The move to a greener economy and standard of living was always going to have to be led by business. No matter what way you look at it, governments don’t like making big sweeping changes, but businesses will, especially if it helps with their public image or bottom line.

Big retail chains across America are utilizing their giant flat rooftops for solar panels. Chains like Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Safeway and Whole Foods Market have all installed solar panels on the roofs of their stores.

But with Congress not planning (at least at the moment) to renew the investment tax credit (ITC), this solar drive could very well dry up very quickly.

At the moment, many retail chains are hurrying to beat the deadline, installing as many solar panels as is feasible. But so far, the majority of chains are lucky to have managed to get 10% of their stores outfitted with solar panels.

”It’s very clear that green energy is now front and center in the minds of the business sector,” said Daniel Kammen, an energy expert at the University of California, Berkeley. ”Not only will you see panels on the roofs of your local stores, but I suspect very soon retailers will have stickers in their windows saying, ‘This is a green energy store.”’

I think the majority of us would be more than happy to walk in to a store with such a sticker. Cheap advertising aside, for who really cares why they go green, just as long as they do, will these same retail chains that are making a dash for solar independence continue this trend after the government give up on them?

When you are a company who makes cars, unless you have the Toyota Prius underneath your brand name, life can sometimes get a little complex. Not surprisingly, many car manufacturers are making big steps to ensure that their products make as little impact upon the environment as possible. But General Motors have taken it a step further, to ensure that even their production plants make little environmental noise.

Currently with two of the largest solar power installations in the United States, GM have made a real effort to, as Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations puts it, actively accelerate “…our efforts to be part of the solution to the environmental issues and challenges facing our world.”

Solar power installations line the roofs of GM’s Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, California parts warehouses, with the former seeing about 50% of their electricity powered by their own installation. “We are proud to be a global leader in the usage of renewable energy,” said Cowger.

But GM has now taken it a step further in their attempt to be a “global leader,” announcing on Tuesday the plans to install the world’s largest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation on its car assembly plant located in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain. The project is set to install an installation that will cover some 2 million square foot of rooftop, comprised of approximately 85,000 solar panels.

“As we develop new solutions in vehicle propulsion to reduce carbon emissions, we are also making significant progress in reducing the impact our facilities have on the environment,” said Elizabeth A. Lowery, GM vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy. “Our commitment to expanding the usage of renewable energy sources is part of our coordinated global effort to reduce energy, water consumption, waste and CO2 emissions.”

Partnering with Clairvoyant Energy, Veolia Environmental and the Government of Aragon to develop this project, United Solar Ovonic will provide their thin and flexible solar laminates for the project. A project which, by completion, will generate 12 megawatts of power at its highest output, equaling about 15.1 million kilowatts of power per year, the equivalent to some 4,575 households.

I’ve said it from the beginning of my tenure here at Green Options, and I will continue to say it along with many others: big business has to be the one to bring our planet in to an environmentally friendly age, whether it be politely or kicking and screaming. General Motors, in announcing this project, has shown just such an intention.

Source

Photo © GM Corp

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The planets may be aligned to finally make solar competitive with coal, according to an article in Bloomberg.com by Greg Chang. Rising natural gas prices, the extension of tax credits for solar investment, and the near-certainty that carbon emissions caps will be imposed by the next U.S. administration, will make it happen. A concentrated solar thermal plant in California’s Mojave Desert, run by FPL, Inc., uses 550,000 mirrors to concentrate solar power.

“At noon on a typical workday, technicians in a two-story control room monitor a dozen screens showing the heat generated by each array of mirrors. As temperatures creep past 700 degrees, icons blink to red from green, indicating the center is ready to feed electricity to the California grid.”

The resulting steam turns turbines that generate electricity — enough to power 112,55 L.A.-area homes. Concentrated solar thermal’s potential has not escaped the attention of forward-thinking investors with big money:

“Chevron, Goldman Sachs, FPL, PG&E and other companies have filed more than 50 applications with the Bureau of Land Management to lease government-owned desert property for solar power systems. Google’s philantropic division put $10 million into eSolar, a start-up in Pasadena, California.” –Greg Chang, Bloomberg.com