Years ago I used to work for Motorola and Verizon Wireless was just forming at the time.  They eventually became my largest customer.  The cellular phone industry works on subsidies of equipment and that model could work for solar power also.

Carriers subsidize consumers purchase of cell phones by getting their customers to agree to 1 or 2 year agreements.

Used to be 1 year but these days 2 year agreements are the norm.

Solar energy equipment sales companies could sell their products to energy companies that could then subsidize the cost of the equipment.  It would be akin to a decentralize energy company.  Instead of having a powerplant, they would have a network of homes holding solar power panels collecting energy (or other forms of energy generating systems such as wind or generators or something).

The company could then keep some of the energy generated by the home owner that is sold back to the grid and the homeowner would benefit from having to buy less actual electricity from the grid themselves.  The entire arrangement could further benefit home owners if the company provided technicians to install and monitor the equipment in an optimal method, possibly even making seasonal adjustments to panels.

I came across one company that is already planning to test a system similar to this model called Santee Cooper in South Carolina.  They require the following for a trial program they are running with a limited number of homes:

Be a Santee Cooper residential customer

Agree to receive power though the Green Energy Buy Backs Program, also known as net billing program, for a minimum of five years

Sign a five-year Solar Homes Initiative agreement

Have owned and occupied the chosen free-standing property for a minimum of one year

Use the property as a primary, single family residence

Complete installation of the solar equipment by December 31, 2008

Santee Cooper program offers financial help installing solar panels

Its not a total solution but a partial solution.  Santee Cooper is essentially helping people get a subsidy of about $17,000 on their equipment.  That kind of support is like finding super bustiers as opposed to just getting a bit of a lift.  That may be a bad analogy, but $17k in essentially what boils down to a subsidy tied to a long term contract could go a long way to making solar energy a reality for many home owners.

I write another blog from time to time called Maven Mapper’s Information – the Light and Maven Mapper’s Information – The Dark.  The purpose of the latter is to talk about technology that doesn’t quite work or preferably to talk about technology that could work if it just had that certain something.

This evening I wrote an article inspired by a trip to a very cold and chilling movie theater.  I came up with the concept that a vest with a built in heater (already exists today) could be powered or have the power replaced by solar energy.

The vests that exist today are typically powered by a 9 volt battery, not the most efficient power source or battery these days kind of like the eca stack of power consumption. 

But consider backpacking or spending some time out of doors during the day where a solar battery could be charged based on solar cells in your backpack or sewn into your jacket or clothing.  Then as the temperature starts to drop that power collected could be used to heat up your clothing, your jacket, your boots or even the liner of your sleeping bag at night!

Maven Mapper’s: Temperature Sensitive and Self Adjusting Clothing

I’d like to talk about a concept idea for a solar power concept.  One of the issues with building out an electric car infrastructure deals with the existing cars on the road.  It would take a massive effort to replace all the very heavy cars and gas guzzlers in general.  Some progress is made these days when people make three wheeled cars as they are categorized as motorcycles and have fewer safety requirements. 

Well, this evening I was thinking about many of the new solar photovoltaic products designed to be applied to surfaces that today do not generate any electricity, like applying film to skyscraper windows to generate some electricity. 

It may not generate all the power needed, but some power is better than no power!

That got me thinking about all those existing cars.  What if it were possible to resurface existing cars with photovoltaic materials (possibly yet to be developed that could turn say a 57 chevy or a pickup truck into a solar power gathering device.  The electricity does not necessarily have to be used to power the car itself to benefit the cars owner.

A person could essentially park their car outside at work or at home, collect rays and store the electricity in batteries (at home or in the car).  That power could then be used to assist in powering the home or in sending back to the grid.

Many of those existing gas guzzlers could be retrofitted with the material and start to help offset some of their costs.  Picture going to Auto Zone or Pep boys to pick up some body shop supplies to paint your car with something like a nanoparticle like paint that captured energy in photovoltaic cells and then transferred that energy through circuits to a battery or grid.

You may recall that I was lamenting about not seeing very many solar power products at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas a couple weeks back.

I was more likely to see gold bangle kitch and light up rubber balls as freebies than solar power panels at CES.

Well, there were a few products there and one of them that really caught my attention would probably fall under the category of a solar product that is used to power another device that has a primary purpose other than solar energy.

In this particular case I’m talking about an outdoor WiFi router powered by solar energy.

Let me state up front that I’m not just talking about a single router that you might stick in your house to power your laptop while you’re working in the living room. I am talking about an outdoor WiFi network that you can utilize along with your neighbors to establish a network that covers your entire neighborhood. This particular solution comes from a company called Meraki ( www.meraki.com ).

I plan to establish a network to cover the lake cove behind my house next year so that I can work wirelessly anywhere in the cove.

They will soon be coming out with one of their outdoor products that will be powered by a solar panel. It’s not available yet, but I will keep you posted as soon as it is available on the market. Now in addition to the high level of utility that they provide with outdoor wireless networks, I might mention that their prices for their products are relatively inexpensive. Their outdoor wireless routers cost about the same amount of money as your average indoor wireless router, and these are designed to work with multiple routers and establish a mash of WiFi connections!

Solar Wireless Router | Solar powered WiFi Router by Meraki

I’d like to offer up a suggestion to the churches of the world.  Why don’t you consider installing solar power panels on your church roofs along with a grid tie in.  Think about all those churches all around the world.  They typically have very large roofs and surface areas on those roofs.  They are typically open for business just a few times per week and do not need to be lit up, powered up, heated or cooled during down times either.

They could gather up energy in the form of solar power, not only to reduce their own energy consumption and expenses, but they could also be used to generate income for the church.  A church could probably pay for their investment in solar power much faster than your typical home that uses energy on a much more regular basis. 

Plus, many churches are warming to the concept that protecting the earth is something that coincides with the goals of their religion.  Removing a church off the grid powered by oil, coal and nuclear power and relying on the power of the sun, could go a long ways in conveying the message to the members of their church just how important protecting the earth is.

You will note that I am purposefully straying away from any specific theology here.  I feel that this could benefit all religions regardless of what their theology might be with the possible exception of the Amish (but if I’m wrong and the Amish embrace solar energy please drop me a comment and let me know).  My point is not to try and convince anyone to send out their first communion invitations on recycled paper or anything like that.  Its just to practically look at this option from the perspective of an investment, a cost reduction technique and a means towards demonstrating and communicating the benefits of solar energy.

A few years ago the US government ended tax credits to home owners for solar energy products and installation.  Many saw the removal of this tax subsidy as the end to an era in the solar energy industry as it related to homeowners.  This removal happened at a time when oil prices had not yet hit $100 a barrel and when gas prices had not found a new equilibrium at $3 a gallon with hints of growing to $4 per gallon. 

After returning from CES in Las Vegas last week, I can attest that the industry had an anemic presence if you just count trade show booths.

Today, the Federal Reserve Chairman went before Congress to give recommendations on how an economic down turn might be avoided.  One astute Congress Woman pointed out in her questioning that some of the $150 billion that might be spent to save the economy from a down turn, could be used to put Solar Energy tax credits back in place or to fund other spending related to solar energy.

This would have the double benefit of helping the economy and slightly reducing our dependence on oil even if only fractionally.  The trick to making this a reality is in finding a way to spend a majority of the money, over 60%, before 2009 and preferably to have the money spent by the government and paid to US Citizens that would then in turn spend it on Solar Energy products produced by US companies. 

If it is spent in this way, then it would give the government the most bang for their buck in hopes of stopping a US recession or at least ending it by the end of the year.

Solar Energy – Independent Energy Source and Economy Booster?

Now there will be a large number of other interest groups outside of solar energy looking to get a major portion of that $150 billion, but let us consider for a second how it could be spread out to US consumers.

The US Cenus projects that we will reach about 115 million households (population around 325 million) by 2015, with approximately 34 million people renting that leaves 81 million households of homeowners.

Note the Census does not look at households as free standing homes, so this number will include condominiums as well.

The average solar system installed with the ability to send energy back to the grid runs at about $35,000 (for a 3600 Watt system).

If Congress were to spend the full $150 billion requested by the Federal Reserve on solar installations for homes, they could cover about 4.3 million homes.    If they were to cover all 81 million households, that would cost about $2.8 trillion.

The current cost of the Iraq war totals about a half trillion dollars if you do not count the interest on the debt to pay for that war, which is usually tallied at about a half trillion dollars a year related to war efforts since 2003.

Congress could use that money as a starting point to test the benefits of solar power and supplying for the first 4.3 million people and could then move into covering all households.

Plus, Congress could benefit by taxing any income from selling electricity back to the grid, which over time could be used to pay for additional solar energy solutions or even other alternative energy solutions to cover gaps that solar energy creates.

This could also be targeted to areas rich in sunlight such as the SouthWest and the SouthEast.  As an interesting counter point, the SouthEast is suffering from a drought and is expected to run out of the water needed to keep nuclear and coal power plants cool by May or June of 2008.  If Congress were to act very quickly, this program could help offset some of the demands on the energy grid when or if power plants are forced offline due to lack of cooling water.

Plus, this concept meets the goals of putting money into the system quickly, providing jobs to the installation crews, and selling a large assortment of products from the solar panels, to the grid tie in products to converters, even fiber cable necessary to connect the system to  a computer an monitor the progress of the program.

If it could be helpful, Congress could even require an energy monitoring program be installed to gather data on the energy usage and send it straight into HUD for evaluation of further program growth.

It will require $100 million just to get it off the ground and won’t start until 2009, but Schott Solar Inc will build a manufacturing facility in Alburquerqe, New Mexico.

Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FCEA)(NYSE:FCEB) announced today that SCHOTT AG, a global leader in glass and optics and one of the largest solar technology manufacturers in the world, will build a 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility for SCHOTT Solar, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, on 80 acres at Mesa del Sol, a 12,900 acre mixed-use project in Albuquerque, NM. SCHOTT Solar Selects Mesa del Sol for New Solar Manufacturing Plant

The project will initially bring 350 new jobs to the state of Presidential candidate and current Governor, Bill Richardson.  Once the plant is up and running it will provide jobs for about 1500 people.

While other states in the rust belt are still cleaning up after less than clean manufacturing endeavors, notably many that triggered problems with asbestos and brought on cases of mesothelioma in workers, New Mexico under Richardson’s leadership is hoping to become as clean and environmentally friendly as possible.

The press release on the announcement goes on to give some background on the players involved in this deal:

SCHOTT is a privately held, 120-year old company that is a world leader in high-tech glass and glass-ceramics. SCHOTT is one of the largest solar manufacturers in the world, with operations in 41 countries and almost 17,000 employees. It is only one of two companies worldwide that manufactures solar receiver tubes, which are the most critical component of concentrated solar plants. The company has sales of approximately $3 billion.

About Mesa del Sol

Mesa del Sol is a 12,900-acre mixed-use district located on Albuquerque’s south mesa. By combining job creation and sustainable urban community planning, Mesa del Sol will reflect a balance of environmental resources, economic objectives and social amenities in a community that is forward-looking with a highly defined sense of place.

Mesa del Sol is a true public/private partnership. In addition to Forest City Covington, NM, LLC, Mesa del Sol is being developed in conjunction with other partners, including the New Mexico State Land Office, the University of New Mexico, with the support of the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and the State of New Mexico.

Solar enthusiasts were not looking for diamond pendants for Christmas, they were looking for new cheaper technologies that could make solar energy a reality for themselves as well as for the rest of the country. The search for cheap and efficient solar energy has been a dream for many for decades and a reality for a few for only a few years.

Fortunately, the recent oil and energy crisis is triggering many very large companies such as General Electric to invest $6 billion dollars in research and development in alternative energy solutions which could include solar energy. The demand for alternative cheap energy, or cynically speaking, energy that is cheaper than three dollar a gallon gasoline and $100 a barrel oil has never been as high as it is right now. This is driving major corporations to put real money into their research and development projects, and this could trigger a new pipeline of solar energy development that could significantly accelerate the amount of progress has been made in this industry.

We could see as much advancement in the solar energy industry in the next three years as we have seen in the last 30 years if we look at the amount of money that has been invested now compared to the amount of money that has been invested over the last three decades. If you’re looking for a good investment in solar energy, you could continue looking at the widely known plays in this market as they will likely be gobbled up by large companies that have a long history in brokering energy in less alternative states. If you’re looking for a slightly more stable investment in solar energy, you might look no further than General Electric or British Petroleum.

Well, I have to admit that I did not find terribly many solar power products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.  I frankly expected much more.  I did find a few and will cover those soon, but I expect mountain loads of materials on new solar powered products and the reality was closer to speed bumps instead of mountains. 

There were far more LCD panel televisions and small business phone systems, and iPod knock offs, and did I mention lots of televisions? 

Anyway, I will still source a number of great new articles as I head into 2008, just as soon as I get back from the Red Eye trip I am taking tonight.

This week I am attending the Consumer Electronics Show

(CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It is the Super Bowl of the electronics industry, and people come from around the world to display their goods and view what will be offered up this year in retail stores around the world.

Yesterday I took care registration matters and took a brief walk around the show and today I will be diving in to review the latest in solar product offerings for gadgets, home products.  If I have time, I may even take a look at some of the solar powered devices that are being implemented in automobiles and even boats.

Where I am from, and North Carolina, we are going through a drought, and there’s not really a lot of water to use a boat on so more people are considering a boat donation as opposed to cavorting on the lake in the sun.  I suppose donating your boat to charity is just as good as leading that set out back of your house and slowly fade away while the lakes dry up and we run out of water.

So anyway, I apologize for digressing, a recovering quite a number of products this year, and I hope to kick it off by identifying what products will be hot or useful this year in solar energy.  Any readers are attending the show, please feel free to reach out to me any exhibitors attending a show I definitely take a look at the products are offering, so feel free to contact us here at the solar Gold Mine Digest.