Blog

A space for learning.

Solarize Ventura County - Home Solar, Electric Vehicles, and Battery Systems</a>
Guest User Guest User

Solarize Ventura County - Home Solar, Electric Vehicles, and Battery Systems

If you’ve considered switching to an electric vehicle (EV) – and would like to charge at home with solar energy – now may be the perfect time to take the leap and learn how to Drive on Sunshine! Please join us to learn how driving electric pairs perfectly with going solar. We’ll cover EV options, help you consider the vehicles that will work for your lifestyle, and share how incentive programs make EVs more affordable than ever. We’ll also discuss the basics of solar, and how CEC’s Solarize Ventura County makes it easier and more affordable to go solar, add home battery systems, or both.

Read More
Solarize Santa Barbara - Home Solar, Electric Vehicles, and Battery Systems</a>
Guest User Guest User

Solarize Santa Barbara - Home Solar, Electric Vehicles, and Battery Systems

If you’ve considered switching to an electric vehicle (EV) – and would like to add a solar system to charge at home with solar energy – now may be the perfect time to take the leap and learn how to Drive on Sunshine!

Learn how driving electric pairs perfectly with going solar. We cover EV options, help you consider the vehicles that will work for your lifestyle, and share how incentive programs make EVs more affordable than ever. We also discuss the basics of solar, and how CEC’s Solarize Santa Barbara makes it easier and more affordable to go solar, add home energy storage, or both.

Read More
CEC Holds Timely Home Energy Storage Workshops
Guest User Guest User

CEC Holds Timely Home Energy Storage Workshops

In the Fall and Winter of 2019, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) partnered with city and county energy staff, local solar and energy companies, and community leaders to host three energy storage workshops in Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Ventura in response to a growing interest in solar-paired battery systems.

Read More
WIN: Santa Barbara Unified goes solar
Guest User Guest User

WIN: Santa Barbara Unified goes solar

Thanks to advocacy efforts from CEC and others, and particularly CEC past board president and SBUSD board member Laura Capps, Santa Barbara Unified School District moved forward with a comprehensive solar and storage project. Fourteen sites will install solar and six will include battery energy storage, for a total of five megawatts of solar and five megawatt hours of energy storage. This is one of the largest solar+storage projects in Santa Barbara and a fantastic asset for our community.

Read More
WIN: Protect rooftop solar in California
Guest User Guest User

WIN: Protect rooftop solar in California

Over 130,000 people, 270+ of which were CEC followers, took action to protect rooftop solar in California. This overwhelming display of support marks the largest number of public comments ever recorded at the CPUC.

Read More
A Solar Dream Come True
Guest User Guest User

A Solar Dream Come True

When a Solarponics representative flipped on the solar array at Ed and Irene Rush’s Atascadero home, it fulfilled a dream 35 years in the making.

Read More
Modern Day Money Trees
Emily DeMarco Emily DeMarco

Modern Day Money Trees

Ten years ago, Stephen had realized that he could either continue to pay his power company for increasingly expensive electricity, or he could invest in solar. Once he recouped his initial outlay on the investment, he reasoned, he could bask in free electricity for the duration of the panels’ life — between 30 and 40 years.

Read More
An Environmental and Economical Benefit
CEC Staff CEC Staff

An Environmental and Economical Benefit

Despite their appreciation for the environmental benefits of solar power, Donna and Patrick Will thought converting to solar energy would never make financial sense for them. However, after hearing about the Solarize Santa Ynez Valley program, the Wills decided to take another look at solar.

Read More
Free Solar Advice and Peace of Mind
Emily DeMarco Emily DeMarco

Free Solar Advice and Peace of Mind

Who doesn’t dread that monthly moment of opening a mailbox or an inbox and finding a stack of bills waiting to be paid? Electricity bills, cable bills, phone bills, medical bills—like hungry young birds in a nest, they sit there silently peeping until their demands are met.

Ty Lewis, a city employee of Paso Robles, set out to eliminate or significantly reduce one of the more common ones in his pile: his electricity bill.

Read More
6,000 Years of Solar: From Solar Heated Boxes to Hot Air and Water
CEC Staff CEC Staff

6,000 Years of Solar: From Solar Heated Boxes to Hot Air and Water

“6,000 Years of Solar” is a series about the history of solar energy technology drawn from John Perlin’s new book Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy. The series profiles the fascinating people, from ancient Greece and China to late 19th century New York to today, who have made the present day solar revolution possible.

Read More
Entering the Driving on Sunshine Galaxy
Emily DeMarco Emily DeMarco

Entering the Driving on Sunshine Galaxy

When Tal first learned about ‘driving on sunshine,’ or powering an electric vehicle with solar energy produced by panels on your home, it seemed like a science fiction fantasy come to life.

Read More