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We were pleased to learn a few days ago that, of the ten utilities ranked highest for use of solar power, five are in Sungevity’s service area–PG&E, SMUD, LADWP, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric.  The other five are Arizona’s Salt River Project, Arizona Public Service Co., Florida Power & Light, Public Service Electric & Gas (NJ), and Public Service Co. of CO-Xcel Energy (CO).

The rankings are based on the total amount of solar energy in each utility’s portfolio, which includes solar power generated by grid-tied residences with rooftop solar arrays.  In other words, there are quite a few Sungevity customers out there whose solar systems helped these utilities increase the share of solar power in their energy mix.  In 2009, while overall demand for electricity was down, these ten utilities increased their solar power integration by 66%.

Though the trajectory is positive, there is still a long way to go, even for PG&E, the number one ranked solar utility.  There are 85.2 megawatts of solar energy in PG&E’s grid, that sounds like a lot (whatever a megawatt is anyway), but it’s actually only….drum roll please–.14% of PG&E power mix.  (Note the decimal point–it’s not 14%, it’s .14%.  We need to break the whole number threshold and turn .14% into 14% tout suite.

–Erica Etelson

As we lamented a few days ago, the feds have been less than steadfast in their support for solar energy. We’ve launched Solar on the White House to call attention to a glaring disparity or two that the President could help rectify:

Between 2002 and 2008, the feds doled out $72 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel industries and $29 billion for renewables (half of which was for ethanol which is quite possibly even worse than oil).

The World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) finance fossil fuel projects at five times the rate of renewables.  Incredibly, World Bank and IFC investment in fossil fuels is on the rise, with a $3.75 billion new coal plant in South Africa just approved last month.

There are many measures the federal government could take to level the playing field for solar:

Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute calls for reducing income taxes and offsetting them with a carbon tax on fossil fuels.   For example, were we to pay the “real cost” of burning gasoline (including the impacts on human health, the climate and the environment), we’d be paying $15 a gallon instead of $3.  Even a modest increase in the gas tax of 40 cents a year for the next ten years would be, in Brown’s view, a good start and would bring us in line with Europe.  Taxes on cigarettes work wonders-the states with the highest taxes have the fewest smokers-why not put proven public health policy to work to save the planet?

Most proponents of solar energy agree that feed-in tariffs are an effective incentive, as demonstrated in Germany, Spain, Ontario and good ole’ Gainesville, Florida.  Rather than leaving it to local and state governments, the federal government could pass a law requiring all utilities to implement feed-in tariff programs or solar renewable energy credits (as New Jersey has done with enormous success).

The Recovery Act provides a 30% tax credit for solar panels and solar water heaters through 2016.  This tax credit, needless to say, should be extended ‘till kingdom come.

Twenty-nine states have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) which require utilities to meet renewable energy targets over the next few decades.  A strong, uniform nationwide RPS would create and strengthen renewable energy markets and would help the United States curb its greenhouse gas emissions far more effectively than piecemeal state standards.

The government should pass the 10 Million Solar Roofs Act ASAP.

As the largest shareholder in the World Bank, the U.S. should use its leverage to direct the Bank to move aggressively toward renewables.

If you really want to geek out, the Solar Energy Industries Association has a bunch more bright ideas.

We launched Solar on the White House to call attention to the need to shake up our nation’s energy mix.  We’re aiming for solar to become the clear favorite of the family-we’ve behaved well, and we deserve it.   We ask you to support solar energy by signing and sharing the petition. And remember those cool Obama t-shirts during the 2008 presidential race?  Well, we’ve got some equally cool Globama t-shirts so tell your friends who live in California that they can get a free Globama t-shirt when they request an iquote on solaronthewhitehouse.com.

We’ll keep you updated on the Solar on the White House campaign as well as renewable energy legislative developments right here.

–Erica Etelson

When the first edition of Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble came out in 2003, author Lester Brown was cautiously optimistic about the potential for solar energy to help stabilize the climate.  But in the updated Plan B 4.0, Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, is even more sanguine:  Having observed the exponential growth of solar power since 2004, Brown now believes that a 100-fold increase in PVs and solar water heaters is within reach by 2020.

Germany leads the world in solar PV installation, followed by Spain, Japan and the U.S.  (China is the biggest producer of PV panels but most of the panels are for export).  Germany and Spain stimulated their solar markets with generous feed-in tariffs that paid homeowners for the extra power they generated.  Japan too offered generous subsidies that helped make rooftop systems more affordable.  With the recent adoption of a feed-in tariff in Ontario, Canada, that cold province is poised to become a hot spot for solar.

In the U.S., solar incentives are modest and vary considerably from state to state.  (The only area in the U.S. with a feed-in tariff is Gainesville, Florida, where homeowners have stampeded to solarize). Even without incentives, the cost of going solar fell 30% in the U.S. between 1998 and 2008.  But most solar power advocates agree that widespread adoption of feed-in tariffs and other financial incentives are key to further driving down the cost of solar.

With enough solar-generating capacity in the southwest alone to meet the nation’s electricity needs seven times over, the U.S. is indeed the sleeping giant of the global solar industry.  Stay tuned as we reveal our own little Plan B to awaken the giant.

–Erica Etelson

In my last post, I took a pretty dim view of the looming climate legislation battle.  Treehugger has a different and more upbeat take, reporting that 22 high-on-health-care Democrats have already whisked off a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pressing for clean energy and climate legislation this year.

But let’s turn now to what a certain one-celled creature has to say about climate change and the need for a solar power revolution:  Last week, the National Academy of Sciences reported on the results of their efforts to create iron-rich phytoplankton blooms that could sequester carbon dioxide.  The researchers were able to generate massive blooms by dumping liquid iron into patches of ocean.  So far so good.  Except the iron-fertilized phytoplankton was found to harbor high levels of a toxin that is fatal to seabirds and marine mammals and can sicken humans who consume tainted shellfish.

Phytoplankton is the base of the marine food chain, so poisoning it doesn’t seem like such a hot idea.  The results of the 12-year experiment are a major setback to scientists who held out hope that fertilizing the oceans with iron could be a silver bullet in the fight to stop climate change. As lead researcher Charles Trick conceded, “It is an indication that we are not masters of nature when it comes to large-scale ecological manipulations.”

So what do poisonous plankton have to do with solar power?  The experiment should serve as a wake-up call:  We shouldn’t be wasting resources and time pursuing dangerous and improbable high-tech carbon sequestration schemes when we have proven, reliable and safe technologies like wind and solar that will prevent us from generating so much darn pollution in the first place.

There are all kinds of dicey ploys floating around, from geo-engineered trees and crops to shooting clouds of sulfur into the atmosphere.  There’s no need for desperate measures (yet).  Let’s start with what already works and reserve apocalyptically dangerous strategies for if and when there’s no other option.

–Erica Etelson

With public school budgets being cut to the bone, this may seem like an unlikely time for school districts to start installing solar PV systems.  But a number of new incentives make this the ideal time for schools to solarize.

The California Department of Education estimates that school districts spend $132 per student per year on energy-that means our nearly bankrupt state is spending $700 million a year burning fossil fuels.

More than 35 schools in California have gone solar, including Berkeley’s own Washington Elementary.  Most participated in the California Solar Schools Program, which is now closed, but a handful have begun to take advantage of new incentives and attractive financing mechanisms, such as PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) that allow the school district to pay the system off over time.

If you’d like to help your kid’s school save money and the planet, the Helios Project has all the tools you need to get started.  Independent schools, unfortunately, are not eligible for many of the incentives available to public schools, but still may be able to find a commercial installer who will offer a PPA or a lender who can loan the money at a favorable enough interest rate that the school will still save money in the long run.  (We’ve had a few requests for Sungevity to install systems at schools and we’re flattered but, unfortunately, we only do residential installations).

The California Energy Commission also has some other tips for how schools can save money by conserving energy, including turning out lights in empty classrooms, turning down the thermostat and fixing leaky hot water faucets.   And be sure to check out the free solar curricular resources offered by the SunPower Foundation.