The renovation, the insulation and the new kitchen all helped, but Meg Goldfeather couldn't get her 1926 University Heights bungalow to save enough power. She can't stand looking at her three-digit utility bills, knowing she could generate her own electricity using solar panels on her roof. But cost has been an obstacle. So when Goldfeather's electrician suggested she look at something called One Block Off the Grid, she was interested. “The minute I read it, I thought, this is absolutely it,” Goldfeather said. “Community effort, lower price.”

By Onell R. Soto - The San Diego Union-Tribune , May 31, 2009

President Barack Obama provided a spending boost to the solar and geothermal energy industries on Wednesday and said increased use of the fuels would make America more secure. "We know the cost of our oil addiction all too well," Obama said in a speech at Nellis Air Force Base, which is home to the biggest solar electric plant in the Western Hemisphere. "It's the cost measured by the billions of dollars we send to nations with unstable or unfriendly regimes," Obama said.

By Doug Palmer - Reuters | Nellis Air Force Base, NV , May 28, 2009

As one of Santa Clara County's biggest users of electricity, the Valley Transportation Authority has been searching for ways to reduce its energy consumption. So when Mountain View-based Skyline Solar asked the agency if it could build a 27-kilowatt demonstration at one of its bus yards, VTA jumped at the chance. After all, the agency spends $5.3 million a year for electricity, most of which is for the light-rail system.

By Tracy Seipel - the Mercury News | San Jose, CA , May 20, 2009

Taking a leaf from the beauty industry, scientists have devised a way to make solar panels cheaper and more efficient - by spraying them on. Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU), solar company Spark Solar Australia, and Finnish materials company Braggone Oy are collaborating on a three-year project that could transform the production of solar cells. Solar cells are typically made of silicon coated with a thin layer of silicon nitrate - which is used as an antireflective agent to increase cell efficiency. However, these types of cells are costly to produce because they are made in a vacuum.

By Stephanie Stohr - Gmagazine.com , February 06, 2009

Castle & Cooke Inc. has officially finished building Hawaii's largest single-site solar farm on Lanai. The $19 million, 1.2-megawatt La Ola Solar Farm is expected to supply up to 30 percent of Lanai's electricity. Maui Electric Co. plans to buy the farm's power and transmit it to Lanai homes through its electric power grid. It's part of a Castle & Cooke plan to powered the island entirely with renewable energy by 2020.

The Associated Press - Forbes , January 07, 2009

As the stock market plummets, some area residents are turning to solar power to meet their economic and environmental needs. "If you look at rates from the last five years, they've almost doubled," said Mike Lindberg, chairman of the Wilton Energy Commission. "They will continue to increase at double-digit rates, so anyone that has any interest in solar power would be wise to do so now." Lindberg, a Wilton resident who uses solar power in his home, is not alone. Fairfield County has 141 approved or completed solar projects for residents and businesses, according to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. There are 751 approved or completed projects in the state.

By Patrick McNamee - The Stamford Acvocate | Stamford, CT , October 05, 2008

Homeowners contemplating going solar usually run into one of two obstacles: the expense of a solar power system or the sheer confusion involved in figuring out what rebates apply and what system to use. A new organization, 1BOG (“One Block off the Grid”), is trying to take some of the pain out of both challenges. Launched in San Francisco earlier this year, 1BOG is organizing groups of consumers to collectively purchase solar energy systems. This summer, their first round of community purchasing slashed the price of solar, including materials and installation, by 43 percent — even after accounting for federal, state, and local rebates. 1BOG is currently in the process of expanding to 11 other cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego and Denver.

By E.B. Boyd - Common Ground Magazine | San Francisco , October 01, 2008

All the talk of photovoltaic cells and kilowatt-hours may seem confusing, but solar power can be one of the easiest methods to make your home green. And rooftop solar panels, which convert light from the sun into electricity, are finally taking hold in the Nashville area thanks to a pilot program run by power provider TVA, which allows solar power users to tie their systems into the power grid, and an installer in Nashville. Once homeowners install solar panels, which are made of photovoltaic cells, they can generate much of the power needed when the sun is blazing. After the sun sets, the TV, lamps, refrigerator and other electronic gizmos get juiced by the mostly coal-fired electricity from the power grid.

By Bonna Johnson - The Tennessean | Knoxville, TN , September 22, 2008

Applied Materials, a Silicon Valley firm that makes the equipment used to manufacture semiconductor chips and, more recently, photovoltaic systems, says it is now generating more than 10 percent of its own electricity from a solar array over a parking lot at its Sunnyvale headquarters. Applied said its system uses 7,997 solar panels to produce 2.1 megawatts of electricty, enough to power about 1,400 homes, and described it as "the largest solar power deployment at a corporate facility in the United States."

The San Francisco Chronicle , September 20, 2008

The state needs to move toward solar power to help lower energy costs and secure a future that lessens a reliance on fossil fuels, a regulator said Tuesday. "The word is that the days of cheap, abundant energy are gone," said state Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Joseph L. Fiordaliso. "For our national security, for our economic well-being, not only as a state, but as a nation, we need to wean ourselves off our dependency on fossil fuels." Fueled by state incentives, New Jersey has grown to have the highest number of solar power installations in the U.S. after California.

By David P. Willis - The Asbury Park Press | New Jersey , September 17, 2008