United Press International reports that communities surrounding the Sacramento area are witnessing new home sales double in developments in which SunTile Solar power systems have been integrated into the home designs.

The news comes at a time when nearly 90% of Americans express that solar power should be an option for all new home construction.

California’ state senate has proposed a bill calling for home builders to offer solar installations in new homes beginning in 2011.

Various parties have recently announced their intentions to “go solar” – read below for a brief sampling:

• The Vatican – rooftop garden of solar panels is set to be installed on the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall.
• Solar Ferry on Ellis Island route – Ferry operator Circle Line is floating a plan to put an environmentally friendly hybrid vessel – combining solar, wind and diesel power – on its Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island route
• Solar-powered mobile phone – HTW Electronics’ S116 solar powered mobile device gives 30 minues of talk time after a 1 hour charge in the sunlight. A full charge is attained after 12 hours of charging.
• Solar-powered muscial recording – Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell recently recorded a “solar-powered” song in support of the Friends Of The Earth charity

Robert Palumbo, professor of Mechanical Engineering and Frederick F. Jenny Jr., Professor of Emerging Technology at Valparaiso University have recently embarked on the Solar Thermal Electrolysis Project, a five-year research project funded by a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

The researchers are currently working on improved ways to run cars on solar energy by concentrating sunlight to heat a solar reactor that converts zinc oxide into metallic zinc, which would be utilized as a storable, transferable fuel to be used when & where it’s needed.

Peak watt is the maximum rated output of a photovoltaic device, such as a solar cell or array, under standardized test conditions, usually 1000 watts per square meter (0.645 watts per square inch) of sunlight with other conditions, such as temperature specified. Typical rating conditions are 68°F (20°C), ambient air temperature, and 1 m/s (6.2 x 10-3 miles/sec.) wind speed.

The Encylopedia of Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living

The CitizenRe Corporation, a new “no money down” solar manufacturer and installation company based out of Wilmington, Delaware, has set out to provide free residential solar installations, provided consumers are willing to pay the company a locked in rate for the energy provided by the Citizenre-owned installation.

Although CitizenRe is not the first company to offer such a plan, the company has ignited quite a bit of discussion in the blogosphere, with some pointing out the stink of multi-level marketing (aka “pyramid scheme”) while others have provided analysis that seems to invalidate the current pricing model proposed by CitizenRe. Furthermore, the company seems to have oversold its contracts, with “Ecopreneurs” (CitizenRe’s sales force or MLM workers) selling contracts that will allegedly fall short of the stated September 2007 instalation date.

Amidst the Internet buzz on CitizenRe’s business plan and marketing tactics, the company’s strategic discussions have recently been leaked in a memo detailing “Excessive unethical behavior driven by lack of training, skewed incentives, and lack of controls”.

Given the mis-steps by CitizenRe’s and its Ecopreneurs, one should not dismiss the business plan as a whole, as several other companies offer similar plans sans the uproar. Will these and other companies find a way to offer the “free installation” model on a large scale, thus creating a national grid of mini solar power stations under one “utility” provider? Or will informed consumers prefer to incur the materials and installation costs on their own?