Making the switch to solar has always been a great opportunity for those looking for a reliable source of renewable energy and ways to save on their energy bill.

While using the energy you create from your solar photovoltaic (PV) system can help decrease the amount of energy you pull from the grid, net metering can also help increase your savings by receiving a credit for the excess energy you produce from your utility company.

Now that your solar panels are producing clean, renewable energy, there are a few items on your monthly utility bill that you may want to pay attention to depending on what state and local programs apply to your solar installation.

As a consumer, making informed decisions on how to minimize your energy costs is important to you, and understanding how you’re charged by your utility is a crucial step in getting the most out of your dollar.

Once a month, your utility company sends an invoice requesting a specified amount for the energy and services you’ve used. Many gloss over the information provided in the bill, but even if you were to comb through it diligently, would you be able to fully understand what’s there? There are plenty of benefits to taking a closer look at how you’re being charged for the energy you use, and some of those benefits might lead to savings.

Since 2012, the City of Minneapolis aims to create a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future in part through the Green Cost Share program.

This program offers matching funds for commercial, industrial, multi-family, and single-family properties undertaking a variety of innovative pollution reduction projects, including the installation of solar power. For qualifying installations, this Minneapolis solar incentive will pay a credit based on the first year estimated kilowatt hour (kWh) production.

The fastest-growing job market in America

Solar jobs have been on a rapid rise over the last decade in the United States, with an increase of over 167 percent in that time period. Between 2018-2019, the solar workforce added more than 5,600 jobs nationwide, bringing the national total to just under 250,000 solar workers in America. In the past five years, solar employment has risen five times faster than overall job growth in the U.S. economy.

With nearly 250,000 jobs in the U.S., solar energy is one of the fastest-growing job sectors in the country, offering a variety of positions with a wide range of compensation and benefits.

Solar power is a great investment for grocery stores to get a better handle on their electricity cost and business expenses predictability. There are financing options available to help pay for solar power arrays, in addition to a variety of federal, state, and local incentives meant to make solar more affordable to a wide number of businesses. There’s also net metering that allows solar arrays to sell power back to the electric grid for credit towards future energy needs.

After the Solar Builder readers cast their votes to choose our annual Project of the Year winners, Solar Builder’s editor picked his favorites among the Project of the Year field of nominees in a variety of categories from the Most Resilient to the Coolest Carport. One of the All Energy Solar install projects was a winner in the 2020 Solar Builder Editor’s Choice Awards!

We’ve known that the U.S. solar industry has been one of America’s premier job-creating machines. Last year alone, the sector added 5,600 jobs, bringing the total number of Americans working in solar to roughly 250,000. But what does the solar industry workforce look like?