Lumos Blog

According to a new report released by SEIA/GTM, the U.S. solar energy market has been on a continual rise over the past few years causing the industry to grow an exponential 66% from 2009-2010.

The report also outlines that the United States is currently the most stable PV market in the world. However, the hindering effects of diminishing incentives throughout the country undermine all these statements. We are 100% at the mercy of the utility companies and state governments, which in turn causes the renewable market to grow gradually.

The U.S. still trails, by a long-shot, to markets like Germany, Italy, and Spain. As the world leader in solar energy, Germany had installed a staggering 17,193MW at the end of 2010 compared to the U.S. with just 956MW while only having 1/3 of the solar irradiance that the U.S. has.

Without more support from government groups both federal and state, the U.S. PV market won’t have the same opportunities as our other renewable energy supported countries. Currently rebates and incentives are essential to our business, but as costs continually lower, the PV market is coming closer and closer to grid parity everyday.

There's a bright outlook for the solar industry with the extension of Tax Grant Program 1603 (TGP).
It's believed by industry insiders the US Tax Grant Program 1603 was the most powerful force behind 2010 growth. TGP 1603 has created jobs and opportunity in nearly all 50 states for construction workers, electricians, plumbers, contractors and new solar business.

Rhone Resch, CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association, said “An extension will help the solar industry remain one of the fastest growing industries in a America and create thousands of new careers.”

According to SEIA “the TGP has helped move forward more than 1,100 solar projects in 42 states and supported $18 billion in investment. The program has been critical in allowing the solar industry to grow by over 100 percent in 2010, create enough new solar capacity to power 200,000 homes and provide work to more than 93,000 Americans.

Are you more likely to install solar panels if your neighbor has them? A new study out of Stanford says that you are. More specifically, it finds that for every 1 percent increase in the number of installations in a particular zip code, the time until the next adoption of solar decreases by 1 percent. Or, as Vote Solar's Adam Browning put it: Solar is contagious. Ken Gillingham is finishing up his PhD at Stanford and is starting in July as assistant professor at Yale University School of Forestryand Environmental Studies. Bryan Bollinger is also finishing his PhD at Stanford and starts in July as assistant professor of Marketing at NYU School of Business.

Environmental Preferences and Peer Effects in the DIffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels, August 2010

So the Senate just voted down a bill that CNN called merely “symbolic” in its attempt to cut $20 billion in subsidies for oil companies. Symbolic because there is no way the government is ready to let the energy industry function as a free market — that would reveal the true expense of energy. Heaven forbid.

Instead, they’ll throw us a few bones to chew on, like oil drilling in the Arctic, to keep us busy growling about a sound bite rather than discussing any real changes in our archaic energy system. And all the while, solar power companies like ours will be paying taxes to keep the dinosaur of cheap oil on life support — for at least one more election cycle anyway.

What about tax breaks for companies that provide bus passes and encourage staff to work from home part time? No, that would encourage less driving, and less oil consumption would “stall our fragile economic recovery.”

What about cutting energy subsidies altogether so the free market could function properly? No, that would mean gas prices would be attached to reality, and reality is politically difficult for the incumbent millionaire puppets of big business we call our government.

What about giving homeowners who want to install solar power a tax break the equivalent of carbon reduction over the life of the system? No, they don’t really want everyone to install solar power — that would cut into the utility profit machine that is such a bright spot in our dreary economy.

Since it is pretty obvious to us here at Lumos that this outdated energy paradigm needs to change, we’re putting the finishing touches on the LSX Module System (shown above) that will reduce the cost of solar energy by decreasing installation time. The LSX Module System will also decrease the embodied energy in a solar array with its plug-and-play installation technology as well as make solar power aesthetically appealing in any setting with its sleek frameless design.

To say the least, it’s refreshing to work here at Lumos — we just have a hard time stomaching the fact that the taxes we pay on our successful solar business go to subsidizing the oil industry. Does anyone else see a problem with this?

With all of the recent activity surrounding our Lumos panels, dealers have been sending us great pictures of projects they have undertaken using a variety of Lumos products. From stunning ground mounts to environmentally friendly rooftop arrays, it's obvious that our customers are of the hard working variety. After sending this flood of great installation photos around the office, we decided it was time to reward these dedicated customers!

This contest was all about the best looking arrays designed and installed with Lumos panels. All of our dealers had the opportunity to submit photographs of what they felt was their best install. We had a big pile of photograph submissions and all of us at Lumos were impressed with their unique designs and high quality work.

Our first place prize was a Lumos LSX product display given to the best looking install submitted by our dealers. The LSX frameless panel system is a revolutionary new approach to solar module design. What better way to show it off than with your own LSX panel mounted on a trade show friendly base?

Our second place prize was a Lumos embroidered jacket. With a Lumos jacket you can let everyone know that you stand with an industry leader in value! Look good and protect yourself from the elements while on the work site.

Finally, our third and final prize was a $50 gift certificate, good to use with any Lumos product we offer! Your money goes a long way with the leader in value innovation.

Our three winners are outlined below. All of our entries were extremely impressive and we are looking forward to hosting more contests with exciting new prizes for our dealers. Keep an eye out for more opportunities to win!

First Place Winner: Winndsunn (Iowa)
Modules: (40) Lumos 250 Watt
System Size: 10kW
Mounting Method: SunnRac – Top of Pole mounts
Prize: LSX System Display

Second Place Winner: Sunshine Solar (New Jersey)
Modules: (336) Lumos 250 Watt
System Size: 84kW
Prize: Lumos Jacket

Third Place Winner: Alpenglow Solar (Utah)
Modules: (22) Lumos 250 Watt
Mounting Method: Haticon racking
Inverter: SMA 5000
Prize: $50 Lumos gift card