For GSS Energy Use chapter 10. Excerpt: ...At least six of 10 largest
U.S. homebuilders led by KB Home include the photovoltaic devices in new
construction, according to supplier SunPower Corp. (SPWR) Two
California towns are mandating installations, and demand for the systems
that generate electricity at home will jump 56 percent nationwide this
year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. “In the next
six months, homebuilders in California and the expensive-energy states
will be going solar as a standard, and just incorporating it into the
cost of the house like any other feature,” Jim Petersen, chief executive
officer of the PetersenDean Inc., the largest closely held U.S. roofing
and solar contractor, said in an interview. Lashing panels to roofs
during construction is about 20 percent cheaper than after a house is
built. Homeowners who can afford the extra $10,000 to $20,000 cost in
return for free power threaten the business of traditional utilities....
Power companies are losing business because they can’t cut their rates
in line with the tumbling prices of residential solar systems. Those
cost about $4.93 a watt in the first quarter, down 16 percent from a
year earlier, according to the Washington-based solar association.... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-10/solar-panel-is-next-granite-countertop-for-homebuilders.html. Justin Doom, Bloomberg. |
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