Solar Electricity Will Soon Become Cheap Enough to Take Over US Energy

The Ivanpah Solar Thermal Facility.. just a short drive from Las Vegas!

After years of struggling as the "too-expensive-to-be-practical" renewable energy source, solar power is finally becoming cheap enough to actually matter in the United States. A new report from Deutsche Bank predicts that solar-generated electricity will soon become a true alternative to natural gas, oil, coal, and other conventional fossil fuel sources in many places throughout the US.

And it will happen incredibly soon... 2016 according to the DB analysts!

Even if the government reduces tax credits (subsidies used to motivate people to install solar panels), solar energy will still be price competitive in more than half the country. This is due to vast improvements in solar technology, more affordable and easy-to-get financing, and the "mainstreaming" of the once exotic energy source.

We say: We live in Las Vegas, one of the world's sunniest cities. The sooner we can get "free" electricity to run the air conditioner and charge our Tesla, the better!!

Learn some mo': While You Were Getting Worked Up Over Oil Prices, This Just Happened to Solar

Photo source: flickr

Ford Shows Off a New Solar-Powered Electric Car

If there's one thing that could solve A LOT of the world's problems, it's a car that doesn't need any any type of fossil fuel to run. Thanks to new research from Ford and Georgia Tech, we are much closer to making a completely solar-powered automobile a reality.

Check out this video:

Solar Panels Coming to an IKEA Near You

Swedish furniture maker IKEA has decided to begin selling home solar panels as part of a new strategy to bring low-cost renewable energy to the mainstream market. The first store to sell the panels is located in Southampton, England and the company has plans to market them throughout the UK in the next few months.

The IKEA solar energy package will be a standard 3.36 kilowatt system and will cost about $9000. IT will include in-store consultation, design service, installation, regular maintenance, and an energy monitoring service. The company says a typical British home owner can expect to pay off the investment within about 7 years.

According to IKEA Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Howard:

"In the past few years the prices on solar panels have dropped, so it's a really good price now... It's the right time to go for the consumers... If you are going to be in your house that long, your energy will be free after seven years."

We say: Fantastic! Now we just need an IKEA store here in Southern Nevada... aka the sunniest place on earth!

Learn some mo': IKEA Starts Selling Solar Panels in UK

Photo by: rpeschetz

Energy Stocks Are Hot

Want to make money from soaring oil prices? Good idea... in fact, lots of people are searching for ways to do exactly that! "Energy stocks" has become one of the biggest buzz searches online in recent days as people look for ways to profit from and/or offset the costs associated with skyrocketing gasoline prices.

Alternative-energy stocks are among the hottest topics in the investment world right now. That's because people assume that we'll soon have to begin relying much more on things like solar and wind power. These alternative power sources are much cleaner than oil, much safer than nuclear (as the Japan crisis has clearly shown), and -- especially in the case of solar -- expected to eventually be cheaper than oil-based energy production.

Spikes in oil and energy prices are painful but they usually lead to some good things, such as huge jumps in innovation, technology, and investments in alternative fuels and energy sources. Many investment experts feel that it's a great idea to put some of your money into alternative energy stocks. But you can also profit from "traditional" energy stocks. Oil and gas isn't going anywhere soon and there's lots of money to be made from both large and small petroleum-related companies!

So the bottom line is: both alternative and traditional energy stocks are a good investment now and in the future!

Learn some mo': Oil prices may have you thinking of alternative energy stocks

Google Will Invest Millions in New Solar Energy Project

Search engine company Google will invest nearly $170 million in a huge new solar energy plant in the Mojave Desert, according to a new statement. The money will go to BrightSource Energy and its "Ivanpah" solar electric generating system, which will use solar thermal power to create cheap, clean, and reliable electricity.

The new project will use technology based around "power towers," which involve aiming sunlight at receivers on the tops of large towers using special heliostat mirrors. The receivers heat water to produce steam, which turns turbines and generates the electricity. So basically it will direct huge amounts of focused solar energy onto very small areas, which will produce electricity very efficiently.

The Ivanpah project the will be the largest solar energy project of its kind in the world and should be completed by 2013. It represents a major increase in Google "green energy" investment profile, which has been growing since the company was granted status as a public utility last year.

Google got into the cheap, environmentally-friendly energy game in order to power its own humongous dater centers. But now it appears that the tech giant has much bigger plans and may one day become a major player in the clean energy industry.

We say: This is GREAT! Solar energy is undoubtedly part of the overall solution for weaning ourselves off of dirty oil, gas, and coal energy and we hope more companies take similar steps (especially here in Las Vegas!).

Learn some mo': Google Invests in World’s Largest Solar Power Tower Plant

Solar Lab to Be Built in Southern Nevada

Part of the Nevada Test Site -- once used to test the world's first nuclear weapons -- will be used to help make the United States a leader in solar power. 25 square miles of the land will host a real-world laboratory that will be used to research emerging concentrating solar technology.

Nevada politicians (including Harry Reid), solar companies, and renewable energy experts believe that the new testing area will give the US a huge boost in solar technology -- especially in concentrating solar thermal power.

State leaders hope that the solar "lab" will also help bring new jobs to the Las Vegas and Southern Nevada areas. He said:

"It's hard to imagine a better place to capture the heat from the sun than right here."

Learn some mo': New solar test zone brightens the future of Las Vegas

Solar-Powered Plane Completes 24-Hour Trip

A solar-powered airplane completed the first ever 24-hour non-stop flight today, confirming that it is possible to gather enough energy from the sun during the daytime to remain flying at night. Experts believe that the plane and others like it could possibly stay in the air indefinitely by charging its batteries with built-in solar panels.

The "Solar Impulse" is a very large aircraft with a 207-foot wingspan. It's the product of 7 years of planning and engineering by a group of scientists based in Switzerland. Their next goal is to circle the globe using nothing but sun-powered electricity.

Learn some mo': Solar plane completes historic 24-hour flight

Big Solar Energy Investment Coming from US Stimulus Program

President Obama has announced that the US will provide nearly $2 billion in loan guarantees to two large solar companies -- Abengoa Solar and Abound Solar -- in a bid to boost clean energy development and, hopefully, create thousands of new jobs. He said that he hopes the investment will help the United States create a bigger "clean energy economy" and lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of solar energy-based jobs in the near future.

According to the President:

"We're going to keep competing aggressively to make sure the jobs and industries of the future are taking root right here in America."

The $1.85 billion in loan money will come out of the $862 billion economic stimulus package already in place. Experts believe that the announcement is a reaction to the recent bad news showing that private industry is not creating nearly as many new jobs as expected and that the US economy continues to falter greatly.

Learn some mo': Solar power funding will create jobs, Obama says

Concentrating Solar Power Plant Opens in California Desert

A new type of concentrating solar power plant that uses less water has opened in a small town in the Mojave desert. The High Gain Solar (HGS) 1000 system plant will provide about 85% of the electricity needs in the town of Nipton, according to plant engineers.

Many experts believe that small-scale plants like this are the future of solar energy in the southwestern United States. They use concentrating solar photovoltaic technology, or "CPV", which is ideal for places with plenty of sun but little water, such as Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona.

The huge solar arrays being built get more attention, but many people think that small-scale solar and distributed generation networks offer far more benefits in the short and long run. In the Las Vegas/Southern Nevada area especially, small-scale solar is really catching on. As energy costs rise, individual families and companies are more and more interested in generating their own electricity and even selling excess power back to the grid.

Learn some mo': Remote California town blazes trail with solar plant that saves water

US Solar Company Will Build Plants in China

Looks the US is finally going to sell something to China! California solar energy company eSolar Inc. has announced that it will help build several solar thermal power plants in China, a major polluter that wants to decrease its reliance on dirty energy sources (mainly coal, gas, and oil). The power farms will cost about $5 billion dollars and will be able to produce about 2000 megawatts of energy when completed, not an insignificant amount of juice.

This is a good step forward, both for international trade and the world's climate!

Learn some mo': ESolar lands 2,000-megawatt deal in China

Tags: solar thermals