I’ve spent some time at the lake in recent days, and based on the number of people I saw who looked like lobsters that fell asleep under a 1970s tanning light, I’m guessing people are starting to figure out the power of the sun. Well, downtown Lawrence soon will get a new look at the power of solar as well.

The Lawrence-based firm of Cromwell Solar and Cromwell Environmental has moved its headquarters to a larger and more prominent location in downtown Lawrence. The company, led by former City Commissioner Aron Cromwell, has bought the former Luminous Neon/Art & Sign building at 615 Vermont St.

The company already has moved into the space, but it doesn’t yet have up all of its neat solar components that will end up serving as a bit of a downtown billboard for solar energy and all things green. Cromwell will put a large number of solar panels on the bright red roof of the building, but that’s just the beginning. The more interesting element to keep an eye out for is the solar awning. The building will be the first one in Lawrence to use a uniquely designed solar panel system that serves as an awning that overhangs a business’ windows and doors.

“We want to blaze the way for the first solar awning in Lawrence,” Cromwell said. “We hope it is something that catches on with other businesses. We think they are going to look incredibly cool.”

The awnings do produce solar power, but not a tremendous amount by themselves. Instead, Cromwell envisions them being used in conjunction with solar panels mounted on the roof of a building. Those can produce significant amounts of energy, but they aren’t always very visible to the public. And let’s face it, one of the things a company that invests in solar panels would like to receive is some public recognition for being a green company. A solar awning is one way to show it.

Cromwell went through the process to ensure the solar awnings were compatible with downtown Lawrence’s historic design guidelines. But now that such approval has been granted, it will be interesting to see if they start becoming more prominent downtown. Imagine Massachusetts Street lined with solar panels and a hydroelectric power plant at the north end of downtown. It might help Lawrence stand out as a possible destination for the growing number of alternative energy firms that are looking for a home.

Cromwell can attest that Lawrence is a good place to grow a green energy business. As you may have guessed, he didn’t buy a building simply to have a place to put up a solar awning. The company was quickly running out of space at its rented location in the 1000 block of New Hampshire Street.

“We’ve been doing an incredible amount of work,” Cromwell said.

The company has grown from about eight employees four years ago to about 25 employees currently. The new space more than doubles the amount of office space for the company, and also gives it a 4,000 square-foot warehouse for the installation side of its business.

For years, the company did the bulk of its work in Missouri, which had some attractive state tax credits for solar energy. But as those ended, Cromwell said Kansas has become the focal point for the business’ growth. A big part of that growth has been fueled by large increases in the number of residential solar panel installations. The company last year partnered with a Baldwin City-based bank to begin offering a solar panel leasing program that greatly cuts down on the amount of upfront costs needed to install solar panels.

“We’ve gone from a couple of residential installations per year to a couple of residential installations per week,” Cromwell said.

As for Luminous Neon, we reported in January that it had bought the former G-Force Gymnastics building at 801 E. 23rd St. with the intention of moving its business to the location. Indeed that has happened. The facade of the building has undergone a bright makeover, and perhaps my fellow 23rd Street motorists already have noticed that the company is doing its part to make sure we arrive at our destinations on time. It has installed a new time and temperature sign in front of its building. So, if you see the F150 kick into what I like to call “Dukes of Hazzard gear,” you will know that the sign has reminded me I’m running late for my tanning appointment.

In other news and notes from around town:

• While we’re mentioning business activity on Vermont Street, a historic building on Vermont has found a new tenant. A new hair salon called Bzar has opened in the space at 809 Vermont that for years housed Headmasters salon. Brad Hestand, a stylist in Lawrence since 1999, is the owner of Bzar, which is pronounced like bazaar. Or I suppose like bizarre. Hestand said the business offers a full array of hair services, but is not offering spa services at the site.

“We do all things hair, and we want to concentrate on what we know and do best,” he said.

The business fills space in one of downtown Lawrence’s more historic buildings. The building dates back to the 1870s, and was home to the dental practice of Lucy Hobbs Taylor, who was one of the first female dentists in the country and was the first woman to be awarded a doctor of dental surgery degree.

• For Gov. Brownback and his re-election campaign, news about the Kansas economy lately has been about as welcome as a root canal performed by a hair stylist. But there are new numbers out today that paint a little better picture of the Kansas economy.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released new numbers about the gross domestic product of each state. In particular, the BEA for the first time is able to show how the GDP of a state is growing on a quarterly basis.

The report found that Kansas GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2013 — the most recent quarter from which data is available — grew at an annualized rate of 3.1 percent compared with third-quarter levels. That’s better than the national average of 2.8 percent, and it also was the second best growth rate of any of the seven states in the Plains region. North Dakota, which I’ve now determined is so rich that they’ll give you an oil well if you agree to live there and work at the local McDonald’s, led the Plains region and the entire country with an 8.4 percent growth rate.

But before the governor gets all giddy and starts offering free tanning sessions for all, it is worth remembering that Kansas’ GDP growth for all of 2013 was less than spectacular. Kansas for the entire year saw GDP growth of 1.9 percent compared with 2012 totals. That was the second lowest GDP growth rate of any of the states in the Plains region. Nothing in this new report changes that. In talking with an official at the BEA, these new quarterly numbers really are more of an indication which states have some momentum with their economies. The Plains region as a whole grew at an annualized rate of 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter, so Kansas’ 3.1 percent showing definitely puts it on the correct side of the ledger. But, also keep these numbers in perspective. It is just a one-quarter snapshot of the economy. If the report had come out in the third quarter, it would have shown Kansas really lagging the other states in the Plains region. During the third quarter, Kansas’ GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.8 percent compared with 5.5 percent for the entire Plains region.

So, make of it what you will, but for those of us who follow economic statistics, it will be worth keeping an eye on whether the trend continues.