News for August 09, 2005

Happy Summer!

Participants at the Solar Schoolhouse Summer Institute for Educators create a series circuit with solar cells & motors. Forty teachers from throughout California, and as far as North Carolina, attended the 2005 sessions. The project-oriented theme of the 5day summer institute lead to the construction of 2 permanent solar fountains for the host sites, fountains to take back to school, stand-alone solar electric nightlight, solar cars, solar cookers, model solar homes, model solar hot water heaters, and more. [photo: T. Allen - Rahus]

The Big News this spring/summer is the ongoing march of a landmark bill (SB1 aka California Million Solar Roofs ) through the California State Legislation. Here is the summary of the Legislative path of SB 1 to date:
May 2, Passes Senate Energy Committee 10-0
May 31, Passes Senate Appropriations Committee 8-4
June 1, Passes Senate Floor 30-5
June 27, Special Hearing on SB 1 in Assembly Energy Committee
July 6th Assembly Utilities Committee 7-0.
July 7th Assembly Housing Committee by a vote of 6-1
Next Steps...SB 1 will likely be put on the suspense file on August 17th in Assembly Appropriations. A vote on SB 1 will occur the week following. August 26th is the deadline for Appropriations Committee to pass SB 1. If it passes it will head to the Assembly Floor for its final vote before the end of session on September 9th. Then off to the governor for signature to become law.

You can read the language of the bill at posted at the legislative info site. We'll try to keep you posted on the home stretch and if any letter writing is needed. While the overall concept of the bill is strong and gaining support throughout California (see many editorials, city resolutions of support, etc.), there are forces that are trying to weaken the bill with loophole amendments. Environment California, VoteSolar, CalSEIA, and others are working to make sure a strong bill emerges.

Looking Forward,

Tor Allen

Editor- Solar e-Clips
President - The Rahus Institute

Religious community supports million solar roofs [California] [Rabbi Zoe Klein & Rev. Sally Bingham]"AND God said. This is a beautiful world that I have given you. Take good care of it, do not ruin it. It is said: Before the world was created, the Holy One kept creating worlds and destroying them. Finally God created this one and was satisfied. God said to Adam: This is the last world that I shall make. I place it in your hands; hold it in trust.' Why is the religious community involved in solar power? The answer is simple, ...[read more]

Shortages Stifle a Boom Time for the Solar Industry [NY Times]

Solar Granted a Major Victory in Federal Energy Bill Washington, DC [2005.7.29]- After years of effort, lawmakers on Capitol Hill finally agreed upon a vast package of federal energy legislation. For the average American, there are few, if any, items in the cavernous bill that will have an immediate and measurable impact on their lives. The first residential tax credit for solar energy since 1985, however, is chief among them....[read more]

Inland entrepreneur comes up with cool invention [Banning, CA 2005.4.23] - Roger Pruitt couldn't stand watching his customers suffer in the heat. It was sometimes a matter of life and death. Five years ago, several people in the state perished from the heat during rolling blackouts. Pruitt, a muffler-shop owner, invented a solar-powered air conditioner that costs less to run than regular coolers. "I woke my wife up in the middle of the night," Pruitt recalled. "I said, 'You know what, I'm gonna build a solar air conditioner and I'm gonna take it to one of these power companies and say this is what you need to do.' "...[read more]

Solar boost -City installs a 30-kilowatt system at Islander Park [Riverside, CA 2005.7.16] - RIVERSIDE - The city on Friday dedicated a new solar-energy installation at Islander Park, where dozens of children splashed in two swimming pools seeking relief from a blazing sun. The solar panels that cover the roof of changing rooms and restrooms at the University neighborhood park will generate one-quarter to one-half the energy used by the pools, mostly for their filtration system. The city will dedicate two similar installations at Shamel and Hunt parks later this month. Together, the three projects generate 30 kilowatts of solar power, bringing to 440 kilowatts the total amount of locally generated solar energy in Riverside....[read more]

SMUD selling solar power control to customers [Sacramento - PV Pioneers I 2005.5.4] - SMUD is giving qualified customers who "loaned" their roofs to advance solar energy technology the opportunity to buy the solar systems. These customers can also take pride in knowing they helped develop the solar market with their commitment made more than 10 years ago. In 1993, SMUD and these customers shared the vision of a future solar energy market available to the average resident. At the time, costs were prohibitive and very few local businesses provided maintenance for solar energy systems. More than 500 customers, dubbed "PV Pioneers" (PV means Photovoltaic or voltage generated by radiant energy from the sun) joined the SMUD program to place solar systems (Photovoltaic units) on rooftops. SMUD purchased, installed and maintained the systems, and the customers loaned their roofs and paid a monthly fee to help pay administrative costs....[read more]

University of Michigan Wins the North American Solar (Car) Challenge - Stanford & Cal finish 1-2 in Stock division [2005.7.28 Calgary, Canada] - The University of Michigan held onto a narrow lead over the University of Minnesota last week to win the 2005 North American Solar Challenge. The 2,500-mile solar race—the longest in the world—concluded on July 27th in Calgary, Canada....[read more]

High-schoolers finish solar car race in Pasadena, CA [2005.7.18] - "If a group of high school kids can build a solar car and drive it across the country, then the possibilities for our future are endless," said St. Thomas Academy team member Nicholas Deprey....[read more]

Powering the Future - Where on Earth can our energy-hungry society turn to replace oil, coal, and natural gas? [National Geographic] Freedom! I stand in a cluttered room surrounded by the debris of electrical enthusiasm: wire peelings, snippets of copper, yellow connectors, insulated pliers. For me these are the tools of freedom. I have just installed a dozen solar panels on my roof, and they work. A meter shows that 1,285 watts of power are blasting straight from the sun into my system, charging my batteries, cooling my refrigerator, humming through my computer, liberating my life. The euphoria of energy freedom is addictive. Don't get me wrong; I love fossil fuels. I live on an island that happens to have no utilities, but otherwise my wife and I have a normal American life. We don't want propane refrigerators, kerosene lamps, or composting toilets. We want a lot of electrical outlets and a cappuccino maker. But when I turn on those panels, wow! ...[read more]

Anaheim's Canyon High wins 3rd straight Solar Boat Race [Southern California 2005.5.15] TEMECULA, Calif.—A solar-powered boat built by a team from Canyon High School of Anaheim won the MWD Solar Cup 2005 today [Sunday] for the third consecutive year, beating boats from 27 other high schools in the three-day event at Lake Skinner. The annual event—the only one of its kind in the state—is sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and local water agencies to help teach high school students engineering and problem-solving skills, and about managing and protecting natural and alternative resources. Approximately 500 students participated, and hundreds more attended as spectators...[read more]

SMUD increases funds for popular solar program [Sacramento 2005.7.06] - Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) solar rebates are so popular with customers that the utility added another $150,000 in rebates to meet the demand. The program, PV Pioneer 2, provides financial incentives for contractors to pass on to customers. SMUD is also marketing the program and provides customers a list of approved contractors to seek competitive bids. Since January, SMUD has referred more than 400 customers to contractors. ...[read more]

IN BRIEF

New 'Your Solar Home' DVD available from Rahus - 'Your Solar Home- The Art and Science of Heating, Cooling and Powering Your Home with the Sun'. An incredible amount of energy comes to earth in the form of sunlight. Every house is a potential solar collector, ready to harness this endless supply of energy and put it to work for us. 'Your Solar Home' helps to demystify the concept of a solar home, providing us with the scientific basis for understanding the many ways you can capture this energy to heat, cool, and power your home…in a comprehensive and entertaining format. Support the Rahus Institute and demystify the wonders of a solar home. Order this great new DVD now!.

Dominique Crosby, a freshman at Bear Creek High School, explains her team's solar-powered model house to a judge at the second annual Lodi Solar Schoolhouse Olympics at Lodi High School on Saturday (May 7, 2005). Students from local schools competed against each other by designing and building model cars, model homes, fountains and cookers, all solar-powered. (source: Lodi News Sentinel). Solar Schoolhouse Lodi is sponsored by City of Lodi Electric Utility Department.

Washington, DC Prepares for Influx of Solar Activity this October - On the heals of the passing of the Federal Energy Bill, solar will be in the spotlight in Washington, DC in October this year, as the city will play host to both the Solar Power 2005 Conference and Expo and the Solar Decathlon.
The Solar Power Conference and Expo, October 5 – 9 at the Hyatt Regency Washington, is the largest business-to-business solar event in the U.S.; last year more than 1,150 people attended and even more are expected this year. Solar Power 2005 participants will include the renewable energy industry, policymakers from all levels of government, electric utilities, financiers, and potential customers. The expo will feature 60 companies that manufacturer, design, install and market solar energy systems. Conference sessions will focus on policy, market, and technology issues for photovoltaic, solar hot water, and concentrating solar power technologies.
"As both a speaker and an attendee, the Solar Power conference proved to be very valuable to me last year,” said Hans Willemsen, executive vice president for Shell Solar. “I was impressed not only with the quality of the presentations, but by the strong representation from all stakeholders."
According to the December 2004 issue of Photon International, “The Solar Power 2004 conference was a great success. The entire US PV industry was represented and discussed ways to gain back leadership it lost to Japan and Germany.” Gaining back leadership will be an even greater focus at the 2005 event, with a conference theme of “Strategies to Grow US Markets”.
The Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, brings 18 college and university teams from around the globe to compete to design and build houses that demonstrate the advantages of a solar lifestyle. These 18 homes will be built on the National Mall, just blocks from the location of Solar Power 2005. CalPoly San Luis Obispo, is the California representative this year. The last Solar Decathlon, which took place in 2002, drew more than 110,000 visitors.The Solar Power 2005 and Solar Decathlon organizers are coordinating closely to tie the two events together through joint marketing and continuous shuttle bus service between the two event locations.For more information about Solar Power 2005 and the Solar Decathlon, visit www.solarpowerconference.com.

CalPoly (SLO) to compete in Solar Decathlon, needs your help - Watt's it all about? Please join our Solar Decathlon "Watt-a-thon" - a campaign to raise $500,000 through both gifts of cash and in-kind contributions. Your support will help to ensure Cal Poly's participation (one of 18 accepted universities from around the globe) in the prestigious national competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Students are challenged to build a 500-800 square foot house to be powered only by solar energy. Cal Poly students will build their solar house on campus, transport it to Washington D.C., then display it on the National Mall. Cal Poly's team will participate in 10 competitions to test how well energy from the sun is used to power our modern lifestyle. See the house under construction(10MB video) in San Luis Obispo. To learn more about the project and how you can contribute, visit the project website. or Contact Rob Pena, Architecture Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
[805]-756-5207 rpena@calpoly.edu. [This is a very unique event - showcasing 18 different strategies for energy-efficient, true zero energy homes - all in one place. CalPoly is the lone California representative. Rahus will be filming the event and producing a video and book. We're hoping that California will shine in this story, so Please Please Please give what you can and help them make us all proud. Super Thanks. Looking Forward - Tor (Rahus)]

Solar Powered DJ available to power your Bay Area event - David Quattro is ready with his portable solar powered trailer and sound system, to power your event (wedding, birthday parties, fairs, education events) with clean wireless power from the sun. The portable power system recently debuted at the Solar Schoolhouse Summer Institute for Educators (photo at right), providing power for music, power tools, and smoothies. learn more at www.solardj.com

KEMA to provide technical services to CEC Renewable Energy Program - [BURLINGTON, Mass 2005.8.1]-- KEMA announced it has won the prime contract from the California Energy Commission's Renewable Energy Program to provide technical support services to help build interest in and facilitate the development of renewable energy in the state. KEMA, an international energy and utility industry consulting company, was awarded the contract for three years with funding up to nearly $3.2 million. This is KEMA's second consecutive contract award for this program, having won the contract in 2002 as KEMA-XENERGY. KEMA is the prime contractor, bringing to this contract a 14-company team of professionals with outstanding credentials in renewable energy services. KEMA's Green Power practice is a unique team of seasoned experts in the areas of renewable energy policy, wholesale and retail market design, development, and evaluation, and green power customer research and communications. KEMA executive consultant Elena Schmid is leading the multi-company Energy Commission project team. Schmid, who joined KEMA in April 2005, is a 20-year veteran of California's energy industry with experience at the California Energy Commission, California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) and California ISO (CalISO). "We look forward to continuing our work with the Energy Commission to leverage California's $135 million annual funding for renewable energy," said Schmid. "California and its surrounding states are replete with renewable resources. California public policy decision-makers have taken a leadership position in committing to renewables as an essential part of California's energy future. The Energy Commission has been instrumental in developing and operating programs to facilitate substantial increases in penetration of both central station and distributed renewables." Today, California generates more power from renewable energy than any other state in the nation. About KEMA - KEMA has over 30 years of hands-on experience with renewable power technologies and green energy markets throughout North America and abroad. KEMA's Green Power practice seeks to identify and develop new opportunities for its clients resulting from advances in renewable power technologies, the restructuring of the energy markets, and increasing market interest in sustainable energy resources.

IEA PV Power Systems Programme Global Survey - Task 2 of the IEA PVPS is inviting participation in the first global economical survey. The survey includes information on investment and maintenance costs, as well as on power production and overall performance of PV installations. For the survey, click on "Survey" at: <http://www.iea-pvps-task2.org/>

RETScreen Software Updates available - The RETScreen® International Clean Energy Decision Support Center was created in 1996 to build the capacity of planners and decision makers for implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The latest module to be added to the software is for combined heat and power. Within the past 2 months, RETScreen has updated its models on solar water heating, biomass, passive solar, ground source heat pumps and solar air heating. The software is free to download.

Netherlands organises world's biggest solar-powered boat race -2006 - Australia has its Solar Challenge, a solar-powered car race through the outback. Next year, the Netherlands is organising a waterborne counterpart: the Frisian Nuon Solar Challenge, a competition for solar-powered boats over the Frisian lakes. In six days the competitors complete a 220 kilometre course in a self-built boat that is fuelled exclusively with solar panels. The challenge is open to teams from universities and institutes of technology all over the world. If you are someone who likes water, technology and a challenge: this is your chance. Take a look at www.frisiannuonsolarchallenge.com and enrol for the competition. It's not yet too late! The race is being held from 26 June to 1 July 2006 in the Netherlands' water sports province of Friesland. The course is completed in six stages along eleven historical cities that are all linked together via lakes, rivers and canals. If you want to take part, you'll need to build a boat with your fellow-students. The solar panels will be lent to you....[learn more]

Events

8/6-12/2005 ISES/ASES Solar World Congress [Orlando, FL] - "Bringing Water to the World" - Please join the American Solar Energy Society, the International Solar Energy Society and all of the other participating organizations in Orlando, Florida, August 6-12, 2005 as we welcome the ISES Solar World Congress back to the United States. Join leading researchers, scientist, engineers, architects, designers and other renewable energy professionals from around the world at this comprehensive program.

8/20-21/2005 SOLFEST - 10th Annual Event - [Hopland, CA] - Hosted by the Solar Living Institute and Real Goods.

9/13 CSC SOLAR FORUM - Mark your calender. The next Solar Forum is scheduled for Santa Clara, September 13th from 9am to 3pm, hosted by Silicon Valley Power. Issues to be presented and discussed include: The final results of SB1- the California Million Solar Roof Initiative - will be presented and discussed. Progress in solar school projects, solar for new homes, solar rebate program updates, Silicon supply, solar project financing, and an opportunity to network with others involved in the solar industry. $40 and lunch is included. Register online Now. Presentations from earlier Solar Forums are posted here. If you've been before, you'll know this is a great place to network and learn about developments in the California solar market. The CSC Solar Forum is organized by The Rahus Institute. Questions can be sent to Tor Allen at forum@californiasolarcenter.org

9/26-10/1 Photovoltaic Design and Installation Course [near Yosemite, CA] -
Join Solar Energy International (SEI) for an intensive hands-on Solar Electric Design & Installation workshop at the Jack L. Boyd Outdoor School near Yosemite National Park in California - to make a positive change for the future. California has some of the best renewable energy incentives in the nation for installing photovoltaics on homes and businesses. The time is ripe to learn how to design and install these systems. This workshop is for the beginner who wants to use PV on their home or business and for those seeking employment in the solar industry. This workshop will take place from September 26th to October 1st, culminating with a hands-on photovoltaic installation, providing a lasting teaching tool for the thousands of students that visit the Outdoor School each year. Lodging and food is included.
Rahus and SEI have teamed up in the past to organize workshops that also install functioning solar electric systems. Read about Lincoln Middle School (Alameda) and Walden West Outdoor School(Saratoga). The Rahus Institute is the local sponsor for the workshop and can be reached via email at sei@rahus.org or phone at 925-370-7262.. To register for the workshop visit the SEI website.

10/1/2005 - Solar Home Tours - at various locations. Check nationally at ASES website for location near you. NorCal Solar hosts a number of tours in Northern California

10/7-16/2005 Solar Decathlon [The Mall - Washington DC] - The Solar Decathlon brings 18 college and university teams from around the globe to compete to design and build houses that demonstrate the advantages of a solar lifestyle. The students will show us how we can live with abundance and comfort in beautiful, energy-efficient, completely solar-powered homes. In fall 2005, teams transport their competition solar houses to Washington, D.C., where they construct a "solar village" on the National Mall. The teams compete against each other in 10 contests that range from architecture and livability and comfort to how well the solar homes perform in providing energy for space heating and cooling, hot water, lights, and appliances. Each solar house must also power an electric car. The teams will build their houses to accomplish all this using only energy from the sun. The solar village is open to the public October 7-16, 2005. The teams' houses will be open for touring everyday except October 12, when they will close for competition purposes.

10/6-9/2005 SOLAR POWER 2005 [Washington DC] - National Conference. "Strategies for U.S. Market Growth" - SOLAR POWER 2005 is the can't-be-missed event for anyone involved in or interested in learning about solar technologies and markets. Solar electric (photovoltaics), solar water heating, and concentrating solar power will all be covered. .Solar Power 2005 includes: Sessions on technology, markets, and policy, Expo, Manufacturer training, and Product demonstrations. Solar Power 2005 will also be held in conjunction with the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, where 18 college and university teams will build solar homes on the National Mall.

Solar Living Center [Hopland - Ongoing Workshops] - a wide variety of topics offered in 1-5 day workshops. check website for current offerings.

Pacific Energy Center [San Francisco - Ongoing Workshops] - in addition to offering FREE workshops on solar topics, the Pacific Energy Center also has a wide variety of workshops on energy efficient design for the architectural and engineering audience. check website for current offerings.

Diablo Valley College [Pleasant Hill - recurring RE courses] - Photovoltaic System Design and Installation. Check DVC Website and search under Schedule of Courses for "Alternative Energy Technologies". Tom Chatagnier is the instructor.

Solar Forum presentations online - Presentations from the February Solar Forum in Anaheim are available online. The range of topics include: CEC Rebate program, Self Generation Program update, State Solar Policy, City of Anaheim Solar activities, Zero Energy Homes, buying Solar Renewable Energy Credits, and recent Solar Schoolhouse activities..

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