Long Beach and Panel Builder Team Up to Push Solar Energy.The city of Long Beach and a Camarillo solar panel maker have entered into an agreement believed to be the first of its kind in the area to entice 10 percent of the city's homeowners and businesses to begin using solar power within two years. Long Beach Energy will spend up to $25,000 over the next year to advertise Siemens Solar Industries' solar panels while the company trains city planners, inspectors and private contractors to install and inspect solar panels. As an incentive, new solar power users qualify for rebates from the California Energy Commission The California Energy Commission is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission has responsibility for activities that include forecasting future energy needs, promoting energy efficiency through s buy-down program, which offers $4,500 per kilowatt kilowatt: see watt. of solar capacity or 50 percent of installation costs -- whichever is less. "With electricity rates going up, it makes sense economically, from an environmental standpoint The Standpoint is a newspaper published in the British Virgin Islands. It was originally published under the name Pennysaver, largely as a shopping-coupon promotional newspaper, but since emerged as one of the most influential sources of journalism in the and from a reliability standpoint' said Christopher Garner, director of Long Beach Energy, the city's municipal gas utility, and manager of the solar program. "The city of Long Beach has one of the highest numbers of sunny days each year as any city in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . So we're a perfect fit for this." Over the next year, his agency will place Siemens-produced ads on billboards, in local newspapers and magazines, as stuffers in the natural gas and water bills, and on an electronic message board visible from the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. (405) Freeway. With an average home requiring four kilowatts of capacity, purchase and installation of solar panels initially costing $44,000 would be reduced to $26,000 with the rebate rebate, partial refund of the total price paid for goods or services. In the United States, rebates were historically given by railroads to favored shippers as a return on transportation charges. . But program advocates conceded con·cede v. con·ced·ed, con·ced·ing, con·cedes v.tr. 1. To acknowledge, often reluctantly, as being true, just, or proper; admit. See Synonyms at acknowledge. 2. that many businesses taking part in the program still would need a mixture of solar and conventional power. Most local businesses would require 30 to 50 kilowatts of solar capacity, depending on the building size and whether the operation is office, retail or industrial. Yet with a single kilowatt taking four 30-square-foot solar panels, rooftop space would be limited. "The roof collection area is just simply not large enough," said David Wallerstein, Siemens' western regional manager. "If you have a five-story building, you still only have the roof space available of a one-story building but five times the consumption." For more than 100 years, Long Beach's 175,000 homeowners and landlords have relied on Edison for its power generation. Since January, however, conventionally generated power prices have skyrocketed - close to 50 percent for homes and, in some cases, more than doubled for businesses. Now, for the first time, solar power is seen as not only a more environmentally friendly Environmentally friendly, also referred to as nature friendly, is a term used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment.[1] option, but potentially a moneysaver as well. |
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