Many still view residential solar systems as a long-term investment, one that requires coming up with a large amount of cash at the outset. Statistics prove otherwise. In California, over 50 percent of the photovoltaic (PV) systems installed upon rooftops throughout the state in the last year were not purchased at all, but leased. (more…)

From the water wheels that powered riverside mills for centuries, to modern hydroelectric power plants that provide electricity to millions, river currents have long been used to generate energy. Although tide mills have been used in the past, harnessing the power of the sea’s tidal flows to produce electricity is a more recent innovation. Ideas for tidal energy to generate electricity gained traction during the last century, but few got further than the drawing board. (more…)

The results of the study conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released earlier this year illustrates how far the solar industry has matured. In just the last dozen years, home solar costs have fallen by 43 percent. The figure is even more striking when you consider that the trend is accelerating, with a 17% reduction in price from 2009 to 2010, and an 11% reduction in the first half of this year alone. (more…)