Originally published October 16 2005
Sales of alternative energy sources soar amid concerns of rising energy costs
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
As gas prices rise and heating costs start to rise with the cooling weather, more and more people and businesses are turning to alternative energy sources such as solar power to compensate for their energy needs, the Charlotte Observer reports.
With higher heating costs coming this winter and a national debate swirling over tight fuel supplies, solar power is getting a new day in the sun.
They've jumped an additional 300 percent in 2005, Whigham said, adding "We're placing orders now for all of next year."
Industry revenues have grown an average 35 percent a year since 2001, the group said.
Just last month, shipping giant FedEx installed solar-power panels at its Oakland, Calif., hub in part because of volatile energy prices, a spokesman said.
An additional lure: Federal tax breaks for solar systems kick in Jan. 1 -- coinciding with predicted record-high natural gas bills across much of the country, including the Carolinas.
Of the total electricity generated in the U.S. each year, solar power accounts for less than 1 percent.
But that is growing, said Solar Energy trade group spokesman Noah Kaye.
Jeff and Bronwen Martin built their Lake Norman home three years ago and equipped it with an array of solar power and other energy-saving devices.
The Martins can sell surplus electricity generated from the home's photovoltaic solar system back to Duke Power.
And the home's solar water-heating system is so efficient Jeff Martin says he even uses hot water to clean his garbage cans.
The number of solar energy users in North Carolina is hard to determine.
Steve Kalland, deputy director of N.C. Solar Center, said generous Carter-era tax credits jolted solar installations throughout the country and Carolinas.
Cheap fuel and consumers' set-in-their-ways frame of mind have contributed to slow adoption of solar energy in the Carolinas, despite a favorable position in the Sun Belt, Kalland said.
The N.C. Solar Center's most recent data from the Department of Revenue date to 2002, when 233 individuals and businesses qualified for a renewable- energy tax credit.
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