Green Business Summit Article Features UMA Solar

A new article in today’s Orlando Sentinel features a quote from UMA Solar director of manufacturing, Paul Hurley. The article outline the upcoming Orlando Green Business summit, which will feature speakers from local and state government, as well as many Fortune 1000 companies.

You can click here to read it online, or pick one up at your nearest newsstand.

New Aurora System at “Give Kids The World Village”

Today, UMA Solar and All Florida Solar teamed up to donate a solar system and installation at no-cost to Give Kids The World Village.

In case you’re not familiar with Give Kids The World, you’re missing out on one of the nation’s most unique charities.
Give Kids The World is a non-profit organization that exists only to fulfill the wishes of all children with life-threatening illnesses and their families from around the world. The centerpiece of their organization is Give Kids The World Village (GKTW) a 70-acre, non-profit resort in Central Florida that creates magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. GKTW provides accommodations at its whimsical resort, donated attractions tickets, meals and more for a week-long, cost-free fantasy vacation. With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 97,000 families from all 50 states and over 65 countries.
In short, they’re an amazing charity.
Like all non-profit organizations, they are always concerned with two things: doing the most good possible, and making sure the funds they raise go directly to that goal. For more and more organizations, that means saving on needless utility costs, and going green!
Today, UMA Solar was happy to donate a new solar water heating system to Give Kids The World Viliage. Chuck Gabriel, and the rest of our friends at All Florida Solar are proudly performing the the installation onto “Katie’s Kitchen,” the Village’s newest restaurant which provides complimentary meals for the Village’s Wish families. Their system will feature two of Solene’s new state-of-the-art 4' X 8' Aurora panels , as well as a 120 gallon Rheem tank. This system will help reduce GKTW’s utility bill, thus reducing their operating costs, and make sure more funds go where it’s best used: creating magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
This is only one of the many ways Give Kids The World is taking the taking environmentally responsible steps in improving their facility. Recently, GKTW earned the Florida Green Lodging Program One Palm Certification from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as a result of their internal recycling program, diligent use of energy and their commitment to conserving and protecting Florida’s natural resources.
To follow how the installation is going, follow us live today on Twitter by clicking here .

Despite Tough Economy, Kyocera Stands Strong

September 10th, UMA Solar, in conjunction with SunCentric and Kyocera, presented a great webinar and training session to all our dealers nationwide.

In the conference, they referred to a great blog article about the changing face of many solar companies in the light of today’s economy. Right now, it seems many other companies are dealing with a combination of an excess of product, and not enought places demanding solar, and sundry financial problems. However, Kyocera is still standing strong, and proving themselves as an industry leader, with over 35 years of experience, weathering economic storms like this many times, and always coming out stronger than before.
Read the blog yourself, and see the difference.

FPL Asks for 30% Electric Rate Increase

According to the Sun-Sentinel article by Julie Patel FPL wants to boost electric rates by at least $1 billion a year.

Under the FPL proposal, base rates for residential customers would increase about 30 percent the first year. The base rate for residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours would increase $12.40, from $39.31 now to $51.71 in January 2010 and by another $2.84 in 2011.

A great way to combat the inevitable rate increases is with a solar electric MyGen Kit.

Copper Prices Continue to Drop

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — May 11, 2009 – Copper futures fell more than 3% Monday, pacing losses in crude oil and stocks, as worries returned that demand from China, the world’s biggest copper consumer, may slow. Gold moved slightly lower.

Copper for July delivery lost 8.15 cents, or 3.8%, to $2.064 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper had gained more than 2% last week.

The decline in copper came after a sharp drop in futures trading in Shanghai. Weighing on sentiment was a 45% jump in Shanghai copper stocks last week to their highest level since the end of March, said analysts led by Alex Heath at RBC Capital Markets.

China’s State Reserves Bureau is believed to have bought more than 300,000 tons of copper since March. But some analysts expected the country’s imports will slow down in the next few months.

"Physical copper premiums were steady across much of Asia last week as supplies in the region eroded, but easing tightness in China hinted that the dragon’s appetite for the metal may be waning," said analysts at RBC Capital.

The State Council also plans to examine the case for further tax changes and more state stockpiling of base metals.