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With the major presidential candidates regularly emphasizing the need to develop alternative energy sources and technologies, a Beltsville solar provider is working to let people know what it can offer.

SunEdison, with more than 480 employees globally, has been holding a nationwide City Tour for Solar since August, visiting 50 cities in the West to teach municipalities about solar energy. The 100-day tour is held in conjunction with other four other solar companies: Evergreen Solar, SMA America, Uni-Solar and Xantrex Technology.

The tour comes on the heels of new federal legislation that extends for eight years the 30 percent tax credit that homeowners and businesses receive for installing solar equipment and removes the $2,000 cap on this credit. The renewal was part of the recent $700 billion financial bailout package.

For the first time, the law also allows utilities to take the tax credit directly and permits people with incomes meeting the alternative minimum tax standards to take the credit, too.

"People in leadership positions are starting to look seriously at how the U.S. combats climate change. We're going to lead a national effort to take the message that solar is ready," said Kris Nichols, SunEdison's senior marketing manager and also manager of the City Tour for Solar. "You'd be amazed how many cities aren't aware of how much energy they use."

Globally, the solar market generates more than $33.4 billion in revenues, according to a report from Lux Research of New York. That's expected to reach $100 billion by 2013.

The tax credit renewal could unleash $325 billion in private investment by 2016 and more than 440,000 permanent U.S. jobs, said Monique Hanis, spokeswoman for the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Nichols emphasized that when areas have greater capacity for solar energy manufacturing, the process becomes less expensive and accelerates the entire industry. She said that while the resources are available, regulations still have to be enacted, which is the point of targeting the tour at local governments.

"Nobody's ever done anything like this before," she said. "This is all about education, but if sales follow, we'll be happy about it."

SunEdison has a five-year, 800-megawatt development agreement with Q-Cells International USA Corp., a subsidiary of Q-Cells AG — the largest manufacturer of solar cells worldwide — to jointly develop and operate solar power systems in North America.

Hanis said that systems capable of generating a total of more than 28,000 megawatts nationwide could be installed by 2016.

But the Lux report also warns that supply will exceed demand in 2009, causing price and revenue decreases and posing challenges to providers without differentiated technology.

"SunEdison is a very young company, but its staff all bring a tremendous amount of professional energy and capacity. We're mature beyond our years," Nichols said. The privately held company, founded in 2003, declined to disclose revenues or profits.

Hanis praised SunEdison's financing model, which allows commercial clients to pay for power use for 20 years rather than the customary pay-per-use plan that can fluctuate as energy costs rise.

"It will help the industry deploy more commercial projects and drive growth," she said. "We're looking to apply it to residential installations as well."

Installations can start at $20,000, or 10 to 12 cents per kilowatt hour.

Prince George's County also adopted legislation in June allowing a property-tax break of up to $5,000 for owners installing solar panels. This couples with the state credit of $10,000.

SunEdison also recently named former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt as a non-executive, independent board member.

"SunEdison is a well-positioned leader in this industry, and I'm proud to offer my guidance to its mission — to make solar a meaningful energy resource," Hundt said in a statement.

SunEdison is set to install a 1.2-megawatt project at General Motors' transmission plant in White Marsh next year. This is the fourth of GM's solar energy plants.

"It made sense to use someone in our own back yard," said John Raut, communications manager for GM's regional division. "We believe in the future that we will start to look more toward them."

Maryland has more than 22 solar-related companies, with four in Prince George's County, according to the MDV — Solar Energy Industry Association.