Can Solar Energy Provide Energy For My Family?

by sridgway
Can Solar Energy Provide Energy For My Family?

Alternative energy solutions are energy solutions.More and more Americans are finding out that solar energy is not only available, it is accessible too. There are a variety of financial incentives to choose from There are tax credits, as well as relatively inexpensive photovoltaic (solar) systems available. I wouldn't call them cheap, but they are more accessible than previously.Not only that, but there are a variety of rebates you can use to make the system more affordable and attractive than before. This also makes your return on investment come much earlier.One of the problems with buying a photovoltaic systems was knowing the exact parts of the county where a particular system would be best and exactly what the savings would be.That problem is finally being addressed. And being addressed in a similar fashion to that done by Google with Google Maps.You can now obtain a New York City solar map and it will be similar to San Francisco and Boston but there are differences, and now it takes on a different role. "The key difference in this map versus the other is that we are partnered with Con Edison (the local utility company) on the backend of the map." This from Tria Case of City University of New York, (CUNY). What makes this tool unique is that the city planners can get with Con Edison and utilize it to plan. For example they can use it to determine where best to integrate solar onto the grid. This would be invaluable when trying to plan out new substations in the city.That makes it sound a little too easy and it is not that. But when you sift through all of that information, becoming informed can be pretty difficult. So instead, city sustainability officials are simplifying the process by rolling out solar maps. These are online, interactive, kind of like Google Maps for solar."This is a way to make it much more tangible for the public," again by Tria Case. She is the University Sustainability Directer of the University. She states: "The more we can streamline the process, the greater the likelihood we will see an increase in solar in the city."San Francisco started this trend in 2007, and Boston was a year later. Now New York is the latest to catch on and run with it. Portland, Oregon, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Denver are running catch up to get on board.These tools provide data that you can use such as cost, solar potential, and energy savings. Since then, PV installations have gone up.The United States Department of Energy has a program called the "Solar America Cities." This department is financing the map program. There is no question that it has simplified the process of researching solar. You simply go into the program and enter the physical address.

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