Google just Invested $100 Million to Make Solar Panels More Accessable & Affordable for U.S. Homeowners | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

GOOGLE Invests $100 Million to Make Solar Panels More Affordable for American Homeowners! 

Resource... Inhabitat.com 

Google has just announced its biggest renewable energy purchase to date (and that’s saying something: the company has already invested $5 million in a German solar power plant and bought enough wind energy in Texas to power 170,000 US homes.) Just after Earth Day, Google announced a partnership with solar cell manufacturer SunPower Corporation that will establish a $250 million dollar fund to buy–and then lease–thousands of solar panels to American homeowners.

Google and SunPower claim the initiative will allow Americans to access solar energy at “a cost that’s typically lower than their normal electricity bill.”

FULLY SUSTAINABLE LIVING IS THE FUTURE!

To kick off this ambitious solar leasing initiative, Google has contributed $100 million in cash, while SunPower delivered the remaining $150 million. Google says it chose to partner with SunPower because “[t]hey’re known for having high-quality, high reliability panels which can generate up to 50 percent more power per unit area, with guaranteed performance and lower degradation over time.”

Solar leasing has become an increasingly popular option for those who want to take advantage of rooftop solar power but can’t (or don’t want to) make the necessary upfront investment. Leasing solar panels often means that all maintenance and repairs are left up to the company that owns the equipment. However, it’s important for customers to realize that they will most likely forfeit the  federal tax credit and any cash rebate to the leasing company.

Unlike other solar leasing programs, which lock homeowners into 10 or 15 year agreements, the SunPower/Google initiative will give customers the option to buy their system after six years or at the end of the lease term. Both companies hope thousands of homeowners will be able to finance solar power systems through SunPower as a result of this program, joining the approximately 20,000 Americans already leasing from SunPower.

Read more: Google Invests $100 Million to Make Solar Panels More Affordable for American Homeowners | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building 

Crowdfunding Raises French Start up Limits

The crowdfunding rules in France will become startup-friendlier in the coming months. The government announced today that companies will be able to raise up to $1.4 million (€1 million) per Kickstarter-like crowdfunding campaign. The exact limit will apply to equity crowdfunding (also known as AngelList-style syndicates) — startups will be able to raise up to $1.4 million per year without having to notify the financial markets authority.Previously, equity crowdfunding was limited to $140,000 (€100,000) and your company couldn’t be an SAS (the French equivalent of an LLC). And if you raised more than $140,000, you had to work with a lawyer to produce hundreds of pages of legal documents. With the new law, as long as you raise less than $1.4 million in an equity crowdfunding round, you only have to file a short document of 3 or 4 pages.Investors have been anticipating the new law for months. Back in September, the government presented a half-baked law with a very low limit of $410,000 (€300,000) — the government had to go back to the drawing board.There are a couple of restrictions. When it comes to Kickstarter-style crowdfunding, individuals won’t be able to invest more than $1,400 in a campaign (€1,000). This will prevent, or at least limit, a main disappointment from over-promising campaigns. This only applies to French crowdfunding platforms, such as Ulule, KissKissBankBank and My Major Company.Until now, many French companies chose to create an LLC to launch a Kickstarter campaign in dollars. It might change with the new rules, especially for French companies that don’t plan to sell 3D printers or other expensive items.Banks, regulators and consumer associations all took part in the making of these rules. But today’s announcement is just the beginning. First, the law will be passed around June. Every six months after that, all the key players of the crowdfunding space will meet again to see if they should raise or lower the $1.4 million limit. The government will also nominate a new crowdfunding official to take care of these questions. So to say the least, it’s amazing news for French startups.