Could Women Take Solar Adoption to the Next Level?
As a group, women seem to be pretty on board for the whole clean energy thing. Last year a national poll by the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment found that 43 percent of women named moving to clean energy as the single most important goal for the United States. A full 90 percent of women said solar energy should be a “very or somewhat important part” of our national energy policy.
But while women are definitely interested in clean energy, there are some indications that the clean energy industry hasn’t yet fully or effectively engaged them as consumers. Here at One Block Off the Grid, for instance, we’ve often puzzled over the fact that only 18 percent of our members are women. Live solar educational events have about that same rate of participation from women, even as rates of female home ownership are rising.
Real Estate Market Sees Solar in a New Light
Once considered an eyesore by the real estate market, solar panels are now becoming a hot commodity. An influential study by NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab) caught everyone’s’ attention last year when it found that homes with solar panels sold 20 percent faster than non-solar homes and fetched a 17 percent higher asking price. Update, April 2011: New research by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also finds strong evidence that homes with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems sell for a premium over homes without solar systems. Click here to read more about the Lawrence Berkeley study, or click “Read the rest of this entry” below for more about the overall trend.
Seven Solar Powered Gadgets
From consumer electronics to lingerie that can charge your consumer electronics, solar keeps popping up in new places. Check out our list:
1. Parking Meters
They’re everywhere, now: New York City, Los Angeles, Denver, Eugene. What’s so great about them, anyway? They save cities installation and operating costs. Big time.
