Renewable Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is Extended Two Years

BySustainMe

  Good news, as of January 2021 the ITC has been extended at 26% for 2021 and 2022. See Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) discussion on the investment tax credit (ITC) here: Solar ITC Rate Per Year.  This means that the calculator we developed for residential and for business solar investments will still be accurate for the next two years. (See our Solar Profit Calculator page.) Woo Hoo! Happy Days!:-) During that time Biden administration should…

Sustainability and the Future of Self-Driving Cars and EVs

BySustainMe

IntellZine just wrote an article on how to Invest in the Future of Self-Driving Cars and EVs (https://www.intellzine.com/2020/12/invest-in-future-of-self-driving-cars.html). What’s not really covered is the Sustainability of EVs, self-driving cars etc. Internal combustion engines predominantly use fossil fuels but they can use renewable ethanol or biodiesel. Electric cars have the most promise because it is much easier to produce electricity from renewable sources like hydro, wind and solar. Plus, wind and solar have become the best…

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On the VERGE of Sustainability

BySustainMe

 VERGE 20 is on this week (starting October 26 2020). GreenBiz sponsor and coordinate this massive event. Anybody and any company that’s got anything to do with sustainability is here. Well, not exactly here since it is virtual this year… But you get the idea. Opening session was a wonderful start of the week. Even the singing was impressive. Really!  I said, “Oh, NO!”, when Shana Rappaport started in with a variation of Girl on Fire (Alycia Keyes). Hard…

Solar Prices Dropped off a Cliff and Into the Ocean

BySustainMe

Here’s a great article in Clean Technica by  Zachary Shahan on the falling prices of solar (PV). The cost per watt is the key measure to follow. Basically a rule of thumb is that $3 per Watt installed should be profitable, before any tax credit considerations. In 2006 the cost was $3.50 per watt for the panels. Now prices have dropped below $0.50 and would be lower if there wasn’t a trade tiff going on with China.  Even…

Mysteries of Methane Leak in Florida and Not-So-Clean Fossil Fuels

BySustainMe

There’s a BIG NatGas leak (Methane) in Florida. The source of which is not being owned up to. There’s no oil/gas drilling in the area. And, until about a year ago, most such leaks might go totally unnoticed. Read the Bloomberg article No One is Owning Up to Releasing Cloud of Methane in Florida. Oil Flaring at Night in North America (Bakken) First Methane. The largest component of natural gas (NatGas) is methane (EIA). Various…

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Solar Investment is Crazy Profitable for Businesses and Good for Homeowners

BySustainMe

[Update. The Inflation Reduction Act 2022 has raised and extended the 30% investment tax credit to qualified investments. There are many limitations and additions. See our Blog post here. This makes all the financial discussions below much more profitable. Also, higher inflation and higher power inflation. The below Article was originally published in Summer of 2020.]   SBP has done several detailed financial calculators for analyzing both residential and commercials solar projects. SustainZine has a main web…