Bringing down the 'soft costs' of solar
Rick Way - January 17th, 2012
Program aiming to lower 'soft costs' of solar.
"Reducing the cost of installing solar power systems for homes and small commercial properties remains near the top of the Department of Energy’s to-do list. Early this year, Steven Chu, the energy secretary, unveiled the department’s SunShot Initiative, fashioned at least in spirit on the moon shot program, in which the Kennedy administration set out to put a man on the moon.
With SunShot, the Department of Energy has set a goal of reducing the cost of solar installations by 75 percent by the end of the decade. While this may not be a giant leap for mankind, the department hopes it will make solar power competitive with other forms of energy and as easy to install on your house or at your business as buying a set of tires for your car, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, the manager of the SunShot program and a materials scientist from the University of California at Berkeley, said in a telephone interview."
Continue reading here.
"Reducing the cost of installing solar power systems for homes and small commercial properties remains near the top of the Department of Energy’s to-do list. Early this year, Steven Chu, the energy secretary, unveiled the department’s SunShot Initiative, fashioned at least in spirit on the moon shot program, in which the Kennedy administration set out to put a man on the moon.
With SunShot, the Department of Energy has set a goal of reducing the cost of solar installations by 75 percent by the end of the decade. While this may not be a giant leap for mankind, the department hopes it will make solar power competitive with other forms of energy and as easy to install on your house or at your business as buying a set of tires for your car, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, the manager of the SunShot program and a materials scientist from the University of California at Berkeley, said in a telephone interview."
Continue reading here.
DC energy created by the PV panels runs into the inverter and creats an alternating current (AC). Then AC current is metered prior to heading back into the grid.
This chart shows Philadelphia averages 1600 kW-yr.
