I first wrote about BIPV ten years ago in Outpost Magazine. I finished my article with "imagine the south facing facade of every high-rise in your city covered with solar panels generating enough energy to offset the building's air conditioning use."
Tomorrow I have the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion about building integrated PV with industry leaders. The conversation is hosted by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, the City of Toronto, the CaGBC Toronto Chapter, the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Please consider joining the call, it promises to be a great conversation offering a glimpse of the future of building and building retrofits with Building Integrated Solar.
A constant debate with one answer - conservation and alternatives
The question of Nuclear and its Alternatives - debated TED style.
In Ontario I understand that we do not pay the real price for uninsurable nuclear power, and that we externalize all prospective costs from disposal. Maximum insurability of Nuclear is just 75,000,000 - I have personal liability on my vehicle for 2,000,000. Why do we continue the debate as opposed to delivering a dose of reality to the lights always on public...?
Real Estate Values Increase with Solar Panels, Report Says
Real Estate Values are growing as keeping up with the Jones' just got greener according to Burkely report.
The report used a data set of 72,000 homes including 2,000 homes with solar. Research shows that hoses with solar in California sell for a consistent premium.
I expect to see similar results in the Ontario marketplace as data begins to accumulate. If you know a realtor who needs to learn more about solar please send them to the Toronto Real Estate Board where I teach a course on the Green Energy Act and building labeling.
Thanks to the Good folks at Venturebeat.com for putting me onto this report with this article entitled:
Listen Up Realtors, Solar Panels Increase Home Values.
So much for the not-in-my-backyard argument: California homes with solar panels installed on them sell for more than their panel-free counterparts, according to a study by the University of California at Berkeley.
The study found that homes with solar panels sold for an extra $5.50 per watt of solar power installed, for an average of $17,000 more per house.
Clean Energy is a Gigantic Emerging Economic Opportunity
North America governments need to take this opportunity as seriously as it does the protection and propogation of traditional energies including Oil, Coal and Nuclear if we are going to maintain a leadership role in the global economy. Read the PEW report.