Solar Success for Wake Forest Chiropractic

Last year, NC Solar Now installed a solar system on Wake Forest Chiropractic's rooftop. Not only has the system been saving Dr. Shawn Phelan money on electric bills, but he is also making money by selling power back to the town of Wake Forest. Power companies purchase Solar Energy Certificates, or SRECs, to achieve their mandated goal of requiring 12.5% of their energy generated from renewable sources by 2021 as mandated by the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. Phelan claims that he gets 5-10 cents per kilowatt-hour produced when he sells his SRECs. In just the first 2 weeks of the installation, the 33 247-Watt Samsung panels generated 346 kilowatts of power. That is enough power to generate 11 homes for one whole day. Tax credits and energy offsets allowed him to only pay a tenth of the up front cost of the installation. It seems the low up-front cost, and the money saved and made over time was well worth it for Wake Forest Chiropractor, Dr. Shawn Phelan. There's just nothing better than saving money while being green! 

The Future of NC GreenPower is in Your Hands!

NC GreenPower is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina whose mission is to connect customers with renewable energy and carbon offset providers to improve the quality of the environment in North Carolina.

Recent changes in the program have shown the lack of support from the state. In order to continue to support the growth of small-scale renewable energy generators, they have eliminated the ability for generators to renew after the 5-year term. This allows them to continue to support the start up of small installations, but have also eliminated the ability of some generators to remain standing. More recently they reduced the incentive for all small-scale solar systems less than 5kw (DC rated) from $.08 to $.06. There is a new $25 application fee. However, this fee will be refunded if the project is generating to the grid within 90 days from the date the agreement is signed by the applicant.

The Board of Directors monitors the renewable energy market as well as donations to determine appropriate pricing and changes to the program. In order to prevent further reductions in price, NC GreenPower needs YOUR support! For just $4 a month, you can help support their generators and the growth of green energy throughout North Carolina. NC GreenPower took it into their own hands to support green energy growth and a cleaner environment. Now it's on our hands.

Click here for more information about NC GreenPower and the donation process.

4th Graders Power Their Classroom With Solar Energy

These 4th graders are leading the way in solar energy!

High School in "World Redneck Capital" Going Green

The South doesn't always get credit for being very green, but one high school in Georgia will soon become one of the greenest in America. Thanks to the city/county governments and a company called Greenavations, Dublin High School will be installing a solar system to reduce it's power consumption from the grid.

In the long-term, this project will reduce costs on energy, freeing budget for items tied closer to education. The CEO of Greenavations said the money saved will reduce furloughs and allow the school system to keep and hire more teachers.

Read the full article here:
www.southeastgreen.com/index.php/news/georgia/8147-innovative-solar-project-launched-in-heart-of-georgia

India Looking to Group "Solar Nations" Together for Synergy

India's Union Minister is receiving funds from his government to create a meeting of "Solar Nations". The nations referred to are those which have the capability of creating large amounts of energy through solar, therefore having the largest effect on the use of fossil fuels. The goal of this meeting is to share technologies related to harnessing and storing the sun's power. This will in turn reduce the world's consumption of fossil fuels, slow global warming, and reduce dependency on unstable countries.

To learn more about this endeavor, read the article here:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/government-mulling-club-of-nations-to-promote-exchange-of-solar-technology-says-union-minister-farooq-abdullah/378165-3.html

Solar Info-graphics Make Data Visible

Solar info-graphics provide a way to easily view figures and projections for renewable energy. That's why we have filled our Pinterest page with them. Our Pinterest page is here: http://pinterest.com/ncsolarnow/ Before going there though, check out some of the interesting info-graphics we have added to this blog!