Archive for September, 2010
LIPA REBATE CHANGE
We are pleased to announce that LIPA has extended the 2010 solar rebate program. Here are the program details:
1. Solar Pioneer (Residential):
There will be one (1) additional 750 kW block at $1.75/Watt for the Solar Pioneer Program. The 750 kW block will become effective 8:00 AM EST on October 1, 2010. Once the block is fully subscribed no further applications will be accepted until January 1, 2011.
For up-to-date information on the Residential Solar Pioneer Program, please refer to LIPA’s website at http://www.lipower.org/residential/efficiency/renewables/solar.html
2. Solar-Entrepreneur (Commercial/Munis/NFPs/Schools)
There will be one (1) additional 750 kW block at $1.75/Watt For Profit, $2.75/Watt Non-Profit, for the Solar Entrepreneur Program. The 750 kW block will become effective 8:00 AM EST on October 1, 2010. Once the block is fully subscribed no further applications will be accepted until January 1, 2011.
For up-to-date information Commercial and Non-Profit Solar Entrepreneur Program can be found here: http://www.lipower.org/commercial/efficiency/solar.html
If you would like to proceed with a solar electric system this year we encourage you to contact us soon. Please call our Sales Manager Joe Cordes at (516) 286-1477 at your earliest convenience to get started.
Long Island Homes Featured on National Solar Tour on Oct. 2, 2010
Every fall, the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) hosts a National Solar Tour, a grassroots event offering an opportunity for the general public to learn about solar energy. Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI) is hosting the 7th Long Island tour on Saturday, October 2 from 10am-4pm. More than 160,000 participants will visit some 5,500 buildings across the United States, over 25 of which are located on Long Island. EmPower is proud to showcase two of our installations on this tour; one in Hicksville and one in Island Park.
We invite you to see for yourself what solar is all about by speaking with homeowners, watching their electric meters run backwards, and seeing the actual savings on utility bills. Tours provide helpful, real-world examples of costs and how to save money with federal, state, and local incentives. Ultimately the tour inspires people across the nation to make sustainable energy choices that help lower costs, support energy independence, protect against power outages, and reduce carbon emissions.
The tour is self-guided and free of charge, but visitors need to obtain a free Visitors Pass from reLI. Every visitor will receive a free copy of the LI GreenGuide, a 64-page publication with articles on green jobs, energy audits, solar and wind energy, green technology, local farming, and “The Green Yellow Pages,” a directory of over 350 LI green businesses and organization. To obtain a Visitors Pass and learn about sites near you, please visit www.RenewableEnergyLongIsland.org or call (631) 329-8888.
Below is a press release by reLI which contains more details about the benefits of the tour.
LONG ISLAND HOMES FEATURED on NATIONAL SOLAR TOUR on October 2, 2010
September, 25, 2010
Gordian Raacke, 631-329-8888
Over 25 solar, wind and geothermal-powered green homes will be open to the public for free visits on Saturday, October 2nd from 10 AM to 4 PM as part of the National Solar Tour & Green Buildings Open House on Long Island. Tour visitors can learn about solar and other forms of clean energy and energy efficiency directly from the people in their community, watch electric meters run backwards, and see the actual savings on utility bills.
These island-wide open houses feature solar energy or have other green building features. The National Solar Tour & Green Buildings Open House is organized on Long Island by the non-profit Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI) with support from LIPA and by the American Solar Energy Society at the national level. Last year’s tour attracted 150,000 visitors nationwide and has been billed as the largest public renewable energy education event in the world.
“Whether you want to lower your electric or heating bills, make your home more comfortable, or just do the right thing and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the best way to find out what you can do is to talk directly to home owners who have already done it”, said Gordian Raacke, Executive Director of Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI). “It’s your once-a-year chance to see dozens of green building features in action and get straight answers directly from fellow homeowners – that’s what our self-guided tour is all about.”
One home available to tour, the Dalglish residence in East Patchogue, was custom built and features a 1.8 kW solar electric system, a geothermal heat pump, passive solar heating, air radiant floors and structurally insulated panels (SIPs), which together have cut the owners’ energy bills considerably.
“We made up seven challenges when building our home, and we stuck to them,” said Campbell Dalglish of East Patchogue. “Our challenges were for the home to be energy efficient, environmentally friendly, sustainable, small but spacious, have a healthy home interior, be of mass appeal and be affordable. The design that came out of these challenges has changed our way of living and thinking and we love it.”
Another site that visitors can tour is the DeCarlo residence in West Islip. This home features a 10kW photovoltaic system, EnergyStar appliances, and high efficiency central A/C units.
“I have had my system since March 2004,” said Joseph DeCarlo of West Islip. “In my case the solar electric system paid for itself in just over 4 years. The best part is that there is virtually zero maintenance on the system. How many products can you buy that have that kind of track record? “
“LIPA is proud to be working in partnership with reLI and the generous homeowners who make this solar tour possible every year for our customers,” said LIPA’s VP of environmental affairs Michael J. Deering. ” LIPA’s nationally–recognized Solar Pioneer and Entrepreneur program continues to help our customers reduce energy consumption and lower electric bills, diversify Long Island’s energy portfolio and strengthen the local economy with the creation of high quality clean energy jobs.
“Solar energy technology has made great strides over the years as evidenced by the number on installations on Long Island, around New York State and countrywide,” said New York Power Authority President and CEO Richard M. Kessel. “Through concerted efforts among, utilities, the solar industry and the public, today’s solar systems are truly accepted as a sure way to save energy and money while helping to improve our environment. I’m very pleased that NYPA continues to lead the way in securing even greater utilization of PV technology through individual projects and our 100 Megawatt statewide solar initiative.”
“Action Long Island’s Energy and Environment Task Force is delighted to be a part of this extraordinary event which is vital in promoting clean and renewable energy on LI. In today’s economic climate, brochures and websites simply aren’t enough. Nothing is more awe inspiring than seeing yourself in one of these innovative homes and talking one-on-one with the leaders of Long Island’s green movement.”
The self-guided tour is free of charge but visitors will need to obtain a free Visitors Pass from reLI. Every visitor will receive a free copy of the LI GreenGuide, a 64-page publication with articles on green jobs, energy audits, solar and wind energy, green technology, local farming and “The Green Yellow Pages,” a directory of over 350 Long Island green businesses and organizations.
The Visitors Pass and more information on the tour and clean energy technologies & incentives are available at RenewableEnergyLongIsland.org or by calling (631)329-8888.
The Smart Grid: Integrating rising demand & increased renewable energy into an aging and overburdened power grid
Last week I posted a blog about EmPower COO Greg Sach’s MIT Thesis on Smart Grid Design & Evolution. This entry expands on that post with a little bit of background on where we stand right now and why we need to upgrade to a Smarter Grid.
The power grid in place in America today is still based on the plans that Thomas Edison constructed 120 years ago. Energy demand has skyrocketed since then, and the antiquated power grid can hardly keep up! Outages are becoming more common, power is lost in transmission, and inefficiencies in generation and distribution are costly.
Picture source: http://www.angelnexus.com/o/web/22672
Generating solar energy and monitoring it via SunPower’s Monitoring System is an example of a component of smart metering, an integral part of the future Smart Grid. This monitoring system allows customers to see how much energy their system is producing in real-time on a display mounted inside the home, online via a web-based interface, and on-the-go via SunPower Monitoring apps for iPhone and iPod. By knowing electricity production, system owners can optimize their energy savings. Additionally, SunPower dealers like EmPower can remotely monitor the performance of all of our customer’s system’s, allowing for identification and correction of issues even before the customer notices a problem.
Picture source: http://us.sunpowercorp.com/residential/products-services/services/monitoring.php
With the smart grid of the future, people will not only be able to monitor how much their solar system is producing, but also how much electricity the entire building is using and real-time energy prices. This transparency allows residents to adjust their usage based on needs and costs.
To read more about the design of the smart grid, check out my previous post with the link to COO Greg Sach’s MIT Thesis on Smart Grid Technology.
EmPower COO Greg Sachs Graduates MIT, Publishes Smart Grid Design & Evolution Thesis
Having recently graduated from the System Design & Management (SDM) program at MIT, EmPower’s Chief Operating Officer Greg Sachs published his thesis on Next Generation Smart Grid Systems. SDM is a joint program with the Sloan School of Management and Engineering School at MIT, where a core concept is that of defining “System Architectures”, which provide a toolset for designing and optimizing complex systems. Greg’s program emphasis was on the technical and business aspects of renewable energy generation and power distribution.
The following is the abstract of his thesis, and you can download the whole report by clicking here.
Greg Sachs: A System Architect’s Basic Guide to Understanding & Designing Next Generation Grid Systems
A strong and growing desire exists, throughout society, to consume electricity from clean and renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and others. Due to the intermittent and variable nature of electricity from these sources, our current electricity grid is incapable of collecting, transmitting, and distributing this energy effectively.
The “Smart Grid” is a term which has come to represent this ‘next generation’ grid, capable of delivering, not only environmental benefits, but also key economic, reliability and energy security benefits as well. Due to the high complexity of the electricity grid, a principle based System Architecture framework is presented as a tool for analyzing, defining, and outlining potential pathways for infrastructure transformation. Through applying this framework to the Smart Grid, beneficiaries and stakeholders are identified, upstream and downstream influences on design are analyzed, and a succinct outline of benefits and functions is produced.
The first phase of grid transformation is establishing a robust communications and measurement network. This network will enable customer participation and increase energy efficiency through smart metering, real time pricing, and demand response programs.
As penetration of renewables increases, the high variability and uncontrollability of additional energy sources will cause significant operation and control challenges. To mitigate this variability reserve margins will be adjusted and grid scale energy storage (such as compressed air, flow batteries, and plugin hybrid electric vehicles or PHEV’s) will begin to be introduced. Achieving over 15% renewable energy penetration marks the second phase of transformation.
The third phase is enabling mass adoption, whereby over 40% of our energy will come from renewable sources. This level of penetration will only be achieved through fast supply and demand balancing controls and large scale storage. Robust modeling must be developed to test various portfolio configurations.
