In the spirit of the season, since heat waves are roasting major cities around the world, solar energy is a hot topic. From residential rooftops to power plants to experimental aircraft, solar energy has its season within the sun. A solar-powered airplane landed Thursday after spending 26 hours aloft. And this week the Obama administration pledged $ 1.85 billion in guaranteed loans to develop a solar energy power plant and also some solar panel factories. There’s a cloud though. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ever the bearers of bad news these days, won’t accept any mortgage loans that use a government funded program to finance solar energy installation costs.
Article resource: Solar plane is latest breakthrough as solar energy gains momentum by Personal Money Store
Solar plane with its day within the sun
A solar plane landed in Paris Thursday after flying continuously for 26 hours, 9 minutes. It was reported by the New York Times that the Solar Impulse reached an altitude of more than 28,000 feet and reached a maximum speed of 78 miles per hour during a day over Switzerland. The solar energy plan was powered overnight by energy collected during the day from solar panels on its 210-foot wingspan. By a solar powered craft, the flight was the longest and highest.
Solar plane – the poster child for solar energy
The Solar Impulse record-breaking flight took years and years of planning and brings the Swiss-led project one step closer to its ultimate goal of flying Solar Impulse around the world powered only by solar energy. The Associated Press reports that although the aim is to prove that emissions-free air travel is possible with Solar Impulse, the flight team said it doesn’t see solar energy replacing jet propulsion any time soon. The project will instead test and promote new energy efficient technology.
Billions received by solar energy companies because of stimulus package
Speaking of new energy-efficient technologies, President Obama announced the U.S. Department of Energy will pledge $ 1.85 billion from the economic stimulus package to two solar energy companies: Abengoa Solar and Abound Solar Manufacturing. As outlined by the International Business Times, Abengoa Solar will build the first ever large-scale solar energy power plant in Arizona with $ 1.45 billion in funding. Developers explain the project will create more than 1,600 construction jobs and clean energy for 70,000 homes. Abound Solar Manufacturing will build a plant that manufactures solar panels in Colorado and in Indiana with $ 400 million in funding. The solar panel factories are expected to create more than 2,000 construction jobs, conserve energy for around 200,000 homes, and produce 1,500 permanent c! lean energy jobs.
For your house, PACE provides solar panels
Clean energy initiatives that focus on solar energy are gaining momentum on many fronts. But the U.S. housing market is running true to form. As outlined by Trading Markets, the Obama administration’s Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program is falling to the black hole of Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae. The PACE program is assigning $ 150 million in loans for local governments which they can then lend to you to cover the upfront costs solar panels for your home. The loans are paid off over time through property tax bills.
Fannie and Freddie cast dark cloud over solar energy
Residential solar energy might are headed in a good direction with PACE. But Fannie and Freddie, federal agencies that guarantee more than 50 percent of U.S. mortgages, are overwhelmed with millions of foreclosures. Officials in charge of the agencies, which have cost U.S. taxpayers more than $ 145 billion in losses, assume people will start defaulting on PACE mortgages also. Both Fannie and Freddie have issued letters to mortgage sellers stating that they’ll not accept any loans for homes using the new program.
Citations:
New York Times
nytimes.com/2010/07/09/world/europe/09plane.html?_r=1&hp
Associated Press
google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5goDxf8Obh9y8tOk6Nse1GMEmSXWgD9GQNU181
International Business Times
ibtimes.com/articles/33502/20100708/obama-s-commitment-to-solar-technology-job-creation-and-economic-recovery.htm
Trading Markets
tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/fnm_us-energy-solar-initiatives-threatened-by-white-house-dissonance-1028938.html
No comments:
Post a Comment