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intention is to
keep the e-newsletter short, interesting, and locally
based. If you have suggestions on how to improve, please
let us know. |
Solar News
Highlights
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German government incentives actively support
renewable energy and by doing so bring 50% of all
solar panels in the world to Germany for solar
installations. To put things even more into perspective,
Germany has about as much sunlight as Washington State,
known for its cloudy winter skies and long rainy
season. of California has been revised
to exempt neighboring trees and shrubs
from shading regulations if they were planted prior to
the solar installation date. The bill also
includes new specifications for ground mount solar
systems, and changes disputes to a private nuisance
rather than public.
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Sustainable News
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At the start of 2009, all new CA cars will come
with a global warming
score displayed next to the smog score. Scores are
obtained using emission figures and fuel
production. In a noteworthy sign of the global
warming times, the British
Columbia Olympic Games will be the first to douse
the tradition of burning the Olympic torch continuously
100 days before each event and throughout the Olympic
games. |
Energy
Tip
|
Unplug
it!
Unplug electronics and
appliances with an "always on" feature such as coffee
makers and televisions and save big! By plugging these
devices into a power strip, you can switch them off with
ease and watch your standby energy
consumption drop dramatically. An average household's
annual standby energy consumption can equal up to 1
entire month's worth of total energy usage (about 650 kW
hours). That's one whole electric bill worth of
savings! |
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Your
Solar Community News, July '08
Time
is Running Out! Federal Solar Credits Set to
Expire at the End of the
Year
Because extension
of the Investment Tax Credit Bill for
Renewable Energy failed to pass so far, the
solar tax credits as they a re now written may not be
extended. While it's possible that a new
administration in the White House could bring
about all sorts of positive changes including
massive support for renewable energy, the
questions pertaining to when, where, and how much
will not be fully answered for some time. Due to
this uncertainty, there is currently a push for
home and business owners to get solar systems
installed and/or completed by the end of 2008.
As it now stands, homeowners installing
solar are slated to lose their $2,000 federal
credit, and business owners could potentially lose
10's to thousands of dollars more.
Contact
us to learn more about Going
Solar.
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The Mount Madonna Center & School Goes
Solar With a Little Help from Their Friends
We are excited to embark on our
largest commercial solar installation to date at
the highly regarded Mount
Madonna Center & School in the Santa Cruz
mountains. The project, with an expected
completion in August of 2008, will be the second
largest solar installation in all of Santa Cruz
County.
 After over a year of
intense planning, research, and funding hurdles,
we are now installing five different solar arrays,
covering approximately 9,598 square feet, on the
rooftops of the Center and School
buildings.
The 158 kW system will generate
roughly 223,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year,
supplying enough clean, renewable, solar energy to
power about 80% of the School, and more than 50%
of the Center.
Representatives from
the Mount Madonna Center and School said that
partnering with IES was an integral aspect to the
project, and that we were the company most capable
to take on a proje ct of this magnitude.
"Their values are compatible with ours," says Ward
Mailliard, Mount Madonna President, "and they went
above and beyond in investment of their time and
funding research. Now, in execution, the
installation has been flawless and smooth so far,
and it will be completed within 2 months! One year
of planning culminates in 2 months of
action."
IES thanks The Mount
Madonna Center & School for being a
positive example and leader in our local
community.
Read more on this story:
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Al Gore Challenges the Nation to Produce
100% Carbon-free Electricity in 10
Years
Solar, W ind, and Geothermal Energy in the
Limelight
Nobel prize recipient, Al Gore, states that
"America must commit to producing 100% of our
electricity from renewable energy and other clean
sources within 10 years," and about 1,500,000
Americans have already signed a petition in
support of this challenge. Gore's speech is not
only a landmark recognition of solar energy's
capabilities to supply enough electricity to power
the entire nation, it also highly applauds wind
and geothermal energy, stating that together, 100%
carbon-free electricity is entirely possible in a
few years time. According to Gore's statistics,
"enough solar energy falls on the Earth every 40
minutes to meet 100% of the entire world's energy
needs for a full year." T  hrough
upgrading and unifying our national electric grid,
use of renewable energy technologies will be more
possible than ever before, with an easily
distributed power supply entirely in reach.
Watch Al Gore's
27 minute speech and consider joining the
We action team at www.wecansolveit.org.
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Join the Growing Solar Community™
In order to "grow
our local solar community," we invite our friends
to make
a referral to other community members about
the benefits of going solar. For each referral
that results in a new solar installation, we will
contribute $250 into the Growing Solar Fund™. This
Fund will be used for charitable projects that the
Growing Solar Community™ chooses to
support. | |
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