Electric vehicles + solar: an idea whose time has come

Electric vehicles + solar: an idea whose time has come

You’ve likely heard about the partnerships springing up between electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and solar (PV) system providers. Most recently, Honda and SolarCity announced a plan that allows Honda customers to install solar with a low upfront cost and see an...
Solar incentives start strong in 2013

Solar incentives start strong in 2013

Ringing in a new year generally means a busy time for our PowerClerk® Incentives customers, as it often coincides with the opening of new incentive funding. 2013 has been no exception. In January, Imperial Irrigation District (IID) in California, and Rocky Mountain...
Top 2013 trends part 2: the NEM debate

Top 2013 trends part 2: the NEM debate

Last week we identified the first of three big trends for the solar industry in 2013: soft cost reduction. This week, we look at the next big trend: a re-evaluation of net energy metering (NEM). While discussions about NEM aren’t new, they’ll be accelerating in 2013....
3 steps to reducing solar customer acquisition costs

3 steps to reducing solar customer acquisition costs

In anticipation of the soon-to-be released NREL report that benchmarks solar soft costs in 2010, plenty of media attention is being given to soft-cost reduction strategies. According to NREL’s data, customer acquisition and system design make up 11 percent of the cost...
20-million solar calculations served

20-million solar calculations served

This week, the engine that powers Clean Power Estimator® calculated its 20-millionth solar estimation (at least since we started counting). This marks a milestone for Clean Power Research and is a bellwether of industry growth. Since it launched in 1998, the rate of...