Tesla announces solar roof tiles to power your home, is it cost effective for homeowners?
"If there has to be a wall, why can't it be a solar wall?!"
Our all-star solar consultant, Terry Tomei, was on the front lines meeting with legislators at the Capitol to explain the RETC and how solar incentives are critical to maintaining a healthy and sustainable solar industry in the State of Oregon.
A diverse group of utility, energy industry, advocacy organizations and community groups are working together to develop the next generation of energy policy for Oregon, transitioning Oregon away from coal towards more clean, renewable energy.
Santa is coming to town early this year for a very special mission: renewable energy.
Happy Thanksgiving! Wow — what a year it's been. We kicked off 2015 with a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, where we completed a 6kW off-grid installation on a remote oceanside bed and breakfast. We moved into a new office space in Southeast Portland, launched a new website, celebrated Oregon Wild's conservation efforts, and were recognized as one of the nation's top solar contractors for the third year in a row — all on top of installing over 500kW of solar in the Portland Metro area.
We're incredibly grateful for our industry partners and the innovative technology that enables us to implement systems and protect the places we love. We'd like to thank the staff at Energy Trust of Oregon for their continued support, SolarWakeup for providing our daily dose of solar news, and the teams at Enphase, IronRidge, SolarWorld USA, Platt Electric, and Quick Mount PV. We'd also like to thank Digital Verde for their media production expertise, Natural Grain Home Services for outfitting our office with exquisite wood furniture, the professors who taught and inspired us at Oregon Institute of Technology, Solar Power World for their continual support and industry coverage, and OSEIA for their continued fight to keep renewables on political dockets. Last but certainly not least, thank you to everyone else — our family, friends, colleagues, and clients — for supporting our mission to critically address the way society uses and thinks about energy. We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.
With gratitude,
Elemental Energy
Solar Panels: They turn sun rays in savings, but how?
Ever wonder why we pair M215 microinverters with 285W solar modules? At first glance it may seem like there is the potential for lost sun rays, but actually the combination results in substantial gains in annual production with minimal losses to inverter saturation — and it’s the most cost-effective pairing when comparing cost versus value of larger microinverters.
Last week, Elemental Energy PV Designer Cayleigh Allen worked with local non-profit ChickTech to put on a weeklong summer technology camp for middle school girls. ChickTech’s mission is to combat the stark gender disparities in technical fields by building girls’ confidence and introducing them to a wide range of technological fields. Click to learn more about her experience.