Link: http://bit.ly/b6xdJ7

For the 3rd straight year, Astralux Solar will have a booth at the largest show in the west. 60,000 people are expected to attend the 48th annual Colorado Garden & Home Show. This is the LARGEST consumer show held in the Colorado Convention Center and boasts the highest attendance.

Come visit us at Booth #530. The show runs from the 13th to the 21st of this month.

Link: http://www.astraluxsolar.com/solar_energy_poll.htm

In our new poll, Astralux Solar asks what would be the most important financial factor in your purchase of a solar energy system for your home or business?

Please click here or the link above to give your answer!

Following in Xcel Energy's footsteps, Black Hills Energy is reducing the solar rebate for small category systems in Colorado (less than 10kW). The rebate will drop from $3.50 per watt down to $2.70 per watt, a reduction of 23%.

This $0.80 per watt reduction in the Black Hills Energy solar rebate will be effective at Midnight tonight (January 15th).

The Black Hills Energy solar rebate, like Xcel Energy, is a combination of a rebate payment and a renewable energy credit (REC) payment. The REC payment of the small category incentive (currently at $1.50 per watt) will decrease to $0.70 per watt, the rebate payment ($2 per watt) is fixed and thus will remain unchanged.

Xcel Energy has initiated similar reductions to their solar rewards rebates over the past several months. Xcel released a new tiered rebate system to inform solar integrators and customers exactly when and how their solar rebate would change in the future. The California Solar Initiative (CSI) has a similar method of distributing rebates.

If you are a Black Hills Energy customer in Colorado, please contact us today if you are interested in solar for your home or business.

Link: http://bit.ly/6kr28A

ColoradoBiz Magazine devotes its annual "power-list issue" to recognizing the people who drive growth, the often unsung heroes of business who keep cash coming in the door by connecting clients with the products and services they need to prosper.

Osea Nelson has been named to this list as the premier salesperson in Solar Energy. Read more about Osea's story...

Our own Jesse Malcomb is running for one of the three available Board of Director seats for the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (CoSEIA). Read his bio below and remember to vote by January 13th.

Following my passion for alternative energies, I currently serve as the VP of Business Development at Astralux Power Systems. With this position, I have been able to leverage my technical background in Government R&D with several years of renewable energy market research and analysis experience. My focus has been to implement strategies to cost]effectively identify and educate receptive market segments that have otherwise been neglected or ignored by the industry. As a corollary, I have developed a deep qualitative understanding of the local solar market. I have been involved in the Colorado solar industry since the start of the "rebate era" in 2006.

My goals for CoSEIA would involve helping the organization focus on working towards greater consumer awareness or "forward equity". We are at a saturation point in the Colorado solar market, and reaching out beyond the typical solar niche markets is the key to the long term success of the solar industry. The catalyst for this outreach must be CoSEIA, as this wonderful organization is the foundation of the Colorado solar industry. I hope to bring my years of proven marketing and development expertise to expanding the reach and awareness of CoSEIA.