Rooftop solar statistic of the day

Large solar farms are more popular initially, but local, distributed rooftop solar is expected to grab more and more of the total solar market share globally, according to a new study, Photovoltaic Solar Strategies, Technologies And Opportunities: Market Shares and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010-2016.

Electricity generated by local solar is fed to local substations and distributed to homes from there. It is used for stationary power and, notes the study, it will also increasingly be used to charge electric vehicles.

One of the most common -- and simplistic -- critiques of plug-in vehicles is that they just push pollution from the tailpipe to the smokestack.

It's the standard, "You're just plugging into a lump of coal" charge, or what I call, the "gotcha" critique, as in, "Ha, ha -- you smug EV owner or advocate, you're polluting too -- gotcha!"

Here's my back-to-you "gotcha":

This 70,000 panel solar installation at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada produces 15 megawatts, or only about one-tenth of what a new French solar installation will produce when completed. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

France is building what will be the world’s largest solar power plant, producing 143 megawatts of power, according to an AFP (Agence France-Presse) story on Physorg.com.

The plant is being built by a green-energy subsidiary of the French energy company EDF called EDF-EN. It is being constructed on a 1,025 acre former NATO air force base at Toul-Rosieres in eastern France.

Geoscape Solar installed this solar system at Berlin Medical Associates in Berlin, New Jersey. (Photo courtesy of Geoscape Solar)

A great time to go solar in New Jersey recently got even better thanks to a comparatively new New Jersey solar company, Geoscape Solar, which has become the first in that state to offer customers solar leasing.

Geoscape’s Solar Lease Program allows customers to go solar with no money down while also saving on their long-term electricity costs and doing the right thing environmentally speaking.

Of course, whether buying a solar system or leasing is better for you – whether you live in New Jersey, or elsewhere in the U.S. – depends on a number of factors, most notably your cash flow situation, says Geoscape President and co-founder Jeffrey Chavkin.

Solar prices have been dropping consistently for a decade in the U.S.

It is becoming easier for individuals and businesses to tap into renewable energy and reduce dependence on coal-fired plants as national average prices for solar systems drop in the U.S.

Solar system costs have been declining thanks to cheaper installation rates and lower module prices, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study.

The study shows solar system prices dropping more than 30 percent in the U.S. between 1998 and 2008. The most significant drop has been in the prices of small, residential photovoltaic (PV) solar systems.

Solar-charged driving can, and does, save money.

I'll use our own example.

We're not solar-charged yet, but we're hoping to be within the next two years.

In June 2010, REC Solar will install a 5.5 kW solar system on our Colorado home. It will produce 8,000 kWh per year.

After the 30-percent Federal Tax Credit and an Xcel Energy Rebate, our out-of-pocket costs for the system will = $8,500.

Yes, this is a great deal, not one everyone will be able to get. But those in solar friendly states like Colorado, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, etc. certainly can get a deal approaching something like ours.