As we have mentioned before, California leads the nation in solar power. And why not? They get the 30% tax credit like anyone can, but they also have something that not a lot of states have in abundance; sun. That is the main ingredient with anything solar. No sun, no electricity, no reason to get it..
Northern climes are more noted for their cloud cover than their sun tanning rays, and as would be expected, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico and California are big time solar panel users. Now, a guy like me, living in a northern state like Wisconsin, watching solar grow in southern states, well, where does that leave me?
I’ll tell you, right in the thick of things, that’s where! Solar is for everyone, just ask Con Ed who is set to install 25 million dollars worth of solar panels in New York city!* (New York is on the same latitude as Wisconsin, by the way.)
If you have been a steady reader here at A Cooler Planet, then you know that solar panel prices are dropping. But don’t think that it is becoming an inferior product, oh no, not at all. In fact, efficiency is up, and the newest panels on the market are 30% more efficient than what was offered just last year** That means any myth that evolved about solar panels not being able to produce usable power except in a southern climate, is just a bunch of bunk!
Don’t believe me though, just ask Con Ed. They want to have 12 megawatts of solar power up and producing by 2011, in a cloudy northern climate. And just so you know, 1 megawatt will power about 1000 houses, free energy, no pollution, and no burning fossil fuels to do it.
Forget the myth, solar is the new wave. It’s there, it’s available, and it will produce usable electricity all over the USA, north or south, and anywhere in between.
*http://www.pvtech.org/news/_a/con_ed_proposes_12mw_solar_plan/?utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=News+Feed&utm_medium=rss
** http://www.sunpowercorp.com/products-and-services/~/media/Downloads/for_products_services/spwr_230wh_res_en_lt_w_ra.ashx