Is solar power is a big deal? Check out a new program in San Antonio!

CPS Energy of San Antonio introduced a new solar energy program called Solartricity.  The program, which is a solar verison of the successful Windtricity program enables customers fo install a solar system and then sell electricity back to the electrical grid. CPS Energy describes the program this way.

Solartricity is a market-based initiative that will attempt to attract hundreds of small-to-large scale solar energy-generating projects to the Greater San Antonio area.

The program began June 15, 2010 and according to this article in the San Antonio Express News, applicants practically broke down the doors to apply. Solar power sparks CPS race

Solar Power in Ely, MN

Does solar power work in the Northern US? You bet. Check out this blog posting from Piragis Northwoods Company who recently installed a PV system on the roof of their store in Ely, MN. The system was installed by Able Energy.

Piragis Northwoods to receive 11.04KW Solar Electric System.

Piragis was founded in 1979 in Ely, MN, on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and it has grown into one of the leading outfitters for trips into the BWCA and Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park. It would appear that Piragis also leads the way in bringing renewable energy and solar power to the North Woods.

Turning waste into electricty and saving money

Bruichladdich Distillery in Scotland, a maker of single malt whisky, is hoping to save $175,000 a year by producing as much as 80 percent of its electricity from waste that was formerly pumped into the sea. The distillery now spends $30,000 each year disposing of the waste called pot ale.

Mark Reynier, the owner says that the effort is part of just trying to be sensible. For more information, read this article on CNN's website. Scotch distillery turns whisky into watts by Matthew Knight on May 21, 2010.