As a commercial broker and investor, I am always focused on the expenses more than the rents. As rental income is capped by what the market will bear and is common knowledge, it is the expenses that can make or break an investment.

Expenses…Expenses… Expenses….

The “Key” component every Business Owner must discover; How to reduce operating expenses while still maintaining a positive workflow? I am directly targeting your utility bills…

Key Thought: Solar Energy

When you think of Solar Power you may think “that sounds like a terrific idea”…but I can’t afford it.

What if I shared with you that we have formed a partnership with a solar provider and have made a business plan for commercial owners to be able to afford Solar Panels and see a return on investment in three to five years?

Interested?

Please email Pete@CommercialMasterMinds.com or call me directly at (925) 719-3569.

Continued Success!

ContraCostaTimes:  California has record year for rooftop solar July 5, 2011

By Dana Hull
dhull@mercurynews.com

Posted: 07/05/2011 03:54:54 PM PDT    Updated: 07/05/2011 09:13:22 PM PDT

New data shows that 2010 was a record year for California’s efforts to encourage homeowners and businesses to install rooftop solar panels.

Californians installed 194 megawatts of new solar electric generating equipment in 2010 — a 47 percent increase over 2009, according to a report released Tuesday about the California Solar Initiative.

One megawatt is enough to power 750 to 1,000 homes. But since the sun doesn’t shine all the time, solar industry experts say that one megawatt of solar can power about 200 households.

In January 2007, California launched an unprecedented $3.3 billion effort to install 3,000 megawatts of new solar over the next decade and transform the market for solar energy by reducing the cost of solar-generating equipment.

The California Public Utilities Commission’s role in the effort is known as the California Solar Initiative, which provides rebates for residential and commercial customers of the state’s three large, investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric.

The California Solar Initiative’s road map calls for 1,750 new megawatts of solar power to be installed on residential and commercial roofs in the state by 2016.

Through the end of the first quarter of 2011, California had an estimated 924 megawatts of rooftop solar installed at nearly 95,000 sites — putting it more than halfway toward meeting the solar initiative’s goal.

PG&E alone has 47,283 solar customers within its vast Northern California territory.

The aim of the incentives is to help solar achieve what’s known in the renewable energy industry as “grid parity” — the much-awaited point where solar can compete with cheaper sources of electricity such as coal. Data collected by the California Solar Initiative shows that the cost of solar photovoltaic equipment is coming down. For residential systems smaller than 10 kilowatts, inflation-adjusted prices have declined from $10.45 per watt to $8.55 per watt since the start of the program, a reduction of 18 percent.

“You have a market that is fueled with different options for homeowners,” said Melicia Charles, supervisor of the solar initiative. “You can own your solar system outright, you can lease it, you can make an arrangement with a third party.”

Contact Dana Hull at 408-920-2706.

California solar initiative report:

The report is available at www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Solar/apa2011.htm.

Notable number:  47,283,  Number of PG&E residential and commercial customers with solar installations

WSJ Article, “CALIFORNIA TO JOLT RENEWABLE POWER” April 13, 2011

By Vauhini Vara and Rebecca Smith

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday requiring the state to obtain a third of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal power by 2020, among the most ambitious such laws in the nation.

Mr. Brown, a Democrat, said the measure would stimulate clean-technology investment, create jobs, improve air quality, promote energy independence and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. He also said he would like to see the state “pursue even more far-reaching targets.”

California’s three largest investor-owned utilities failed to achieve an earlier state target to garner 20% of their electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2010, hitting 18% instead, according to the California Public Utilities Commission.

The utilities avoided penalties because they had made a good faith effort. They entered into contracts to buy a sufficient quantity of green-generated electricity from independent suppliers but the suppliers couldn’t generate enough power.

Two of the three biggest utilities said they backed the new law. The third, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., opposed the measure over restrictions on where utilities can obtain power, among other concerns.

Aaron Johnson, PG&E’s director of renewable-energy policy, said the utility would “work within the rules” of the new law, despite concerns it could lead to higher energy prices.

Utilities won’t be required to reach goals set by the new law no matter what the cost, said Democratic state Sen. Joe Simitian, who sponsored the measure. Utilities may be granted exemptions if renewable-energy prices, or the difficulty of moving it to the state’s grid, make costs excessive.

Consumer advocates endorsed the bill in part because of those exemptions, but they worried about the cost of obtaining so much renewable energy, especially when natural gas, a rival power source, is so inexpensive.

Under the old law, utilities signed power contracts that were $6 billion above market prices, according to an analysis by consumer advocates at the California Public Utilities Commission. About 59% of renewable-energy contracts exceeded market prices.

Sen. Simitian said he expects the new targets to again boost the state’s renewable-energy industry. “If we send a clear signal to the market,” he said, “the market will send investment dollars to California.”

He expects the law to make it easier for utilities to meet their goals by making it simpler for them to build their own renewable-energy sources if “the market does not provide for it,” he said.

The California bill is the latest attempt by the state to bolster its clean-technology industry and improve the environment. The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, required a reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020.

The new goal for renewable power is “a very bold, ambitious target,” said Barry Rabe of the University of Michigan, who studies states’ environmental policies. But he said it was “much too soon to know” how effective the law would be.

Write to Vauhini Vara at vauhini.vara@wsj.com and Rebecca Smith at rebecca.smith@wsj.com