Austin Energy Agrees to Purchase Electricity from First Solar's Planned Pecos

Solar energy also decreases harmful forms of air pollution that affect public health, especially in urban areas and communities near fossil fuel facilities.

FPL CEO Eric Silagy has said that large-scale utility solar projects are more efficient than rooftop solar projects because each home requires a custom build and setup. In California, for instance, the largest electric utilities are lobbying to make distributed solar much less economically attractive.

On the upside, the Solar Energy Industries Association said the PSC's draft rule allows for leasing of solar equipment to retail producers, "opening the opportunity for participation in net metering to a broader range of utility customers".

This rapid growth of rooftop solar, however, has led many electric utilities to try to apply the brakes. Customers with solar panels will now also have to pay a minimum monthly bill to help cover the costs of servicing their more complex inter-connections.

The world leader in roof-top solar for most of this century has been Germany.

The goal is get more people using energy during off-peak hours when demand is low.

The researchers from the Research and Development Unit, Nigeria Re and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, agreed that the erratic supply of power by Power Holding Company of Nigeria has not only forced the urban dwellers that are presumed to have more access to the electricity than their rural counterpart to the similar fate of the rural dwellers.

As in Hawaii, other jurisdictions with high penetration of roof-top solar utilities are requesting and being granted the right to charge customers with solar planels a fixed monthly fee.

To convert solar power to electricity, the solar farm will be wired into the city's power grid via an inverter which converts DC power into AC power, called a solar photovoltaic system. In September the Spanish government won a court case that was an attempt to force restoration of these subsidies.

Experts are of the opinion that the off-grid solar solution maybe expensive at the beginning but looking at long term benefits and its friendliness with the environment, its a worthy initiative that should be spread around. It could alter the industry so drastically that San Diego County residents would no longer find solar a worthy investment.

Believe it or not I am actually a big believer in solar power. At latitudes below 35 degrees N/S I think it is absolutely the best renewable source available. You "deposit" unused energy (kilowatt-hours) generated by your system during the day onto the electric grid - that is, during those times when your solar panels generate more power than your home consumes. When customers go solar, utilities spend less. A recent example of how effective this approach can be is the Kauai Island Utility Co-op's drive to install 30 MW of utility-scale PV solar by the end of 2015 a few of which will have battery backup.

After those aspects of home electricity consumption are addressed, the next best thing you can do to reduce your electricity bill is by investing in renewable energy, which can put money back in your pocket, month after month, for the next couple of decades (at least). Can you imagine the positive energy that would spread from the advocates throughout the rest of the industry?

While a massive grid defection is possible as a result of the energy storage revolution; it's also possible most installing battery systems will still keep a mains grid connection as a backup - assuming staying connected is affordable. While the increasing utility pushback should not have a huge impact on distributed solar companies in the long-term, the near-term impact is much more uncertain. "I'm a firm believer in solar, wind, hydro ... whatever saved us oil, I'm a firm believer in", said Mitchell Slovik, Massachusetts resident.