Building Solar Panels is a Dirty Business – Why Sustainability Matters
Solar power’s popularity has continued to increase for the last several years, despite costly tariffs and other efforts to bolster traditional fossil fuel industries. There’s a key reason for this. With old forms of power, you consume a finite resource every time you need electricity. Every time you flip on the light switch, you burn […]
How PG&E’s Bankruptcy Will Impact Solar Customers
On January 14th, 2019, Pacific Gas & Electric announced that it would file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This action does not mean that the company will stop supplying electricity or be dissolved. Instead, filing for bankruptcy allows them to restructure their debts and shed some of their financial obligations. This is an extremely significant decision, reflecting […]
How We Use Historical PG&E and SMUD Rates to Project Your Future Energy Costs
When we put together an energy savings estimate for a client, we have to anticipate what electricity will cost in the future in order to give an accurate estimate. Historically, electricity rates have increased, and that’s unlikely to change. If your average monthly bill this year is $200, next year it’ll increase by a few […]
Why We Recommend SunPower
One of the most common questions we hear from customers is, “Who makes the best solar panels?” The manufacturers they typically ask about, such as Panasonic and LG, are often the same ones who made their television or washing machine. However, the manufacturer we recommend most often is one that most of our customers don’t […]
SunPower Granted Tariff Exclusion for Solar Panel Imports
At the beginning of 2018, the United States government enacted a tariff on imported solar panels. Essentially, most companies that imported more than 2.5 gigawatts’ worth of crystalline silicon solar cells and solar modules would have to pay a 30% tax on the equipment. While the cost of solar power has continued to get cheaper, […]