Solar Related:
- Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy (AzRISE): Dr. Joe Simmons, Ardeth Barnhart and their team are doing great work in coordinating and promoting solar research at the University of Arizona. We are very proud to support them.
- Arizona Registrar of Contractors: You should check the background of any contractor before you do business with them. How long have they had a contractor’s license, do they have a valid one to do the work you are considering, and what is the background and experience of their qualifying party? See the highlighted section on valid solar contracting licenses.
- SolarWorld PV panels: One of the highest, if not THE highest, producing solar panels in the industry as measured in annual kWh's of electricity produced by credible, third party labs. They are also the closest to a 100% USA made solar electric panel and one of the highest quality.
- Solon PV panels: One of the highest quality PV manufacturers and they have a plant in Tucson. We use their panels in many of our commercial installations.
- SunTech PV panels: One of the largest, highest quality Chinese PV panel manufacturers who recently opened a plant in Phoenix.
- Sharp Solar: The world's largest solar panel manufacturer and the panels we used exclusively when we began doing grid-tied solar electric systems in volume.
- Power-One Aurora Inverters: One of the world's largest inverter manufacturers who recently opened a plant in Phoenix. They make one of the most flexible string inverters and one of the easiest to install and most robust performance monitoring systems.
- EnPhase micro-Inverters: The pioneer in micro-inverters and the one we use to date when the advantages outweigh the costs and it is the right architecture for the project.
- SunEarth solar hot water: SunEarth has been a mainstay of our company for 30 years. They make great products that have withstood our harsh Arizona climate for decades.
- Energy Labs solar hot water: Energy Labs makes a great, modular drainback solar hot water system. We use them when a drainback system is the best solution for a project.
- Gull Industries solar pool heating: After many years of evaluating ALL the unglazed, resin based solar pool heating panels we have standardized on Gull 6.5' diameter panels for installations where we CANNOT plumb the panels to drain naturally, which typically means a "flat" territorial style roof or ground mount.
- Techno-solis solar pool heating: After many years of evaluating ALL the unglazed, resin based solar pool heating panels we have standardized on Techno-solis 4'x8'/10'/12' panels for installations where we can plumb the panels to drain naturally. They have proven themselves to be the most durable panels of this type in the industry.
Other:
- Central Asia Institute: Like countless others around the world, I have been moved by the work of Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute. The work Sunpower does is inconsequential compared to the work done by the CAI, but I like to think Greg and our customers are moving the world in the right direction, even if it is in tiny steps.
- California Cars Initiative: A good resource for Electric Vehicle info. - Planet Solar: The first PV powered boat round-the-world expedition. It is not very attractive but it is a good test vehicle for advancing "what's possible".
- Chevy Volt: A true plug in hybrid vehicle.
- Nissan Leaf: A true plug-in electric vehicle.
- Solar Impulse: Unlike hybrid cars and boats, solar powered planes will unlikely ever be mainstream but it is a cool concept nonetheless.
- Shibui: Shibui, a Norseman 447, is a 45’ offshore cruising sailboat owned by Brian and Mary Alice O’Neill, who are currently doing a northern Pacific circumnavigation. Cruising sailboats are the ultimate way to go “off-the-grid,” and some of the best memories I have are on time spent aboard Shibui. Shibui has one global circumnavigation under her belt with the O’Neill’s at the helm, and I have been fortunate enough to share in some highlights of their voyages – a Fiji to New Zealand passage along with sojourns along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, California, Mexico and Turkey. There is no better, or lower carbon footprint, way to see the world than from the deck of a sailboat.
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