Category Archives: energy retrofitting

Free Solar Job Training for Veterans

Posted on December 6, 2013 | Leave a comment

Veterans looking for jobs in the local solar industry can get a boost on that career path through a program beginning locally next year, backed by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

This week, the board unanimously passed a resolution endorsing Empower America, a nonprofit based in Temecula that will provide two weeks of training for free to honorably discharged veterans, and then try to place them in the local solar industry. The program, currently operating in Riverside County, is scheduled to launch in San Diego in early 2014.

Mario Pabon, CEO of the nonprofit, said the program would work through local employment offices, military bases and other organizations to locate veterans for the two weeks of training. Each session would include 10 to 12 veterans, who will learn hands on how to place solar panels, so that they will be ready for the profession.

The program aims to help alleviate veteran unemployment, which has remained stubbornly high. While the overall unemployment rate has been on a downward trend, joblessness among veterans of the recent gulf wars was 10 percent in October, unchanged from October 2012.

“Veterans face unique barriers when trying to integrate back into civilian life, including high unemployment rates. We need to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to assist our heroes once they leave the military,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob said in a statement.

In Riverside County, where the program has been operating since August, Pabon said four employers have given authorization for more than 160 jobs. He said the entry level wages generally start at $14 to $16 per hour, but he said there is opportunity for advancement. He said the organization recently placed a warehouse manager, who earns $50,000 per year.

“Renewable energy solar is by far out in front and has a tremendous amount of continuing opportunity,” said Pabon, whose son is a Marine deployed to Korea. “A lot of these owners are saying, ‘look, we need the leaders that can run the crews and we envision the veterans that are coming in are naturally taught to do that.’ And so we see that as a phenomenal fit.”

Locations for the training have not yet been determined. Veterans interested in the program can call Empower America at (951) 296-0208, or visit the organization’s website, www.weempoweramerica.org.

California – Residential Solar Rebates Extended

Posted on October 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

San Diego households adding rooftop solar panels will be eligible for an additional $5 million in rebates.

State utility regulators approved the rebate extension on Wednesday, at the request of the California Center for Sustainable Energy, which administers the incentive program for customers of San Diego Gas & Electric. The decision shifts some money away from incentives for nonresidential solar projects.

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Initiated in 2007, the solar rebate program for customers of California’s investor-owned utilities is running far ahead of its 10 year schedule for adding nearly 2 gigawatts of generation capacity. Allocations for residential solar rebates in San Diego were exhausted in January due to the success of the program.

The revised allocations will open some $5 million to residential solar projects that provide about 25 megawatts of new generation capacity, the energy center said in a statement. Nonresidential projects will have about $13 million to fund approximately 25 megawatts of capacity.

The California Center for Sustainable Energy said it expects to begin taking new applications for residential solar rebates next week.

Rebates under the California Solar Initiative are funded by customers of the state’s four investor-owned utilities. Separate rebates for thermal-solar hot water heaters are still available.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Coming Soon to IKEA: Solar Panels

Posted on October 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

IKEA is perhaps best known for flogging flat-packs of unpronounceable but affordable furniture and modestly-priced meatballs, but the Swedish-owned retailer will soon be adding a surprising new item to its UK stores: solar panels. At $9,200 for a pack of 18 panels, the product will be pricier than most IKEA items, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal report. But the company says it’s still cheaper than the prices their competitors charge, and promises buyers they’ll make their investment back in about seven years thanks to lower bills and government incentives, the Journal reports.

Will solar add value to your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisers.com they are forerunners in green and energy-efficient home appraisals.

One IKEA case study of a semi-detached house with a south-facing roof in the UK estimates the panels would generate about $1,200 a year for the owners through savings and subsidies, reports Reuters. “You don’t have to care about the environment and climate change, you can just care about the finances,” IKEA’s sustainability chief tells the Journal. And unlike the company’s bookshelves and desks, buyers won’t have to tackle the solar panels with an Allen key themselves—installation and maintenance is part of the package.