"Our stated goal has been to grow our revenues by opening up new offices in solar friendly regions. We opened an office last quarter in Fresno, California and this is our first new office in Southern California," said Barry Cinnamon, Chief Executive Officer of Akeena Solar

"Over the past twelve months, Southern California Edison has increased its electricity rates three times, thus further heightening the demand for solar power systems," said Cinnamon. "We believe demand in the Orange County area will continue to grow as energy prices continue to spiral upwards, the state government continues to offer economic incentives to 'go solar,' and the desire for alternative power sources with a low environmental impact continues to balloon."

The new Akeena facility is located in Laguna Hills and the company has begun installing solar power systems in residences and small businesses in Orange County and surrounding areas. Information on the payback from solar power installations, including the effect on monthly utility bills and home values, can be found here.

Strong Job Growth Expected in California's Solar Industry

From a local economy standpoint, the growth of the solar power industry in California and throughout the country is also generating jobs. "The growth in the Solar Power industry is good for employment, which surged six percent in 2005; a total of 29 companies now provide approximately 3000 jobs in the US," according to a recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) report."

"We expect that the solar industry will continue to grow rapidly. Based on the research we did in our 2005 White Paper entitled 'The Economics of Solar Energy for California,' we believe the California Solar Initiative will create over 20,000 jobs in that state alone by the time the Initiative is in full swing," added Cinnamon.

Related Links
Akeena Solar
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com