FindSolar.com is a new site designed to encourage interest in the installation of solar power technologies. Look up your state and county, and FindSolar can return information on your solar energy potential, various incentives and exactly how a solar power system (pv or direct heat) would work for you. The calculator displays the estimated costs of a system, monthly and annual savings, even how many tons of CO2 per year would be saved (it's unclear whether this takes into account regional differences in power generation -- photovoltaics in the Northwest, for example, would be displacing mostly hydro power, while pv in Southern California would be displacing mostly natural gas turbines, and pv in the mid-west would be displacing mostly coal).
Once you determine whether solar power is a good idea for your location, the site also has a database of solar power professionals, organized by location. The listings include consumer feedback-based quality ratings, but (as always) buyer beware. The site is sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society, the Solar Electric Power Association, and the Department of Energy, so you're not going to find many solar skeptics here.
(Via Renewable Energy Access)
