CONNECTICUT – 30-MW Residential PV Incentive Program Launched In March 2012, the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) unveiled its new solar photovoltaics residential investment program. The ultimate goal of the program is to support 30 megawatts of residential solar photovoltaics (PV).  The first round of funding is $7.5 million, although long-term there is $40 million allocated to the program.  Only customers of Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating are eligible.

Systems owned outright by a homeowner receive an upfront rebate, whereas systems owned by a third party receive a performance-based incentive. The overall goal of the program is 30 MW of residential PV by 2022, and the incentive amounts are scheduled to step down over time. Systems up to 10 kW are eligible for incentives. The first two steps have already been published; the program is currently in “step one.”

To get more information on this program click here.

A rising trend of super-efficient, solar-powered new homes allows homeowners to combat rising energy costs by giving back to the power grid. Some owners are even realizing a small profit from their home’s power-generating capacity.  Intelligent house layout and design, and home features such as dual-pane windows, air-tight ductwork and high-caliber wall and attic insulation, are curbing energy consumption. And when coupled with solar energy, captured through photovoltaic panels, these homes are becoming their own mini power plants that feed electricity to the grid.

In 2009, U.S. homeowners paid an average $2,200 for energy use in their homes, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A growing number of homeowners have the opportunity to erase that cost.  Read the full article.

Start Time: 02:00
Date: 2011-02-12

President Obama made the development of cleaner energy a central tenet of his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, a theme he also had stressed in his 2010 address to Congress and the nation.

This time, after a year in which more than 50 solar-related companies announced plans to establish or expand manufacturing facilities, the topic drew more bipartisan applause. The president said that a “new goal” will be for the nation to generate 80 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.

That figure includes generation from cleaner coal plants, nuclear plants and natural gas, as well as from renewable sources, he said. The country already gets about 55 percent of electricity from natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric and renewable sources. “Clean coal” is still in the development and demonstration stage.  Read the full article from Solar Home Business Journal.

wendy@ctgreenrealestate.com    William Raveis Real Estate

Water heating can account for up to 20% of your home’s energy costs which is why well over 40% of homes in Europe use solar hot water heaters.  Simply put they are economical and they work.