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What type of battery bank do you use?

This survey will run for one week. Look for results in the July 18 SUN-Enews.

Survey Results
How long have you had a solar energy system?

This poll is intended to be anecdotal rather than scientific and should not be interpreted to be representative of all SUN-Enews readers. Submit proposed survey questions here.

Solar Washington
When reader Scott Alison, a Cyclelogic energy consultant, suggested we profile the Solar Washington organization, we paid attention. Alison was right; this organization is much more than the average "solar energy association," although it is a chapter of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) headquartered in Boulder, CO.

Solar Washington, a private, not-for-profit group, is an association of solar energy equipment manufacturers, system integrators, distributors, dealers, designers, consultants, students and interested people—but it is more. It really is an effective clearinghouse of renewable-energy information for the northwestern United States, and indeed, for anyone interested in the diverse issues related to renewable energy.

Its stated mission is to "promote the development and effective use of solar and renewable energy and the related arts, science and technologies with concern of the economic, environmental and social fabric of Washington state through education and training."

To those ends, it provides an excellent website (www.solarwashington.org) with links to education programs, training seminars and other events, sponsored by Solar Washington or other organizations. There also is a menu of "Action Alerts" that can plug the site visitor into projects like Initiative-81, the drive to legislate a 1 percent RE requirement for Seattle, WA. (See SUN-E Politics for more information.)

Solar Washington's next meeting—the public is welcome—will be at 7 p.m., July 24 at the Spirit Ridge Inn, 119 Chipmunk Place, Camano Island, WA. (Directions are available on the website.) The agenda includes reports from the ASES Conference, an update on Initiative-81, and discussion of the Solar Tour and Vashon Island Earthfair.

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The sun proceeds unmoved
To measure off another day
For an approving God.
-- Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886

Especially in New Mexico these hot July days!

Send questions! Do you have a question about any aspect of solar energy or other renewables? Send it to SUN-Enews here.

Answers to Previous Questions
Q1, Vol. I, Issue 12
I'm interested in comments from people who use a tracker. Do you think it was worth the investment?
-- Mary Ann Standiford, Provo, UT

A1.1, I.12
Yes, tracking my photovoltaic panels (PVs) does 30 percent more for my systems. I have seven Wattsun trackers and am soon to have No. 8. But a P.S.: Trackers are very site-specific and do not work in all situations.
-- Jim Kerbel, Photovoltaic Systems Co., Amherst, WI

A1.2, I.12
I put everything on a tracker. You have to mount the photovoltaic panels on something anyway and the extra cost to me is nothing compared to the extra power and being able to have complete control from the ground.

Wattsun trackers are what I use. I also make some of my own. Only on something with four or fewer panels do I even think about not tracking, and I still put a small actuator on the north-south axis so no one has to climb a ladder and fall.
-- Jerry, Sun Energy

A1.3, I.12
Aquarius Enterprises is 100 percent sun-powered. We have installed three passive trackers (working on the weight differential of Freon in the frame) and one 16-panel active tracker, working on power differential generated by small photocells in the base of a little pyramid mounted on the top of the tracker. The actuators are powered by a pack of rechargeable Nicad cells kept charged by one 1W panel.

The trackers were installed more than 15 years ago. We have had no problem with the passive trackers experienced by us and none have been reported to us by our customers. Yearly we check the bolts and wires and give a couple strokes of grease in the grease nipple.

The 16-panel active tracker was retrofitted with reinforcing frames within two years of commencing operation. The wind vibration wore the area around the main axel almost through the rails. The yearly battery replacement was a difficult process. The tracker was difficult to access from a ladder, there never seemed to be enough room for the replacement cells and the cover had to be placed precisely to keep the rain out. The rubber seals of actuators disintegrated fast in our Arizona sun and corrosion of the parts seized the screw mechanism every couple of years. Eventually we set the tracker to a fixed position and it is used like any fixed mount. In conclusion, we would wholeheartedly recommend the passive trackers, but not the active ones.
-- Jerry Kubias, Aquarius Enterprises, Vail, AZ

Q1, Vol. I, Issue 11
I'm in the research phase of designing a swimming pool and attached spa. I would like to make sure the entire operation is handled with alternative energy. Because a swimming pool requires different processes to keep it clean, warm and sanitary, I was wondering if there are any pump manufacturers of automatic pool cleaners, automatic pool covers, heaters (for both the pool and spa), etc. that are designing products for this market?
-- Joe Rodriguez, Memphis, TN

A1.3, I.11
Heliocol may have the answer to most of your needs. For sanitation, our fully owned subsidiary, ASPS, is manufacturing the Resilience Natural Chlorine Generator. Heliocol, the parent company, has been in the swimming pool solar industry for 25 years and has more than one million swimming pool and spa solar collectors installed all over the world (80 percent in the United States). Heliocol has the perfect solar swimming pool heater for you.

It is not yet cost-effective to drive a pool pump by a PV solar system, unless there is a significant incentive from a government or utility entity. It is just too expensive. As a side note, the only cost-effective solar energy is the swimming pool technology. A payback compared to an average residential or commercial gas or electrically heated pool is two to three years. There is no similar return on investment elsewhere in the solar trade.
-- Victor Eyal, president, HELIOCOL USA Inc., Orlando, FL

Montana News
I receive the SUN-Enews, and I thought you might want to promote a wonderful event that is coming up: The Sustainability Fair from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 12 in Livingston, MT. More than 70 regional vendors will offer goods and services to protect our health and environment, and also help preserve our way of life.

Offerings include mini-workshops on a variety of topics. Vendors will offer cutting-edge wind and solar energy technologies, native plants, locally grown organic produce and meats, healthy personal care products and more. For more information, go to www.northrock.org/fair.html.

At the Montana Renewable Energy Association booth, we'll be handing out information about solar and wind power systems and energy-efficient appliances, and offering ideas on how folks can keep a lid on their electric bills (or even be independent of utility power). I have a business that offers renewable energy components as well as a line of energy efficient appliances, which is why I support the MREA and the Fair.

I am hoping you want to promote the Sustainability Fair in your SUN-Enews. Last year was really hot (100+ degrees!), but we still had more than 2,000 participants. This year, 3,000 are anticipated. Thank you for your efforts to promote renewables.
-- Chris Daum, Oasis Montana Inc., www.oasismontana.com

North Carolina News
This is to inform you that the NC GreenPower RFQ is posted at the NC GreenPower website, www.ncgreenpower.org. This RFQ seeks to identify those parties interested in supplying electrical generation to the NC GreenPower program. If you are unable to obtain this document electronically, for a hard copy contact:
Bob Zickefoose
Advanced Energy
909 Capability Dr. Suite 2100
Raleigh, NC 27606
bzickefo@advancedenergy.org

Northern California News
The Northern California Solar Association, located at www.norcalsolar.org and headed up by Elaine Hebert, has introduced a name change from NCSEA (Northern California Solar Energy Association) to NorCalSolar, so as to not be confused with North Carolina Solar.

More updates can be found on the above site and may be of interest to your subscribers in northern California as well as the rest of the state. Good luck with the newsletter.
-- Allen Robert Carrozza, member, NorCalSolar

To send us SUN-E feedback, click here.

European Conservation Group Markets Solar Energy
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and British solar energy supplier solarcentury are offering a Going Solar domestic package to the more than 1 million members of Europe's largest nature conservation charity. The packages, which include a choice of solar domestic hot water and solar PV electricity systems, are supported by government grants and low-interest loans from the Co-operative Bank.

The Going Solar package includes an arrangement with RSPB Energy to buy back solar-generated electricity and a subscription to RSPB Energy, which matches green power consumption with generation and supports the RSPB's nature reserves and climate change work.

RSPB will install PV systems at six of its nature reserves. It has more than one million members and manages 176 nature reserves which cover 120,000 hectares. solarcentury is installing PV systems for a number of large British retailers, including Tesco, Urban Space, St James Homes, npower, JCDecaux, Orange and Sainsbury's. Officials of solarcentury say it also has been awarded the highest number of government-funded projects under a £2 million program to fund 21 commercial PV projects in the country.

RFPs Issued for Renewable Energy
Pacific Resources' two Nevada-based utility subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, have issued a request for proposals (RFP) for energy generated by renewable energy fuel sources.

The utilities are acting to comply with a Nevada law requiring Nevada utilities to generate or acquire a certain percentage of power used to serve in-state customers from renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and hydro sources. Responses to the RFP are due back to the utilities no later than Aug. 18.

For more on the politics of renewable energy, see SUN-E Politics.

Solar-Powered Aircraft Crashes
The Helios unmanned solar-electric powered aircraft was lost in the Pacific Ocean within the confines of the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on June 26. The craft crashed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, 29 minutes after takeoff during a test flight. There were no injuries or damage other than to the airplane.

The cause of the crash is unknown and being investigated by NASA and AeroVironment. Officials said it will be determined and addressed, and the Helios technology will continue to move ahead. AeroVironment is committed to the development and deployment of long-endurance aircraft in the stratosphere for multiple applications. The Pathfinder-Plus, Helios' predecessor solar-powered aircraft that performed telecom and crop-monitoring missions last summer, will be used in the interim for some tests originally planned for Helios.

The Helios and the Pathfinder-Plus aircraft, developed by AeroVironment under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, had accumulated more than 50 flights during an eight-year period without incident. They are the only UAVs to have flown higher than 75,000 feet and represent the state of the art in solar/electric flight.

To send solar energy news, click here.

Renewables on the Move in North America
A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring that a percentage of the United States' power be produced from renewable sources would stimulate demand for renewable energies (RE) until market dynamics "take over and make such support unnecessary," according to the report of a coalition of U.S. business, labor and environmental groups.

In Challenge & Opportunity: Charting a New Energy Future, the Energy Future Coalition says imposing an economic penalty on carbon dioxide emissions "would favor all renewable alternatives," but it could be 10 years before a carbon tax would significantly impact the U.S. energy market. Interim steps are warranted to begin a transition sooner. The report says that a transition strategy should include a RPS such as those under consideration by the U.S. Congress as part of pending energy legislation.

The coalition recommends that the federal government should treble the current funding for bioenergy to US$500 million a year, as part of an overall increase in funding for renewables research. "Our focus on bioenergy is not meant to imply that other renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, are less worthy of attention," says the report. The coalition supports increased research and incentives, as well as "government policy to capture societal benefits for other renewable energy resources as well."

Jumping on the RE bandwagon is the Council of State Governments (CSG). There is "still adequate room for growth in energy consumption from renewable sources" in the United States, according to the CSG report, TrendsAlert: Renewable Energy & State Economies.

In addition to indirect benefits, the ability of renewables to spur economic development "provides an interesting and valuable option to state policy-makers," the report says in urging state decision-makers to choose RE. Technologies with the highest potential to benefit states include biomass, geothermal, solar, wind and hydrogen energy. Only 2 percent of U.S. electricity is generated from non-hydro renewables, but "recent trends indicate that renewable energy development in the states is growing."

Several states have instituted initiatives and legislative changes to promote renewables in order to capture the wide range of potential benefits, with direct economic incentives of stimulating local economies, job creation and increased revenue generation fueling the interest of various states in renewables.

Meanwhile, the three main federal governments in North America have agreed to promote renewable energy development across the continent. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has expressed "a strong interest in pursuing increased development of renewable energy throughout North America," according Canada's environment minister David Anderson, Mexican environment and natural resources secretary Victor Lichtinger and Christine Todd Whitman, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Mechanisms to increase RE development might include harmonizing inter-country methods for calculating the environmental benefits of renewable energy and developing additional information about available and potential renewable energy resources in North America.

The three made the statement at the CEC's 10th regular meeting in Washington. The CEC was established by the three countries to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, part of the environmental component of the free trade act.

The CEC also discussed a North American green purchasing initiative to work with representatives of key green purchasing programs, document the level of green purchasing and identify success stories. It will work to develop a green purchasing action plan that will identify tools, priorities and best practices to facilitate green purchasing.

Some people aren't waiting on governments; they are trying to force them to move. Initiative-81, One % for Renewables is a renewable energy petition drive gathering signatures in Seattle, WA. This initiative was fashioned after the Aachen, Germany incentive. Its backers hope the movement will spread throughout the United States as it has in Europe. For more information, go to www.onepercentforrenewables.org/index.html#Anchor-Initiative-47857.

For more news on diverse forms of renewable energy, click here.

To submit solar political news or opinion pieces, click here.

Solar Glossary
A short list of common terms:
Passive solar—Harvesting the sun's radiant heat through greenhouse windows, Trombe walls, transpired solar walls, brick floors and other non-electric uses.

Solar hot water—Sometimes called solar thermal; usually involves storing solar energy in a heat storage device to heat water for household or commercial use. It also can be used to heat a home through baseboard radiators or embedded floor tubing, as well as to heat and cool swimming pools.

Solar electric—Using the sun's energy to run electrical systems, excluding electric heating elements.

Grid-tied and off the grid—Remaining on the electric grid after converting to a solar-electric system is called "grid-tied." A solar electric system that stands alone and is not connected to the electric utility is considered "off the grid."

Net metering—When you convert to solar energy and remain hooked to the larger electric utility, you have an automatic backup if your solar system does not generate as much electric power as you need to use on any given day. On the other hand, most of the time your solar system will generate more power than you are using, and will let that generation flow into the larger electric "grid." Most states now have "net metering" laws that allow you to connect your renewable energy system to the grid and bank your electrons there, literally making your meter spin backward and reducing your electric bill, often to a credit rather than a debit charge. To download a table of state net metering programs, click here.

To submit a news item or tip for people beginning to explore the world of solar energy, click here.

Shell Solar Plans New Modules
Shell Solar will introduce two new lines of monocrystalline photovoltaic (PV) modules in Europe starting this fall. According to the company, each new offering will have a power output capacity 6 percent higher than its predecessors', although the surface areas remain unchanged.

The increased power output results from a change in design. Solar cells in the lines being replaced have rounded corners, but those in the new modules are almost square. The unoccupied spaces between the cells are smaller, so the end-user obtains more power for the area covered. The new modules are called the Shell SQ line, with SQ standing for square.

Shell SQ modules gradually will replace the existing SP product line. The Shell SQ80 (80 watts peak power) will replace the Shell SP75 (75 watts peak power). The Shell SQ160-C (160 watts peak power) will supercede the Shell SP150 (150 watts peak power). Both will be covered by 25-year power warranties.

According to the company, the SQ80 is well suited for off-grid, 12-volt industrial applications where power has to be generated at a high rate from a limited module surface area. The Shell SQ80's compact dimensions enable it to be readily transported to and set up at remote locations.

Dow Corning Enters PV Arena
Dow Corning, one of the world's largest chemical companies, says it will contribute to the improvement of raw material supply availability, cost competitiveness and durability of solar PV modules sold in the "fast growing and innovative" renewable energy industry. It will expand its role from a supplier of raw materials to offering a number of silicon-based solutions.

"Dow Corning's entry into the solar business is yet another demonstration of the company's strategic move into new marketplaces with performance-enhancing solutions,"" said Jean-Marc Gilson of the company's New Ventures Business. The company currently is developing a number of encapsulation and frame sealing solutions.

To submit a news item or tip for users or providers experienced in solar energy use, click here.

SUN-Enews has created four directories (with links) on our website, www.SUN-Enews.com. There is a nominal fee for listing, to cover costs of content management. These directories are always growing. To find out more about listing in one of our directories, click here.

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SUN-Enews has created two calendars that run in monthly segments on the website, www.SUN-Enews.com. The May calendars list (1) meetings of non-profit associations, and (2) trade shows.

To list your meeting, conference or trade show in the July 2003 calendars click here. Include the name of your association or trade show, date, meeting place (building), town and state/province/country. Also include an email contact, please. Thanks!

Northern Irish Wind Farm Opened
UK Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Ian Pearson announced an increase of 80 percent in Northern Ireland's renewable energy generation capacity as he opened the largest wind farm on the island of Ireland at Altahullion outside Limavady.

"Today is a very significant day in the development of renewable energy in Northern Ireland," Pearson said. "This wind farm will generate 26 MW of energy. That's enough electricity for around 20,000 homes."

The project was developed by Larne-based B9 Energy and Renewable Energy Systems (RES). Output of the wind farm has been purchased under contract by Energia, part of the Viridian Group.

Non-Hydro RE Capacity Increases
Non-hydro renewable energies increased to 100,000 MW of generating capacity last year, according to Business Communications, a U.S. consulting firm. That level accounts for 3 percent of the global power-generating capacity of 3.35 TW, up from a "minuscule percentage" a decade ago, according to Renewable Bulk Power Sources: World Markets for Biogas & Geothermal Power Plants. Combined, geothermal and biogas now account for more than 10 percent of renewables, the report adds.

Technologies that have reached a stage of marketability include geothermal and biomass power plants, wind farms, large solar PV arrays and anaerobic digesters. Geothermal and waste biogas will grow from 13,400MW of capacity in 2002 to 14,200MW this year, and are forecast to increase to 20,600 in 2008, representing an annual growth of 7.4 percent during the next five years. Total revenues are predicted to grow from US$857 million last year to $1,138 million in 2008, or 4.8 percent growth each year.

To submit renewable-energy news, click here.

FYI

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