Josh was a stellar intern and was a pleasure to have in the office.  He provided a wide range of technical, administrative, creative, and direct business development support for the sales, marketing and engineering departments.  Josh is motivated by all the right reasons.  In order to get hired and stay at this company you have to represent the EmPowering Way values: Professionalism, Teamwork, Excellence, Client Focus and Commitment to Clean Energy.  Josh represents the EmPowering Way and then some.  He is committed to the broader themes of sustainability.  He grasps that a smarter, cleaner, and greener energy infrastructure will lead to a more prosperous, healthy and civil world.  He wants to contribute to a better world in a big way.

Impressively, Josh also demonstrated to his parents that going solar made economic sense. The Haimson’s are now EmPowered with a 10 kW system.

David Schieren, CEO, and Greg Sachs, COO commented that “his combination of intellect, technical competency, cultural understanding and emotional intelligence at his age (or at any age) is something we’ve never encountered before.  Josh is remarkable and everyone at EmPower speaks glowingly about him.  We feel fortunate to know him, and only hope to spend more time with him in the future.  Pictures of Josh adorn multiple walls and doorways at our office and they are not coming down.”

EmPower Solar extends a hearty congratulations to Josh, and we wish him the best of luck as he heads off to Boston next fall. He left an indelible mark on the company and is an inspiration to us all.  There is no doubt in my mind he will perform exceptionally well in all of his future pursuits.  It’s a good thing for humanity that he is dedicated to a better, more sustainable world.

Despite a down economy, the total installed capacity of solar power in the U.S. will double in 2011 over last year to over 2 gigawatts. That’s enough to power 400,000 homes or the equivalent of decommissioning five medium sized power plants. As of August, the U.S. solar industry is on track to increase jobs at a rate of 6.8%, compared to the projected 0.7% national jobs growth rate.

The root of our confidence stems from observing the performance of hundreds of systems EmPower has installed in the area through our robust online monitoring portal.  Solar works, and it works well.  Most of all we know it from our EmPowered clients who enjoy sharing their success stories.   Now, in addition to powering homes and buildings, we also are charging electric vehicles.

Another cause for optimism is cost.  When we started selling solar energy in 2004 the average gross cost of an average 10 kilowatt residential solar energy system was $85,000 before incentives. That year only a limited number of systems were sold.  Today, the same system is approximately $45,000, so the cost has halved in about six years.  With LIPA incentives, Federal and State Tax Credits, the net cost is approximately $16,000.

With utility incentives and federal and state tax credits, the average payback is around 5 years, with an 18% annual return on investment.  Critically, the proliferation of financing options makes it possible to go solar for zero down, and start saving right away.

Strengthening the economy and improving the environment (public health) are not mutually exclusive objectives.  Solar will achieve both, and help us kick our oil addiction habit.

It’s going to be the Solar Century.

Street view of completed solar installation.

Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick said “There are many ways a municipality can go green and Freeport has instituted several steps to reduce its carbon footprint.”  Along with the solar power system at the Firehouse, the Village of Freeport has purchased several hybrid cars, a hybrid bucket truck, and replaced 340 street lights with an energy efficient alternative.  EmPower has also installed a number of solar residential and commercial systems in the Village of Freeport.

EmPower engineer Emily Hwang, served as the project engineer, and was recognized by Freeport Electric’s Superintendent, Anthony Fiore, for her high quality work and dedication.  All the EmPower team members, including engineers and installers, deserve recognition for their seamless execution of this complicated project.  Cameron Engineering was also instrumental to the structural engineering design.

First row of panels get installed on fire house rooftop.

In his remarks, EmPower CEO David G. Schieren said “The Village of Freeport and Freeport Electric should be commended for its vision and leadership in making this solar project a reality.  Municipalities have a critical role to play in advancing renewable energy, and the importance of their leadership can’t be overstated.”

Freeport Village Officials, Freeport Electric Officials, and EmPower CEO, David Shieren pose for Group shot in front of firehouse.

EmPower is especially grateful to Freeport Electric’s Superintendent Anthony Fiore and Supervisor of Electric Service Les Endo Jr. for their impressive commitment to this project.  Their support and technical understanding are making solar energy a reality in the Village.

Many large installations like this one are done on flat roofs and are not visible to the public.  This installation is unique because it is on a pitched roof and directly across the street from the Freeport LIRR Train Station.

See the official press release here.

EmPower CEO, David Schieren, speaks on a panel at the Smart Growth Summit

EmPower Solar was excited to participate in Vision Long Island’s 10^th Annual Smart Growth Summit on Friday November 18th, an event focused on promoting Smart Growth opportunities in the Long Island area.

“The issue’s we are dealing with today are similar to a man walking blindfolded toward the edge of a cliff”, says Senator Schumer during the event’s luncheon, “if we don’t stop and change our path soon, we will fall fast”. The Senator shares a similar concern with many of the stakeholders in the Long Island area. In tough economic times, many wonder about the most effective ways to revitalize their communities.

Vision Long Island is a not-for-profit organization working to build economically and environmentally sustainable communities through so called “Smart Growth” initiatives. EmPower Solar has supported and sponsored Vision Long Island for 3 years.

Smart growth means building urban, suburban and rural communities with housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops and schools. This approach supports local economies and protects the environment. Keynote speaker, John Norquist (former Mayor of Milwaukee, WI) spoke passionately about the importance of New Urbanism which focuses on the restoration of urban community.  He says there is a demand for compact neighborhoods with mixed use buildings that are sustainable and convenient.  If people can work where they live this will cut down on commuting expenses and improve quality of life.

A recurring theme throughout the event was the general idea of innovation, or establishing change in the community.  Many believe that we must first understand the root of the problems we face today in order to generate real change.

EmPower CEO, David Schieren, spoke on the Energy & Smart Growth panel.  This panel was moderated by Richie Kessel (former President of NYPA and Chairman of LIPA Board of Trustees).  The discussion focused on introducing innovative alternative energy and energy efficiency solutions to communities.

EmPower Solar’s commitment to more innovative and sustainable means of energy is an important piece to this bigger picture.  We share many of the same goals and philosophies as Vision Long Island and see solar energy as part of the solution to a better future in New York and around the world.

David G. Schieren, CEO of EmPower Solar, was honored to receive an award from FREE at the 34^th Annual Celebration of life Gala held earlier this month. Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, a not-for-profit that provides community living for disabled people in Nassau and Suffolk counties, presented the award in recognition of David’s instrumental role in helping the organization implement the 800 kW solar project that is estimated to provide over $5.2 Million in savings over 25 years.

David was honored to share the award with the following co-honorees: Bob Catell – Chairman, Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) at New York State University at Stony Brook.  Kevin Law – President and Chief Executive Officer, Long Island Association.  Michael Hervey – Chief Operating Officer, Long Island Power Authority.  Yakov Shamesh – Vice President for Economic Development, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Stony Brook University.

The FREE solar project, one of the largest investments in renewable energy on Long Island to date, converted 44 sites over to solar power, helping reduce annual utility expenses by 27 percent.  The savings will allow FREE to focus its resources on increasing the quality of life for more than 3,000 people on Long Island through crucial “life services” and related social and educational programs.

“Reach high, achieve more.  The Family Residences and Essential Enterprises credo resonates with EmPower.  FREE is a remarkable and inspiring organization that provides vital services to our region.  It demonstrates how organizations can play a key leadership role in cleaning the air and reducing dependence on fossil fuels, while making smart financial investments.  They’ve inspired us to reach high and achieve more.  Of course I accepted this award on behalf of my business partner and our COO Greg Sachs, and the entire EmPower team that took this project on with such gusto, determination and precision.  Moving Forward”– David G. Schieren

Construction of a 50 kilowatt SunPower Photovoltaic system is underway at the Freeport Fire Department, located at 15 Broadway in Freeport, NY, just north of the LIRR station.  The EmPower Installation Team started phase 1 of the installation 2 weeks ago (see picture above) and should be completed by the end of October.   A typical residential installation takes 3-5 days to complete.  This installation is 5 times the size of a large residential PV system.  Furthermore, metal rafters (versus wood) and other complexities have added to the amount of time for this installation to be completed.

Freeport received funding  for the solar project from a competitive New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) grant, which originated from a American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus program.

Since the Village of Freeport has its own municipal electric provider, Freeport Electric, and is not in LIPA territory, residents are not eligible for the $1.75/watt solar rebate from LIPA.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to read the Official Press Release.

To replace nuclear, Germany is pursuing an even more aggressive renewable energy program. In addition to installing more renewable capacity, the program will include “smart grid” investments that will make intermittent energy generation technologies more predictable, reliable and dispatchable.

Nuclear, while an impressive technology, has severe shortcomings. Plants take years to site and build, and are prohibitively expensive to safeguard adequately. In addition, there is still no solution for long-term spent fuel storage. Instead, the spent fuel remains in pools at the hundred odd plants around the United States.   Then there is the scale problem: because the plants are so large, it is challenging to make up the supply if one goes down, and it takes a decade or so to build a new one.

Yesterday, a rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Virginia and was felt all along the eastern seaboard.    A major nuclear plant was shut down and the back-up generators were turned on to keep the nuclear fuel cooling system operational. At this time everything looks okay, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is overseeing a post-event analysis of a number of east coast plants.

We recommend reading “Brittle Power” and “Small is Profitable” by Amory Lovins, the highly regarded scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, for deeper insight into the shortcomings of the large, centralized power infrastructure that defines the current paradigm.  One theme that Mr. Lovins emphasizes is that we should look to biology when considering how to optimize systems.   He states that: