Posts Tagged ‘solar power’
Keep The Solar Decathlon On The National Mall
It was recently announced that the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition would be moved at the last minute from the National Mall in Washington DC to a different location that has yet to be announced. Since 2002, four Solar Decathlons have been held on the Mall, and the 2011 teams have been planning for over a year to compete at the venue. See the January 14 New York Times Article for more background information.
As leaders of the Solar Decathlon Alumni Association (SDAA), we are supporting the student led initiative to keep the competition on the Mall. Towards that end, we are endorsing an online petition created by the students that can be found here: http://www.petition2congress.com/3973/. We are also directly requesting support from our political representatives. The current participants are doing an incredible job at generating support. For example, Senator Menendez of New Jersey has issued a press release in support of this effort: http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/.
We believe that the Solar Decathlon competition is vital to the success of clean energy in the United States and all over the world. It is our position that the National Mall is essential to the competition’s value and prestige. Students and sponsors from the US and international teams are inspired to compete in such an historic location. The Solar Decathlon is about inspiring students – the leaders of the next generation, faculty – the educators of future leaders, and entire university communities to embrace renewable energy.
As a former decathletes and a member of the Solar Decathlon Alumni Association, we know first-hand the influence and deep impact of the competition. Having it at the Mall, the most prominent location in our country, the “front-lawn” of the United States of America, is instrumental to its success.
For information about this year’s event please visit www.solardecathlon.com.
David Schieren, CEO
2005 Solar Decathlon NYIT/USMMA Team Leader, 2007 Advisor.
Gregory Sachs, COO
2005 Solar Decathlon NYIT/USMMA Lead Engineer, 2007 Advisor
Matthew Mathosian, Commercial Project Manager
2007 Solar Decathlon NYIT Lead Architect, 2011 CUNY Advisor
EmPower is the lead sponsor and solar advisor of the 2011 Solar Decathlon CUNY Team
US Army Veteran & Friend of EmPower Speaks on Renewables in the Military
One thing is for sure. The military does not adopt change fast. But when it does change, the affected industries undergo a revolution. Ships, Airplanes, digital communications; now we are watching the latest revolution unfold in the energy field. There is no better proof of a technology than for it to be “battle tested”, and then improved in response to some of the worlds harshest operating conditions.
The US Military has always used solar in remote locations, for keeping the batteries of self contained emergency systems topped off. Now we are seeing a paradigm shift, where the military is seriously pursuing solar and alternative fuel technologies to eliminate costly (and dangerous) supply chains, as was referenced in yesterday’s New York Times. I witnessed this first hand in Iraq as you can see in the above image.
Renewable energy makes sense for reducing foreign dependence and environmental reasons. It also makes sense strategically.
David Bardfield, Veteran, US Army
EmPower Advisor
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.
David Schieren Published in Long Island Business News
EmPower’s CEO David Schieren was featured in the Long Island Business News (LIBN) last week. He wrote an op-ed explaining the benefits of solar energy and why utilities and the government should continue to provide incentives for renewables, at least in the short-term. You can read the article at LIBN’s website if you have a subscription. If you don’t have a subscription, the full text of the article is below.
Schieren: Reasons to take a shine to solar power
By David Schieren
Long Island’s and our nation’s current energy paradigms are not sustainable. Every day we buy about $1 billion of oil from other countries, some of which are hostile to America. Every day, air pollution from our fossil-fueled power plants creates serious public health problems, including increased asthma rates, cardiac issues and premature deaths. Every day we wait for BP to plug the Gulf oil leak as we helplessly witness the destruction of wildlife and the livelihoods of thousands of Americans.
A renewable energy economy is the solution. A renewable energy economy will stabilize future energy prices, create jobs and increase domestically supplied energy while decreasing imports. A renewable energy economy will create a more prosperous, healthy and civil world for ourselves and future generations.
Locally, there is a pressing need to bring new energy sources into our power mix. Renewables, including solar energy, are beneficial for all Long Islanders. Solar rebates and tax incentive programs not only benefit those who choose solar energy systems for their homes and businesses, but also are good for all ratepayers. Here’s why:
As grid electricity prices continue to go up because of volatile and increasing fossil fuel prices, solar prices are coming down. Electric bills have consistently increased in recent years while solar costs have decreased at a rate of nearly 4 percent a year since 1998, a trend expected to continue. Many industry experts predict solar energy will achieve “grid parity” (the moment when solar electricity costs the same as traditional electricity) within the next five years. Through net metering, excess solar capacity is sold back to the Long Island Power Authority resulting in significantly lower bills for the solar user and a supply of clean, low-cost power for the other ratepayers. Read more…
Call to Action: Support SREC Legislation in NY
As you may have heard recently, there is legislation in the New York assembly to create a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) incentive structure in the State. This would be similar to the very successful SREC market launched in New Jersey. The New York Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act would create 22,000 new jobs in the state and bring 5 Gigawatts of solar online by 2025.
The video below by SolarOne does a great job of explaining how the SREC market would work and all the benefits it would bring to NY.
http://www.vimeo.com/11998377Some important points are:
- Create about $20 billion in economic activity in the state
- Residential and commercial size systems would benefit
- 140x increase in New York solar capacity by 2025
- Low cost: only about 39 cents extra on each month’s electric bill
This legislation needs to get voted on by June 21 when the Summer legislative break begins. Take action and let your representatives know that you support the Solar Industry.
