PY's Solar Weblog

Renewable Building Developments

pysolar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:56:09 +0000

The desert may look open and empty, but it’s not. The desert is a delicate habitat to birds, insects, plants, some of which are endangered. To avoid making allies into enemies, Google is collaborating with leading environmental groups.

Google’s mapping tool shows renewable-power developers where they can and can’t not build. The National Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council pulled together these maps. Requires Googles Earth mapping tool.

California’s Pristine Deserts & Solar Energy

pysolar — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:23:43 +0000

There are 80 solar projects planned in the California deserts. These projects will cover 700,000 acres (over 1,000 square miles). Most of these projects are located on pristine BLM publicly-owned lands and all the projects have already been given the right-of-way grants.

The impact on rare plants, vegetation, animals and majestic landscapes is hard to comprehend. The solar construction, if implemented, would severely impact dozen of rare species and thousands of acres of pristine land. Indirect impact from access roads, power lines, and invasive plants broaden the amount of land destroyed beyond the project’s size.

The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) recommends that government agencies need to discuss alternative locations for solar thermal plants. At minimum project impacts need to be appropriately mitigated and regulators fully evaluate their impact on the ecosystem.

The above information is from an editorial by Nick Jensen, CNPS Rare Plant Botanist, in the CNPS January-March 2009 newsletter.

To add to this we feel that any CSP solar thermal plants built in the California deserts be required to have molten salt storage capability. Otherwise why build these plants in the desert and not target rooftop installations for photovoltaic energy?

Bencia’s 1980’s Solar Neighborhood

pysolar — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:15:07 +0000

From 1981 to 1985, the Southhampton Company built 258 solar homes. The sub division became known as Solar Village. All the homes featured solar water heaters, six inch walls, R30 attic insulation and dual pane thermal windows. Even the landscaping fit into the green lifestyle. There were deciduous trees planted on a southern exposure while evergreens and shrubs to deflect the north winds.

Solar Village, which has an active system with pumps, most solar systems today are passive. Many of the Fiberglas tanks storing hot water sprang leaks from cracking. Solar Villages systems automatically switch to the grid if the stored solar heat was insufficient. Subsequently many homeowners decided not to spend the money on repairs. Approximately 75 homes still have a working solar heat system, but it was the component failures that caused homeowners to remove or disconnect their systems.

Related Articles: SFGATE | CA Solar Center

News Video

Bencia’s 1980’s Solar Neighborhood

pysolar — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:11:00 +0000

From 1981 to 1985, the Southampton Company built 258 solar homes. The sub division became known as Solar Village. All the homes featured solar water heaters, six inch walls, R30 attic insulation and dual pane thermal windows. Even the landscaping fit into the green lifestyle. There were deciduous trees planted on a southern exposure while evergreens and shrubs to deflect the north winds.

Related Articles: SF Chronicle | CA Solar Center | News Video

Solar Graves

pysolar — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:08:48 +0000

Santa Coloma de Gramenet, near Barcelona, finds new ways to catch solar energy. A network of 462 photovoltaic panels generating 125,000 KW hours mounted on the top of mausoleums. The power produced by the solar panels is equivalent to the yearly use of 60 homes.

Installer Conste-Live Energy placed the panels at a low angle so they would be unobtrusive. The cemetery was chosen because it was the only open area in the densely populated town.

Solar panels on mausoleums

Solar Panels Get Some Unwanted Attention

pysolar — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:58:14 +0000

Contra Costa California, with over one million residents, is a suburban bedroom community for both San Francisco and Silicon Valley businesses as well as a thriving high tech community in its on right. As such, it has been home to many residents, businesses and municipalities who have had the technical know how, environmental concerns and just plain political correctness to install solar panels as an alternative energy source.

In such a rarified atmosphere who should emerge, but solar panel thieves. Solar panels have been taken from such locations as a school, a church and a private residence. Sue Kateley, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association said she believed that the thieves know how the panels work, and how to properly dismantle and rewire them. She stated that the panels have no value as scrap and there is some speculation that installers may be using them on their jobs or that they are being used by marijuana growers.

In July, a Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputy found a resident with 39 stolen panels worth $800 each. A spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect is believed to have been selling the stolen panels on craigslist.com.

Article in the Contra Costa Times.

Low Interest Loans for PV Installation

pysolar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:40:16 +0000

California enacted AB 811, 7/21/08, that allows cities and counties to make low-interest loans to homeowners and businesses to install solar panels, high-efficiency air conditioners and other energy-saving improvements.

The loans are paid back through property taxes. If the property is sold the new owners assume the loan along with the home improvements. California requires investor-owned utilities to get 20% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and 33% by 2020.

Read the news article.

Read AB 811.

California Amends Shade Tree Law

pysolar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:03:40 +0000

California bill SB1399 was signed into law 7/24/08 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill takes effect January 1, 2009. SB1399 amends the 1979 Solar Shade Control Act by making disputes over trees and shrubs that cast shade on a neighbor’s solar panels civil matters rather than crimes. Trees planted before solar installations are exempt.

The law was prompted by a Sunnyvale, California couple who ordered to top their redwood trees to allow sunlight to fall on their neighbors’ solar panels.

Read our earlier article.

Read the specifics of BILL NUMBER: SB 1399.

Online Solar Estimate

pysolar — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:42:02 +0000

Sungevity of California will do an estimate for the cost of adding solar energy to your home without one of their employees coming to your house. Sungevity’s software application essentially eliminates the money and time it takes an installer to visit your house, take measurements and prepare the estimate.

Sungevity’s website provides a box for your address and without even seeing your residence gives you a quote for adding solar energy to your house. Within 24 hours your quote arrives, including the savings over 25 years.

Their software application uses Microsoft Virtual Earth which gives data from different angles, letting Sungevity calculate pitch. The data provides a fairly accurate estimate.

Currently Sungevity only operates in California, but plans to operate in other states. They are looking at either employing subcontractors or selling their estimator service.

Lease Solar Engergy

pysolar — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:41:15 +0000

SolarCity, California’s leading provider of solar power systems, has completed the largest commercial solar power installation in San Jose on eBay’s North campus. The 650 kilowatt (kW) installation — including 3,248 individual solar panels — spans 60,000 square feet on multiple buildings. The system will be unveiled later today in a ceremony to recognize eBay’s first building built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED gold standard. SolarCity estimates that solar-generated power will save eBay approximately $100,000 in electricity costs within its first year of operation.

SolarCity allows customers to lease, rather than buy, the photovoltaic solar panels for their roofs. Under SolarCity’s lease program, customers with a small home could pay as little as $70 a month for a 2.4 kilowatt system, Rive, Chief Executive of SolarCity told Reuters. Customers who sign up before July 31st put no money down on their system. After that, upfront costs should be between about $1,000 and $3,000, Rive told Reuters said.

“We can essentially make it so that everybody can now afford clean power,” Rive said.
The leased projects will be financed through Morgan Stanley, and SolarCity said it will serve as a one-stop shop for both installation and financing. SolarCity is expanding to Oregon, Arizona and has plans to go to the East Coast.

Solarbuzz | Reuters