{"id":14002,"date":"2013-07-08T15:21:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T12:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/add-energy.ro\/top-50-solar-energy-stories-of-the-year-part-5-41-50\/"},"modified":"2013-07-08T15:21:55","modified_gmt":"2013-07-08T12:21:55","slug":"top-50-solar-energy-stories-of-the-year-part-5-41-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/add-energy.ro\/en\/top-50-solar-energy-stories-of-the-year-part-5-41-50\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 50 Solar Energy Stories Of The Year (Part 5: #41-50)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t         Third-party solar energy system leases now account for nearly three-quarters (74%) of California’s residential solar market, according to Sunrun and PV Solar. A market research report released last August<\/a> revealed that solar leasing had added more than $1 billion to California’s economy since being introduced in 2007.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t42. Study Delves Into Why German Solar Is 1\/2 The Price Of US Solar<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Study<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t          The whole “Why is German solar about half the price of U.S. solar?<\/a>” question is one of the most important solar questions of the day. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has probably most extensively studied this matter. In a recently updated version of its analysis<\/a>, LBNL examines why a residential German solar system goes for $3.00\/watt and a residential U.S. solar system goes for $6.19\/watt.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t          As no surprise to anyone who follows this matter, LBNL still concludes that the massive price differences above are basically due to soft costs<\/a>. But the updated study also digs into the reasons why the soft costs are (or might be) so much lower. As LBNL rightly noted, relatively little has been known about how or why various soft cost differ.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t43. Value of Distributed Solar Power & Value Of Solar Tariffs Get Attention<\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Value<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t           Simply looking at the price of solar panels or solar power systems — and how that compares with the prices of other options — is not really the best way to evaluate whether or not we (individuals, companies, cities, societies) should go solar. The full costs and benefits should be examined. Unfortunately, a lot of the benefits have been ignored for a long time (and far beyond the environmental and climate benefits). Evaluating the “value of solar” has begun to catch on, and some cities are actually implementing “Value of Solar Tariffs<\/a>,” but sometimes coming to wildly different conclusions. Have a look at a few recent stories about this:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n