energy-independence

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.

Solar is a major financial investment—but there are ways to pare down costs. One major strategy is to check out what the public sector has to offer.

While many potential solar-energy users have dreams of being “off the grid,” the fact is that the majority of solar setups are actually partnerships between the sun and your electrical utility.

Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), a pro-solar group that, unlike most such organizations, is made up of political conservatives, honored Baker, the popular Republican governor of a deep-blue state, as one of its 2019 Clean Energy Champions: Republican politicians who take environmental challenges seriously and consider clean energy to be in the national interest.

In 2009, Andy Johnson, Craig Mosher, and some friends began getting together at environmentally-conscious Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, to talk about sustainability. “The general concern was climate change,” Mosher told Karen Uhlenhuth of Energy News Network, “but the specific concern was energy, and what we could do to reduce energy use and to shift to renewables.”

It’s not like Adam Browning was unaware of environmental and energy issues in 2001, when he had his awakening about the potential of solar energy. After graduating from college, he’d worked in the Peace Corps, then joined the Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked on enforcing pollution regulations in San Francisco—essentially trying to monitor and regulate how much smoke was coming out of smokestacks.

You’re pro-solar. Maybe you have an array on the roof of your home, and you’ve been seeing the benefits of this great source of renewable energy.

Home solar typically refers to privately owned and stationed solar panels on your rooftop or hosted on your property. Community solar gardens (CSGs) are a way to “rent” available solar as a member of a community.

In recent years the United States has become one of the largest energy producing nations, further cementing the ideology of an energy independent country far from the control of external entities primed with massive reserves. This feat has been met with ample amounts of applause and scrutiny from energy experts ranging in a variety of disciplines.

If you’re considering purchasing your own solar panel system, 2019 is your year to do so! With the 30% federal tax credit set to decrease and eventually expire in the coming years, moving quickly is key if you’re looking to cash in on the savings. Here’s a quick review of the different solar panel systems available to you right now.