Solar Industry Hurt By Economy

The linked article refers to a slowdown in PV installs and announced layoffs due to the faltering economy. This fact and the reasons behind it are not surprising. This issue really isn't demand for solar installations. The problem is that solar companies are having trouble financing the materials and installations costs. No company can escape the credit crunch including the brightest light in the most promising industry.

Government and financial institutions must come together quickly to figure out how to restart the credit markets for this area. Demand continues to grow. Where are the funds to grease the operations?

Dawn of a New Era

Can the importance of today's events be overstated? Probably, but not from this author's perspective. For far too long we Americans have been living beyond our means. The past eight years have been devastating for the environment, not only due to the lack of progress on changing to a sustainable energy economy, but also due to the impact of Greenhouse Gas on Global Climate Change. Two wars and now a broken world economy have served to distract us from regressions on all fronts. The Bush government's War on Science quelled alternative viewpoints and repressed data. Ideology replaced Reality.

Ahhh, what a difference a day makes.

Can we spend or grow our way out of economic hardships? Unlikely. Can we turn technology on our climate and scrub the atmosphere? Again, unlikely -- we ignore the rules of unintended consequences at our peril. However, the population craves a better, safer, healthier, cleaner world and businesses that in the end must be profitable to survive wish to save money. In other words, it takes a willing population and dedicated leadership to effect change. Perhaps, the former begs for the latter.

With sound investments in clean technologies, we can make these things happen. Over time, supply-side Clean Tech (solar, wind and geothermal) will inevitably become more efficient and cheaper. Meanwhile, non-sustainable fossil fuels will continue to get more and more expensive. Likewise, demand-side Clean Tech will continue to improve (lowering per capita demand) through mandated and cost effective energy improvements and again these technology improvements will get cheaper and simply become part of all new and renovation projects.

All of this with the change in government at Noon Eastern Time to a President who is willing to see the world as it is.

Enviu - Innovators in Sustainability

This Netherlands based organization (charity) incubates ideas and companies. Two of its current projects:

• Open Source House - Seven rules for how to build a sustainable house.
• Sustainable Dance Floor - Dancing generates power to run the club.

Check it out.

SFPUC seeking to dig into $1Million fund

Here's a Letter I just sent to the Editor of the SF Examiner. Check back to see if it's published. Link above points to original article.

Regarding the article this past Sunday on the SFPUC seeking to dig into $1MM funds set aside for low-income residents. I doubt anyone ran the numbers for an installation. A small sized PV unit costs around $12K. For an upper income tax payer, city rebates plus tax breaks drop that to $3,500. Because tax breaks are smaller for a low-income family (lower tax bracket), a system would cost more. I cannot imagine a low-income family spending 10%+ of their yearly income for solar panels. PV installations often require roof modifications or a new roof. Although well intentioned, this was not thought through.

You could give away PV to low-income families, but that's not what they need. Improve home efficiency and reduce energy usage through insulation, better heating, energy efficient appliances. Make a difference were it can help the most.

New Year's Resolutions

The most common New Year's Resolution is to lose weight and the most common weight loss goal is 10 pounds. So, will losing weight reduce your carbon footprint? The factors affecting the answer are huge. Here are the pros and cons of losing weight on carbon footprint:

Cons (increases to carbon footprint)

1. More activity in the gym means more use of heating/cooling of gym, more electronic workout machines, more towels, more laundry.
2. Driving to/from gym.
3. Healthier lifestyle means living longer which increases lifetime carbon footprint.
4. Increased food consumption due to increased activity.

Pros (decreases to carbon footprint)

1. Healthier lifestyle means less time in hospital (lower medical/carbon impact).
2. More likely to walk than drive and take stairs over elevators.
3. More time working out means less time watching TV, better sleep patterns (less electronics usage at night), unless you're working out in front of one of these.

Sure, some of this is tongue in cheek. Yes, it's very important to live an active, healthy lifestyle. Note, however, that just being healthier is not in and of itself "Green". It's important to focus on the kinds of methods and means of arriving at a healthier lifestyle if one of the motivations is carbon footprint reduction.

What can you do?

1. Workout outside more often, take walks during lunch.
2. Hike in the mountains; you'll gain an appreciation for some natural beauty and may be inspired to help protect wilderness regions.
3. Bike or walk to the gym instead of driving. Better yet, ride or run for your workout - why stay inside?
4. Eat foods from your region (foodshed), eat organic, eat low impact foods (lower on the food chain).
5. Need a caffeine boost before your workout? Bring your mug to your favorite coffee shop, don't use their plastic or paper cups. If you do use them, make sure you recycle or compost!

Russian Natural Gas: Energy Independence Means Comfort and Safety

You don't need to believe in Global Warming to see the value of energy independence. Due to a price dispute between Russia's Gazprom and the Ukraine, Europe's supply of natural gas has been cut. Russia claims that the Ukraine is stealing gas destined for Europe, and they are in the midst of a price dispute. Citizens of countries all over central and eastern Europe spent Winter nights without heat. Some businesses shutdown their production facilities to reduce non-essential gas usage.

Does Peak Oil (or Peak Natural Gas or Peak Coal) really matter? Shouldn't every country have a safe and reliable energy grid? The more local the energy generation, the more resiliant a regional population can be to national and international distruptions.

Russia may simply be flexing its considerable political weight in the European/Asia theater; this problem will be resolved. However, there will always be disruptions. Natural and man-made disasters could have the same effect on energy supply. Some argue this requires the US to drill and dig in its own backyard. The US is a large country, energy supply routes criss-cross thousands of miles. Katrina wiped out fossil fuel production for a few weeks and energy prices spiked, and unfortunately, a terrorist attack could do the same.

Consider one alternative. Generate electricity locally using solar and wind.

How many acres of rooftops exist in any city? Flat roofs can be covered in PVs. Sloped roofs have PVs on the south face and, where it makes sense, quiet micro wind turbines on the North face. Reduce energy consumption in homes, offices and transit. Buy food locally from your foodshed. Look for work near your home and walk there, bike to work, telecommute, carpool, take the train.

The Green Revolution is not about burning corn-based ethanol or fear of global catastrophe. It's about physical safety (clean water/air, comfortable homes), economic security (stable energy and material prices), reducing demand (efficient buildings and transportation) and changing supply (sustainable energy generation, increasing local production/usage) .

Update: One Block Off the Grid (1BOG)

If you've been thinking about installing solar and have not yet pulled the trigger, there are still some fantastic rebates to be had. Despite incentives being lowered by California and San Francisco, One Block Off the Grid has negotiated a deal with an installer (Solar City) for a price reduction *and* some free monitoring benefits.

Coincidentally, this is the same installer (Marin Solar) I chose for my house. 1BOG (what an unfortunate acronym) scheduled two webinars:

• Wednesday, January 14th at 12:00 PM
• Saturday, January 17th at 10:00 AM

Check out the webinars or just go ahead and sign up for an evaluation. You can also call Solar City directly and tell them you are intersted in the One Block Off the Grid program.

If you live in the Bay Area, but not San Francisco, you can still take advantage of this deal from 1BOG.

Why wait?