Georgia Power, a Southern Company and by far the largest electricity supplier in the state of Georgia, announced recently that they are asking regulatory permission to increase their buyback program from its current 2.5MW to 6.4MW, an increase of 156%.  The buyback program pays residential and commercial customers a premium of $.17 per kilowatt hour generated by solar photovoltaic projects, offsetting usage on a monthly basis.  Many Georgia Power residential and commercial customers are charged between $.07 and $.11 per kWh at present, so this premium represents a great way to mov

Clark Howard, CNN's Money Expert, recently selected Radiance Solar to install a solar hot-water system on his home in Atlanta.  He touted the financial benefits and strong payback of the system on his weekly show, while our own Jamie Porges (COO and founding partner) explained how the system works.

Watch the video to learn more about this system and to hear Clark Howard talk about solar as a wise home investment.

A study out of Duke University summarized by the New York Times demonstrates that steadily-falling solar photovoltaic, or PV, costs have now fallen below the current construction and operating costs for large-scale Nuclear Reactors.  While solar PV material costs have dropped consistently at a rate of 10-20% per year, nuclear costs are rising significantly.

Residential buyers looking to save money on their utility bills while utilizing clean energy to reduce their environmental impact can take advantage of some significant incentives.  Not only have solar prices come down substantially in recent years, but Federal and State incentives bring solar costs in direct competition with utility rates.  Although with solar you are paying a larger amount up-front, after you have paid for the system (generally a 7-10 year payback), you then receive power at no cost for the life of the array, which today is 30 years or more.  With electrici

Radiance Solar completed a 3 kW install of SunPower panels on the first Nest Cottage in the community of Serenbe.  The system is expected to provide most of the home's electrical energy needs and includes a monitoring kiosk for visitors to actively view solar energy production.  

The SBA 504 Loan Program which has helped small business owners secure excellent financing for projects, is providing tremendous benefits to those able to add clean energy to the project.  The loans, which normally are capped at a loan amount of $1.5 million, continue to provide up to $4 million for those projects that will us at least 10% clean energy.

More info here...

SunPower announced on June 23rd that it has produced, in a full-scale factory setting, a silicon PV cell that can convert 24.2% of the sunlight that hits it into electricity.  This represents a record in the silicon PV manufacturing space, and continues SunPower's efficiency lead among manufacturers.  SunPower expects to have panels on the market by year end 2010 that can convert, at a cell level, with up to 23.4% efficiency.

In order to better identify hotels with environmental best practices and reduced impact to their visitors, Travelocity has recently created its new "Travel For Good" program.  Travelocity is beginning to see many customers look specifically for those hotels, inns and b&b's that are working to reduce their dirty energy usage, and are embracing efficiency and renewable energy.

Travelocity also has a LEED silver HQ and are working on greening all of their travel options.

Details on Travelocity's Program:

A new program called "Save and Sustain" is offereing subsidized, low-cost energy audits to commercial clients with the goal of improving the energy efficiency of buildings and reducing overall operating costs.  Any interested parties should contact Dallas Gamble at Green Summit Consulting for more information.