A new survey from Sungevity shows that the overwhelming majority of parents—81 percent—plans to live in a solar powered home. Moreover, it found that 88 percent of parents thought teaching their children about clean energy is as important as teaching them about good manners. 

Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Forest Service, Department of Energy (DOE) and General Services Administration (GSA) developed the first federal partnership to purchase solar power through a power purchase agreement (PPA). It’s the first time multiple agencies have coordinated together to purchase solar power under one contract. Under the partnership numerous federal offices in California and Nevada will work with a contractor to achieve greater efficiencies of scale to help reduce the cost of going solar. 

California is the biggest state for residential solar in the country. The state has also supported residential solar with the $2.2 billion California Solar Initiative (CSI), which many have thought was at least in part responsible for the growth of home solar in the state. A new study from Vanderbilt University, funded in part by the Department of Energy, found that other factors, like the spread of solar leases and the influence of neighbors may have had more of an impact on the growth of solar in the state. 

NRG YieldCo will invest up to $150 million into NRG Home Solar’s Residential Solar portfolio, one of the first times a YeildCo will be used to purchase a residential solar portfolio in the U.S. The arrangement will allow NRG to more quickly monetize its residential solar leases, and free up more cash to invest in future residential solar projects while opening up solar project investment opportunities to more people in the U.S.

The costs of batteries and solar panels are continuing to come down. That's according to a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and HOMER Energy that came out this week. It's could spell bad news for traditional utilities that will have more work cut out for them to retain their customers as it becomes easier for them to go solar. But, as with most things the RMI does, it explored ways that utilities can remain relevant when consumers have other options. 

When Rio Tinto Stadium’s solar array is completed this fall the 2 megawatt system will provide 73 percent of the Major League Soccer teams Real Salt Lake and USL Real Monarchs power needs. That’s a larger share of power than any other stadium in the U.S.—and, indeed North America, is deriving from onsite solar power at this point—even though some other stadiums have bigger solar arrays. 

Two recent polls confirm that the public in the U.S. wants more solar power and renewable energy. One, released March 30 by Gallup, found that solar and wind are more popular than nuclear. The other released yesterday (April 7) by Clean Edge and SolarCity found that overwhelmingly the public in the country wants more solar and wants to see clean energy incentives continue. The polls come as the major federal incentives supporting solar, the Investment Tax Credit, and wind, the Production Tax Credit, are set for reduction or expiration and extension of them are facing a hostile Congress. 

Duke Energy is lending credence to the term “The Sunshine State” for Florida. Last week it announced a new plan to install 500 megawatts of solar power in Florida by 2024. Its parent, North Carolina-based Duke Energy, has already joined some other major utilities by investing in renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

Today (April 3) at Hill Air Force Base in Salt Lake City, Utah, President Obama announced a plan with the Department of Energy and community colleges across the nation to train 75,000 people to work in the solar industry. This will include training aimed specifically at veterans as well as others. 

The brightly hued plastics in the pictures belie what’s a really cool device, a 3D printed solar-powered sterling engine. It might look like a toy but just recently people were designed solar-powered Stirling engines that could produce electricity through a mechanical generator.