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The latest solar energy news and reports from out on the blogosphere.

Solar Energy – My Vision For 2020

I envisage solar energy will be Australia’s fastest growing industry and a major source of domestic energy supply by the year 2020. Bold prediction maybe but with the cost of electricity rising every six months why will the average …

Bhutan – On the Wings of Light Part 1 | Solar Energy Directory

The Solar Electric Light Fund brings solar power technology to people in the developing world. Here we see a project that the group took on in the Himalayan.

Converting Solar Energy To Electricity At Home 2 | gardenoftruth.org

If your aspiration is to build a grid-tied or off-grid system for your home, you’ll need to determine the size of your solar energy system needed. Then you’ll be able to determine the type and quantity of batteries to buy and the kind …

Chinese Solar Energy Experts Coming Together at Technology and …

China is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels, providing roughly 40 percent of the global market share in 2008. China’s domestic solar.

New research shows that the cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected, BBC News reported.

Some 90 percent of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years — which brings down the lifetime cost, according to the independent EU Energy Institute.

In fact, the panels are such a good long-term investment that banks should offer mortgages on them like they do on homes, the institute said.

The institute forecasts that solar panels would be cost-competitive with energy from the grid for half the homes in Europe by 2020 – without a subsidy. Incentive programs for solar panels in Germany, Italy and Spain have created manufacturing volume that’s bringing down costs.

Due to the recession, solar panel prices dropped 30 percent last year alone due to an increase in output and a drop in orders.

China has underpinned its solar industry with a big solar domestic program, which would keep prices falling. And there are large-scale solar plans in the U.S. and India, according to Heinz Ossenbrink, who works at the institute.

Panels had been expected to last for 20 years and price calculations were based on this (with a free energy source, purchase and installation represent almost the entire price of solar power).

The institute’s laboratory has been subjecting the cells to the sort of accelerated aging through extremes of heat, cold and humidity that has long been a benchmark for the car industry, Ossenbrink said.

These tests have shown that more than 90 percent of the panels on the market 10 years ago are capable of still performing well after 30 years of life, albeit with a slight drop in performance and Ossenbrink says 40-year panels will be on the market soon.

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Well we are just one small step away from getting to turn on our new solar energy system on our home and start generating power from the sun.

Today we had the city building inspector come by and check out the install that SolarCity did for us in recent weeks. James from SolarCity came over to help the inspector and get the paperwork signed off.

The crew had of course done a great job on the install of our solar panels (First Solar), inverter and electrical system tie in so it was not much in doubt as to whether the inspector would approve.

Today was not a solar power day though as the rain was coming down when the city inspector arrived. It made it a little tricky climbing on to the roof in the rain but they did get it done and checked out without anyone slipping or sliding on the roof.

So now we have the building permit signed off. Now SolarCity folks contact our utility provider PG&E and let them know we are ready for them to approve the installation and give the green light to switching on the system.

I am hopeful that this will not take anymore than a week or two at most.