Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Thanks to Gina at SIerra Club

For sending us this great article which we wanted to share with you:

Big Solar Plans for Military Families

Link: http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2011/12/solarcity-merrill-lynch-military-solar.html

Part of the article: "How do you double the number of houses that have rooftop solar? Ask SolarCity, which is moving ahead with its ambitious 5-year plan to provide 300 megawatts worth of solar for military families.

SolarCity announced yesterday a partnership with Bank of America Merrill Lynch that will help finance the project that clocks in at more than $1 billion. Amid the rocky political climate, the project became uncertain after a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy fell through earlier this year. But this private financing should nudge the project -- named SolarStrong -- toward meeting its goal of powering 120,000 military housing units with clean, renewable (and safe) energy.

If that goal is met, "this could effectively double the total number of residential solar rooftops in the U.S.," reports greentechmedia. SolarStrong will likely be the largest residential PV project in the U.S.

"This is uncharted territory for residential solar," SolarCity's CEO Lyndon Rive said in a statement. "The fact that SolarStrong can move forward without a federal loan guarantee is a clear indication that long-term incentives such as the investment tax credit are working."

It's also great news for an industry that continues to defy today's economy. The solar sector encompasses more than 100,000 American jobs. SolarCity in particular has added an average of more than one job each workday since 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research..."


The really good news in here is the 100,000 jobs created. Let's keep it going.

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