Solar Power reaching more and more people
Solar power is becoming a more viable option for the masses these days. Companies such as Green Mountain and Google are promoting huge public service movements on the solar energy platform. This is allowing the middle class American family to have much easier access to the benefits of solar energy.
In addition to the corporate programs towards solar, the basic costs of installing and maintaining a solar system have been dropping for years. Thus, solar is popping up everywhere. On corporate buildings, at schools and on residential houses.
"We are at the beginning of a turning point, says Andrew Beebe of Suntech Power, one of the world leaders in the manufacture of solar panels.
Solar's share of the power business remains tiny. But its promise is great. The sun splashes more clean energy on the planet in one hour than humans use in a year, and daytime is when power is needed most.
And solar panels can be installed near where people use power, reducing or eliminating the costs of moving power through a grid. Solar power has been held back by costs. It's still about three times more expensive than electricity produced by natural gas, according to estimates by the Energy Information Administration.
But the financial barriers are falling fast. Solar panel prices have plunged by two-thirds since 2008, making it easier for installers to market solar's financial benefits, and not simply its environmental ones. Homeowners who want to go solar can do so for free and pay the same or less for their power.
Last month two of the nation's biggest utilities, Exelon and NextEra Energy, each acquired a large California solar power farm in the early stages of development. Another utility, NRG Energy, has announced a plan with Bank of America and the real estate firm Prologis to spend $1.4 billion to install solar systems on 750 commercial rooftops.Nationwide, solar power installations grew by 102% from 2009 to 2010, by far the fastest rate in the past five years.
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