News for January 28, 2003

Rainbow Grocery installs solar (thermal and electric) systems [San Francisco]

Sebastopol tapping sun's power for 2 buildings

China Lake Naval Station [CA] to test Solar/Fuel Cell Regenerative System

UniSolar Forms Alliance with Los Angeles Roofing Co

White House installs solar-electric system

Painting on Solar Cells - the nano cell solution [UC Berkeley]

Indian Wells may ease solar-panel law [CA]

Ventura new downtown plan to integrate solar

NASA launches spacecraft to measure solar radiation streaming toward Earth

IN BRIEF

CEC Solar Schools Grant program suspended - The Solar Schools Program has been suspended at this time pending resolution of issues related to settlement funds collected by the Attorney General's Office from electricity suppliers. While the grant program may be suspended indefinitely due to the state budget issues, Rahus's Solar Schoolhouse program will be conducting several workshops this Spring on how to implement a solar energy education program at your school, with a greater focus on smaller systems and classroom curriculum. Dates are: March 14 in San Diego at SD Regional Energy Office, April 1 (San Francisco Pacific Energy Center), and April 2 (San Jose - IBEW). follow the links to register. workshops are offered at no cost.

CEC Renewable Energy Program to start March 3rd - New Draft Guidelines online - . As part of its regularly scheduled Business Meeting on February 19, 2003, the California Energy Commission will consider adopting proposed guidelines for the continuation of its Renewable Energy Program (REP) under Senate Bill 1038 (SB 1038, Sher, Statutes of 2002, Chapter 515). These guidelines are comprised of four separate guidebooks and include the Overall Program Guidebook for the REP, the Existing Renewable Facilities Program Guidebook, Emerging Renewable Program Guidebook, and the Consumer Education Program Guidebook. The Energy Commission's Renewables Committee supports these proposed guidelines and recommends their adoption.

Summary of Major Changes to the Emerging Renewables Program
(Changes reflect modifications to the December 2002 Committee Draft Guidebook)
· The Energy Commission intends to begin accepting new reservation requests on March 3, 2003 (the first business day in March). The initial incentive remains at $4.00 for photovoltaic (PV) systems and $2.50 for small wind systems as proposed in the December 2002 Committee Draft Guidebook (Draft Guidebook).
· Incentives will decline by $0.20 per watt every six months (instead of %0.25 per watt), with the first decline beginning July 1, 2003. Additional declines will occur every six months (without regularly scheduled reviews as proposed in the Draft Guidebook).
· There are no longer primary and secondary rebates as proposed in the December 2002 Committee Draft Guidebook. Instead, owners of self-installed systems will receive a 15 percent lower rebate than contracted installations. This rebate discount replaces the $1.00 per watt for PV and $0.50 per watt for wind discounts that applied to secondary rebates in the Draft Guidebook.
· At this time, the pilot performance-based program for systems 30 kW or greater is not being proposed. The Energy Commission expects to develop this program at a later date. A total of $10 million is still reserved for this purpose.
· Wind systems less than 30 kW will receive an incentive of $2.50 per watt for the first 7.5 kW (rather than the first 5 kW). Increments above 7.5 kW will receive an incentive of $1.50 per watt.
· Rebate payment will be issued following receipt a signed copy of the utility interconnection applications, instead of the original utility interconnection agreement; however a letter of authorization to interconnect with the utility must also be submitted later.
· Equipment purchased or installed more than 18 months before applying for a rebate reservation is ineligible. The Draft Guidebook specified 12 months.
· The reservation period for aggregated systems totaling 30 kW or more is 18 months. The previous Draft Guidebook provided no information on the item.
· The Solar Schools Program has been suspended at this time pending resolution of issues related to settlement funds collected by the Attorney GeneralÕs Office from electricity suppliers.
· No Emerging Renewables Program rebate is available for systems in publicly owned electric utility service areas. The funds for this program have been returned to the State's general fund as a result of budget cuts.
· The full five year warranty is no longer required to apply to the system energy estimate on the Reservation Request. Companies may warrant this estimate if they wish, however an energy estimate is still required on the Reservation Form.

PV education -streaming Videos available online. The California Energy Commission has recently posted 3 new videos on Photovoltaic technology. The subject include solar cell basics, installation of grid-tie systems, and rebates available. Bill Brooks of Endecon Engineering, and Marija Krapcevich of the CEC, are featured in the short videos. The videos are part of a whole portfolio of online videos addressing energy issues about the home, from lighting to heating/cooling strategies. A special series also addresses High Performance School Design and was developed by the Division of State Architect and the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS).

SMUD PIER [Research] Projects push PV forward. - SMUD and the California Energy Commission are working together on research, development and demonstration projects for renewable power generation. Through the PIER program, these projects will tap renewable resources such as the sun, wind and biomass, thus helping to reduce reliable of non-renewable sources of energy. SMUD expects many technologies developed in this program to begin entering the workplace within one to two years. By the end of the third year of the program, a number of technologies should be in use in PV programs in California. SMUD expects to reduce the installed cost of PV in the District's service area from a present level of $5 per watt and up to under $3.50 per watt or less by the end of 2006. Under this program, SMUD will begin the development of plug-and-play roofing systems that may ultimately make PV roofs the most common type in the state. PV projects include:

· Photovoltaic markets and technologies
· Utility system capability and customer demand value of photovoltaic
· Performance indexing of photovoltaic systems
· Assessment of worst-case weather conditions
· Laminate and batten photovoltaic roofing system
· BIPV mounting approaches for new construction
· Mainstreaming photovoltaic for residential roofs
· Flat-roof mounting approaches
· Optimization of residential photovoltaic systems
· Remote dispatch and photovoltaic irrigation
· Photovoltaic and evaporative cooling
· Non-vacuum thin-film CIGS modules
· Maximum power point tracker and operational dispatch
· Demonstration of a hybrid photovoltaic and lighting system
more project information

Solar Water Heating at the McCambridge Park Pool [Burbank] - In July 2002, the City of Burbank began heating the McCambridge Park pool with a solar water heating system. The system works by pumping water to the roof where it runs through sunlight-absorbing solar panels. As the water travels through these solar panels it collects the sun's radiant energy. The water that is returned to the pool is naturally heated, free of charge, and with no adverse environmental impact. [read more]

State Solar Tax Credit YR2002 forms available online - Form 3508 YR2002[pdf] FAQs on CSC incentive page. Federal forms for commercial investment credit are also posted - available through the incentives page. We anticipate updating the incentive page in the next few weeks to include changes with the CEC Renewables program and several municipal utility programs.

Oakland to put solar on city buidings. During Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown's recent state of the city speech, Brown said the city will install solar panels on six city buildings, including the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, and is working to switch its fleet of vehicles to alternate fuels over the next seven years. [solarbuzz]

Bay Area Solar Consortium: Blazing with Solar Activity - Jennifer Seguin, grant coordinator for the Bay Area Solar Consortium (BASC), is one enormously busy woman. She somehow keeps track of some 60 members in the Million Solar Roofs partnership while managing the MSR grant. learn more about what BASC is up to

Events

3/3-8 Workshop: Women's Photovoltaic Design and Installation [SEI -Santa Cruz, California] - Participants in the PV Design & Installation workshop learn how to use PV (photovoltaic) technology to produce their own electricity from the sun. The workshop focuses on the practical design and installation of home PV systems. Participants learn system sizing, site analysis, hardware specification and component selection. The workshop covers typical applications and case study examples. March 7 and 8 will be a hands-on grid tied installation working with local installer, Akeena Solar. Click here for more information.

2/7 to 5/30 Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Systems - Cabrillo College - Aptos - Thursday Evenings 6-9pm. An introduction to solar based renewable energy systems. Taught by NASA scientist Joe Jordan, it will cover solar thermal and electric systems, windpower, biomass, small-hydro, geothermal, ocean (wave and tidal) power, and hydrogen/fuel cells. With hands-on projects, the basic math and science, field trips, and excellent guest speakers from the business world, emphasis will be on setting ourselves up with these technologies and/or promoting the expansion of renewable energy in our economy, as well as on employment or service opportunities, for those interested. The Cabrillo College website is < http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us > ; this course is part of the Construction and Energy Management program. One can also contact Joe Jordan (jjordan@sky-power.org) for more information.