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Featured
Project: Bernard Farm |
The sun shines on this Sherborn, MA riding stable
and apple farm. This 38kW/DC/Peak grid-connected
photovoltaic system uses 150 Kyocera KD205GX-LP
modules on the riding stable and 42 KD 180GX-LP
modules on the apple barn. The project also includes
Solectria inverters and a Fat Spaniel automated data
acquisition center.
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SolarWrights has
acquired Connecticut's Sunsearch LLC
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Solarwrights is pleased to announce
the acquisition of Sunsearch LLC, a solar energy
company based in Guilford, Connecticut.
Sunsearch has been
designing, installing,and servicing solar
systems since 1975 throughout Connecticut,
Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and their reputation
for quality craftsmanship and porfessional
expertise in the areas of solar thermal and
photovoltaic technologies is recognized
nationwide.
"This acquisition will allow
SolarWrights to expand our geographic location into
the southwest corner of Connecticut and further
strengthen our solar thermal division," Bob Chew,
founder and president of SolarWrights, said in a
statement. Sunsearch founder Everett Barber, who has
joined SolarWrights as its chief solar-thermal
engineer, "is well-respected, and an established name
in the solar industry," Chew said. "We are
particularly impressed with his expertise in the field
of solar-thermal technology."
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Massachusetts
starts a
'Green Era' |
Source: The Boston Globe,
7/3/08
Governor Deval Patrick has signed a
landmark energy bill that does away with long-standing
obstacles to building renewable power projects in
Massachusetts and making homes and businesses more
energy efficient.
The Green Communities Act was hailed by
environmentalists as among the most innovative efforts
in the nation to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and
to encourage use of clean technologies that don't
contribute to global warming.
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SolarWrights and
Babson College: Partners in
Wind |
Babson College
has become the first college in the greater
Boston area to utilize wind power through an on-campus
installation, joining the growing number of US
colleges and universities that have chosen to develop
their commitment to sustainable business practices
through the use of renewable energy
technologies.
The college's decision to
complete the installation was the result of a proposal
spearheaded by a team of three graduate students (Rob
Banagale-M'09, Jonah Eidus-M'09 and Clinton White,
M'08) and introduced through the Babson Energy and
Environmental Club (BEEC), a student-led organization
at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson
College.
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Massachusetts
enacts new solar, net-metering
legislation |
Source:
SEBANE On July 2,
2008, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed the
"Green Communities Act," SB 2768, a far-reaching piece
of energy legislation.
Key solar provisions in the Act
include:
Net
Metering. Section 78 of the Act makes
several changes to the net metering law for solar and
wind generating facilities.
The size of facilities eligible for
full net metering increases from 60 kW to 1 MW. The
Act also establishes partial net metering (net
metering for all charges except utility distribution
charges) for facilities between 1 MW and 2 MW.
The
net metering carry-over period changes from monthly to
perpetual: net metering credits may be carried over
from month to month indefinitely at the full retail
rate.
The owner of a net metering facility may direct
that its net metering credits be applied to other
customers. This means that net metering credits
generated by a customer in one location may be used to
reduce the bill of another customer (or another
utility account of the same customer) at a different
location.
The aggregated capacity of net metering within
each electric utility service territory is capped at
1% of the company's peak load.
The Department of Public Utilities is directed to
issue regulations to implement the new net metering
provisions.
On-Site
Generation Carve Out in the Renewable
Portfolio Standard. Section 32 of the Act creates a
carve-out for on-site renewables in the Renewable
Portfolio Standard (RPS). The RPS requires electricity
suppliers to obtain a minimum percentage of the
electricity they supply from renewable generation.
Until now, however, suppliers could use any renewable
generation to meet their RPS obligations. Accordingly,
they relied on the lowest cost renewables, primarily
biomass and utility-scale wind. As a result, the RPS
did little to help PV. The new provision requires
electricity suppliers to meet a percentage of their
RPS obligations with energy from on-site renewables,
such as PV. The statute directs the Department of
Energy Resources (DOER) to set that minimum
percentage. The statute also directs DOER to establish
an Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) rate for the
on-site requirement. The ACP is the fee electricity
suppliers pay if they have not secured generation to
meet their RPS obligations. The on-site generation
requirement will take effect once DOER establishes the
minimum percentage and the ACP rate.
Massachusetts
Renewable Energy Trust. Section 49
creates a new governing board for the Renewable Energy
Trust. Although the Trust will still reside within the
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), it will
no longer be governed by the MTC board.
Utility
Ownership of Solar. Section 58 allows each electric
utility to own up to 50 MW of solar generation.
Utilities may recover the costs of solar generation
from ratepayers if they obtain approval from the
Department of Public Utilities.
Utility Rate
Design. Section 78 of the Act requires
the Department of Public Utilities to consider the
potential impact on PV and other forms of on-site
generation when it designs utility
rates.
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Sanders
challenges Vermont solar opponents |
Source: The Nation,
7/20/08
A truly independent voice in the
Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has been a
leader in pushing the Democratic Congress in a
progressive direction - and energy policy is no
exception.
Sanders challenged the myth that
a state like Vermont can't produce solar energy - and
it's important to differentiate between solar thermal
plants and photovoltaic panels. "The country that is
probably leading the world in photovoltaics I believe
is Germany," Sen. Sanders said. "Germany's solar
exposure is worse than Vermont's. It is a technology
that can be used in 50 states. Photovoltaics can work,
and it's important to know that because [the notion
that it can't] is a myth."
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Additional $2.5M
allocated for solar at Connecticut affordable housing
developments |
Source:
RenewableEnergyWorld.com,
7/9/08 The Connecticut
Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) board has announced
authorization for an additional $2.5 million for
CCEF's Affordable Housing Initiative. The
Affordable Housing Initiative is an incentive program
that helps make solar photovoltaic (PV) installations
an attractive, affordable option for developers of
both small and large-scale affordable housing
projects.
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RI Governor
vetoes renewable energy bill |
Source: Forbes Magazine,
6/27/08
RI Gov.
Don Carcieri vetoed a bill that would force the
state's major power company to buy renewable energy
for 10 years at a time, a requirement that lawmakers
approved to stimulate investment in wind turbines and
solar power projects.
The proposal was supposed to fix a
problem that renewable power advocates say blocks the
construction of major green energy projects here: a
lack of large customers willing to buy the power.
Without a dedicated buyer, banks and investors will
not fund the projects.
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