Go Green Electric Inc.

Commerce City announced today on their Twitter feed, they will be the first city to consider supporting the solar industry by opposing XCEL’s Request to Reduce Solar Rebate.

In addressing this resolution, Commerce City shows support for the solar industry in their fight to keep small business jobs for electricians, solar installers, engineers, architects, city building department employees and the ever growing student population hoping to graduate or retool their skills and get to work in this Colorado market.

Please show your support for this resolution, and urge your elected officials to sponsor legislation like this in your area!  Commerce City Council is meeting Monday March 7th @ 6:30pm to discuss Resolution 2011-15, Page 44-47 (Resolution Opposing XCEL for Request to Reduce Solar Rebate).

Commerce City Council Chambers
7887 E. 60th Ave.
Monday March 7th @ 6:30 p.m

Find your elected Officials and urge them to do the same as Commerce City and support solar jobs!
http://www.votesmart.org/

Download and read the full Commerce City Resolution.

Here is your chance to help restart the Solar Rewards rebate program.  The PUC is holding a meeting on Friday March 4th and may consider holding Xcel to their word and to keep this rebate program open!  Attendance will help demonstrate the urgency to restart this program, but only if a civil approach is demonstrated.

Friday, March 4, 2011
1560 Broadway, Suite 250
Denver, CO 80202
Hearing Room B
11:00AM - 1:00PM

Xcel Energy is waging a financial war on solar in Colorado.  On February 16th, Xcel announced that they filled a request with the Public Utilities Commission to reduce the current Solar Rebate from $2.00 per watt to $0.25 per watt.  At the same time Xcel lowered the amount they pay for the Renewable Energy Credits from $0.35 to $0.01 per watt.  These two actions account for an 88% decrease in the total rebate received by customer’s installing solar PV.

The biggest problem with Xcel’s recent actions, is that not only have they chosen to reduce the rebates by 88%, but they have now CLOSED the program to any new applications until the first part of May when the Public Utilities Commission is expected to rule on reducing the rebate amount from $2.00 to $0.25 per watt!  Closing the Solar Rewards program not only prevents customer’s from accessing the rebates paid for by all Xcel customers, but also stops solar business dead in their tracks.  Installers cannot sign up new customers for the rebate program, nor can customers access the rebates which are part of Amendment 37 approved by voters in 2005.

Xcel energy, for the past three and half years, has collected a percentage of every customer’s utility bill to pay for a portion of the solar rebates.  Currently Xcel is collecting 2% of each customer’s bill.

The rebate program had been working well.  Spurred by the passage of Amendment 37, there are now roughly 5,300 solar jobs and more than 400 solar businesses in Colorado.  Colorado is now the #2 state in the US for solar jobs per capita.  Xcel’s Solar Rewards program was on schedule, slowly ratcheting down incentives as solar costs decreased.  Incentives were reduced nearly 50% during the past two years as solar electric costs decreased by 40-50% during the same period.  The program changes were predictable, incremental and transparent so consumers and businesses could react.

We have taken huge strides in the past few years to promote clean energy and new jobs, and Xcel wants to unravel it all.  Please help to write to your elected officials and to the PUC, and let them know we need these rebates to continue and we need the rebate program restarted!
Public Utilities Commission

Refer to Docket #11A-135E
http://www.dora.state.co.us/pls/real/CCTS_oWEB.comment_form

Find your elected Officials
http://www.votesmart.org/

Go Green Electric partnered in installing renewable energy at the newly completed parking facility at DIA.  The 4,200-stall Canopy Airport Parking lot is built to LEED Gold certification standards and incorporates energy saving features including solar and wind power, geothermal heating and cooling.  We are proud to work on DIA’s first green parking structure and hope you enjoy it next time you visit DIA.

Mike Maharas, owner and Master Electrician for Go Green Electric now has 1 more certification to add to our team: NABCEP certified.

Thanks to Mike, we are now certified by The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP).  NABCEP is the national certification organization for professional installers in the field of renewable energy.  They issue voluntary certification credentials to those qualified professionals who satisfy eligibility requirements established by the Board of Directors.  We support their work in providing customers with a reliable, standard of certification in this growing field of solar installation.

All in all, we are happy to be recognized nationally as a qualified solar photovoltaic (PV) installer!

Mike Maharas is the owner and master electrician of Go Green Electric, Inc. and was featured on 9News using the Watts Up? Meter now available for checkout at the Denver Public Library.

Go Green Electric uses Watts Up? meters to help identify potential energy savings in $$$ and in watts.  By reducing the amount of electricity used in the home, we can save you thousands of dollars by installing a smaller PV system!

To learn more give us a call at, 303.434.5961 or send along an email to mike@gogreenelectricinc.com

Sanyo provides a great brochure about the benefits of solar…not to mention they showcased one of our projects on the back page.

Sanyo is the world leader in the production of the highest efficiency solar panels, and they are known for their experience in the industry that dates back to 1975.

Download the Sanyo brochure to learn more about the benefits of solar (and check out our work too).

Recent changes in Xcel’s Solar Rewards rebate program, worries not just those of us working to improve solar use in Colorado, but Govenor Ritter himself!  It’s good to know we have serious support from serious people under that big gold dome.

Read the Rocky Mountain News article.

Govenor’s Energy Office has lots of resources to understand more about renewable energy…..and our favorite, SOLAR (aka PV or Photovoltaic)!  “It is estimated that Colorado – one of the sunniest states in the country“, so why not take advantage of that and go green by going solar!?

Click here to learn more about RENEWABLE ENERGY.

Check out what’s new in solar energy at the National Renewable Energy Lab, located right here in Golden, Colorado!