Solar Blog

SPP introduced their latest evacuated tube solar thermal collectors at the ASES Solar 2009 show in Buffalo, NY.  The SPP-25 is designed to provide the optimal amount of solar thermal energy for a residential domestic hot water system for an average family of four.

The SRCC certified 25 tube collector system provides an average of 36,000 BTUs on a clear sunny day.  This energy output is equivalent to the leading 30 tube solar thermal collectors currently in the market. 

The SPP-25 has been designed with installers and homeowners in mind.  With only 25 tubes required for the system, the SPP-25 allows installers to complete a residential installation in less time as compared to the traditional 30 tube system and less manpower as compared to flat plate solar thermal systems.  Also, the SPP-25 is designed to line up with 16″  rafter centers out of the box, which saves time and cost for installers, and ultimately lowers the cost for the customer.

Solar Panels Plus welcomes all inquiries from dealers and installers nationwide.  Please contact our sales representative for any additional questions you may regarding this product.

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On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, which has key provisions for the Solar Industry.

Among other things, Section 25D of the Act removes the $2000 cap on solar thermal installations, providing a full 30 percent tax credit for qualified solar water heating equipment.

Click here to read an Executive Summary, provided by SEIA.

Kent Howell, an SPP licensed dealer and owner/operator of Howell Plumbing in Yadkinville, NC was recently interviewed by a local reporter regarding a solar thermal system that he installed in his home. 

Howell is the first company in his area to begin installing solar thermal systems and is anxious to spread the word about the underutilized solar thermal technology to his customers.

For the entire article, please click here: Solar Water Heating - Howell Plumbing Article

 Kent Howell pictured above

Solar Tax Incentives coming to Virginia?

1/13/2009

Following up on his “Renew Virginia” initiative announced in December 2008, Governor Kaine on Monday visited Virginia Beach and announced several legislative proposals to help the Commonwealth of Virginia stand out as a leader in the alternative energy industry.

The proposals are aimed at giving tax breaks to manufacturers and consumers, with individuals eligible for up to $8000 in tax credits and businesses eligible for up to $20,000.

What’s not clear is how these proposals will get approved or funded, considering Virginia’s $2 Billion budget deficit.

For the complete article about Governor Kaine’s visit to Virginia Beach, please visit:
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/01/kaine-virginia-beach-promotes-green-technology

Virginia Beach, VA - Governor Kaine with Bijan Kazemi, CFO of Solar Panels Plus and Richard Good, President of Solar Services, Inc.

On Thursday, Dec 11, Governor Tim Kaine announced his ‘Renew Virginia’ initiative – a proposal designed to make Virginia a leader in the energy conservation and the alternative energy industry as a whole.  The meeting, held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, included the Governor’s economic development team, as well as energy-related business owners, including Solar Panels Plus Executive VP & CFO, Bijan Kazemi. 

Other attendees include:

Karl Bren, President, GreenVisions Consulting

Tom Farrell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dominion

Ray Ganthner, Senior Vice President, New Plants Deployment, AREVA NP Inc.

Alan Petersen, Vice President of Development, INGENCO

Craig Shealy, President and CEO, Osage Bio Energy

Dick Sheehy, Director of Advance Planning, CH2M Hill Consulting

Denny Sulick, General Manager, Virginia BioDiesel Refinery

David Stoner, Senior Vice President, Wind Power Americas-BP Alternative Energy, NA

Barry Weiss, Region Executive, GE Energy - Southern Region

Topics discussed included strategies for bringing renewable energy businesses to Virginia, as well as marketing plans to create more “green” jobs throughout the state.

For more information about ‘Renew Virginia,’ please visit http://www.governor.virginia.gov/RenewVirginia/

SPP CFO Bijan Kazemi, with Governor Kaine 12-11-08.

Solar Panels Plus is pleased to be a Gold Sponsor of the MDV-SEIA Conference “Solar Energy: Focus 2009” in Annapolis, Maryland starting on Friday, December 5^th, 2008.  The event is being recognized as the most important solar show of the year on the east coast and will bring together industry leaders, policy decision makers and members of the public to discuss the future of solar power in the Mid Atlantic region. As the Gold Sponsor, SPP will be hosting the Friday evening happy hour and welcomes all interested dealers to join us at this event.

On Saturday, December 6^th, 2008, SPP will be hosting a free workshop and training session to introduce some exciting new products and discuss business opportunities for the upcoming year.   

For more information about the MDV-SEIA conference, please visit the MDV-SEIA website.

SPP has recently become a distribution partner with Rheem Manufacturing Company and is now an authorized distributor of Rheem Water Heating products, including the Rheem line of Solaraide solar heat exchanger tanks.

Highly efficient and cost effective heat exchanger tanks are an integral component in residential and commercial solar water heating applications and we feel Rheem tanks provide the best overall value and have long history of building high-quality products.

The Rheem single coil heat exchange tanks come in 80 and 120 gallon capacity and both sizes come with a back-up 4500 watt electrical element. 

These tanks are in-stock and ready to be shipped.   For more information, please visit our web page about Rheem solar water heating tanks.

For many months SPP has been working on a corn glycol for use as a heat transfer medium in solar thermal systems. There are many advantages of this new and unique corn glycol formula over traditional petroleum based propylene glycol. The SPP corn glycol formula is completely safe and non-toxic, it is so safe it can even be consumed by humans, however this is not suggested.

SPP Corn Glycol is also a completely renewable heat transfer solution. Not only is it 100% renewable, it is completely bio-degradable and contains no petroleum components or by-products. The SPP Corn Glycol more or less equals propylene glycol in all important diagnostic tests out-performs PG in some key areas including heat transfer and PH, also with an additive to inhibit corrosion within your solar thermal system.

Due to its long list of advantages over propylene glycol, you’d probably expect to pay more. However, SPP corn glycol is no more expensive than most ordinary propylene glycol on the market. Corn glycol is now available on the SPP website here.

Don’t worry, SPP isn’t selling sunlight, nor are they charging people who lay out at the beach all summer for the solar rays that improved their tans.

At Solar Panels Plus we offer money-saving, eco-friendly, and efficient evacuated tube solar collectors that harness the sun’s rays as an alternative to traditional electricity based heating and cooling methods.

Utilizing solar heat energy to fuel our heating and even cooling needs is a big step towards eliminating our reliance on fossil fuels. Not only are fossil fuels an extremely limited resource that will eventually run out, our continuous use of them on a global level has lead to unfortunate impacts on our global environment.

Our goal at SPP is to educate individuals and companies around the world that solar hot water solutions are a great first step in releasing our firm grip on oil based energy. The best part about theoretically selling sunlight is that it’s a free resource for all who wish to obtain it, and provides an environmentally friendly way to proliferate our luxury of hot water use across many applications. Of course there is a cost per kilowatt (or per BTU) to capture it, store it, and put it to use; so we deliver it to you one-kilowatt-at-a-time!

Sunday, April 20 will mark the beginning of one of the largest Earth Day gatherings in U.S. history - including day-long events on the National Mall in Washington, DC and other cities throughout the U.S.

The event is being led by Earth Day Network, a non-profit organization that was founded by the organizers of the original Earth Day in 1970.

SPP will be in attendance and will have a exhibit booth setup.

For more information about this event, please visit the Earth Day Network Website

Also, on Monday 4/21/08, Washington DC will host “Green DC Week” at Freedom Plaza. SPP will be on site for this event throughout the week long festivities.
For more information, please visit the Green DC Week website.