Funding:
RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM (REAP) Grants
Fact Sheet – Tennessee (NEW!)
Tools:
PV Watts – An online tool from NREL that shows Solar PV electricity output by month, depending on the location and mounting. It is very useful for figuring out the needed system size for your area.
DSIRE – A comprehensive source of information on state, local, and federal incentives and policies for solar, energy efficiency, and other renewable energy.
In My Back Yard (IMBY) – NREL’s tool estimates the electricity you can produce with a solar array or wind turbine at your home or business. Use IMBY to develop quick estimates of renewable energy production at locations throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, and northern Mexico.
NREL’s Dynamic Maps, GIS Data, & Analysis Tools
MACRS Depreciation Calculator - Use this tool to help calculate bonus depreciation for your company’s solar system.
TVA Energy Right – Save money and energy with TVA’s energy efficiency program. Take online energy evaluations or schedule an in-home energy audit. Incentives and tax credits make your energy efficiency projects even more cost effective.
TVA’s Solar Incentive Programs:
- Green Power Providers – Fact Sheet – Official Webpage
- Renewable Standard Offer – Fact Sheet – Official Webpage
- Solar Solutions Initiative – Fact Sheet – More info on this new program coming soon.
- Green Power Switch – Official Webpage – Buy green blocks to support renewable energy!
TVA’s Integrated Resource Plan – Identifies the resources that will be needed to satisfy expected energy demand in the Tennessee Valley region over the next 20 years.
DOE SunShot Vision Study - Provides an in-depth assessment of the potential for solar technologies to meet a significant share of electricity demand in the United States during the next several decades. The DOE study explores a future in which the cost of solar technologies decreases by about 75% between 2010 and 2020 in line with the SunShot Initiative’s cost targets.
List of PV Installers in the Tennessee Area
NABCEP – North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) is the “gold standard” for PV and solar thermal installation certification.
List of all solar businesses in Tennessee – 174 total businesses
- Research and Development (For-profit – 4, Non-profit – 14)
- Materials and Manufacturing (For-profit – 22)
- Distribution (For-profit – 24)
- Installation (For-profit – 87)
- Service (For-profit – 37, Non-profit – 15)
- Education (Non-profit – 19)
- Other (Non-profit – 13)
Other Organizations:
American Solar Energy Society – Our Parent Organization
International Solar Energy Society – A Global Alliance
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy – A leading voice for energy policy to protect the quality of life and treasured places in the Southeast since 1985.
TenneSEIA – Tennessee’s Chapter of the Solar Energy Industries Association
National SEIA – TenneSEIA’s Parent Organization
Tennessee Solar Institute - a center of excellence between the University of Tennessee (UT) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that brings together scientists, students, policy makers, and industry partners to generate transformative changes to the field of solar-generated energy production.
Oak Ridge National Labs – Energy Efficiency &Renewable Energy Labs
Department of Energy – Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Leading National lab for renewable energy research
Interstate Renewable Energy Council - works with industry, government, educators and other stakeholders to ensure that the broader use of renewable energies is possible
Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment – University of Tennessee’s Institute seeks to promote the development of policies, technologies, and educational programs that cut across multiple disciplines, engage the university’s research faculty and staff, and grow in response to pressing environmental and security issues facing the state, the nation, and the globe.
Living Light UTK – University’s Solar Decathlon Challenge team is touring the state and showing off their solar powered house.
East TN Clean Fuels – Coalition that promotes the use of alternative vehicles
Tennessee Renewable Energy & Economic Development Council
Green Village Green – Nationwide green living and green building directory
U.S. Green Building Council - non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation.
TN Climate Action - engages climate protection activists in our mission to reduce our carbon footprint within our own lives, our community, and state, and urging others to do the same.
350.org - A global movement to solve the climate crisis
Educational / News:
Baker Center Report - Assessment of Incentives and Employment Impacts of Solar Industry Deployment
Solar 101 – Presentation by TN Solar Energy Association
Greentech Media – News and info about solar energy. They have many good webinars.
Renewable Energy World – News site with great info about all types of renewable energy.
Science Daily – New technology breakthroughs in solar.
Solarbuzz – Solar market research and analysis
PV Tech Newscast – Weekly news cast about the newest solar headlines.
SolarPV.TV – All sorts of videos about the solar industry around the world.
101 Terrific Sites on Renewable Energy – A vast collection of fun and informative blogs covering green living, Wind Energy, and other renewables to make our planet better.
Solar Magazines:
- Solar Today – Magazine from ASES
- Photon – The Photovoltaic Magazine
- Home Power – Residential use of renewable energy
Top Universities in Solar Energy Research:
Arizona State University Solar Power Lab
UC Berkeley Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab
University of Delaware Solar Power Program
University of Washington Energy Research
Have a resource you think should be listed on our site? Leave us a comment below!
I’m looking at installing a 50K system and working with a contractor to do the work, how do I audit what they say the system will put out and trust the numbers????
Go to http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/calculators/PVWATTS/version1/ and it will calculate your expected energy per year.
Yes that’s an excellent resource, but remember it doesnt allow for shading if you have any. For that you need a site survey with a shading analysis tool.
Regards,
Steve Johnson
Yes, PV Watts is a great tool, and adjusting for things like shading are important. The PV Watts program allows you to adjust any of several derating factors, and shading is one of them if you have the shading analysis Steve mentions — a basic must-have. Adjustments can also be made to factors such as module mismatch and system availability to estimate the effect of different technologies, such as microinverters and module maximizers, and even different types of modules, though these adjustments add some guessing to the figuring. Other (not free) proprietary programs can provide more refined predictions.
I will be giving the NABCEP Entry Level Training Course,along with the NABCEP Entry Level Exam the week of January 21 – 25, 2013. The training will be at the UT Center for In on dustrial Services on Polk Ave., Nashville, TN. The cost will be $995.00 for both the training and the test.
Thanks,
Earl Pomeroy