Introduction: Vote Solar’s Annie Carmichael recently sat down with Stan Greschner, Director of the Single-family Affordable Solar Homes Program (SASH) at GRID Alternatives. We learned some surprising facts about who’s going solar in California.

Annie Carmichael, VS: Can you tell us about GRID Alternatives and California’s SASH Program? (more…)

From cutting costs in utility bills to being a prime steward of the land, it is no secret to why solar is gaining popularity. But for churches, going solar can prove to be much more valuable. Like all other non-profits, churches are all too familiar with tight budgets and the ineligibility of solar tax incentives, which is why they must get creative. (more…)

How do we know when solar becomes a mainstream energy source?

One tipoff: when mainstream energy companies get serious about solar.

For example, take NRG, a Fortune 250 wholesale energy generator with about 26 GW of capacity in its (more…)

Recent solar industry bankruptcies like Solyndra and Evergreen Solar have some questioning government support for solar and the future of the solar industry as a whole.  Closer examination reveals though that the opportunities in the solar industry are not one size fits all, and that the current (more…)

Solar power has many unique advantages that help with solar sales and marketing.  All it takes is a sunny day and a rooftop for solar panels to produce clean green electricity.  They have no moving parts, make no noise, and can produce clean energy for decades right on your roof.  For those who love everything (more…)

I’ve been researching going off the grid and looking into home solar systems. I’d love to get one for free, like this lucky Richmond mom. But somehow, my lucky stars aren’t aligned on this one.

The two main questions you are going to need to answer are: 1) does my home receive enough sun? (more…)

The solar industry is gaining steam in both Asia and the U.S. This week, two large deals were signed that signal strategic growth for the solar energy industry.

Suntech, the world’s largest producer of solar panels entered into an agreement with Sunborne Energy to provide Sunborne with 100 MW worth of solar panels (more…)

Wind power can now supply 10 million American homes, says a new report by the American Wind Power Association.

The organization says the industry installed 1,100 MW of new wind power capacity in the first quarter of 2011 and entered the second quarter with another 5,600 MW under construction. (more…)

It recently became official news that solar power is cheaper than electricity from gas-fired power plants. I asked myself: if natural gas is below grid parity and solar is cheaper than gas, doesn’t that mean that solar is also below grid parity? Let’s look at the numbers. (more…)

Deere & Co., (NYSE: DE) the parent company of John Deere, said last week it would be selling off its energy division.

Deere said it will sell its wind power division, called John Deere Renewables, including all of its farms in eight states, to energy giant Exelon Corp (NYSE: EXC) for $900 million. The deal calls for $860 million now, (more…)