FREE presents award at 34th Annual Celebration of Life Gala

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

Freeport Fire Department Goes Solar

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.

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

Solar systems stand up to Long Island storm

Last Saturday, March 14, Long Island was slammed by a massive coastal storm that recorded wind speeds over 70 mph.  More than 260,000 LIPA customers lost power for various amounts of time.  Naturally, we wanted to make sure all of our solar installations were doing fine after the bad weather.  We monitored all of our clients’ systems remotely and could tell that everything was in order.  To be sure, we sent out an email asking that clients do a visual inspection of their systems.  In the end, all of our installations withstood the storm.  One of our clients in Belle Harbor sent us the picture above – you can see that the shingles are coming off the roof but the solar system is still in place!  Read what some of our clients told us about how their systems fared:

Raises for the guys that put on my system.  We and our neighbors were super impressed that nothing flew off. – Neil and Jen F., Long Beach

All is fine, generating kWhs Sunday, pleasantly surprised no uplifting of the panels, with such high winds. Kudos, great installation and great product! – Peggy P., Massapequa

We’re glad to hear our clients are happy and that our systems can handle extreme storms!

NY Solar gets boost with ARRA funding

On Monday, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced the awardees of an ARRA funding opportunity (RFP 1613) for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean fleet projects.  These projects will help to make New York a leader in clean technology, foster the development of new jobs, and improve the environmental quality of NY communities.  The funding will help to launch the installation of commercial size solar installations throughout the state.  Numerous fantastic projects will be completed as a result of this funding.  On Long Island and in New York City alone, more than $3 million was awarded to install nearly ½ MW of solar.

For this opportunity, applicants were limited to municipal governments, public K-12 schools, public universities or colleges, public or private hospitals, and 501(c)(3) non-profits.  Recipients submitted for the funding in November 2009 by completing applications that included cost-benefit and environmental impact analyses of their proposed projects.  Funding was allocated to 7 different regions within the State, so applicants only competed against those within their regions.

Funding was exhausted for most regions, but $6.8 million remains for NYC and $1.6 million remains for Western New York.  Applications for this remaining funding are due April 7, 2010.

Congratulations to all the awardees!