Funds from the Recovery Act are starting to raise solar spirits after the stock market slide of 2008 slammed many solar stocks, and new financing mechanisms are looking to make it easier to produce your own power.

Advanced Green Technologies is working with CTC Resources to put more solar panels in the hands of business owners. Together they are now offering an enticing 0-0-3 program, with no down payment and interest-free financing for three months.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has proposed adding nuclear reactors, but is also beginning to warm up to solar. TVA's Generation Partners program will provide a $1,000 incentive for smaller solar projects (up to nearly one megawatt) and guarantees a price for buying any excess energy produced.

Municipal solar financing efforts are delivering local government projects, spawned by California's AB811 bill.

Two California cities, Berkeley and Palm Desert, provide solar installation loans through a 20-year "special" property tax. Berkeley's FIRST (Financing Initiative for Renewable and Solar Technology) is working through its pilot phase with a small test group, already having a public tool to map solar potential.

FIRST has caused some increased demand but indeterminable until a larger program is implemented, according to JP Ross, VP of Sungevity, a participating solar installation company.

Renewable Funding, which works on the Berkeley program, is also rolling out another program, like FIRST, on a wider scale in Colorado.

The cost of solar can also be added to a mortgage when refinancing, and the current low interest rates will shorten the payback period. Colorado legislation has recently begun providing tax credits for 30-percent of residential and commercial solar installation costs. Between tax credits and a net metering policy (selling 'excess' solar energy to utilities), solar is an attractive option to residents of the Centennial State.

Inspired by such initiatives, Oregon is considering adopting Berkeley-esque legislation (HB 2181) that supports the property tax assessment model and is taking strides to integrate more solar into the grid.

Solar bills aren't a slam dunk for approval, however, as Texas legislators failed to approve a $500 million solar construction rebate program,

With recent photovoltaic oversupply and increasing third-party assistance, alongside continued legislative endeavors, solar is expected to recover from the economic battering it has received.