That just doesn’t make any sense.

Unless of course it’s a SOLAR DECATHLON!

If you follow all the solar news that’s fit to print then you probably already know about the Solar Decathlon, which officially kicks off tomorrow at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in DC.  If not, here’s the background (straight from the DOE’s website):

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an award-winning program that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.  Open to the public free of charge, visitors can tour the houses, gather ideas to use in their own homes, and learn how energy-saving features can help them save money today.

The first Solar Decathlon was held in 2002, and the competition is biennial, meaning this year is the 6th anniversary of the event.  Twenty teams from all over the world gathered in DC on September 13th to transform their cutting-edge designs into realities.  Tomorrow the homes officially open to the public.

The DOE Solar Decathlon official website has lots of bells and whistles, including time lapse videos of the creation of the solar village and photos of the houses from past decathlons.

Planet Forward also has an outstanding section of their website devoted to the Solar Decathlon, complete with snapshots of each team, videos, and even a matchmaking quiz where you can figure out (in 6 simple questions) which house is the best for your lifestyle.  I matched to the indoor/outdoor New Zealand house called First Light house

Take the quiz and find out which house is right for you, then share the results in the comments.

Speaking of trains, did you know that Sungevity is the first brand ever to take over all of the advertising on Amtrak’s Acela?  Our snazzy back-lit posters and seat-back information placards will be on the Acela trains until the end of the month.  We are also sponsoring the trains’ wifi.  Chugga chugga, chugga chugga, WOOOO HOOOOO!

It leaves you thinking – if solar can take over the Acela, what else can it take over?

In Europe, the high speed Thalys train that links Paris to Amsterdam just got an upgrade.  Along the route there is now a 3.6km stretch of tunnel that is covered by 16,000 solar panels.  Together they span an area of approximately 12 acres and produce 3.3 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity each year.

Is 3.3 MWh a lot?  It’s roughly enough to meet the annual electric needs of 1,000 households, which seems pretty impressive until you think about the fact that the flux capacitor on the DeLorean time machine required 1.21 GW to operate :-P

If you want to see the tunnel in action, so to speak, check out this video.

Pro Tip: You only need to watch the first 15 seconds of so of the video unless you REALLY love looking at solar panels; all 3 minutes and 7 seconds of it are pretty much the same.

Okay.  Quick recap.  Sungevity covered the Acela in solar (advertising) and Enfinity covered a tunnel in Europe in solar (panels).  What else could be smothered in sunshiney deliciousness?  Those of you who live in California can probably think of something major; and when I say major I mean MAJOR.  Do you know what the single largest energy consumer is in California?  It’s the State Water Project (SWP), which moves water from Northern California to Southern California via a system of pumps and channels.  The SWP accounts for 6.5% of the state’s total energy usage!

NYT’s Green Blog pontificated on putting floating solar arrays on the California Aqueduct back in April, but people have been talking about solarizing the SWP for years now…and why not? It seems like an obvious next step for the state that is leading the nation in solar installations.

Do you have solar on your roof? If you could put a large-scale solar system somewhere where would you put it?

No one would disagree that investor-owned utilities in California, which are required to get 33% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, should procure the cheapest available renewable energy. But according to a recent analysis, that’s not what’s happening.

The California Public Utilities Commission Division of Ratepayer Advocates faults PG&E, Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric for entering contracts for large-scale solar electricity projects that cost more than natural gas-fired electricity currently costs. The big utilities seem to be lured by unproven or expensive solar technologies. For example, PG&E has a contract with a company that promises to beam down solar power from outer space. Meanwhile, SCE recently canceled a contract for a newfangled solar dish power plant in the Mojave desert.

Solar dish technology looks promising but has not been proven to be commercially scalable. As for beaming solar energy from outer space, that idea inhabits the science fiction end of the feasibility spectrum.  And that brings us around to Sungevity’s favorite clean energy technology, good ole’ photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. They’re cheap, they’re proven and by God are they sleek and sexy!  Okay, it’s a little clunky, but the humble PV panel has been quietly generating solar electricity for fifty years. The only thing that’s changed in all this time is that the panels have dropped in price while becoming more efficient. Ka-ching!

Nobody loves clean energy technology like Sungevity–provided it really works, meaning that the technological innovation functions to drive down the price of renewable energy for consumers.  The media often hypes big new clean energy innovations before they’re proven to be scalable or economical.  It’s understandable–scientific breakthroughs are exciting and inspiring and we as a society are nervously waiting to see which technology will be the silver bullet that will save us from an energy or climate crisis.

But in the meantime, let’s stick with what works. Instead of pouring money into expensive sci-fi schemes, utilities should invest in a decent net metering or feed-in-tariff program that pays homeowners a fair price for the electricity they generate on their roofs. Less carbon, more savings, starting right now.

–Erica Etelson

In the last few years China has emerged as the world’s solar powerhouse. By setting the ambitious goals of generating 15 per cent of its energy from green sources by 2020 and becoming the world’s largest exporter of clean energy technology, China is posed to become a model for the rest of us to follow.

Serious Chinese Government support has allowed Chinese entrepreneurs to develop and produce some of the cheapest materials, which in turn have driven prices throughout the market down. This trend has helped make it possible for companies like Sungevity to bring affordable solar to Californians!

In addition to emerging as major solar manufacturers, the Chinese are starting to work on their own solar projects. In September 2009, it was announced that Arizona’s First Solar, in conjunction with the Chinese Government, is going to start working on a 25 square mile photovoltaic farm on the Mongolian Steppes. The plant, expected to be complete in 2019, is projected to generate enough energy to power 3 million households!

Check out what Danny Kennedy has to say on the subject at sfgate’s City Brights.

Here at Sungevity, our hats are off to the Chinese for all of their progress. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

What we hear a lot is, “I don’t know if my city/ state/ place doesn’t get enough sunlight”.

The truth is all of the USA gets more than enough sunlight to make solar electricity. We have more than the best: Germany is home to about half of the solar electric systems in th world  (in comparison, the US has very little). This is true despite the fact that Germany has the solar potential of a cloudy northern state like Maine (Maine, no offense).

This has very little to do with whether solar works best there, and a lot to do with the political will in Germany to support the solar industry and some really cool companies, like Solon, who took initiative (and made the cool short video in last post). Sungevity is all about taking initiative to get the solar revolution started here…movies might take us some time but we have this blog…