SEIA

Going solar is a beautiful thing. It not only saves money on your electrical bills for decades to come-it conserve the earth's precious resources as well. But where to turn for current, insightful resources on solar panels, pricing, financing and incentive options in 2012? How to know how much energy your home consumes right now, and how much you can save down the road with solar-powered renewable energy?

California is the nation's largest solar market in the nation, thanks to its incentives and rebates, which include a 33 percent renewable energy standard and the Million Solar Roofs programs.

At a time of accelerating production of both wind and solar energy, Duxbury officials have decided to buy solar energy produced elsewhere and take their own wind project off the table.

A group of 20 U.S. solar industry stakeholders have submitted a letter to Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, in which they lay out their recommendations for creating a "smart from the start" public land solar energy program. They also state that it "must" be complete by the end of fiscal year 2012.

Pepco has purchased the University of Maryland's winning entry of the Solar Decathlon for $200,000, and plans to reassemble the environmentally conscious home on one of its properties to use as an educational site.