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.
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.
October 23rd
U.S. Solar Boom To Include Manufacturing, Too
SAN DIEGO — The United States is poised to become the world’s largest user of solar power in the next decade, experts say, thanks in part to Silicon Valley innovation and the country’s vast land area and amount of sunshine.
Removal of $2,000 cap on Federal Tax Credit and Louisiana’s Renewable Energy Tax Credit creates 80% tax rebate enabling Louisianans to “Geaux Solar”
October 20th
Waking the Giant: Solar Heating Technology
Often described as the sleeping giant of renewable energy, solar heating technologies have been a woefully overlooked option to massively increase the renewable contribution to energy supply. However, with superb efficiency and a wide range of applications, the technologies that make up the solar thermal sector are indeed making inroads to the market.
October 4th
There’s a Solar Lining in the “Bailout” Bill
Yesterday, in addition to passing the once-doomed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, otherwise known as “the bailout,” the Senate and House did a very good thing: Lawmakers extended and modified the federal investment tax credit for residential and commercial solar energy development.
Industry Leaders Forecast Dramatic Growth in the U.S. Solar Market by 2016 with Extension of Credit
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September 26th
Tax Credit Extension Brightens Solar Outlook
Homeowners mulling the purchase of solar energy systems might want to wait a few months - or maybe not.
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