Broaden Your Energy Awareness & Spread the Word
Did you know that electricity generation is the single largest source of carbon emissions in the United States? It’s true. SunPower is working to change the way the world is powered. Here are a couple of ways you can help:

• Kill-a-Watt Wherever You Can – Turn off the lights when you leave a room, and turn off power strips in your home when not in use. These tiny acts can save you money and have a bigger impact on your carbon footprint than you ever imagined.
• Be a solar evangelist – Spread the word about the benefits of solar power to your friends and family. Refer them to www.sharesunpower.com. If they purchase or lease a SunPower system as a result, you both earn $200! It’s a win for you, them, and the planet.

Join (or Create) a Community
Find a nonprofit whose work inspires you. Consider the organizations listed below, with whom SunPower regularly collaborates. Or create your own.

• GRID Alternatives empowers communities in need by providing renewable energy and energy efficiency services, equipment and training
• Global Green fosters a global shift toward a sustainable, secure future
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties provides food to underserved residents
• Greenpeace prioritizes global environmental campaigns to protect the oceans, whales and seafood, stop global warming, and eliminate the use of nuclear weapons and toxic chemicals

Transform Your Transportation
There are many ways to ensure that your morning and evening commute is environmentally friendly. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Drive electrified – Electric vehicles emit no pollutants from the tailpipe, so they’re cleaner for the environment. They also generally cost less to operate and maintain. Ford and Nissan have partnered with SunPower to maximize the miles and savings you get when charging your electric vehicle with a SunPower^® rooftop solar energy system.
• Dive into the (car)pool – According to a recent report in The Daily Green, sharing a ride with just one other coworker can cut the cost of your commute in half! Plus, you’ll dramatically reduce your carbon emissions, and may reduce your travel time by using HOV lanes!
• Like your bike – Why use four wheels when two will do? May is Bike to Work Month, so pump up your bicycle tires, strap on your helmet, and take a kinder, gentler way to work. At SunPower, we take pride in our ride: We recently received the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s Annual Bike Friendly Business Award, in the large business category.

We hope that reading these suggestions inspires you to come up with a few Earth-friendly ideas of your own. If so, please comment below! SunPower is eager to share the wisdom and innovation of our community…so check back frequently, and let us know how you’re changing the way your world is powered.

• Inject $315 million into the local economy in San Luis Obispo County, California
• Generate enough clean, renewable power for about 100,000 homes
• Protect and conserve more than 12,000 acres of land

By requiring utilities to get one-third of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020, California has unleashed a new wave of clean energy innovation and investment. This law is helping to create new jobs, improve air quality, promote energy independence and public health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and radically reduce the cost of clean energy power. In a recent video interview, SunPower’s President Emeritus Dr. Swanson discussed California’s new RPS law. Check it out here:

How are electrical suppliers doing so far at achieving the RPS goals? According to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California’s three investor-owned utilities -- Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) -- obtained an average of about 18% of their power from renewable sources (excluding hydropower) in 2010, up from 15% in 2009. They are on track to achieve 20% by the end of this year.
 

• SunPower has contracted with PG&E to build the 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch in San Luis Obispo County. The signing of this milestone contract three years ago signified the opening of the first market for central station solar power plants in the world. In addition to building a plant that will generate enough power for about 100,000 homes, SunPower will be creating up to 350 construction jobs and placing about 70% of the 4,700-acre project area under permanent protection to meet conservation objectives for a range of species.
• For SCE, SunPower will build solar power plants totaling 711 megawatts in California’s Central Valley, providing the equivalent power required for more than 460,000 homes. These plants are notable for the fact that they are cost competitive with a new natural gas power plant – a key milestone.
• Also for SCE, SunPower has an agreement to supply 200 megawatts of solar technology for SCE to build and own as a distributed power plant on large warehouse rooftops.
• Modesto Irrigation District is a publicly-owned utility for which SunPower is developing a 25-megawatt power plant. Solar PV can be sited anywhere and is modular, providing substantial flexibility to utility customers to meet the growing RPS requirements over time within their transmission constraints, cost-effectively.

• 25-megawatt DeSoto Solar Energy Center, Florida (Florida Power & Light)
• 20-megawatt Copper Crossing, Arizona (Iberdrola Renewables / Salt River Project)
• 10-megawatt Dover SUN Park, Delaware (LS Power / City of Dover Municipal Utility)
• 11-megawatt supply agreement with Tucson Electric Power, Arizona
• 10-megawatt Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center, Florida (Florida Power & Light)
• 8-megawatt Exelon City Solar, Illinois (Exelon)
• 5-megawatt Murfreesboro Solar Project, North Carolina (Duke Energy Services / GreenCo Solutions and North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation)
• 5-megawatt Air Force Academy system, Colorado (Colorado Springs Utility)
• 5-megawatt Johnson Matthey system, New Jersey (Constellation Energy)
• 5-megawatt Kalaeola system, Hawaii (HECO)
• 1-megawatt Shelby Solar Project, North Carolina (Duke Energy)