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 | Solar Energy
Energy for life from the sky
No other source of renewable energy offers more promise or more hope for meeting the future energy needs of a rapidly growing global community. | Free listings for Federal, State, Local, even utility company grant money to help you install Solar Energy. Plus, information on how to go solar in your area here. | | More and more homeowners are seeing the added value of solar homes because energy-efficient buildings are better buildings. They use less energy, cost less to operate, and improve comfort. They help the environment and our nation, improving our energy security, as well as our everyday lives. |
Check out this Affordable Portable Solar Power...
Because every litlle bit helps!
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Not only are energy efficiency and renewable energy our duty as Stuarts of the planet, It is our environmental responsibility to make every reasonable effort to proliferate the utilization of the limitless energy from our Sun. | |
North American Board of Certified
Energy Practitioners. Find certified
solar PV installers in your area.
| As an energy-conscious consumer, you want to do all you can to use energy efficiently and add more clean, renewable energy to your life. This section contains information and analysis tools to help you evaluate your options and make an informed decision. If you've already decided to install solar electric panels (also called photovoltaic or PV panels) on your roof, you've given it careful thought and considered all the benefits of using a reliable, abundant, and environmentally smart source of energy — the sun. If you haven't decided yet, we hope the information in these pages will help you make a decision about purchasing PV panels for your home or business. The following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.
Download Adobe Reader  | Making Cents Out of Solar (PDF 1.4 MB) — information on the basics of solar technology, benefits to builders and homeowners. |  | Planning for PV (PDF 688 KB) — discusses the cost of PV and provides a ballpark-cost estimator. |
| How does solar energy work?
Here you can view entertaining and educational presentations about how solar energy is produced. Where can I learn more about solar power?
To learn more about the fundamentals of photovoltaics, visit PV Basics section for a more in depth look. And, if you are interested in educational materials for the classroom, please visit the educational section for students and educators. How do I get solar panels to harness the sun's power?
If you're interested in putting renewable energy to work in your home or office and want to know more about solar and other renewable technologies, see So You Want to Put PV on Your Roof!Why is solar electricity important?
In addition, if you would like to read about the environmental, socio-economic, and security impacts of PV and other solar energy technologies on the world we live in, please see the "Why PV is Important" section.What kind of impact am I making on the environment?
We've linked to calculators and decision-making tools so you can evaluate how much energy you consume and its environmental impacts. Some good energy-saving tips are also included with these decision-making tools. | 
CSP systems use reflective materials that concentrate the sun's heat energy to drive a generator that produces electricity. 
PV systems use semiconductor materials that convert sunlight directly to electricity.
Solar collectors absorb the sun's energy to provide low-temperature heat used directly for hot water or space heating for residential or commercial buildings.
Parabolic collectors focus sunlight into a fiber optic system to illuminate building interiors with sunlight. Go to the source
So, are you still interested in Solar Power? We have pulled from the U.S. Department of Energy resource center to provide answers for consumers that are interested in becoming more energy efficient, buying "green power," or making your own Electricity. Continue down this page for information based on commonly asked questions by consumers and recommendations by energy experts. |
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NOVA - WORLD IN THE BALANCE
The world's population is growing at an alarming rate, with one billion more people coming into the world every 12 years! Statistics show that 98% of this population growth is poised to begin occurring in the most impoverished regions on earth. WORLD IN THE BALANCE investigates the dire effects that this growth will have on the world--environmentally.....
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Shakelight by GAIAM
TheBattery-less Shakelight flashlight works every time, without the hassle or environmental problems associated with batteries. Just shake it to make it work; ten seconds of shaking delivers about twominutes of bright LED light, while 30 seconds of shaking delivers more than 20 minutes of light!
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Control Room DVD Region 1 US/Canada
Control Room is a seminal documentary that explores how Truth is gathered, presented, and utlimately created by those who deliver it. A rare film that reveals how satellite television has changed way wars are reported- from news providers, driven by the patriotism of their audiences, to Army information officers, driven by military objectives.
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| Solar Power, Reality! |
Small Solar Electric Systems
A small solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) system can be a reliable and pollution-free producer of electricity for your home or office. And they're becoming more affordable all the time. Small PV systems also provide a cost-effective power supply in locations where it is expensive or impossible to send electricity through conventional power lines.
Because PV technologies use both direct and scattered sunlight to create electricity, the solar resource across the United States is ample for small solar electric systems. However, the amount of power generated by a solar system at a particular site depends on how much of the sun's energy reaches it. Thus, PV systems, like all solar technologies, function most efficiently in the southwestern United States, which receives the greatest amount of solar energy.
You can also use PV technology to provide outdoor lighting.
Here you can find the following information:
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Connecting to the Electricity Grid
While renewable energy systems are capable of powering houses and small businesses without any connection to the electricity grid, many people prefer the advantages that grid-connection offers.
A grid-connected system allows you to power your home or small business with renewable energy during those periods (diurnal as well as seasonal) when the sun is shining, the water is running, or the wind is blowing. Any excess electricity you produce is fed back into the grid. When renewable resources are unavailable, electricity from the grid supplies your needs, thus eliminating the expense of electricity storage devices like batteries.
In addition, power providers (i.e. electric utilities) in most states now allow net metering, an arrangement where the excess electricity generated by grid-connected renewable energy systems "turns back" your electricity meter as it is fed back into the grid. Thus, if you use more electricity than your system feeds into the grid during a given month, you pay your power provider only for the difference between what you used and what you produced.
Your local system supplier or installer should know about and be able to help you meet the requirements from your community and power provider.
The sections below will help you learn about some of the issues involved in connecting a small renewable energy system to the grid:
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Watch the Trailer -
In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline...........Ten years later, these cars were destroyed.
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With gasoline prices approaching $4/gallon, fossil fuel shortages, unrest in oil producing regions around the globe and mainstream consumer adoption and adoption of the hybrid electric car (more than 140,000 Prius' sold this year), this story couldn't be more relevant or important. The foremost goal in making this movie is to educate and enlighten audiences with the story of this car, its place in history and in the larger story of our car culture and how it enables our continuing addiction to foreign oil.
This is an important film with an important message that not only calls to task the officials who squelched the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, but all of the other accomplices, government, the car companies, Big Oil, even Eco-darling Hydrogen as well as consumers, who turned their backs on the car and embrace embracing instead the SUV. Our documentary investigates the death and resurrection of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in our country's future; issues which affect everyone from progressive liberals to the neo-conservative right.
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 Special Thanks to the US Government for the information and support they provide that make implamenting solar power and all sustainable energy alternatives more realistic goals.
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Initiatives
EERE sponsors various initiatives to build awareness about energy efficiency and renewable energy topics and to coordinate efforts toward specific goals. Below are links to recent initiatives in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Solar America Initiative
 As part of the Advanced Energy Initiative, the proposed Solar America Initiative will accelerate the development of advanced photovoltaic (PV) materials that convert sunlight directly to electricity, with the goal of making PV cost-competitive with other forms of renewable electricity by 2015. |
National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency The National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency recommends investment by utilities in cost-effective energy efficiency technologies while meeting consumer demands for clean energy.
Advanced Energy Initiative The President's Advanced Energy Initiative provides for a 22-percent increase in funding for clean-energy technology research at the Department of Energy. This initiative includes investments in revolutionary solar and wind technologies, better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen, and cutting-edge methods for producing ethanol. |
Program Management Initiative
The goal of the Program Management Initiative is to achieve managerial excellence by managing programs effectively and efficiently. EERE is working to make continuous improvements in its processes and program management, and is aiming for an exceptional level of mission accomplishment and stakeholder satisfaction.
Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative is a partnership between DOE and the State of Hawaii that aims to have 70% of all of Hawaii's energy needs supplied by renewable energy resources by the year 2030. |
President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative The Hydrogen Fuel Initiative aims to reverse America's growing dependence on foreign oil by developing the technology needed for commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel cells.
Utility Solar Water Heating Initiative (USH2O) USH2O encourages utility solar water heating programs and provides education to stakeholders about solar thermal technologies. Utilities and solar industry members are working together to build this initiative.
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