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Solar power system – In the 1880s, selenium photovoltaic (PV) cells were developed that could convert light into electricity with 1-2% efficiency (“the efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of available sunlight converted by the photovoltaic cell into electricity”), but how the conversion happened was not understood. Photovoltaic power therefore “remained a curiosity for many years, since it was very inefficient at turning sunlight into electricity.” It was not until Albert Einstein proposed an explanation for the “photoelectric effect” in the early 1900s, for which he won a Nobel Prize, that people began to understand the related photovoltaic effect.

Solar technology advanced to roughly its present design in 1908 when William J. Bailey of the Carnegie Steel Company invented a collector with an insulated box and copper coils.” By the mid-1950s Bell Telephone Labs had...

Solar Energy is cornerstone to Success! The Clean Power Plan will rely on the installation of thousands of megawatts (MW) of new solar power systems, in addition to the 50,000 MW of solar projected to be operating by 2020.

What the plan does: The Clean Power Plan is the first ever U.S. standards designed to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, the nation’s largest source of CO2, while maintaining energy reliability and affordability. Today, electric power generation is responsible for nearly 40 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions. It will cut down on pollutants that cause serious health problems for thousands of Americans every year. The American Lung Association strongly supports the new standards, stating that if reduction goals are met by 2030, it would prevent up to 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 asthma attacks and 300,000 sick days at work and school....

It’s a closely watched fight with broad implications for the solar industry and the push by the Administration to go green. An Arizona utility that generates and distributes electric power in one of the country’s sun-drenched areas has asked the state’s Corporation Commission for assistance in its fight with homeowners who have installed their own solar power panels, typically on house rooftops. Tucson Electric Power Co. asked the agency, which sets utility rates, to let it double its basic monthly service charge for residential customers, from $10 to $20 per month, as well as assess new fees, penalties, and charges on rooftop solar customers. A study done by the utility says that customers with solar panels, on average, shift $67 a month in costs to non-solar customers because they pay less for grid upkeep.

The fight has the potential to go to the courts and set standards...

A THEnergy analysis exemplarily shows the mining sector why the timing is excellent for intensive energy consumers to commit to solar and wind energy The price for crude oil is falling, and the diesel price is following. This development is triggered partly by the demand side, as China’s economy is not growing as quickly as expected. We can however see a more interesting development on the supply side. OPEC is sitting on the driver’s seat of the recent oil price tumble. The price of the OPEC basket of twelve crudes recently fell below USD 28.50 per barrel.

A dumping-like strategy by OPEC seems to be aimed at preventing long-term investment by other oil producing nations. An oil price in the twenties means hardly a dozen nations can produce oil economically. Similar consequences arise for related energy forms, such as renewables. In solar– and wind–diesel hybrid applications,...

Several years ago, the New Mexico Legislature passed a new tax credit to incentivize homeowners and businesses to install solar energy systems. And it was incredibly successful. The state Energy Conservation Division estimates that more than $31 million was spent by New Mexico businesses and homeowners on solar panels and heating systems in just the past year. But, the tax credit is set to expire this year unless the Legislature takes action to renew it. Rep. Sarah Maestas Barnes, R-Albuquerque, and Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, have both introduced legislation to restore the tax credits. Both bills would maintain the current benefit of as much as 10 percent of the total cost, up to $9,000, in the upcoming years, with that amount being reduced incrementally starting in the year 2019.

We have argued before, and continue to believe, that New Mexico’s tax code has far too...