MSSI - Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc
Today's energy for Tomorrow's world | 443-218-2620
March Spring Maryland Home and Garden Show at the Maryland Fairgrounds in Timonium. March 6-7 and March 12-14, 2010.
Please join Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc. at the Maryland Home and Garden Show at the fairgrounds. This massive spring home and garden show includes hundreds of vendors and exhibitors. With the theme "Wine and Dine al fresco," there are sure to be exciting things to see and do. Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc. will have staff members at our booth during all show hours, both weekends, to answer your questions about solar and to distribute the American Solar Energy Society's Getting Started: Solar 2010 guides.
Show dates and times are as follows:
Saturday, March 6th, 10 AM- 9 PM Sunday, March 7th, 10AM-6 PM Friday, March 12th, 10AM- 9 PM Saturday, March 13th, 10 AM- 9 PM Sunday, March 14th 10 AM- 6 PMPlease visit MDHomeAndGarden.com for more information.
Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc.’s free solar seminars are free and open to anyone. Come and meet the owner and some employees of the company. Learn about how solar electricity works, a little of its history (solar panels have been around longer than you think!), and discover the tax incentives and grants available for home and business owners who add solar arrays in Maryland.
MSSI staff will also take the time to explain the sometimes-confusing world of SRECS, or Solar Renewable Energy Credits. These credits, which represent the green value of the clean energy your solar array generates, are sold at auction twice a year and purchased by utilities and other companies seeking to meet Maryland’s Renewable Energy Portfolio standards. The State of Maryland’s ambitious goals call for 20% of Maryland’s power to be generated by clean sources by 2022, including 2% from solar. Many companies find it practical to purchase SRECs aggregated from small solar arrays in order to meet this goal.
Light refreshments are served, and bluehouse’s relaxed, comfortable atmosphere allows MSSI staff and our seminar guests to talk in a small group setting.
Please, rsvp to MSSIcontact@marylandsolarsolutions.com or call 443-218-2620 if you plan to attend.
Since 2005, Bluehouse has been the Baltimore area's source for healthy, green home products, providing solutions for every room. Bluehouse specializes in sustainable furniture, organic mattresses and linens, chemical-free cleaning products, elegant green tableware, and more. Bluehouse is also the area's only Authorized Retailer of Herman Miller Designs.
Saturday, October 3rd, Maryland homeowners got a chance to see solar electric systems, solar thermal energy, straw bale insulation, and other green innovations in use in real people’s homes in and around the Baltimore metro area.
Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc. was happy to host the Baltimore Area branch of the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour. The free, self-guided tour took place on October 3rd. The bright, sunny weather was ideal for a look at solar. Guests visited two locations in the Reisterstown, MD area.
Colette Hayward, founder of Reisterstown-based Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc. personally guided guests around her own solar home. Hayward’s home, with its 6.9 KW grid-tied solar electric system, including a Fat Spaniel monitoring system and Fronius inverter, gave guests a chance to have involved discussions about solar. “Since it’s my own house, I’m comfortable taking people inside to show them the inverter,” Hayward said. “I know the specs on all the panels, the racking systems, everything.”
“My system’s taking my home to net zero,” Hayward added referring to the fact over the course of a year, the panels will produce 100% of the energy her household uses. “I’m proud of it. I was happy to show it off.”
The staff of Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc. is already planning to participate in next year’s ASES National Solar Tour in Fall 2010. It’s too soon for rsvps for guests, but please contact us if you live in Baltimore City or County and would like to add your solar home or business to the tour. E-mail MSSIcontact@marylandsolarsolutions.com or call 443-218-2620.
Maryland is one of the best states in the nation for going solar. Net metering, state laws that protect solar energy producers from undue interference from homeowners' associations, and various local incentives all add to the favorable climate. However, one of the biggest factors, the Maryland Solar Energy Grant Program, has gone through some changes.
Going solar in Maryland is so popular that while everyone currently on the Maryland Energy Administration's waiting list for the Maryland Solar Energy Grant Program for fiscal year 2010 will be funded, applicants added after September 1st will be subject to a new grant structure.
Previously, the grant incentive structure, based on watts of DC output, went as follows:
$1.25/watt for the first 4,000 watts of capacity
$1.00/watt for watts 4,001-8,000
$.50/watt for 8,001-10,000
The new incentives, announced September 1, 2009 are as follows:
$1.25/watt for the first 2,000 watts of capacity
$.75/watt for watts 2,001-8,0000
$.25/watt for watts 8,001-20,000
The new structure caps the total potential dollar amount of the grant at $10,000.
So, homeowners will still be rewarded for going solar, but the dollar amount will be less than it was as the state approaches its renewable energy profile goals.
"Act Fast!" and "Special Offer Expires Soon" are advertising clichés, but for Marylanders interested in adding solar, they ring true. The state's funds for the Solar Energy Grant Program are finite, and Marylanders can expect to see funding for individual projects shrink even as regulations get tighter. This does not mean solar has stopped being a great investment, but it does mean that it pays to stay educated about new developments in the state's solar incentive programs. Maryland Solar Solutions, Inc. can help-and we can help you get your name on the applicable waiting lists for funding as soon as possible.
The Economic Stimulus Bill signed into law on February 17th, 2009 has resulted in several important new incentives and measures to stimulate energy efficiency and solar, wind and other renewable energy development, manufacturing, installation and operation in the United States.