Ed Bozarth Chevrolet is selling the first plug-in electric hybrid vehicle to High Noon Solar, who will power the vehicle completely by solar power.  The Chevy Volt is a hybrid electric car, meaning the owner can drive completely on electricity for 35 miles, then use a gas engine to go another 340 miles, for longer trips.  The 35 mile electric range allows the average U.S. driver to make their daily commute with absolutely no tailpipe emissions.  Plus, pairing the car with a No Cost Solar program from High Noon Solar allows drivers to run their cars on clean, renewable solar power.  This provides a new solution to an on-going transportation problem, where our fuel comes from highly polluting sources bought from conflict-ridden areas of the world. 

The 2012 Chevy Volt will be on display at Ed Bozarth Chevrolet this Saturday the 22nd, from 10am- 2pm.  High Noon Solar representatives will be on hand to answer questions and give out information about the No Cost Solar program from High Noon Solar, which allows homeowners to receive a solar system with 40-80% annual savings and no capital investment.  

High Noon Solar will be using the 2 solar electric grid ties already installed at their offices to power the car.  The car will be used as a staff vehicle, for meeting with clients and performing site visits. Here's some more information on the Volt, from an article written by High Noon Solar in the Grand Junction Free Press.

Free hot dogs and give-aways at Bozarth Chevrolet on Saturday... more info here.

SunPower Corp, one of the leading solar manufacturers based in the US, was at the receiving end of a misinformed scandal perpetuated by Fox News this week.  Riding on the high ratings from the Solyndra news cycle, Fox News jumped on board when they heard a story written by 'Guns & Patriots' editor saying SunPower was in a similar situation.  The only problem?  It wasn't true.  Read the whole story here.

Watch the video from KREX News 5 here.

As a dwindling budget begins to affect School District 51, there is a ray of hope with saving on their energy bills, beginning in 2012.  School District 51 will be receiving solar installations on the roofs of seven school facilities, beginning with Dual Immersion Academy and the Career Center.  High Noon Solar has been chosen as the installation company for the project.  

"We see it as a win-win," said Eric Anderson, Energy Manager with School District 51, "not only for ourselves but for the solar industry in a our community as a whole."

The School District is receiving these systems with no capital investment and will realize immediate cost savings after installation.  

"They still get the benefits from the solar system, but they don't have to make any investment, so it's great for taxpayers. They start seeing savings immediately," said Heidi Ihrke, co-owner of High Noon Solar.

The installations will also provide an opportunity for students to learn about new technologies right in their own buildings, as each system will have online datamonitoring for students and faculty alike to use.

The solar industry in general has gotten a lot of attention lately, due to the demise of Solyndra, a solar manufactuer that filed for bankruptcy this month.  Solyndra was a thin film solar panel manufacturer that was backed by a DOE loan guarantee and hosted President Obama for a speech about technology's part to play in the future.  For solar's opposition, it presented a perfect opportunity to make this bankruptcy an example of the industry as a whole, creating an environment by politicians and pundits of wild inaccuracies and blatant misstatements about the industry as a whole.  However, the truth of the matter is that this company was just poorly run and shows more about mismanagement than technology's feasibility. 

Some of the real facts about the solar industry include:

* The solar industry employs more than 100,000 Americans, more than twice as many as in 2009. They work at more than 5,000 companies, the vast majority being small businesses, in all 50 states.

 * The U.S. solar industry grew by 69% in the past year, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy.

 * Since the beginning of 2010, the price of solar panels has dropped by 30%, and costs continue to fall making solar an even more viable choice for residential and business customers.

 * The U.S. was a net exporter of solar products in 2010 by $2 billion. We were even a net exporter to China.

 * Solar power in the U.S. now exceeds 3,100 megawatts (MW), enough to power more than 630,000 homes.

 * Continued industry growth enhances our energy security and diversifies our domestic energy portfolio.

SunPower Corp offers three levels of dealer status for their hundreds of residential dealers in the nation:  Authorized, Premier, and Elite status.  High Noon Solar, an Authorized dealer since 2008, then a Premier dealer for the last year and a half, reached Elite dealer status on Wednesday September 7th.  This status is contingent upon many factors, including customer satisfaction, achievement of training and certification levels, percentage of overall product installation, and the final quality of installation.  High Noon Solar is now one of only two SunPower Elite dealers in the state of Colorado and one of 33 in the nation.  SunPower Corp produces the highest quality and efficiency of solar panels available on the market today and their dealer network emphasizes training, high customer satisfaction, and quality control.  Andrew Hoag, the SunPower regional sales manager for High Noon Solar, arrived on Wednesday to congratulate the team at High Noon Solar and celebrate their achievement in this accomplishment.

"Almost half the electric-car buyers are likely to go solar. And Ford expects 15 percent of its cars to be electrified by 2020. Those numbers get quite large. The deal could take a while to be significant, but it eventually could be really significant." says SunPower CEO and president, Tom Warner in an interview with the Arizona Republic.

The solar arrays that SunPower will sell to Ford buyers are smaller than the average rooftop arrays sold in most standard residential installs.  They are designed to offset about 3,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, which is what it will take to drive a Focus about 12,000 miles, according to the companies.  Many people investing in solar to charge their electric vehicles will also opt for larger solar system sizes to help power most, if not all, of the regular electric demands in their home.

The solar arrays will generate electricity during the day, either powering their other home appliances or being sent to the power grid for credit from the utilities. In that case, the electricity would not directly power the cars, just offset what the cars use at night when recharging.  The overall implication of the solar system is that the cost to drive the electric Ford Focus is $0 per year as no gasoline is purchased to drive it and the electric bill at the home where the car is charged is not impacted.  

Ford has not released the price of the Focus Electric.  The company is targeting range at about 100 miles per charge, said Dan Pierce, Ford's electric-vehicle communications manager.  

Watch a video on CNN about SunPower solar for the electric Ford Focus here.

As the SunPower dealer for Western Colorado, High Noon Solar will be teaming up in this partnership to install the systems needed to power new electric Fords for Colorado drivers.