For example, I enjoy a tall black coffee on a daily basis from a well know coffee establishment. I’ve never once sat down to calculate the ROI for this investment because it would be a pretty poor outcome. Yet still I continue to invest my money in this endeavor without another thought. Take automobiles too. Here is something that we pay tens of thousands of dollars for and the second we drive it off the lot it
has dropped in value never to see that original purchase price again. Not to mention the continued investment of fuel and upkeep.

“Yea but”, you say. Those investments have other less tangible returns. That tall black coffee probably boosts my productivity somehow bringing a return on that investment. And that car, that car makes me feel good and like I’ve accomplished something.

My goal in this article is to encourage people to consider the less tangible benefits that solar PV can provide and to apply a similar logic to this investment that we bring to most everything else in our lives that we invest our hard earned money in.

Protection: A Hedge Against Rising Energy Costs – There’s no debate that fuel prices are on the rise and there are some startling facts that coincide with this. China just surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest consumer of fuel and India isn’t far behind. The days of cheap abundant fuel are becoming part of our
history books and were only possible when the U.S. enjoyed unfettered dominance in the global arena both economically and technologically. There’s a lot more people sitting at the big boy table these days and each of them want what we have, understandably so.

Southwest Airlines applied this logic back in 2007 when they made the critical decision to lock in jet fuel prices just before fuel prices sky rocketed. The other major airlines went into a tailspin trying to figure out how to avoid bankruptcy.

Predictable: Results You Can Bank On – The world of “Third Party Owned Systems” has brought an innovative business model that is literally a game changer for this industry. With significantly less upfront investment necessary, these systems are producing results that even the most ardent Wall
Street Investor would jump on. Instant ROI’s and zero out of pocket costs. It’s been interesting helping consumers to understand this business model. With the third party owning the liability (equipment on the roof), the consumer enjoys the benefits of the asset (kWh’s generated by the system). When an
inverter goes out or hail damage is reported, the third party is responsible for repair. If the system does not perform as expected, the third party guarantees production with a refund of kWh’s not met. This has simplified going solar immensely and spurned the growth of thousands of new solar roofs.

Re-Sale: Increased Home Value – Thanks to Berkley Lab’s we finally have a legitimate study on the effects that solar PV has on home values. The study evaluated thousands of homes in California that sold, some with solar and some without, to determine if there was verifiable evidence to support the
claim that solar PV adds to the value of your home. Their results, that as little as 3kW can add $18,000 to the value of a home. The study landed at somewhere between $3.90 and $6.40 of value for every watt of solar. If people sold cars with all of the fuel costs covered for 20 years who wouldn’t pay a premium for that? That’s effectively what you are doing when you sell a home that has solar PV. ” Home for sale, kWh’s included!” Read the full report here: http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/emp/reports/lbnl-4476e.pdf

There are very few things in life that we apply ROI towards and demand the kind of results that many homeowners are asking for from solar PV. What other investment can you make that will literally save you thousands of dollars over the next 20 years? The upfront investment used to be a legitimate objection and the biggest hurdle for people wanting to manage their energy costs. With third-party
ownership that excuse has been mitigated.

I’m not saying that solar is right for every home because your solar resource is still a major issue. Despite advances in solar modules we still can’t put them in the shade, on a North facing roof, or when there are major space constraints. There is also the unquestionably important role that local incentives have on this decision. What I am saying is that while ROI is an important tool, it doesn’t tell the whole story. The tide of solar PV is on the rise and I encourage, I implore you, to jump in!

Meridian Solar has been one of the leading solar companies in North Texas leading that charge. Ryan Hunter, General Manager of Meridian Solar’s Dallas Office, says that “growth has been extremely strong and we have some really exciting projects set to come online in 2010″.

The local utility rebates are scheduled to stick around for the next three years and there has been an impressive drop in module prices and installation costs across the industry as a whole.

Yes, This is going to be a great year for solar in Dallas.

-The Eternal Optimist

Challenges for this market:

• Educating. There is a lot of educating that needs to happen in this market and we, those of us engaged in this solar market, are working tirelessly to put solar on peoples radar and ultimately on their roof.

• Scores of Municipalities. Solar is relatively new to North Texas and many of the local city governments are trying to determine how to handle this. Each city government is different and has their own set of inspections, fee’s, and hoops to jump through. This makes the actual installation process tedious, expensive, and often drawn out, much to the customers dismay. Operating in the Metroplex with scores of local city governments has proved a tremendous challenge.

• Numbers and cents. Solar is a significant investment for any homeowner and we need people that are able to not only speak to the technical components of solar but also how the financials can play out. Financing some of these systems can make a lot of sense, especially if you are able to roll it into your mortgage, and this message needs to get out so that those of us that don’t have $25K of liquidity sitting around can still take advantage of the benefits of solar.

• Perception. There needs to be a re-focusing of perception when we approach an investment in solar. There is more to the transaction for most people then a simple ROI analysis. I find it interesting that we consider almost no other investments that we make on this basis. The car we bought began depreciation the moment we drove it off the lot and the cup of Starbucks coffee that I’m consuming as I type this has never given me a return of even a cent back. Those are some pretty poor ROI’s. I do believe that ROI is a very important aspect of investing in solar but we just need to be realistic and fair when we make that our only measure of feasibility. Solar is a hard asset that will provide real, measurable, and increasing returns on that initial investment.

Bright Spots for This Market:

• Progressive People. There is a surprising number of progressive people living in the Metroplex. We have found that Plano, TX is a bright spot for solar, Grapevine, Dallas, and Fort Worth are showing some strong interest.

• Local Rebates. Oncor is providing the solar rebate of $2.46 DC watt and that is the main driver for this market.

• Educated Customers. I am meeting with more and more homeowners that really know their stuff. It is refreshing to sit down with a potential client that has really studied the industry, their own electrical consumption, and the benefits of solar.

• Solar Installations. Every week more homes in the Metroplex are getting solar on their roofs. We aren’t seeing as many as we would like to see but the numbers are improving daily and we have high hopes for North Texas being a future leader in the solar market.

Out hosts met us and began the tour by taking us to the roof of the original Suntech facility. There we found 160kW of Suntech’s 175 watt mono Crystaline modules packed into neat little rows. This array reportedly cranks out about 190,000 kwh per year and off sets roughly 1,738 tons of coal and 4,189 tons of CO2.

After walking through the field of solar modules on the roof we made our way to a conference room where we were given a power point presentation on Suntech’s push into BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic Modules). This is another area that Suntech is really leading the way in this industry. One of the most impressive products that they are now offering is a transparent glass module that allows sunlight in but keeps UV rays out. The characteristics of the module make it extremely efficient for insulating and use in building facade or roofing.

After the presentation we walked across the street to Suntech’s brand new Head Quarters. I can’t list all of the cool gadgets and technologies that went into the design and construction of this building but it would probably achieve a LEED Gold or Platinum certification level were it located in the United States. This building is a model for LEED Construction and a green builders dream to walk through. The most prominent feature and the one that immediately greets you is the 1 MW solar facade that incorporates those transparent BIPV modules I just described. This facade array is capable of producing 730,000 kwh per year and off set roughly 6679 tons of coal and 16,097 tons of CO2.

You first walk into the atrium, which is a separate climate zone from the offices, and incorporates advanced systems for measuring air flow, automated ventilation, and intelligent lighting schemes. Many of the buildings functions are monitored and controlled in a little control room integrated into the atrium design.

After a brief tour of the new head quarters building, a look at the army of inverters busily converting watts from DC to AC, and a photo op on the massive indoor employee climbing wall, we enjoyed an excellent lunch with our hosts.

Suntechs vision of combining form, style, function, and design into solar PV in the field of of BIPV is bold and we will continue to hear much about this company. This is a company with a very exciting future and will continue to push the solar market forward through innovation and design. I am grateful to Suntech for hosting me and appreciate the opportunity to visit.

Well there is another voice that in my opinion speaks louder and more relevant than voting for president of the United States. I don’t know if you realize it but we vote every day on issues of great and significant importance. What and who do you vote for? I’m not asking whether you are a democrat or a republican, pro life or pro choice. I can tell you the real answer to that question by looking at two things. They way you spend your money and the way you spend your time. Convicted?

Applying that same standard to me one might find that I vote for Starbucks just about every day. My investment in that tall cup of black coffee says that I believe that this business is worthy of my financial investment and the productivity I receive from that caffeine laden cup is worth that investment. One might also find that I vote for NPR based on the amount of time I listen to that radio station in my car, that I value fuel efficiency over other options, that I believe solar is and will continue to be a significant industry, and that I believe homelessness has to be solved by investing significant time rather than money into loving these people.

We vote every time we choose Wall-mart over Costco, paper vs plastic, 8 cylinder vs 4 cylinder, volunteering at a homeless shelter vs watching a new release, using your resources to build up your personal estate vs building up your community. The list goes on.

I was actually convicted about this when someone came to the door of my parents house asking for money to support keeping old televisions and electronics out of landfills. My first reaction was to say no since I didn’t have a job at the time. I was convicted about how easily I buy that cup of coffee each day and wondered if that was more worthy of my resources than protecting the environment around which I live. This particular occasion I elected to write letters for the organization rather than spending money that I didn’t have but the point is clear.

Where you cast your vote on Election Day in November matters far less than how you cast your vote each and every day. My challenge for you and myself is to be consistent with what you claim that you are for. I would sure like to hear less people with strong opinions on these issues and see strong actions that validate what they are for. Who and what are you for?

The curriculum truly is Intro as it starts by explaining the basic building blocks of any electrical system, Watts, Volts, and Amps. We learned the relationship these words have with one another and their significance in designing a solar energy system.

Week Four is when you really start to get into the fun stuff designing simple stand alone and grid-tied solar systems. Beginning with an electrical load analysis of a home’s energy needs and then sizing battery banks, solar modules, wire gauge, charge controllers, and inverters.

There is a lot of information to soak in and it is definitely a commitment but well worth the investment of time and money. Whether you are considering a sales role, installation, project management, or consulting, this is a great place to start. In an industry that is young and with few “experts”, having this on your resume can put you ahead of many others, at least for now. Good luck!

You will be tempted to surf the internet looking for websites completely devoted to the LEED AP test and tricks on how to pass it, don’t! You will be tempted to look for a short cut or magic study guide that will insure success, don’t! You might tell yourself that you’ve been in the construction industry for years and how hard can it be, don’t! You can spend hours on the web reading discussion boards and sure fire plans to get you a passing grade but I promise that there is a better way to spend your time. Here is how a guy with no official construction experience passed the LEED AP test with a score of 187 in just three weeks.

I read the LEED AP Reference Guide. It’s a fairly easy read and it’s all pretty interesting stuff. Take good notes and keep reviewing the credits and requirements. There is one study guide and test that I would definitely consider and that is the USGBC Colorado Study Guide. It has a practice test that I took twice. Once after I finished reading the reference guide and again a couple days before the real exam.

This is a challenging test and you shouldn’t take it lightly but it is also a very straight forward test. Study the material well and you will do well! I wasn’t working at the time that I studied for the test so three weeks would be a little tough for someone with a full time job. Good luck!