Solar

It is imperative that state lawmakers pass the bill to increase the state's commitment to clean energy ("Measure hastens adoption of solar," April 6). Despite the attempt by some lawmakers to portray this negatively, the fact is that moving faster in adopting clean energy requirements provides numerous benefits to residents across the state. Passing the bill to expand solar energy would create more jobs, employing more Marylanders in high demand green collar industries. These jobs would be permanent, too, helping to grow our economy.

Parts of Australia and Pacific islands are in for what some call a "ring of fire" eclipse on Friday, though it won't be visible on this side of the world. The moon will pass between Earth and the sun, blocking all but the outer ring of the sun's rays for those in the center of the eclipse's path. Further north or south, the moon will obscure less of the sun. Because the moon is relatively far away from Earth in its orbit, it won't block the sun entirely, what is known as a total solar eclipse.

Maryland's Senate is backing a bill that would require power companies to increase the amount of electricity they buy from solar sources. Senators voted 31-15 Friday in favor of the legislation after days of debate. The bill would also increase penalties for companies that fail to buy the required percentage of electricity from solar sources. Some senators argued that companies would pass on those penalties to consumers and that Marylanders can't afford even slightly higher electricity bills.

Furniture mega-retailer Ikea on Tuesday plugged in Maryland's largest rooftop array of solar panels, atop its distribution center in Perryville. The 769,000-square-foot field of panels will generate 3.4 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, the company said in a statement. That's the equivalent of avoiding a year's worth of greenhouse gas emission from about 500 cars, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. "As one of the largest rooftop arrays in the country, this installation will ensure that the Ikea Perryville distribution center consumes very little power from the electric grid," said Ed Morris, the manager of the Perryville distribution center.

Frederick County wants the state to help in adding solar collection systems on county buildings. County commissioners have approved a letter of interest to be sent to the Maryland Energy Administration about the public-private partnership. The state has $5 million to $6 million to install solar rooftop panels on state and local government buildings. The panels would allow the county to save on energy bills while giving a private developer the opportunity to install and retain ownership of the system.

Constellation Energy Group and McCormick & Co. have announced an agreement to develop a single rooftop solar installation that will have the largest capacity of any statewide, Constellation announced Thursday. Construction on the 1.8-megawatt solar photovoltaic power system should begin at McCormick's Belcamp distribution center in June and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Constellation will finance the project and will own and maintain the solar system for 20 years.

One oil company thinks solar energy is hot There's another way to think about that incredible 72 percent electric rate increase proposed for BGE customers this summer. Like the $3- or $4- or $5-a-gallon gasoline that may be just around the corner, it's a painful reminder of the Darwinian axiom that the future belongs to those who plan and evolve. Just ask the folks at BP Solar. The company, a subsidiary of the global oil giant, recently spent $25 million to more than double the capacity of a Frederick plant where it manufactures panels of solar electric cells designed to be mounted on the roofs of homes or businesses.

WASHINGTON -- The home comes with a flat-screen TV, durable concrete counter tops, a deck and bamboo cabinets and floors. But the best feature of this one-bedroom, wood-frame house - designed, built and put on display in Washington this week by a team of University of Maryland students - is its power source. The sun. The house took two years to build and cost $440,000 - a bit steep for 800 square feet, even in today's inflated market. But this one is not for sale at any price. It's one of 18 solar-powered homes built by architecture and engineering students from schools around the country competing in the 2005 Solar Decathlon.

Space weather forecasters are watching the development of a large spot on the sun - a region on the solar surface with a potential to hurl dangerous solar particles toward the crews of the shuttle Discovery and the International Space Station. They say the sunspot has been active in recent days, and new eruptions are possible. Some would pose no risk. But a blast of high-energy protons could force the two crews to seek shelter in one of the space station's protected Russian modules, solar scientists say. That has happened to shuttle and station crews several times in the past, most recently in 2003.

One of the most mysterious of all nature's rhythms -- the 11-year rise and fall of solar activity -- is rising toward a violent climax, and scientists say society has never been more vulnerable.Since the last "solar maximum" in 1989, the networks of high-technology communications and satellites have expanded like condos on the beach -- smack in the path of the coming solar "storms."Space station astronauts will be working in harm's way. And electric utilities are more reliant on cross-country transmission lines that can behave something like Ben Franklin's kites during big solar events.

Those who were eager for a rare chance to see the aurora borealis from Maryland were disappointed as the phenomenon known as the "Northern Lights" did not appear this far south. Solar weather is, in general, difficult for scientists to predict. While they detected a significant solar flare on Thursday, sending charged particles in what is known as a coronal mass ejection, when they could effect Earth and how significantly is not always clear until their arrival is imminent. Astronomy enthusiasts were abuzz over when the light show might begin, and where.

A solar flare that was the largest of the year could create a rare chance to see the aurora borealis, or "Northern Lights", from Maryland on Saturday night. The flare occurred Thursday at 3:16 a.m. and was associated with what is known as a coronal mass ejection, in which charged particles released by the sun hurtle through space and sometimes pass by the Earth. The particles can create dramatic episodes of the Northen Lights, though they can also affect satellite communications and GPS. According to AccuWeather.com, viewing conditions for the Northern Lights will be best in the mid-Atlantic, with clouds blocking the view for much of the northern U.S. and Canada.

Fifty-eight years after it opened in Highland, Boarman's Old-Fashioned Meat Market is still, in many respects, living up to its name. Boarman family members still mix spices for the pork sausage made in house, the staff butcher still stuffs the sausage skin, still cuts meat to order and, more recently, started smoking bacon with apple wood he gets from a neighbor. Boarman's is possibly Howard County's last all-purpose market that's not part of a chain, offering everything from household cleaners to beer and wine, canned goods, produce, house-made crab cakes and custom cuts of meat.

For Maryland Honda and Acura owners, it just got a little easier to go solar - at home, if not yet on the road. American Honda Motor Co ., in a partnership with SolarCity , a California-based residential and commercial installer, is offering customers discounts to put photovoltaic panels on their homes at little or no upfront cost. The two companies have set up a $65 million fund to finance solar installations on residences and on Honda and Acura dealerships in Maryland and 13 other states where SolarCity now operates.

Your recent commentary on climate change continues the politically correct approach to the problem of global warming and its solutions without approaching the reality of what has been accomplished and what the underlying issues are ("Forecast calls for pain," Feb. 6). Carbon dioxide production cannot be measured; it can be calculated by analyzing components in effluent streams from boilers and actual feed streams of fuel, which vary in composition, boiler efficiency, excess air and an infinite number of other variables.

I'm concerned about Gov. Martin O'Malley's continuing push for wind energy off of Maryland's coast ("O'Malley to push for wind yet again," Jan. 13). I'm not opposed to wind energy as such, but I am in favor of spending taxpayer's dollars efficiently. Offshore wind turbines represent a tremendous engineering and long-term maintenance project. Has anyone in state government considered solar power instead of wind? Solar is so much simpler; it has no moving parts and thus little requirement for maintenance.

If you like sitting out on the patio at night but want to add a little light to your surroundings, there's another choice besides candles and tiki torches. While solar path lighting has been around for years, manufacturers only recently have introduced outdoor table lamps with rechargeable solar batteries. "The beauty of these lamps is that they don't look much different from indoor table lamps that are usually chosen based on decor style," writes Skip Teeters, outdoor lighting product manager for Hampton Bay and Home Depot, which recently came out with rechargeable solar table lamps.

FOR FREDERICK-BASED Solarex, the future is suddenly bright. For the first time in years, the solar-power business is growing -- at 20 percent a year. Third World countries see solar energy as a cheap way to bring electricity to thousands of far-flung villages. New technology has dramatically cut production costs and raised energy efficiency. Within a decade, the price of solar may yet be competitive with oil and gas.This is a marked change for an industry that has failed to meet expectations since Jimmy Carter pointed to solar energy as a cheap alternative to oil in the 1970s.

A total solar eclipse will occur over parts of northern Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, and you can watch it from Maryland via a webcast. The eclipse begins at about 3:35 p.m. EST, with its path starting in  Australia's Garig Ganak Barlu National Park in the Northern Territory. The instant of greatest eclipse will be reached at about 5:12 p.m. EST. The eclipse path ends at 6:48 p.m. EDT just west of Chile. While it won't be visible to many populated areas of the globe, an official broadcast is being done from Cairns, Australia.

Nixon's Farm in West Friendship has for 50 years been a fine place for country weddings in the converted 19th-century barn amid the grassy hills - "centrally isolated," the website calls the spot. Soon, though, a portion of the grounds off Route 32 could become the county's largest solar electricity generator, and the first built strictly to sell power to a utility. A Baltimore-based energy engineering and consulting company has Howard County's permission to build an array of 10,400 solar panels designed to generate up to 2 megawatts, enough power for hundreds of houses.