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In just over a week, the state of Florida’s solar rebate program is going to die. June 30th will be the day of execution, barring some eleventh-hour miracle. Small solar businesses are already feeling the pressure, with projects rapidly falling to the wayside and contractors looking north to states like Georgia and South Carolina that maintain a better political environment for solar power.

Mourning the death of Florida solar rebates

Florida’s Solar Energy System Incentives program was enacted in 2006. It offers a generous $4 per watt rebate for home solar power, up to $20,000 for photovoltaic (PV) systems. That means a 5,000-watt (5 kW) system, costing approximately $40,000, would receive a healthy dose of subsidies between its state rebate and the federal tax credit. The latter credits 30 percent of initial costs — roughly $12,000 in this example — and the state rebate would pay the maximum $20,000, meaning that 80 percent of a 5-kW solar system would be subsidized.

That has made for easy sales by Florida solar contractors, evidenced by the fact that funding for the rebate program doesn’t last long, even with the help of Recovery Act money. But the expiration of Florida’s solar rebates will have a very damaging effect on business. Even the smallest systems eligible for the rebate – 2 kW – garnered an $8,000 state rebate at an overall cost of $15,000.

Admittedly, these rebates are disproportionately high. This is because the program was developed in 2006 and PV prices dropped considerably since then. Solar business owners in Florida understand that, but are disappointed by the total erasure of state solar rebates, preferring, according to one contractor, a slash of the credit to $2-per-watt to keep with the drop in PV prices. Unfortunately its a tight budget year for all states, including Florida, and a prospective rebate-renewal bill died in committee at the state legislature.

Solar incentive programs still available:

• There is a ratepayer-funded $24.5 million pool of cash that utilities use to fund energy conservation initiatives.
• The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant allows municipalities to apply for grants to fund solar and other energy efficiency initiatives.
• Florida law also allows local-level PACE financing programs that fund clean energy projects through individual property tax hikes.
• JEA (formerly Jacksonville Electric Authority) offers small rebates for energy efficient new homes and up to $800 for solar hot water systems.

But none of that will make up for the loss of state rebates, which at this point will likely bring Florida’s solar industry to a screeching halt. In some states, utilities pick up the slack, but those states typically have renewable portfolio standards requiring utilities to obtain a certain percentage of renewable power. In Florida, only JEA has such a program. So, until some RPS or new rebate legislation is passed, solar power, along with the jobs and clean energy that comes with it, is on hold in the Sunshine State.

Source: Florida Times-Union (via iStockAnalyst)
Photo Credit: Wallpapers for You & Top News

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One of the greatest troubles which many people encounter with is the fact that information about loan modification program is distorted. If you would like to get loan modification you should apply for the program. However, almost no one knows what the program means and what it is required to do in order to succeed in the process of application. There are different points of view and you have to try to do everything possible in order succeed. That is why, it is so important to get help from the professionals. Of course, there are many people who say that on the internet there is a great deal of information. But who can be sure that the info you get from internet is reliable. On the official web sites the info is not enough and you need to get to know much more. That is why, it is so extremely important to get reliable help and to be sure that everything you do is really necessary and that you are not going to spoil your future because of one stupid mistake.

You should know that loan modification was specially worked out in order to meet the needs of the average people. It is for those who have terrible financial troubles and cannot cope with the expenses. Everyone knows that economic recession was caused by many unfavorable events and still people are unable to get back from the terrible consequences which caused so many difficulties.

The first thing you should do when you apply for the loan modification is to get to know whether you fit the requirements. There are many demands which a homeowners needs to fulfill in order to apply for the program. That is why, you need to figure out at once whether you are eligible for the program so that in the future no such drawbacks took place. What is more, the more you know the better it is. That is why, you should not be afraid of getting more information.

While you apply for the program you need to be guided by a professional. For a homeowner who has never dealt with legal documents it is difficult to understand what is needed to do in order to succeed. That is why, it is so extremely important to have a reliable person who is going to help when needed.

What is more, because of severe competition there are too many applicants and that is why, you should be the best to get approval. Moreover, there are too many people who think that loan modification is a good opportunity to get help and even though they are able to pay off the premiums they apply for the program. Banks are trying to do everything possible to help only those who really need help. That is why there are so many checks.

Need loan modification tips – then we’ve got this loan mod companies website. The best advice about modification companies market and offers on this market.

If you want to set up your business, you have had lots of fail attempts – you do not have to receive a pie just now! Be sure that not everything in the lap of the gods and you can rule the situation. How about small business grant program? You can deal with kind of business you want and in case you are going to work with something off and new – here you go. Be sure your kind of business is able to give you more, because it will up your professional level, it will give you more money and you will be able to make more friends.

As you see there are many heavy arguments why you have to deal with this kind of program and what this program will be able to give you. Everyone to do a land-office business and I think you are not odd person – you stand this point of view too. Make sure small business grant program is what you need in case you are sure nothing will drop into your lap. Be sure that only hard work and toughness will help you to achieve aims you want. But do not forget there is such cool program as small business grant program! You can deal with it the way you want and you do not have to be in hesitations simply!

Take your life in your hands because there are no risks in the small business grant program for you at all. Deal with any business you want, work with any budget you want and just achieve dreams you want. There are many people who are able to help you but you should stop and contemplate about – you need this help or not. In addition you have got a unique possibility to apply just now and to get a thing you need!

Small business grant program will not leave you with nothing if you work and you know what you want to achieve now. This kind of program is nice to struggle for your dream and to get ins you want. Small business is the best platform for your carrier or for mid business in the future. Set up in now to have got more money and contacts in the future! Here I want to mention – you have got every point and reason to apply for small business grant program just now.

Small business is easy – make sure start will give you a platform to build up own business. In the future you will be able to change it for family business or to set up own corporation. Small business grant is not tremendous thing – check us out! Hit the jackpot just now!

The times when governments have been flooding people with all sorts of grants are over. At least for some time. But that does not imply that one should forget the idea of getting small business grants.

Everything is possible with wise attitude; small business grants including.

Go to this blog for more helpful tips about grants, how to apply for grants, grant examples, ups and downs of the grants. This info will help you to get small business grants or any other grants in a more convenient way.

You should not hit the jackpot in case you want to be a millionaire – you can gather money with the help of your own business! Have you ever heard about small business grant program? This kind of program is a thing when will be given money and professionals who will help you to work with your business on the fast lane. Everyone wants his own business to be developed and I do not think you are an exception!

Be sure you can step out of the line – offer new and odd kind of business for small business grant program. Here I want to mention – you have to see that there is a difference between new and crazy. The latter will be in liking of no one and that is why you have to measure cool and awful kinds of business. I am sure here you can to draw a line under your decision and you can tell me – you want to deal with small business grant program or you would better neglect it at all. Make sure you can put your head into the lion`s mouth because there are no serious risks. Small business grant program is free and you have got every point not to be worried about something or to be sure you stand right way.

Small business grant program is supported by lots of states and programs. Make sure it has got firm foundation and you do not have to deal with it. Here are some strong tips why you have to deal with small business grant program.

1) You do not have to have got a lot of irons in the fire. Only small business grant will help you to pay your attention for one kind of business and it will help you to deal with the best ins.

2) Small business grant is easy to apply and you can do it just now – why not? It is easy to apply, but it is not so easy to collaborate. To cooperate with small business grant program you must be skilful and full of ideas about your business – it will do this kind of program.

3) Are you going to deal with something odd and new? Ways to set up in? May be you want to get a loan in the bank to set up your business? Stop your weak attempts to do something because now you have got heavy and strong baker – small business grant program.

It is your great possibility to deal with program to your liking and it is your way to work with online or real business easily! Get platform for your business for free and try to make sure in its firmness just now!

It is very reasonable that government, despite this recession is not leaving to assist small businesses. And small business grants can be a true helper today.

But, of course, you should understand that today the fight for small business grants as well as for other kinds of grants is harsher. This is logical – more businesses need them. So before you start your battle for the small business grants, please make sure to visit this blog for more helpful tips about grant industry.

I stand the same point, like lots of crowds – small business grant will do you! But if you do not think so – here and now you will get more ins and tips why you have to deal with small business grant program, you will be given more strong arguments how to deal with small business grant program and why you have to deal with it by all means – just now! Grant program will emphasise on things you need and you have to endure it – in the end you will be rewarded.

Make sure there are many groups and communities which are able to help you. But first of all you have to decide yourself – do you need this help or not? You can apply and work with small business grant program yourself, you can make sure in it just now. I want you to know – small business grant is easy and if you are skilled – you will be able to apply and to make your account approved.

Small business grant has got some rigid rules and you have to follow them. There are many people who are able to deal with small business grant program with no tips and rules, but I want to mention that they are out of this account. Make sure you can apply, but you can not go along unless you get rules and you follow them.

Make sure you have to deal with small business grant just now – because it is relevant nowadays. Be sure that lots of people have got aims and dreams just like you have got. Be sure you have got every reason to deal with small business grant program just now – you have got every way to get tips and to apply for what you want. Small business grant program is still waiting for you!

Small business grant is good possibility not for men only, but for every woman. You have to know that everyone can set up kind of business he or she wants with the help of small business grant program. In case you want to deal with small business grant program and you are craving for own business- here you go!

To apply for small business grant program you have to be skilled and you should know your kind of business from tip to toe. Just be self-assured and it will help you to go through things you want! Be sure small business will fit you and everyone who is an eager beaver and who is ready simply to struggle!

Get more about small business grant program to deal with the best help and support. If you need money, help or more specialists to hire –this kind of program will help you! Good luck!

The times when governments have been flooding people with all types of grants are over. At least for some time. But that does not imply that you must get rid of the idea of getting small business grants.

Everything is doable with nicely balanced attitude; small business grants including.

Read this blog for more practical tips about grants, how to apply for grants, grant samples, ups and downs of the grants. This info will help you to get small business grants or any other grants in a more convenient way.

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Schneider Electric – formerly known as Xantrex – says it will be fully compliant and ready to deliver inverters that meet the guidelines of Ontario’s new “Green Energy” strategy, the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program. Under that program, 50 percent of the goods and labor in a given installation must come from Ontario.

America’s FIRST Solar City

There are moments when history is made. When necessity, inspiration, creativity and determination come together to change the world as we know it. When individual and collective willpower embrace. Women suffragettes finally won the right to vote in 1920. Ghandi fought nonviolently for freedom, and won it, in India. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in 1955. In 2007, Berkeley, California became an instant leader in the renewable energy movement with the approval of a revolutionary clean energy financing program.

FIRST

Berkeley has a long history as a cradle of social activism, and while its game-changing solar play is relatively new, its effect is already being felt around California, the United States and the world. The story of Berkeley’s Financing Initiative for Renewable and Solar Technology (FIRST) begins in the mayor’s office. There, a staffer named Cisco DeVries had an idea. You might say an LED light bulb went on in his head. The city had already laid a foundation on which neighborhoods could come together to vote self-imposed taxes to pay for utility and telephone wires to be run underground. DeVries took that idea and ran with it, only with clean energy in mind.

Before long, a pilot program was in the works. This program allowed homeowners to avoid the high up-front costs of home solar power by borrowing cash from the city of Berkeley, and repaying it with interest through a voluntary property tax increase over 20 years. In this way, homeowners avoided immediate costs while the city gained revenue to pay for the financing and program administration. Moreover, the loan is tied to the property, not the individual, so the home can be sold without worrying about losing the value of the system before payback in energy savings is reached.

To say that Berkeley FIRST hasn’t changed the face and mood of the clean energy movement would be a gross miscalculation. A slew of other cities, including nearby Oakland, have adopted their own version of the program and the federal government is working on Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs directly spun from FIRST and designed to guide cities across the country through the process of adopting a Berkeley-esque financing scheme.

Applications for Berkeley’s pilot program were “sold out” in just nine minutes — easily as fast as any Led Zeppelin or Pearl Jam concert. Following the successes of, and lessons learned from, the Berkeley FIRST pilot, city officials are now working with the state and Alameda County to expand the program statewide (California FIRST), and expand it to include energy efficiency improvements much like the federal PACE programs.

Berkeley residents interested in solar power should make a point to stop by the interactive solar map the city set up. It contains a map of all 626 solar systems (including solar thermal) and 2.9 megawatts of solar power installed within city limits so far. You can also enter an address to find out the solar potential of your home, cost of a solar system on that home and energy savings you can expect as a result. Plug these numbers into Berkeley’s online calculator to learn how to finance the system, how much cash you’ll save and how long it will take for the system to pay for itself through those savings.

Climate Action Plan

Berkeley’s dynamic move toward energy independence is not limited to just one solar pilot program, however epic that program might be. Residents of Berkeley have never been keen on complacency, and the environmental ambitions of the city are arguably unrivaled among other large cities.

In November 2006, a whopping 81 percent of Berkeley voters said yes to a goal of reducing citywide greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.  In June 2009 Council adopted a Climate Action Plan, adopting the 2050 goal and an 2020 interim goal of a 33% reduction. Those goals will be achieved not only through solar and renewable energy, but also waste reduction, building initiatives and transportation, among other specific steps. Not to mention the collective will of residents to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Anyone who wants to know exactly how Berkeley plans to meet those goals or what’s already been done will be happy with the incredible amount of disclosure and community outreach being exercised by city departments and the citizenry. You can find just about everything you’ll want to know, especially if you live in Berkeley, through an interactive website that guides visitors through the city’s seven-tiered plan to make Berkeley as green as green can be… and then greener some more.

Resources: Berkeley FIRST, Berkeley Climate Action Plan, Berkeley Solar Map, PACE, & Berkeley Climate Action Community Forum

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Hardly a week goes by before I find myself listing off more cities and counties that have adopted the landmark municipal solar lending program piloted in Berkeley, California in 2008. Now dubbed the more universal moniker, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), this revolutionary program allows homeowners to pay for home solar power over the long-term through a voluntary increase on property taxes. And it’s invading cities faster than flies can eat a potato salad.

About 90 cities in California will launch a version of the program this summer. That’s in addition to Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego, which have already set the PACE wheels in motion in America’s most solar-powered state. Santa Fe County, New Mexico; San Antonio, Texas; and Boulder County, Colorado are signing up as well.

How Does it Work?

While Berkeley’s Financing Initiative for Renewable and Solar Technology (Berkeley FIRST) program is dedicated to solar power, the broader PACE programs offer payment plans for energy efficiency upgrades as well. The city or county decides the range for loans (in SF, they range from $5,000 to $50,000) and pays approved homeowners up-front for the cost of their renewable energy system or EE upgrade. Then, a voluntary property tax increase is paid off over the long-term, typically 20 years. This gets solar power and efficiency onto roofs and into homes immediately, but allows homeowners to avoid the high up-front costs that would otherwise prevent them from doing so.

The Berkeley program has come off as pure genius, with the entire world watching its progress. Expect a slew of additional cities or counties to adopt PACE programs. The process begins when state governments pass laws allowing municipalities to adopt their own version of PACE. So far, 16 states have passed these laws and 10 more have them in the works. To illustrate how effective PACE incentive programs are, note that Berkeley’s applications were “sold out” in just nine minutes when the program opened. And the Sonoma County, CA PACE program that is considered by many to be too expensive (with a 7% interest rate) still garnered some 1,200 applications in less than a year.

Via USA Today

Photo Credit: Rancho Solar

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