Solar panels have blanketed the southern side of the roof of Thomas Koch’s Fontainebleau area home since summer, but he wasn’t able to harvest any electricity from them until early last month because of delays in getting a special meter activated.
For me, New Orleans conjures up aromas of French Market coffee and Beignets, sounds of the Jazz Festival in May, and outrageous Mardi Gras extravaganzas. On the not-so jubilant side, I’m reminded of Hurricanes Camille (1969), Andrew (1992), Katrina and Rita (2005) and Gustav (2008), recalling images of devastated communities, burdened with prolonged power outages for days, weeks, months even.
December 14th
How will you charge your solar powered vehicle?
A solar-powered recharge station for electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) built by the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will allow researchers to explore the potential benefits of renewable energy and PHEVs to consumers and electric utilities. Developed as part of a project run by NREL senior engineer, Tony Markel, the recharge station consists of a 3.5-kW solar array that provides shade and power for two PHEVs.
In this case, it’s Spencer Bockus, who created solar-powered fans and other contraptions for science fairs as a fifth grader in California. Today, at 22, he is on customers’ roofs, measuring where the shade will hit and hooking up photovoltaic arrays, better known as solar panels, to convert the sun’s energy into electricity.
Louisiana residents already have access to some of the most competitive state tax credits available for installing solar panel systems, but a recent move by the federal government offers an even greater incentive.
Industry Leaders Forecast Dramatic Growth in the U.S. Solar Market by 2016 with Extension of Credit
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On the solemn occasion of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation (and the eve of another hurricane with the potential to be equally devastating) and at the conclusion of the DNC, one man rises above the drama and the grandstanding: George Clooney.
September 3rd
Brad Pitt’s Make it Right Foundation’s Solar Panels Easily Withstand Hurricane Force Winds
The new homes withstood Gustav’s punishment, not even losing a solar panel, Spahr said.
NEW ORLEANS - A New Orleans solar power company has been chosen to provide rooftop solar panels for the first homes under construction as part of actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right project in the Lower 9th Ward.
August 17th
Solar Powered Homes Sell Faster
New Homes With SunPower Solar Panel Systems are Bright Spot in Market Read the rest of this entry »
New Homes with Solar Selling Twice as Fast; 92 Percent of Homeowners Would Recommend a Solar Home