All our homes in the tour will have a solar expert at each of the homes to demonstrate and answer questions on the solar system, And any additional solar questions you may have

Houston Solar Tour http://www.houstonsolartour.com

San Antonio Solar Tour http://nationalsolartour.org/content/solar-san-antonio-solar-tour

RENEWED ENERGY: Solar Power Proves Evasive For Sunny Houston

By Isabel Ordonez

A DOW JONES NEWSWIRES COLUMN

831 words

29 December 2009

14:00

Dow Jones Energy Service

NRG

English

(c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

HOUSTON (Dow Jones)–Houston, capital of the world’s fossil-fuel industry, has gone out of its way to embrace renewable power: The municipality buys a third of its power from wind-power sources, according to Mayor Bill White. But harnessing power from the sun is a much taller order.

Not that the fourth-largest city in the U.S. lacks sunlight: The sun’s relentless love every summer results in soaring air-conditioning bills for the city’s inhabitants. But solar energy remains far more expensive than conventional sources of energy–including wind. And the area’s excessively humid and muggy conditions make it difficult to capture sunshine for power.

“There so much humidity in Houston that light diffuses differently than in other parts of the country,” says Gavin Dillingham, director of special projects at the City of Houston. “We are trying to figure what works best in the city.”

Houston’s struggle to embrace solar power underscores one of the hurdles to the spread of renewable energy: The same formula isn’t applicable everywhere. Alternative sources of energy are highly dependent on local natural factors such as wind, sun, or the availability of hydro-power. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, are widely available and more economic but the emissions from their combustion are said to contribute significantly to global warming.

Solar-minded Houstonians have to rely on photovoltaic panels, which are groups of cells containing materials such as silicon that convert solar radiation into electricity, Dillingham said.

The city government is also experimenting with thin-film solar technology that can be rolled onto buildings’ roofs like wall paper, making it a lot easier to handle than traditional, bulky solar panels.

Houston is far behind its Texas neighbors Austin and San Antonio in offering rebates to citizens who want to use solar technologies because, unlike those cities, it doesn’t own utilities. Municipality-owned utility companies can afford to offer generous rebates for a technology that doesn’t make economic sense, while private companies don’t have that luxury, said Peter Bishop, associate professor of strategic foresight at the University of Houston.

High costs of installations are also a major hurdle, according to Steve Stelzer, program director for Houston’s green-building resource center.

“People in Houston like the idea of getting energy from the sun,” Stelzer said. “But when they find out how much it costs they say: ‘That is ridiculous’.”

Installing a solar system that will quench 30% of the energy needs of a three-bedroom house has a price tag of about $25,000, said Ralph Parrott, president of Alternative Power Solutions, a privately owned Houston-based company that provides residential and commercial solar-power systems.

However, Parrot said his business has grown steadily this year as people are taking advantage of the tax credit offered by the federal government for those willing to invest in renewable-energy projects. President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aimed at jump-starting the struggling U.S. economy. According to the law, consumers who install solar-energy systems before the end of 2016 can receive a 30% tax credit.

The city government isn’t giving up. It expects that at least 5% of the municipality’s energy purchases by 2015 will come from state solar farms and it is planning in 2010 to unveil low-interest loans to residents who want to install solar systems in their homes. Four large facilities in Houston have solar systems, and the city is finalizing agreements with two solar-energy companies that would provide roughly the amount needed to power more than 7,000 homes, Dillingham said.

Solar energy is seen as especially appealing to Houston because it can help to reduce energy-price volatility. About 50% of the city’s electricity is generated by natural gas and, in the past, prices of this commodity have spiked higher when hurricanes hit production areas and pipelines in Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.

(Isabel Ordonez covers U.S. integrated-oil companies for Dow Jones Newswires. She can be reached at 713-547-9207 or isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com)

NABCEP is the national certification organization for professional installers in the field of renewable energy.

www.NABCEP.org

(HOUSTON –  Alternative Power Solutions Corp. is pleased to announce the addition of Larry A. Atherton to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Larry has served in the capacity as Chief Financial Officer, President and Director for the past eighteen years in various industries, as well as an officer in both start-up entities and public companies. The choice was an obvious one – Larry has been extremely instrumental and successful in the growth and positioning of start-up and early stage companies. APS has become a leader in the design, production and installation of distributed energy systems, including solar and thermal products and services.

“Larry’s business acumen, coupled with his diverse background in finance, capital venture, and business structure will provide the necessary foundation for APS’s continued growth,” states Ralph Parrot, Founder and President. “The appointment of Larry to CEO will enable me to focus on the continued development and implementation of new distributed energy technologies into the market”.

A Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Louisville, Larry began his career as an auditor with the international CPA firm of Deloitte & Touche. Larry eventually joined the private capital venture firm of Pattco, Inc. and started, bought, sold and analyzed virtually every type of business. As the Director of Finance & Operations for an Internet start-up ISP, Larry was instrumental in the growth of the small company of 6 employees to 67 over a three-year period. Larry was responsible for the daily operations and ongoing financial controls, capital raising and product development of the start-up. The Company was successfully sold to a large public telecom company.

Larry has also served as the Corporate Controller and Chief Financial Officer of a public, international media company providing advertising services to petroleum outlets and convenience stores, worldwide. In this capacity, he traveled extensively throughout the world preparing the company’s quarterly and annual reports as well as handling its financial consolidations and stock exchange reporting

Alternative Power Solutions Corp. is a premier commercial, residential and utility solar electric (photovoltaic), solar thermal, and wind power design, finance, installation and product distribution firm in the Southwest.

The mission of APS is to provide the highest quality alternative energy system design and installation to the market. Our systems enable facility managers and homeowners alike to reduce their energy costs, overall dependence on fossil fuels, and their carbon footprint.