Solar Power

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Comment by Paul on May 14, 2009 at 8:10am

To: Twyla Baggett

We got your message. I can't find your profile or a way to reply except publicly.

52 apartments is close to the size of a condo association I'm familiar with. That complex is fed by a 75 KVA transformer by the utility company. So, we can reasonably conclude that a 150kW system is about as large as you'd ever be likely to need. A 150kW would supply all of the apartment demand while back feeding the full capacity of the transformer back to the power company. That's how we maximize your revenue stream without excess equipment.

Now the real estate necessary to feed a 150kW CSP-DG genset is about an acre and a half of cleared level ground. I's assume that a nice fence and some plantings to hide the equipment would be in order and since it's new construction, it's easy to adjust, so just say 2 acres.

It' a nice compact commercial system -- From the the May 2009 price list, I'd estimate that the system would carry a retail price of $4.25/Watt installed, exclusive of transportation, licensing, and incentives... or $637,500 list.

Depending on the incentives available to you from Federal Grants, Tax Incentives, accelerated depreciation, plus State incentives, City incentives, and yes even the local power company, the up front cost could be 1/2 of that.

Then depending on the price of power in your region, you'll have a source of revenue to the complex that will generate real income for the live of the equipment -- that could be 50 years or more, even though we use 20 years to compute the cost of electricity for the 'lifetime' of the project (everyone likes to "WOW" the customer with pennies per kWHr numbers, 20yr is just the industry standard, it's also when PV systems start to decline rapidly -- so I'm sure you'll understand the reason behind that).

Oh and just so you know the way we figure the cost of the energy in $/kWHr is like this:

Rated Power * 8hr/day * Days of sunshine/year * 20 years = lifetime energy in kWHr so for the system: 150kW * 8 * 240 * 20 = 5,760,000,000 kWhr and then we divide that by the cost of the system in $637,500 and we get the 20 year locked in electricity cost... $0.1107 Yes, just a shade over 11 cents per kWHr -- before incentives. What are you paying for electricity today?

The Light is Green!

Comment by eddie rabon on May 14, 2009 at 7:28am

I had started a blog about solar power for our area here in chipley fl but had gotten blasted for it, every word I seemed to use got used against me.
this was an idea not only to create jobs but to help local area vocational students taking the electricians course that they might in turn become area local solar providers.
My Idea was that because we live in a state that has lotto that not everyone can afford a solar system to be installed on their homes but if there was a lotto that could be generated by enough interested people then the said money could be raised towards installing one on a persons home and at the same time local students could come out and be a part of the process and in turn when they graduated could in turn themselves become local solar providers.
this way any incentive money that may have went to one person could be given back to the company or to the lotto for multiple draws for more work which in turn would or could pay taxes on.I gt blasted for not knowing what the value of a dollar was and was sent to several other sited to "educate"myself on that. All I wanted to do was help in these troubling times to help put people back to work with a means and a way to help facilitate this.
so In everyone opinion here if a lottery could be set up for something like this would you as a person think it would be better knowing that either you could never afford one of these set ups on your own or if you had a chance to win one would you spend a dollar and take that chance?
I know this is a hypothetical question but I wonder instead of just being blasted if there is anyone who would agree with such a way of doing things if it ment my one dollar could not only put someone to work and pay taxes at the same time but also give a student a chance to learn and some one with a solar home?the need is out there for all three things are there in helping reduce the jobless rate we now have and in turn a vehicle for the market.
Please let me know what you think. thanks Ed.

Comment by Paul on May 14, 2009 at 6:44am

Attention; Solar Power Group !!! :^)

1154 members -- please count off.

Let's let the powers that be know we're still here!

Comment by TheEarthisNotFlat on May 3, 2009 at 10:42am

Amnesty America podcast is now live

Comment by Rob Waite on May 1, 2009 at 7:13am

I am hoping that all of you can help me get the word out regarding CRITICAL EECBG dead lines! The deadline for ANY municipality that wants to gain a grant is June 25th. To that end, my company has "declared a state of emergency" and we are calling and notifying every governing body we can between now and 6/25.

We have also set up a website www.eecbg.us that gives them all of the information they need and the application forms.

Yes, my company hopes to benefit through the sale of photovoltaic solar film, but that is the purpose of the stimulus package and the EECBG part of that package too... more jobs, cleaner environment.

That's my goal, that's the Picken's Plan goal and I'm sure that is your goal. Any help you can offer in pointing people to www.eecbg.us would be greatly appreciated!!!

Comment by Richard Scott Barden on April 27, 2009 at 1:02pm

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From : richardbarden@juno.com

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Subject : Green Power Switch Program for Residential and Commercial customers of mlgw and tva

Date : Sun, Apr 26, 2009 05:45 PM




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i have investigated the green power switch program with mlgw and TVA from which we
get all of our electricity. please if you get a chance go to www.tva.com and click on
the green power switch program tab and check out residential or commercial if applicable
and see if this is something you may want to add to your utility bill each month. the
only benefit is that you support our power generating giant to build more solar, wind,
methane,
and other renewable energy platforms to produce electricity.

TVA has built 12 wind turbines over in east Tennessee where there is an abundance of wind
which is confirmed on t.Boone pickens wind chart for the united states. we have a several
solar installations with one in Memphis at the bridge builders building next to st. Jude
hospital downtown.(i plan on attending a open hose with a guided tour on may 28th in the
late afternoon and check it out, anyone interested in going with me and c.j. let me know)


by the way Linda and i were listening to the 102.3 FM oldies station out of Arkansas and
on the hourly news report the reporter announced a 300 million dollar wind turbine engine
plant in jonesboro, Arkansas. just announced on Friday.

i would think as the aged hydroelectric which the web site says is no longer reliable for
our long term needs that they (t.v.a.) start thinking researching and developing a bigger
position with wind and solar and go and talk to the people whom are already doing this
now not later but right now today in our country.

Linda and i recently attended the first downtown Memphis farmers market
and while i was standing back out of the crowd another guy was doing the same and we
struck up a conversation and i found out he his working on his p.h.d. in flood control
with the Army Corps of Engineers and while talking to him i pitched the idea of floating
hydroelectric barge's that would move up and down with the river stage and actually be a
two-fold generating platform for hydro electric and wind. he thought that it was a good
idea and said there are literally hundreds of locations along the river close to existing
power infrastructure to plug into. they also could be moved into different area's as
dictated by the corps.

he thought they would be interested in harnessing the mighty Mississippi for electric
power. (note: he said 90 million cubic feet of water pass Memphis every second.)

write me back if you like the green power switch program.

Richard









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Comment by JD Polk on April 23, 2009 at 6:56am

ENERGY MATTERS
Renewable energy. Energy-efficient homes. Green vehicles. It’s all about energy.
Making Solar Electricity Affordable
2/24/2009 12:36:38 PM
By Dan Chiras
Tags: energy efficiency, solar panels, Dan Chiras
Many people who are contemplating installing solar electric systems on their homes struggle with the high initial costs.
To pay for a system, they either have to dip into their savings or take out a loan.
A 3- to 5-kW grid-connected solar system, suitable for most homes, can run $30,000 to $50,000.
Even with recent legislation that provides a 30 percent tax credit for solar and wind systems for homes and businesses,
the cost of such as system will still cost $21,000 to $30,000, which is a substantial piece of change.
Isn’t there some way to reduce this cost?
There is. It's called efficiency.
Richard Perez, founder of Home Power magazine, ran the numbers.
He found that every dollar invested in energy efficiency could reduce the cost of a photovoltaic (PV) system by $3 to $5.
How?
By reducing the size of a system one must install to meet his or her needs.
The economic savings from efficiency are quite substantial. For instance,
a $2,000 investment in home energy efficiency — for example, weatherization, insulation and energy-efficient compact fluorescent or
LED light bulbs — will reduce the demand for electricity. This, in turn, will reduce the size of the PV system required to meet one’s needs.
It could easily save $6,000 to $10,000 on the cost of the system of a 3- to 5-kW PV system before tax incentives.
Taking into account the 30% federal tax credit, the savings would be $4,200 to $7,000.
Spend a little more on efficiency and the cost of the system drops even more. If you invested $4,000 in efficiency,
the total system cost would decline by $12,000 to $20,000.
Taking into account the federal tax credits once again and the decrease in initial cost would be $8,400 to $14,000.
That’s not a bad return on an investment in efficiency.
Instead of spending $21,000 to $30,000 for a system, you’d pay $12,600 to $16,000.
So, if you're thinking about installing a PV system, think efficiency first. It’s a gift you give yourself and the planet.
It will reduce energy demand, reduce pollution, and reduce the cost of a system substantially.
Moreover, the savings will provide dividends for the life of the house.

Comment by Eric Koch on April 22, 2009 at 3:12pm

Good point Paul,

i just got done freaking out at a fellow community member (partisan praise triggered)....about the relative pointlessness of politics regarding this long overdue attention to the environment and renewable technologies...just because it's FINALLY going mainstream doesn't mean the current term holder deserves more credit than the multitude of individuals that have been investing in, developing,studying/educating,and installing at the edge of clean tech for the past 30 or more years......

if no one does it it's not going to get done.....true or false?

and so i really have little patience for non investors..be it time or money.

and millions of dollars are tacked onto our stomach churning national deficit every month for oil imports the way it is......John,we are not dead yet,set the shovel down and consider redirecting your efforts,please.

Comment by Paul on April 22, 2009 at 1:36pm

Hi John,

Thanks for the post, but, um, I'm a bit insulted... :^) (just kidding) See I'm one company that's ready to mass produce Concentrating Solar Panels -- right here in the USA --

Rather than presume that the Clinton Foundation is going to help foreign agencies, how about a little ink sent in their direction asking them to re-visit the proposal I placed on their desk in 2006.

There are a few references on my blogs, and I'm going to ask you to take a look here. BTW, you'll notice that I'm also a member in a few Palmetto groups too. We're also trying to set up manufacturing in SC and would appreciate any local support you're inclined to lend.

Then again I suppose you could be pointing out the irony & hubris demonstrated by the CF -- $4 billion dollars and nuthin to show for it...

Comment by Lauren Weitzman on April 22, 2009 at 9:30am

2009 PV system installations seen down 32% worldwide: report

Interesting....

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