Solar Grants Getting Grant Money For Solar Panels

Are you looking to install a solar or wind generator system on your house? If you are looking to create your own electricity through renewable methods, there is plenty of support. The problem is it is often difficult to find where to apply as most of these programs are not heavily advertised. The US government has recently announced a series of grants and tax incentives designed to help home owners fund their renewable energy projects. How do you get started? Find out what grants are available on the state level. If you live in a Sunbelt state such as California, Arizona, or Nevada there are plenty of renewable energy grants and tax incentives for solar projects Find out what grants are available on the Federal level. You may be able to get additional support at the Federal level no matter where you live in the US. Group buying programs. There is a grassroots program to fund solar and wind projects in many area spearheaded by local activists who exploit group buying discounts to negotiate much better rates with suppliers and installers It is almost guaranteed that you will find some type of financial support, when you make the steps to convert to renewable energy. In many cases, you can even sell electricity back to the utility to make a profit. Solar panel systems now have short enough pay back periods, that make this a reality for thousands of people in the United States. Our clean energy future depends on the work of homeowners and businesses alike to convert to renewable sources of energy like solar and wind. It is important to educate yourself about all the benefits of clean energy. The benefits of solar and wind energy are not just environmental, in the majority of cases, they make very real economic sense. If we are to create green jobs and lift our dependence on foreign oil, we must make different choices as consumers.

Read More

Do It Yourself Solar Home Tips

Solar energy is one of the most underrated solutions around. Many folks still rely on gas and other energy sources to power up their house, and they pay the price at the end of each month when they get their bill in the mail. With solar energy, you don't have a bill to pay, and you are not going to run out of your power source anytime soon. Unlike what most people think, solar power is affordable and easy to put to use. In reality, you have a lot to gain by creating your own solar home. You don't have to be super technical to go green, but you do need to pay attention to: SOLUTION:You should choose and install a solution that gives you the opportunity to save more money. Make sure you don't invest in a too good to be true solution. PLANNING: You may be excited about helping the earth but don't forget to plan if you want to succeed. METHOD:You can both heat and cool your house with Eco-friendly technologies. Know your options before acting. INSTALLATION:Someone's got to install your panels, and you need to do it right. Plan ahead to avoid major headaches. You can always create your very own system. There are many training solutions out there that help you do just that. TAX:The government is giving tax advantages to companies and individuals who are adopting eco-friendly technologies. Make sure you take advantage of it. MISTAKES:Do your research to make sure you don't make mistakes others have made before you. There you have it. You don't have to be a genius to implement eco-friendly solutions. You can go solar at home with or without anyone's help. It all comes down to your dedication to research and learn new things. The money you'll save makes it all worth your while. DIY SOLAR PANELS AND WINDMILLS BUILDING GUIDESEARTH 4 ENERGYMake your own solar panels or wind turbine."MORE INFO HERE"HOME MADE POWER PLANTThere are some other guides for DIY wind and solar generators, but all of those that I've read don't get into the same details."MORE INFO HERE"Looking for a do it yourself solar training system? Click on to find out about the solar home solution that teaches you how to create your own solar and wind energy. Article Source: Do it Yourself Solar Home Tips

Read More

Opinion British Farmers Need To Be Involved In The Renewable Energy Revolution

Two wind turbines spinning at a farm in Northern Jutland, Denmark, April 2013.

"BY ANDERS LORENZEN"

A TRIP UP AND DOWN THE BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE WILL QUICKLY TELL YOU THAT, UNLIKE GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIA, ONSHORE WIND POWER IS MAINLY SEEN IN THE SHAPE OF WIND FARMS; YOU'RE LESS LIKE TO SEE A SERIES OF SINGLE DEPLOYED WIND TURBINES OWNED BY FARMERS OR MORE EVENLY SPREAD ACROSS AGRICULTURAL LAND. IF YOU HAVE EVER WONDERED WHY FARMERS ARE NOT INVESTING IN RENEWABLES LIKE ON SHOREWIND, THEN A NEW REPORT MIGHT BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU SOME ANSWERS.

AS CHARLOTTE WEBSTER FROM THE CLEANTECH DIVISION OF PR AGENCY CCGROUP POINTS OUT IN HER GUEST BLOG ON A GREENER LIFE, A GREENER WORLD THERE IS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR BRITISH FARMERS TO INVEST IN RENEWABLE ENERGY, WHICH IS BOTH A GOOD BUSINESS FOR THEM AND ALSO HELPS THE UK TO MEET ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS. COMMENTING ON THE REPORT SHE SAID:

"THE COUNTRYSIDE PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE UK'S DECENTRALISED AND CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE. BUT AS IT STANDS, THE INFORMATION NEEDED TO ANSWER FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS FOR FARMERS AND LANDOWNERS IS QUITE SIMPLY LACKING. RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPANIES ARE NOT MAKING IT SIMPLE TO INVEST. OVERCOMING THIS BARRIER HOLDS HUGE POTENTIAL FOR FARMERS, LANDOWNERS, RENEWABLE ENERGY BUSINESSES AND THE WIDER GREEN ECONOMY. BUT TO REALISE THIS POTENTIAL BUSINESSES MUST GET THEIR COMMUNICATIONS RIGHT. WE'VE RELEASED THE REPORT TO ENCOURAGE RENEWABLES INVESTMENT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER."AS WE HAVE SEEN IN THE UK A STRONG MOVEMENT AGAINST WIND FARMS IN PARTICULAR AND OFTEN WE HEAR ABOUT THE GERMAN AND SCANDINAVIAN MODEL AND WHY WE JUST CAN'T BE LIKE THEM. I WOULD ENCOURAGE GOVERNMENT POLICY MAKERS AS WELL AS RENEWABLE AND BIG ENERGY COMPANIES TO TAKE A TRIP OVER THE NORTH SEA AND WITNESS WHAT THEY'RE DOING RIGHT. THEY WILL SOON REALISE THAT THE UK'S APPROACH TO RENEWABLE ENERGY AND WIND IN PARTICULAR, IS WRONG AND WE ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH TO STIMULATE FARMERS TO INVEST. PART OF THE PROBLEM ALSO LIES IN THE PLANNING SYSTEM, WHERE PLANNING SUBMISSIONS CAN STAY IN THE SYSTEM LONG BEFORE IT EVEN GETS TACKLED. PART OF THIS IS THAT WE THINK TOO BIG, WE NEED TO THINK SMALL AND BIG AT THE SAME TIME. WITNESSING THE VAST AMOUNT OF ONSHORE WIND IN DENMARK AND GERMANY, ONE THING IS EVIDENT - EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE THE ODD WIND FARM HERE AND THERE, IT'S A LOT MORE EVENLY SPREAD OUT AND FARMERS OWN A LARGE PORTION OF THE TURBINES AS MOST FARMS HAVE WIND TURBINES DEPLOYED ON THEM AND THEY ALSO GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE AGRICULTURAL LAND. DEPLOYING 3 OR 4 WIND TURBINES ON A FARM DOES NOT STOP THAT FARMER GROWING THE SAME AMOUNT OF CROPS, BUT TAKING OVER THE WHOLE FARM TO BUILD A WIND FARM DOES. FURTHERMORE THE PUBLIC WOULD BE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO OPPOSE A WIND FARM THAN 3 OR 4 TURBINES, AND IF THE PUBLIC WERE GIVEN A CHANCE TO INVEST IN THOSE TURBINES THE OPPOSITION AGAIN FADES AWAY.

It's absolutely evident that the model deployed in Scandinavia and Germany is working, policy makers and renewable energy companies in the UK need to take note and apply the same methods.

We need to realise that to fulfill the massive potential we have in the UK for onshore wind, we need the farmers on board. We need renewable energy companies to realise to work with farmers instead of prioritising working with the big six energy companies that dominates the UK energy market, that way we will get both a fairer energy market but also take a giant step towards moving more towards a decentralised energy structure.

Will leave with the comments by Low Carbon Farming Project Manager at the Soil Association, Sam Adams, who also acknowledged the importance of farmers being given the right information about renewable energy adding:"BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR FARMERS SIMPLY DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE. IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND GROWING WORLD POPULATION, OUR FARMING SYSTEM IS CHANGING FAST. TO MAKE THESE SUSTAINABLE CHANGES, FARMERS AND LANDOWNERS NEED TO BE GIVEN THE RIGHT INFORMATION. AT THE SOIL ASSOCIATION WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON PROVIDING SOUND ADVICE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO FARMS AND BUSINESSES, SOMETHING WE SEE AS CRUCIAL TO INSTIGATING AND SUSTAINING CHANGE. LIKEWISE, COMMUNICATING THE IMPORTANCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND THE OPPORTUNITIES IT OFFERS, IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRYSIDE AND THOSE WHO NURTURE IT. SUB EDITED BY CHARLOTTE PATON"

Credit: www.garvindirect.com

Read More

Solar Roof Tiles Go Green And Save Money

There are ways to save money while going green and one great example is by having solar roof tiles installed. With this innovation, homes can now be powered using the energy that comes from the sun or as it is commonly known, solar energy.

Solar roof tiles give consumers a way to save on their electricity bill and elegantly design their roofs at the same time. These tiles are a great innovation, for they give you an opportunity to 'go green' and utilize the natural solar energy that comes from the sun. They are also proven to slash the amount of your monthly electricity bill, since the energy that is produced will be used to power some of your electricity. Now that's one way to save up and go green.

You need not fear that the tiles may look odd, since they are now designed to blend in with the design of your home; you just need to find the design that you think will look well on your home. These type of solar powered systems are easier to work with when compared to installing solar panels which are larger and sit up off the roof.

TYPES OF SOLAR ROOF TILES

Solar Roof Tiles Types and Uses

There are two basic types of solar roof tiles available in the market today.

First is the PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR TILES. These are photovoltaic tiles that are specifically designed to look like the ordinarily used asphalt tiles. What these type of tiles do is convert energy that comes from the sun (solar energy) that can be used to power household items, such as light and fans.

This type of solar roof energy system is known to help people save greater amounts of money over time; however, the initial cost of purchasing and installing them can be quite expensive, so taking in the solar energy pros and cons is an important step before making a purchase.

Another type of solar roof tiles is the METAL ROOF SOLAR TILES. These type of tiles still makes use of photovoltaic effect, but the difference between this and the photovoltaic tiles is that these tiles are integrated into the existing metal roofing panels that you have. These type of solar tiles are made to last longer and are very sustainable.

BENEFITS OF SOLAR ROOF TILES

Going solar can help you save a lot of money and going solar plus aesthetic looks is even better. The reason behind this is because each tile that is installed or placed on your roof can produce from a minimum of 60 watts up to 200 watts. This means that a single installed tile can produce enough electricity to power a fan; just think of the amount of electricity it can produce if you install tiles on your entire roof. The excess generated solar power that you produce and not use, can also be sold back to electricity grid for others to use and best of all, you get paid for it.

These tiles are also easy to install, since they do not weigh that much, and as compared to solar panels, they are not that intrusive, so they do not ruin the design of your home. It is difficult to even tell the difference between normal tiles and the solar tiles, since they are aesthetically designed to create the illusion of looking like normal ones.

If you reside in sunny areas, then, solar roof tiles can be your perfect companion in going green and saving money, or even making money, it is a great investment all around.



Origin: our-green-energy.blogspot.com

Read More

Laws Not Enforced As Wind Industry Kills More Birds And Bats

The Affiliate Get-up-and-go published a dawdling article probing the concern of eagles and other protected plants for example killed by wind energy projects -- many built on faint wildlands -- and highlighting the Dissection of Interior's complaint to transfer the wind industry guilty to laws fated to defense wildlife. Between advanced 573,000 plants killed by wind turbines also time, according to the Wildlife Partaker News update, as intentionally as a copious concern of bats, the Dissection of Interior can in the past few minutes facet to shell and unruly guidelines that the wind industry continues to balk at.Numerous environmentalists realignment to downplay the ill, as Sierra Club editor Paul Rauber did in a "Sierra" book article preceding this time that described hundreds of thousands of bird deaths also time as "tiny." The wind industry responded to the Affiliate Get-up-and-go article with the awfully chat employed by Mr. Rauber, stating that buildings, cars, and cats ship usual finer plants also time. This logic is analogous to the response from the gun reporters to the deaths of pioneer hypothetical family tree in Newtown, claiming that hammers ship finer society than acute rifles in an dull and mindless chat opposed to new convention. One not exact does not adjust another. Enclose crews strain Joshua tree forest home-made in the western Mojave Chuck to make way for finer massive wind turbines, indoors the revolutionary variety of the California condor. A wind farm bordering - LADWP's Brood Tree wind project - is in addition to untreated grown for several blond eagle deaths.The longer we balk at, or realignment to downplay the wind industry's impacts, the enlarged the ill becomes. It is space to get the veracity that the wind industry and land leaders are not aggravated by the seek for sustainability or collateral of the environment, and request put on guidelines that stash utility-scale renewable energy development not in from important home-made.The up-to-the-minute unruly guidelines for the wind industry were in the past few minutes implemented following the wind industry lobbied the Sickly House and Dissection of Interior to victim stricter programming that the Companion and Wildlife Service's scientists recommended. And as population unruly guidelines cling to been put popular field, the wind industry continues to build projects in areas that put in danger protected plants, through blond eagles and California condors. Now the Obama control is in addition to gone payment the wind industry 30-year permits to ship blond and smooth on top eagles, which would have a go our ability to defense these ancestors, truly as other pressure reserve to potion, such as metropolitan drop and get through redistribute.This is not a rocket sum meet amid renewable energy and wildlife. The give of renewable energy technology allows us to generate clean energy in a way that minimizes or eliminates impacts on protected wildlife. Rooftop solar, solar on already-disturbed lands, and energy efficiency investments are in the least of our utmost sustainable renewable energy choices. A raptor takes shake off advanced the Mojave Chuck, California.

Read More