In the next few years we will see more of these emerge onto the marketplace.  The will continue to develop.  Not entirely sure what the overall costs are yet, but OLEDs hold some potential.

Here is a GE produced video that talk about OLEDs in a broad sense.

I will still have the blog, it will just become a sub of this website.  More to follow.  Thank you for your support.

Dale

Currently here are the incentives, both Federal and Washington.

Federal:
30% tax credit for system brought on line in 2008, with a cap of $2,000 for homes and no cap for businesses.*  Teh credit may be used on solar hot water systems as well as Photo-Voltaic (PV).  You can get $2,000 back from the federal government for a PV system AND $2,000 for a hot water system.  The credits may be extended.  Make sure to encourage your state representatives.

*This is a great option for home run businesses!

State:
A great resource for the most current information is www.northwestsolarcenter.org.

Current incentives as of this posting are:

Net Metering requires the utilities to allow you to hook up to their grid (a requirement to get $ back) with your solar or wind power system.  Your meter can turn backwards up to the amount of electricity that you use on an annual basis.  The summer credit can be used in the dark winter months.  Everytime rates go up, so does the value of your PV system and its electricty.

Sales Tax Exemption for PV equipment and its installation until 2011. Solar Hot Water Systems are also exempt.

There are also Production Incentive Payments which increase when thge equipment for your systems is made in Washington.  Nete Metering currently gets you $.15/kWh for every kWh your grid-tied system produces until July 2014.  While this is voluntary most utilities are onboard.  The money they pay back comes of teh state utility tax, so for them they either pay the state or the customer.  If you buy an invertor made in Washington your incentive is increased by $.03 to $.18/kWh.  If you by PV panels made in Washignton you can add an additional $.35/kWh to the $.18/kWh for a total of $.53/kWh with a yearly cap of $2,000.

There is one catch.  There are no UL rated PV panels currently made in Washington.  One company I meantioned early, Silcon-Energy will soon be available in Washington.

Also, for those that are part of Snohomish County PUD, you will soon be in luck as new incentives will go in effect in the next year.  Stay tuned.

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency website provides a searchable comprehensive database of state, local and utility based incentives.

Visit their library to learn more about Federal tax credits and to access links to tax forms.

Technorati Tags: zero energy, solar power

On another note, IKEA may in the near future start carrying solar panels in their stores. it may not be Washington made, but it is a start.

• Green Washing - Making an items seem ‘greener’ than it really is. In this day and age there are lots of ‘marketing’ schemes being used to make people think they are helping the environment. One item to consider if you are taking ‘too much’ from the environment, is how much embodied energy are you using.
• Embodied Energy - is the total energy it takes to create an item or product. So how much ‘total’ energy does it take to make a dime? Does it cost 10 cents? Really? Or does it cost more, but because it lasts longer, the total energy is less. Think of it in terms of socks. I can go to a big chain outlet (no names please) and spend $5 on 8 pairs of socks. But they only last a year. Or I can go and spend $5 per pair of socks and they last 5 years (or more and still be comfortable). So which on uses more energy? Really the you need to count how many times you went to the store plus the energy used to make the additional socks, how far did it travel, etc. There are a lot of variables and they all ad up to more energy and more money.
• Fly Ash – A by product of a coal fired plant. Is coal the best energy source? Maybe not. But we have many around the country and there is one in Centralia, WA. Does it make sense to just scrap it? I am not sure about that. What about it’s fly ash? Where does it go? Right now most of it is stockpiled. Where can it go? It can be added to concrete (locally in Washington). It is a great additive. Plus it does not then end up in land fills.
• Sustainable Development – think smart and be responsible. What happens with the wildlife, the water flow, etc when development comes into an area. I believe we should be responsible and develop in a sustainable manner. The earth is not getting bigger and so far as I know it. We only have one planet that we can live on. We better take care of it.