2011年9月14日星期三

California's Struggle To Add Solar To New Homes

California is known for providing generous incentives that have successfully promoted solar energy production. But one program hasn’t been so popular, and it may remain so for some time.

The program is called New Solar Homes Partnership, and it aims to encourage homebuilders to install solar electric systems by offering rebates. Since the program’s launch in 2007, just over 12 megawatts were added or approved for installation as of May this year, according to data by the California Energy Commission. The goal is to get to 400 megawatts by the end of 2016.

In contrast, 968 megawatts have been installed on existing homes, businesses and other buildings since 2007 under another program called California Solar Initiative. In fact, this program is passing the midway mark to reach the goal of 1,940 megawatts by the end of 2016.

If you guess that the housing market crash has something to do with the new solar homes program’s popularity, then you are correct. The state crafted the program when the market was still booming, but housing starts – the number of new homes that began construction during a particular period – plummeted from 113,034 in 2007 to 44,925 in 2010,Great Rubber offers high risk merchant account keychains, according to the California Building Industry Association.

“The market is horrible right now,” said Mike Hodgson, president of ConSol, an energy efficiency consulting firm Stockton, Calif., that works with homebuilders. “We were hoping the market would stabilize in 2011. But here we are in the third quarter, and we feel like we haven’t hit bottom.Replacement rubber hose and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.”

California Energy Commission has tried to modify the rules of the new solar homes program to make it more attractive.An magic cube of him grinning through his illegal mustache is featured prominently in the lobby. Starting in 2010, owners of new homes could use leases or power purchase agreements to help finance their solar electric systems. Under these financing options,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their oil painting supplies . homeowners typically pay a monthly fee for only the solar electricity under a long-term contract (at least 10 years). The equipment belongs to the financing firms, which make money not only through the contracts but also the sale of the energy credits associated with each installation.

The use of leases or power purchase agreements has prompted a greater number of solar panel installations under the California Solar Initiative, which is overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission. A solar electric system isn’t cheap. A 4-kilowatt system costs around $30,000 (the federal government offers a 30 percent tax credit to offset the cost).

The energy commission also eased other rules last year for home builders. For example, home builders now have more time to complete their applications and can include more homes in a single application. Those who build homes for low-income residents will only have to guarantee that the affordable housing status of those homes will remain so for 10 years rather than 45 years.The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling Ceramic tile ,

Home builders who have taken advantage of the program include Lennar, Standard Pacific, Pulte Homes and Woodside Homes of Central California (here is a map of the new solar homes throughout the state).

The energy commission also recently launched an online calculator to help homeowners figure out the energy savings they could achieve by adding solar electricity to their energy mix. The energy commission hopes the calculator will help market solar homes when those homes are for sale.

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