A state bill is working its way through the Legislature that would charge customers (not just solar customers) with a $10/month fee to make up for revenue losses utility companies have experienced due to the rising popularity of solar panels.

We at Solar Forward think this another blunder by the utility industry.  Solar saves everyone money and reduces the need for power plants and transmission lines.   Solar energy is generated where it is consumed, saving 10% on normal loss in wires and transformers.

This fee would apply to customers within Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric territories.

Consumer groups produced the video below, prompting Southern California Edison to issue a cease and desist letter.

Now customers are making their voices heard by rallying outside Edison’s offices in Rosemead and expressing their outrage at utility companies creating even more roadblocks for clean, renewable energy.

At Solar Forward, we will do everything in our power to make sure the bill does not become law so California residents can continue to choose solar energy for their homes and businesses.

Nuclear power is toxic forever, a national security risk, and inefficient.  As with any centralized power source, more than 10% of the power produced is lost in the transmission lines before it gets to our homes.

Residential solar power plant

Solar on your roof is safe, clean, nontoxic, and decentralized.  The power you produce on your home is consumed on site or next door.  There is no transmission loss.  There is no risk to the Earth and no risk of terrorism or nuclear meltdown.  Solar power maintenance is simple, without risk of radiation, cancer or contaminating thousands of square miles.

Beware the atom, embrace the sun!

Workers repairing power lines

With more energy breakdowns in our future, now is the time to consider a battery backup system or a new SMA inverter with an emergency backup circuit.  Solar Forward is the most experienced installer of reliable grid interactive power systems in Southern California.

The Southwest is the hottest on a planet that is measurably hotter.  We are extracting an endless supply of carbon from the ground and releasing it into the atmosphere with some clear results.

How do we live with ourselves and our planet as we change our already dynamic eco system?  The key is to not add heat to our environment.  Solar energy cools the planet.  Be part of the solution.  Put out the fire.  Go Solar.

Doce Fire – Photo Credit: Rhonday Snyder

SMA inverter with emergency back up power.

Yesterday we installed a state of the art SMA TL inverter with Emergency Backup power!

This allows for appliances to be used even when the power is out.

All you have to do is flip the switch below the inverter during a power outage and you’re free to use your refrigerator, coffee maker, cell phone charger or any other item in the house up to 1880 watts!

Check out our satisfied customer plugging in an appliance using solar power. As long as the sun is shining during a power blackout, you have power!

Client plugging in to power from her solar array.

Rooftop solar power plant

This news comes at a particularly opportune time as the San Onofre nuclear power plant, once Southern California’s largest electric generating station, is shutting down due to safety concerns. The amount of solar power generated last Friday was just about on par with the megawatt output of the soon to be decommissioned power plant.

At Solar Forward, we think last Friday is just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more rooftops across California waiting to absorb the power of the sun and make California’s the cleanest grid in the nation.

Andrew and Mark at Antelope Valley

Deserts may look barren to the untrained eye, yet as California’s Antelope Valley proves, they’re a fertile breeding ground for solar.

Last Friday, Mark and Andrew took a trip out to what will be the world’s largest solar power plant. Known as the Antelope Valley Solar Projects, the development consists of two solar installations side by side in Kern and Los Angeles counties.

The Antelope Valley Solar Projects are creating 650 jobs and injecting more than $500 million into the regional economy

Through a partnership with Sunpower and MidAmerican Solar, construction on the 579 megawatt project is anticipated to be done by 2015. Not only will this project provide enough clean, renewable energy to power 400,000 homes, but jobs are already being created for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the project.

The panels used for the project exhibit the quality and cutting edge technology you’ve come to expect from SunPower. SunPower panels, which already provide the most energy in the least amount of space, will be mounted on Sunpower T0 Trackers, allowing the panels to track the sun throughout the day, resulting in a 25% increase in energy capture.

Check out more photos below from the kickoff celebration that took place Friday April 26th.

Going solar together

When it comes to our energy future, we need to change the debate. Clean power is readily accessible but is there the political will to make it a priority? Or will old school oil barons continue to secure fossil fuels now in order to have them in the future?

A recent New York Times article  showed countries finding success while transitioning almost entirely to renewables. In 2011, the U.S. got 12.3% of its electricity from renewable sources, while our Canadian neighbors met 63.4% of their energy needs through renewables.

Countries in Europe have invested heavily in transitioning to renewables.

The U.S. has a great advantage: plenty of land to set up wind and solar projects.  The costs of wind and solar are decreasing as is the price of natural gas.  But the real cost of natural gas is not currently realized since fracking is ruing groundwater and the resulting CO2 produced is burned.

California has immense solar energy potential yet to be tapped. Let’s tap into this potential together. If you refer a friend, family member or co-worker to go solar with Solar Forward, both you and your friend can earn $200 each when you refer through our SunPower referral page.

How does the China and the United States get along when it comes to green energy and clean air policies? Not well.

Reports from the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Durban South Africa indicated that the biggest polluters acted like children without adult supervision. One attendee said, “China and the United States are hijacking the conference with game a of ping pong politics…frustrating the rest of the world.”

China and the United States are the two largest producers of green house gases. China does so with sheer numbers in population and the United States with its unmatched appetite for energy consumption. China is rapidly increasing its annual output of carbon dioxide while the US and the European Union have actually reduced emissions.

The US wants China to be bound by the same clean air standards as the rest of the world, but China contends, that due to it’s millions of poor people and rapid economic growth, it is an unfair standard.

And then there is the solar trade issue. Are the Chinese are dumping solar panels on the US market? Seven US solar panel manufactures appealed to the United States International Trade Commission, who agreed the Chinese are selling solar panels far below market value. It is quite clear that the Chinese government is supporting the solar industry in China and it is reported that the US could implement tariffs on Solar Panel imports as early as January 2012.

So here we are. Two very different countries, on the same planet, with the same problems, but stuck in a game of international politics.

China has the point of view they need freedom to pollute more, in order to compete with the rest of the world. A small part of that pollution is caused by the production of solar panels that are being exported at a rapid rate. Solar panels, when installed, would help eliminate green house gases.

Recent atmospheric studies show China and the US are totally intertwined. Pollution and dust from China travels over the Pacific Ocean, directly affecting precipitation levels and air pollution in the US. We are learning the Earth is a small island that we all share.

Solar panels from China travel by boat and the pollution travels by air. The real cost of sub market pricing of Chinese solar panels is far higher than just crushing the American solar industry. Industries can recover in a few years; the long-term impact of pollution is unknown.

If China installed all the solar panels they manufactured they would get closer to the goals of the UN Climate Change Conference. This would let the US fend for itself and increase production of solar panels domestically eliminating the need for tariffs. Local problems would be addressed on a local level. Pollution floating over the Pacific to the US would be reduced since China would burn less coal.

What have we learned from the recent Climate Change Conference? Environmentalists are not politicians and neither are economists. Before matters get worse, these two mega economies need to find a way to play nice on this warming sphere floating in space.

The most responsible action is to work on a local level to curb the consumption of energy that produces green house gasses and install as much renewable energy as possible.

It is our universal responsibility to install a solar panel made in America, China or wherever – without disrupting economies and creating more pollution in the process. It needs to be logistically and economically sound to install a quality solar system, designed to last decades, right now – on a local level.