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Another rate increase coming for PSE customers. Installing solar power protects homeowners from these increases by offsetting a portion of their consumption in addition to all of the other incentives available.
Local News | State OKs higher rates for PSE customers | Seattle Times Newspaper
seattletimes.nwsource.com
The Olympian reports that the three-member Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission allowed a 2.8 percent rate increase for electric customers and a 0.8 percent for gas users.
No Better Time for Solar!
No Better Time to Go Solar!
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John Curley's TV commercial debut with Sunergy Systems. Speaking straight from his own personal experience of having a high-efficiency SunPower solar power system installed on his home. SunergySystems.com 206-297-0086 800-997-0086
Peak Solar! Not nearly as scary as peak oil! We're talking about maxing out your solar production for the year. To do so, you need to have a system up and running soon to take advantage of prime production season, May through October. Talk to us to find out more!
Hey all you solar folk. Have the recent sunny, spring days been kind to your utility meter? Let us know if your meter has been spinning backward!
Sunergy Systems has installed over 200 solar power and solar hot water systems in the Pacific Northwest. Thank you to all of those who helped us achieve this milestone and here's to our committment of achieving the next one in less than half the time!
New Solar U announced! Finally, The Next Stage in Solar.
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Solar U | Solar Power 201
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Sign up for a future seminar at Solar U to learn about Solar Power in Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Puget Sound, Northwest
From Green Inc. blog, NYTimes.com
February 10, 2010, 9:10 am
Renewables Industry Promotes Its Potential
By JOHN COLLINS RUDOLFFunds from the $787 billion stimulus package and other federal assistance kept growth in the renewable energy sector strong in 2009, a trend that will probably persist as federal investment continues to pay off over the coming year, industry leaders said in a teleconference Tuesday.
The picture was especially good for the solar industry, which created almost 20,000 new jobs in 2009 while adding 470 megawatts in generating capacity, a record, according to Rhone Resch, the president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. The solar industry could create as many as 45,000 new jobs in 2010 if Congress extends several tax incentives and grant programs set to expire at the end of the year, Mr. Resch said.
“I think 2010 is going to be a bigger year than 2009,” he said. “Most analysts expect the solar industry to grow by 100 percent this year.”
Yet while the near-term outlook for renewables is mostly positive, the industry’s long-term prospects will be shaped significantly by energy legislation under consideration by Congress, the executives said. At the top of renewable executives’ wish list was the passage of a national renewable energy standard, which would require all utilities to generate a certain fraction of electricity from sources like wind and solar.
“What is really critical for us is the renewable energy standard,” said Denise Bode, the chief executive of the American Wind Energy Association.
Countries like China have enacted such standards and watched renewable energy production and manufacturing soar as a result, said Ms. Bode. “Give us those hard targets that other countries have,” she said.
Federal tax policy on renewable energy manufacturing and production was also a source of concern. Bob Cleaves, the president and chief executive of the Biomass Power Association, said a key tax credit for the biomass industry lapsed at the end of 2009, putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy.
“Congress let expire our tax credit for existing facilities, putting at risk probably 50 percent of the 15,000 jobs in our community,” Mr. Cleaves said. The biomass industry generates power from organic residue – everything from wood chips to waste matter from sugar production – and its facilities are concentrated in rural areas particularly hard-hit by the recession.
“Virtually all of our facilities are in rural areas that have unemployment rates that far exceed 10 percent,” Mr. Cleaves said.
A tight credit market was also seen as a challenge, with industry executives urging Congress to extend financing assistance for renewable energy projects. “The bottom line is that the big banks aren’t coming in and investing like they did two or three years ago,” Mr. Resch said.
Despite their concerns, executives were hopeful that their success in generating job growth and expanding manufacturing would inspire continued support from Congress and the Obama administration.
“We’re still the bright part of the economy,” Ms. Bode said.
Sunergy Systems was on hand yesterday for a media event to highlight the importance of the BETC program in Oregon.
From the article located at Sustainable Business Oregon by Mason Walker on Feb. 10, 2010:
Companies showcase incentive-enabled solar project
On the same day that the Oregon State Legislature met to vote on reform for the Business Energy Tax Credit, a group of Oregon companies convened to showcase a project made possible by the program.
The project, a 116 kilowatt roof array, was installed at Iwasaki Bros Inc., a nursery in Hillsboro. Jim Iwasaki, owner and general manager of the nursery, stated that the project wouldn't have penciled out without incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon, a grant from the USDA, and Business Energy Tax Credits from the Oregon Department of Energy. The array is expected to provide 23 percent of nursery's considerable energy needs.
Howard Lamb, founder of Sunergy Systems, the firm that designed and installed the project, talked about the influence of Oregon's incentives on his business. Based in Seattle, Sunergy does the majority of their commercial projects in Oregon. "Incentive programs in Oregon have allowed us to tap into larger projects," he said. "Larger projects cost less per watt, which helps with economies of scale."
Bob Beisner, managing director of SolarWorld Industries America, the provider of the panels in the Iwasaki project, commented on the importance of Oregon's BETC. "We know solar energy can't be subsidized forever. In the meantime, incentives like the BETCs let us operate on a scale that's internationally competitive."
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