Sunny money talk at solar power panel 6/16

Summer's almost here, so get some sun! Besides enjoying the beach, maybe this is the summer you'll start harnessing some of the solar energy for your home -- especially since Californians have lots of rebates and financing options available for home solar systems.

If you're fuzzy on the short- and long-term costs and benefits of installing solar panels, a sun-powered event happening on Monday can help. Titled "Solar by the Numbers: 2008 Financing Options for Home Solar Systems," this informative panel will illuminate "new ways to finance the installation of solar electric and solar thermal systems ... -- options that weren’t available even a year ago."

When: Monday, June 16 at 7 p.m.
Where: Santa Monica Main Library, Multi-Purpose Room (2nd floor), 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica
Cost: Free; reserve a space by calling (310) 458-4992

The event's put together by Solar Santa Monica, part of Santa Monica’s Office of Energy and Green Building Programs, so the panel discussion will be most relevant to Santa Monica residents, as well as solar manufacturers and installers, financiers,  and real estate investors who do work in Santa Monica.

Speakers include Gary Groff of New Resource Bank, one of Solar Santa Monica’s financial partners; Nat Kreamer of Sun Run, a company that provides solar electricity through a guaranteed power purchase agreement; and Maurice “Mo” Rousso of Helio Micro Utility Inc., which offers renewable energy financial products.

If you do sign up to get state rebates for installing solar power, make sure you really do take action within 12 months. The San Francisco Business Times reported earlier this month that "More than one in eight homeowners and businesses that signed up for lucrative state solar power rebates have dropped out without installing a system, leaving $9 million in "stranded" incentives trapped in the California Solar Initiative program." This means new people who sign up -- and actually install a solar system -- will qualify only for smaller rebates. Be a good neighbor; keep the solar promises you make.

Photo by Mike Spasoff via Flickr