?

Hollywood, New York, and Las Vegas are considered the entertainment capitals of the country, and Silicon Valley and Seattle are hotbeds of technology innovation. Wouldn’t it be great if Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California could take up the mantle to become the solar energy center of the country?

Research states that if all of the solar radiation in this geographic area were converted to electricity, that could actually become a reality. The ability to offset so much energy usage by leveraging a relatively small portion of land is mind-boggling.

But of course we know that such an undertaking would require years of planning, negotiation, and legislation. And while we wait for that to become a reality, it’s important to remember that any long journey begins with just a single step. And the steps we take today to take our dependencies away from the grid and change the way we power our homes and businesses by switching to solar bring us closer and closer to the day when we can, as a country, change the way the world thinks about energy.

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