It was wonderful to work with Pastor Caleb, Jan Peters, and the rest of the congregation at St. Andrew’s to truly help them put into practice the environmental stewardship they preach. Their 9.2 kW system will generate clean, renewable energy and reduce their dependence on the energy coming in from the grid, which is mostly generated using fossil fuels.

Solar Forward was happy to be a part of St. Andrew’s Solar Sunday event to educate attendees about the ins and outs of generating clean energy. If you’re a member of a church interested in going solar, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 310-433-3770. Utility rebates are still available for tax exempt customers. Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through the process from start to finish.

Check out the photos below to see highlights from the day:

The security of our national electrical grid has always been a concern. Last year, snipers attacked a power substation in Northern California. Data and control lines were cut and over one hundred well placed bullets knocked more than fifteen transformers off line.

Aside from beefing up security at power plants and substations, an effective way to ensure our homes and businesses can keep running is by decentralizing the grid, i.e. installing solar panels so every home and business owner can have their own power plant right on their roof. Better yet, installing a battery backup system ensures you’ll still have power even if the grid does go down.

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.

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.

Calling on LA to go solar

In a city blessed with year round sunshine and plenty of roof space to absorb it, why is only 1% of LA’s electricity being generated by solar? Whatever the excuses may be, we’ve joined a diverse coalition that will not wait around for change; we’re demanding an increase now.

On Tuesday April 30th, Solar Forward stood among a broad coalition of elected officials, leading businesses, public health professionals, environmental groups and veterans to push for rooftop solar to provide 20% of LA’s energy needs by 2020.

As LADWP looks to replace a large portion of its power supply, we have to make sure to push them in the right direction. Polluting fossil fuels need to be a thing of the past.

Both mayoral candidates have endorsed the 20% by 2020 goal, so after you vote on May 21st, make sure you hold the next mayor to it!

Coalition members calling for 20% by 2020

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.

Anyone who has ever used a gas generator knows three things: they are loud, run out of fuel and smell bad.  Often they don’t work when you need them most!

Solar Forward was generating 1,800 Watts all day with this portable and clean SunPower solar system.  Even without sunlight, our Solar Forward Roller will store two kilowatt-hours of energy—enough to watch a flat screen TV for 5 hours!

Shop Local… for Energy

You have heard the term “buy local”, but we’re not talking about vegetables this time.Like locally grown carrots, solar energy produced by your neighbor is far more efficient when you cut out the economic and environmental costs of transportation.

More than 10% of the electricity generated at a centralized power plant is lost by the time it reaches your home.This means you are being billed for 10% more energy than you are actually consuming.Solar energy fed into the local grid not only addresses the issue of wasted energy due to transport, but also provides residents with an incentive to go solar when they receive payment for this market good through a program called Net Energy Metering (NEM).

Sounds like a win-win.Here’s the problem – utility companies don’t want to pay the fair market value of energy to those creating it on top of their roofs.Currently, producers of dirty energy receive greater compensation than those individuals creating solar power at home.The price paid for electricity should be consistent, regardless of how or by whom it was generated.When a home equipped with solar pa

nels yields more energy than it consumes, these kilowatts are pushed back into the grid and distributed locally.However, the extra 10% saved thanks to decentralized distribution is not factored into NEM pricing.Meanwhile, utilities make out like bandits off the free solar energy returned to the grid by those who have invested personal dollars in sun power.

NEM benefits everyone – customers, utility companies, and the environment.We should all be championing the efficient production of electricity by fairly rewarding those who create it locally.What can be done?An independent review determining the hidden value of local power generation is an important first step.Let your state representatives know free market energy rate start at home!