top of page


Rooftop Solar Potential in the U.S.
At the center of our solar system, approximately 92.96 million miles away, is a nuclear power plant capable of powering the entire globe....
Jan 9, 20172 min read


Ten Predictions For Rooftop Solar In 2017
Module prices will stay at current low levels. U.S. solar manufacturing will continue to decline. Community solar will struggle to get...
Jan 3, 20171 min read


Solpad with Chris Estes
In 2016, more solar generating capacity was installed than any other fuel source. Because of the low cost of solar-generated electricity,...
Dec 26, 20161 min read


New LED Lightbulbs are Cheap
Looking for those last minute, inexpensive and romantic holiday gifts? Well, two out of three ain’t bad with the new crop of LED...
Dec 18, 20161 min read


I Was Wrong About Peak Oil
We used to worry about the time when the world would start running out of fossil fuels, defined as Peak Oil. The concept of Peak Oil is...
Dec 12, 20162 min read


Concentrating Solar Power with Fred Morse
As technology advances, our favorite science-fiction and spy-thrillers become both laughably more unrealistic and eerily based on truth....
Dec 5, 20161 min read


Community Solar
About 50% of U.S. residents are not great candidates for rooftop solar. They may live in an apartment, they may have a very shaded roof,...
Nov 28, 20162 min read


Solar Under the Trump Administration
Our country had a surprise when Trump was elected as our next President. He takes office in fewer than two months. Compared to his...
Nov 21, 20161 min read


Costs and Savings for Tesla's Solar Shingles
Tesla’s recently announced solar shingles are a great looking and potentially ground-breaking Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV)...
Nov 20, 20162 min read


What We Can Do To Continue Solar Momentum- A Solar Pep Talk
The sun was shining the morning Donald Trump became president-elect. I checked. Solar continues to be the most cost-effective way of...
Nov 13, 20163 min read


Solar Inverters, More Than AC-DC
With so many options for solar inverters, choosing the right one for your home or business can get a little overwhelming. In the way of...
Nov 7, 20162 min read


A Gathering of Solar Pioneers
Scientists at Bell Labs made the first solar cell in 1954. A dozen years later entrepreneurs started installing solar panels on rooftops....
Oct 16, 20161 min read


The Real Cost of Electricity
Electricity is a commodity – indistinguishable regardless of the source (all kwh are the same), available from different suppliers and...
Oct 10, 20162 min read


Electric Utilities Don’t Want Solar on your Roof
Rooftop solar is the cheapest way to generate electricity for your home or business. That’s good for you — but not for your local...
Oct 3, 20162 min read


What Could Go Wrong with your Home Solar System?
Just because you have a worry free warranty on your rooftop solar system doesn’t mean things can’t go wrong. Murphy’s Law — “anything...
Sep 24, 20161 min read


Presidential Energy Politics
We’re in the midst of a bizarre presidential election. And a global energy transition driven by both economics and climate change. So...
Sep 18, 20162 min read
An Urgent Letter to the Solar Industry and our Customers from Jigar Shah and Barry Cinnamon
We don’t call it the “Solar Coaster” for nothing. U.S. solar installations will hit 16 GW in 2016. These solar installations are having a...
Sep 5, 20166 min read


When Can I Get Solar Shingles?
For over fifteen years I’ve been talking to homeowners who want solar shingles. This is a concept called Building Integrated...
Aug 22, 20161 min read


Fueling Freedom Book Review - The Faulty Rationale for Fossil Fuels
I don’t normally do book reviews, but I came across a recent book called “Fueling Freedom – Exposing the Mad War on Energy,” by Stephen...
Aug 13, 20161 min read


The Next Big Energy Appliance
We’re witnessing the transformation of electricity generation, storage and usage of electricity in buildings. The “home of the future”...
Aug 8, 20161 min read
bottom of page
