LightWave Featured in Shades of Green Tennessee

LightWave Solar Electric's sustainable philosophies are featured in Shades of Green Tennessee, a fine book by Panache Partners.  The publication features vivid photographs and interesting editorial celebrating the state's most earth-friendly businesses and practices.  The exquisite coffee-table book includes a forward by the United States Green Building Council,…

USDA Rural Development Announces Solar Grant Deadline

LightWave Solar offers grant application assistance to meet June 15 deadline Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 The Advertiser News of Spring Hill - by Staff Reports   The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the deadline of June 15 for 2011 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant applications. The REAP grant pays rural businesses and agricultural producers 25 percent of the total cost of installing a solar energy system. That’s $20,000 for a small commercial system of 13kW that reduces electric bills by more than $3,500 per year for decades. The grant can be combined with a 30 percent Treasury Grant and $1,000 from TVA for a total of $45,000 - more than half of the cost - paid by the federal government. Additionally, there is 100 percent bonus depreciation that can reduce the cost by 30 percent depending on tax bracket. Eligible REAP applicants include businesses in towns with less than 50,000 people or agricultural producers located in both rural and non-rural areas. In 2009 and 2010, LightWave Solar, who received USDA’s 2010 Main Street Hero Award for promotion and utilization of the REAP grant, helped five businesses - two plant nurseries, a food distributor, a mechanical contractor and a farmer - apply for and receive grants, reducing the cost of these solar installations by 25 percent. LightWave Solar has submitted nine grants to date this year for businesses located in rural towns across middle Tennessee including Crossville, Centerville, Lebanon and Columbia.  

LightWave Launches YouTube Site

LightWave Solar is now on YouTube! Subscribe to our channel and add us as your friend!  Take a look at some of our favorite video clips! You can even watch a timelapse video of an installation! YOU CAN FIND US…

Largest Solar Panel in Tri-Cities Set to Save Business Owner Money

www.TriCities.com - by Nate Morabito Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 JOHNSON CITY, TN -- Between his framing business and his art gallery, Dick Nelson spends roughly $6,000 a year on electricity. However, by the end of 2011, he could make money. "My goal is for at the end of the year for the power board to send me a check,” Nelson said. If and when that happens, he’ll have the 63 solar panels on his roof to thank. After last year’s oil spill in the gulf, Nelson started thinking about solar energy. "I believe in being a good steward of the environment,” Nelson said. "There's no danger in mining solar energy. A lot of people forget there were 11 people killed in the oil spill." A Tennessee Solar Institute stimulus grant and federal tax credit paid for two-thirds of the project. Nelson paid for the rest. "It will take about five years to pay for itself,” Nelson said. “It just kind of makes sense. 93 million miles away, we have this burning star of our sun and it’s producing more electricity every second than we can possibly use.” The downtown business owner is now creating energy for the Tennessee Valley Authority. In return, the TVA is selling him electricity at a discounted rate. Nelson is just the latest to join in on the solar craze. 14 others are also participating in the same program through the Johnson City Power Board. “13 of those customers are residential customers and two are commercial customers,” Johnson City Power Board Chief Public Relations Officer Robert White said. “We have five more contracts pending. It's a program that continues to grow. We actually have several of those participants right now who actually are able to generate some credits on their account. They're actually generating more electricity than they're using." LightWave Solar Electric installed Nelson’s solar power system. Although it’s the largest the company’s installed in the region, it’s not the first.

USDA announces Solar Grant Deadline – June 15th

June 15, 2011 is the deadline for USDA REAP solar grant applications.  The REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) grant is available for small, rural businesses or agricultural producers and covers 25% of the cost of a solar installation.  We take care of all grant paperwork!  Contact us for…

Solar 101 Workshop at Adventure Science Center

Join us!  LightWave Solar hosts another informative Solar 101 Workshop. Wed, May 18th Noon-1:00pm Adventure Science Center, Jack Wood Hall 800 Fort Negley Boulevard Nashville, TN 37203 We will cover the basics of solar – how solar works, solar equipment, roof and shade requirements,…

Another Local Business Goes Solar and Saves

Signs Now among first to receive boost from Pathway Lending Nashville Business Journal - by Brian Reisinger, Staff Writer Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 A Nashville manufacturer is among the first to tap a public-private fund that bundles money for energy-efficiency projects. Signs Now, which makes signs of various kinds, has installed solar panels from LightWave Solar after securing a loan of undisclosed size through Pathway Lending. Pathway, a U.S. Treasury-certified community development financial institution, administers a $50 million fund that launched in 2010 and includes Pinnacle Financial Partners of Nashville and various state and federal agencies. Ed McCullar, owner of Signs Now, said the Energy Efficiency Loan Program provided his business with access to funding for the energy project, which was completed in March 2011. Pathway Lending’s loan program financed the project installation and is designed to be repaid with the energy savings of the project. “Now that the project is complete, we expect to see a dip in our energy costs,” said McCullar. “Part of the solar panel installation was a new electric meter that measures what we use and what we produce so our electric bill is credited for the electricity we create. Having access to Pathway Lending’s energy efficiency program made it easy for our company to move forward with this much needed project." Â