spirit of the season, since heat waves are roasting major cities around the world, solar energy is a hot topic. From residential rooftops to power plants to experimental aircraft, solar energy has its season sun. After spending 26 hours aloft, a solar powered airplane landed on Thursday. And this week the Obama administration pledged $ 1.85 billion in guaranteed loans to develop a solar energy power plant and solar panel factories. But there’s a cloud. {Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ever the bearers of bad news these days, won’t accept mortgage loans that use a government program to finance solar energy installation costs|Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won’t accept mortgage loans that use a government program to finance solar energy installation costs|Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ever the bearers of bad news these
The cool solar plane with its day within the sun
A solar plane landed in Paris after flying continuously for 26 hours, 9 minutes. It was reported by the New York Times that the Solar Impulse reached an altitude of more than 28,000 feet and reached a maximum speed of 78 miles per hour during a day over Switzerland. he solar energy plan was powered by energy collected during the day from solar panels on its 210-foot wingspan. The flight was the longest and highest by a solar powered craft.
Poster child for solar energy is the solar plane
The Solar Impulse record-breaking flight took years and years of preparing and brings the Swiss-led project one step closer to its ultimate goal of flying Solar Impulse around the world powered only by solar energy. According to the Associated Press, although the aim is to prove that emissions-free air travel is possible with Solar Impulse, the flight team said it doesn’t see solar energy replacing jet propulsion any time soon. The project will instead test and promote new energy efficient technology.
From stimulus package, solar energy companies get billions
Speaking of new energy-efficient technologies, President Obama announced during his weekly address the U.S. Department of Energy will pledge $ 1.85 billion from the economic stimulus package to two solar energy companies: Abengoa Solar and Abound Solar Manufacturing. It was reported by the International Business Times that Abengoa Solar will build the first ever large-scale solar energy power plant in Arizona with $ 1.45 billion in funding. Developers say the project should be able to create more than 1,600 construction jobs and clean energy for 70,000 homes. Abound Solar Manufacturing will build a plant that manufactures solar panels in Colorado and one more in Indiana with $ 400 million in funding. The solar panel factories are going to create more than 2,000 construction jobs, conserve energy for 200,000 homes, and produce more than 1,500 permanent clean energy jobs.
For your house, PACE provides solar panels
Clean energy initiatives that focus on solar energy are gaining quite a bit of momentum on numerous fronts. But the U.S. housing market, which has become the ball and chain for of economic recovery, is running true to form. Trading Markets reports that the Obama administration’s Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program is falling into the black hole of Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae. The PACE program is assigning $ 150 million in loans for local governments which they can then lend to you to cover the upfront costs solar panels for home. The loans are paid off over time through property tax bills.
Cloud cast over solar energy by Freddie and Fannie
Residential solar energy might have been headed in a good direction with PACE. But Fannie and Freddie, federal agencies that guarantee more than 50 percent of U.S. mortgages, are overwhelmed with millions of foreclosures. Officials that are in charge of the agencies, which have cost U.S. taxpayers more than $ 145 billion in losses, assume individuals will start defaulting on PACE mortgages also. Both Fannie and Freddie have issued letters to mortgage sellers stating that they will not accept loans for homes using the program.
Citations:
New York Times
nytimes.com/2010/07/09/world/europe/09plane.html?_r=1&hp
Associated Press
google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5goDxf8Obh9y8tOk6Nse1GMEmSXWgD9GQNU181
International Business Times
ibtimes.com/articles/33502/20100708/obama-s-commitment-to-solar-technology-job-creation-and-economic-recovery.htm
Trading Markets
tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/fnm_us-energy-solar-initiatives-threatened-by-white-house-dissonance-1028938.html
