Archive for September, 2007
SunPower and Agilent Technologies to Install 1-Megawatt Solar System in Santa Rosa
On September 28, 2007 in Uncategorized
The “fine print” in this article is a little scary, but at least these companies are working together towards a common goal.
From http://money.cnn.com :
“ SAN JOSE and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ –
SunPower Corporation , a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, and Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced that SunPower’s System division will install a 1-megawatt solar tracking system at Agilent’s Santa Rosa, Calif., campus. SunPower solar panels are being installed on top of a canopy structure in the campus parking lot, providing both shade in the lot and solar electric power for the facility.
SunPower’s tracking solar system design will generate up to 25 percent more energy for Agilent than a similarly sized flat, roof-top system. As a result, Agilent’s solar parking canopy will be the largest solar power generator in Sonoma County.
“As the world’s premier measurement company, Agilent recognizes the path to a sustainable future includes protecting the environment and being a responsible corporate citizen,” said Ron Nersesian, vice president of Agilent’s Wireless Business Unit and general manager of the company’s Santa Rosa facility. “We are working to reduce the impact of our operations, suppliers, products and services on the environment, and generating our own clean, renewable solar power is a step in the right direction to accomplish those important goals.”
SunPower will install its SunPower Tracker, which follows the sun’s movement throughout the day. Using SunPower solar panels, the highest efficiency panels on the market today, the system is expected to generate an estimated 1.8 million kilowatt-hours per year, offsetting more than 33 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the next 30 years. This is equivalent to planting more than 4,700 acres of trees or removing 3,300 cars from California’s roadways…”
Photovoltaic Power Systems And the 2005 National Electrical Code, and other reference material
On September 23, 2007 in Uncategorized
Wandering around the internet often leads to vast stores of information you didn’t know existed.
Here is another one I found today:
http://shop.altenergystore.com/pdfs/photovoltaic_NEC_code_practices2005.pdf
This is 143 pages of pdf goodness. I only wish I had my own laser printer to make a paper copy of it. Electronic documents often annoy me as I don’t have good connectivity at the house.
Some even better news though, is that the site that pdf is hosted at has a rather extensive online reference library involving solar energy.
- Reference Materials
- Building Best Practices Series
- Glossary of Alternative Energy Terms
- How to Size Wiring and Cabling for Your System
- National Electric Code and Solar Electric Systems
- Power Ratings (typical) for Common Appliances
- Solar Insolation Map - Caribbean, Mexico & Central America
- Solar Insolation Map - South America
- Solar Insolation Data - USA Cities
- Solar Insolation Map - USA
- Solar Insolation Map - World
- Wind Resource Map for Mexico
- Wind Resource Data for USA, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands
I’ll go ahead and add the link to the references section of the site, as this is some valuable stuff.
Also found this on their site:
Related How-To’s…
Net-Metering in West Virginia, a Rant, and some other stuff
On September 21, 2007 in Uncategorized
Today I stumbled upon another news article that touches on some topics worthy of note. Net-metering isn’t going to get us everywhere we need to go, but I am certainly glad to see that it is catching on in more areas. The most important part of the article though I believe, was more or less tucked in at the end behind some fluff.
If people start to design alternative energy systems into their new homes, they are certainly more likely to have the money available to actually install a system that will be able to satisfy most of their energy needs. Most conventional homes consume large amounts of energy. Were people to be more diligent about designing low energy homes, and then completing the picture by using the sun, wind, or other power, banks would likely be more willing to give them a loan to facilitate such an undertaking.*
The fact of the matter is that if you are going to use PV cells alone, the project will cost a decent sum of money. The best way to come about such a thing for most people is from a bank, because who has several thousand dollars laying around? If you can get a bank to give it to you at the same time as the money you are borrowing to construct a house, everything will work together much more nicely if only because you designed the house and alternative energy system as one, instead of retrofitting something on a previously designed house with a not so similar purpose.
*I am not a loan officer or any other financial consult nonsense. Ask someone that is, the above is merely my opinion.
September 09, 2007
“ATHENS — In a week or so, a small farmhouse on the outskirts of this town will become West Virginia’s newest electric utility.
It sits under a newly erected 100-foot freestanding steel-lattice tower, and atop the tower is a three-bladed fiberglass wind turbine. The turbine’s power will light up the house, and whatever excess energy it generates during especially windy months will be channeled into the Appalachian Power Co. system to be parceled out to other customers. The house’s owners will get a credit for the excess energy toward their future bills.
Since the beginning of this year, state residents have been able to enter into such “net metering” contracts with their electric utilities, under rules that the state Public Service Commission adopted in October. Athens house, belonging to members of the Clarke family, will be the first net-metering residence in Appalachian Power’s West Virginia market, once the final paperwork is completed.
“People are looking for a better way to make their own energy,” says Matt Sherald, co-owner of Pimby LLC, the Thomas-based company that installed the Clarkes’ wind turbine. “We’re seeing a real interest in renewable energy systems.”
Pimby’s name is an acronym for the company’s slogan, “Power in My Back Yard,” which is a pun on the common anti-civic slogan “Not in My Back Yard.” Sherald and co-owner Jeff Melnick formed the company a year and a half ago, sensing that there was a growing demand for do-it-yourself energy.
Since then, they’ve equipped 10 houses and small businesses in Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia with turbines or solar panels. They’ve had four other jobs in West Virginia, all of them for clients whose power systems operate “off the grid,” or outside the commercial power networks.
“Solar start-up Ausra hires ex-Calpine exec”
On September 20, 2007 in Uncategorized
Coming from the IT industry, I have been witness to many executives jumping ship to work for a competitor or offshoot. Glad to see it finally happening in a manner that will possibly benefit us all:
“Solar start-up Ausra hires ex-Calpine exec
NEW CEO PLANS TO GO SOLAR ON A LARGE SCALE
Article Launched: 09/20/2007 07:10:20 AM PDT
Ausra, a Silicon Valley solar-energy start-up, has hired a veteran from traditional power-producer Calpine to run its operations.
Ausra will today announce the hiring of Robert Fishman, 55, as chief executive officer. Fishman had managed 24,000 megawatts of natural-gas and geothermal power plants for San Jose-based Calpine as its power operations executive vice president. Before joining Calpine in 2001, he was president of PB Power.
“We’re going to take this (solar) technology and deploy it on a very large scale,” Fishman said.
His 30-year career has been spent constructing and running power plants, and that’s what he’ll do for Ausra. The company, based in Palo Alto, recently got $40 million in venture funding for its solar-thermal activities. It has a pilot program in Australia, and will soon announce the location in California of a 175-megawatt solar plant.
California has a goal of generating 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, and 33 percent by 2030. “We’re talking about thousands or tens of thousands of megawatts that would be required,” Fishman said. “Nationally, we could be looking at as much as 100,000 megawatts. The appetite for a renewable energy product in this country is huge.”
John O’Donnell, Ausra’s senior vice president, described Fishman as “a leader in the heart of the electric power business in California.”
Fishman said he left Calpine, a company with about 80 plants in operation nationwide that’s set to emerge from bankruptcy by year’s end because of the potential of solar power. “Most innovations come from small companies,” he said.
Calpine said Monday that it had appointed Michael Rogers as Fishman’s replacement.”
From: San Jose Mercury News
Hike in lead prices causes battery price to increase
On September 16, 2007 in Uncategorized
I was looking around on http://www.solarray.com/ when I stumbled upon the “batteries” page of their online catalog. At the bottom was this:
“**NOTE **
The price of lead is climbing every day. From 8/1/07 to 8/20/07 it has gone up 25%. Please email support@solarray.com for current prices.”
I’d heard something in passing somewhere else in the past, but could not remember the specifics. A quick search on google news brought up this article from http://www.ndtvprofit.com :
“Nisha Poddar
Friday, September 7, 2007 (Mumbai):
As lead is leading the metal rally, chances are that your car batteries may get expensive about 50-60 per cent of the cost for car battery makers like Exide and Amara Raja goes in buying lead, which is an essential raw material and with lead prices rising over 75 per cent this year price hikes are becoming a norm.
“Lead price rise affects the cost of production,” said AK Mukherjee, CFO, Exide Industries.
Lead prices have been on a constant rise this year and with it car battery prices have also increased by 15 – 20 per cent. But it might not be easy for the battery manufacturers to hike prices again. They face stiff competition from the unorganized sector of local car battery makers.
“We try to overcome by cost reduction, R&D methods and high volumes compensate,” said AK Mukherjee, CFO, Exide Industries.
Situation may be grim right now but analysts don’t feel that the lead rally will last too long. Some analysts feel that the lead prices will come to $1,600 per tonne levels by FY09.
So it will be back to where it started the rally from but till then the key players like Exide and Amara Raja will suffer margin pressure. And if market forces allow, a third price hike in car batteries cannot be completely ruled out. “
In other words, buy your batteries now, folks. Unless you are of the opinion that the prices will start to come back down soon, which they very well may.
New Links
On September 11, 2007 in Uncategorized
Just added more links to the “Charts and References” and “Water Heating” pages. Check back often if there is something you are looking for and/or haven’t found, or feel free to leave a comment or send me an email!
