Solar Monkey Wins Robinson Family Trust Project

Solar energy systems provider Solar Monkey™ is to retrofit 650,000 sq ft of the Robison Family Trust portfolio to accommodate rooftop solar electricity generation.

Preliminary engineering has sized the systems to total approximately 3MW – the equivalent of approximately 750 residential solar systems - and the project will be completed in 2008 and 2009. The trust has selected buildings from its portfolio that meet Solar Monkey’s criteria for solar installations.

Buildings included are 20,000 sq ft and larger and no more than 4 stories tall. The locations specified under the agreement are within Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The photovoltaic solar systems and the electricity they generate will be developed through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the Robison Family Trust and Solar Monkey.

Under the PPA Solar Monkey will finance, design, build and maintain the solar energy projects and provide all the energy generated, at rates lower than utility, to the Robison Family Trust for a
period of 25 years with no initial capital outlay from the trust. Robison family trustee, Clair Robison, was a pioneering early adopter of solar for personal use as early as the 1970’s.

“We evaluated many solar providers and found Solar Monkey’s approach was unique. They made our solar energy program a smart business decision for our commercial properties and are integrating energy efficiency and LEED programs as well. Their innovative financial approach, which eliminates the capital barriers to installing solar, will provide us with 25 years of financial and environmental
benefits,” said Robison.

Installation of solar energy can help buildings qualify for certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification as well as the ENERGY STAR program administered by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy. Solar Monkey provides LEED certification evaluation and planning as a part of its services, which has been shown to augment property valuations.

“Urban commercial and solar roofs are one of our great untapped energy resources. We’re implementing the original vision of Thomas Edison – power produced and used locally,” stated Matt McCullough, CEO of Solar Monkey. “We have worked extremely hard to build a creative solution that adds value to our clients’ property portfolios and eliminates the financial barriers that typically inhibit most investors from installing solar. We will continue to provide large portfolio property owners and institutions with creative solutions which will bring solar power to them in a cost effective manner.”

Further details about: Solar Monkey

Pepco Energy Services Awarded Solar Roof Contract

The Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA) has awarded Pepco Energy Services, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc., a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Atlantic City Convention Center (ACCC) to install the largest single roof-mounted solar array in the United States.

“With each step we take, the ACCVA continues to embrace green initiatives and stand at the forefront of the environmental movement,” said Jeffrey Vasser, executive director of the ACCVA. “Following Governor Jon S. Corzine’s lead in taking a proactive look at environmental issues, our outstanding team has worked in conjunction with Pepco Energy in order to develop this project which allows us to use our natural resources to run the convention center more efficiently.”

“We congratulate the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority and Pepco Energy Services on their agreement,” said President Jeanne Fox of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. “This
is an example of the kind of initiatives we hope to see as we transition to the sale or trade of solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) to pay for solar projects.”

Under the 20-year contract, Pepco Energy Services will build, own, operate and maintain the 2.36-megawatt solar array for the Atlantic City Convention Center. Construction will begin during the month of June and will be completed by December 31, 2008. The Convention Center is operated by the management company SMG.

“Pepco Energy Services is excited to be working with the Atlantic City Convention Center on this incredible renewable energy project,” said David Weiss, President and Chief Operating Officer of the
Energy Services Division of Pepco Energy Services. The solar panel project is the first in a series of initiatives the ACCVA is planning, including participation in the Convene Green Alliance.

The ACCVA was invited to participate as a founding member of the Convene Green Alliance, a grass-roots, industry initiative spearheaded by several associations that seek to affect positive environmental practices through national, regional and local outreach and education. As a Convene Green Alliance member, Atlantic City is one of only four destinations including: Charlotte, NC; Nashville, TN; and Richmond, VA.

more information: Pepco Energy Services

Clean Green

Create a clean, green home - start by swinging open your
cupboard! A good deal of what you need for a super clean, naturally
green home may already be on your shelves!

• 
  

  Vinegar:
  What doesn't it do? Toilet bowl rings, stovetops, appliances,
  countertops, floors...the power team of simple white vinegar and water
  simply works - and works hard: the Good Housekeeping Institute tests
  show that it kills 99% of all bacteria, 82% of all molds and 80% of
  germs and viruses!

  
  
• 
  

  Baking soda:
  Beyond its role as refrigerator odor eater, baking soda is great for
  scrubbing surfaces in the same way you'd use chemical-filled,
  commercial cleaners. Add a couple of drops of essential oils and
  sprinkle it in trash cans or diaper bins. Fresh!

  
  

A practical guide for cutting carbon from your diet

Cookbook author and food writer Mark Bittman offers up some practical advice on reducing your meat consumption, which, you may recall, is probably the most effective way to cut the carbon footprint of your diet.

Fans of Bittman may have noticed a tidy
compatibility between Bittman’s food writing and Michael Pollan’s more
polemical work on food and eating. Pollan in some sense is laying the
intellectual groundwork and penning the manifesto. Bittman is providing
the operating manual.

But this makes it all sound a bit joyless. I like Bittman because
his recipes are simple and tend to work. They also favor improvisation,
with every dish spawning variants depending on taste or season.
Although Bittman, like Pollan, is no vegetarian, his cooking style is
generally “veg-friendly.”

This is, apparently, no accident. Bittman gave a TED talk earlier
this year that distills a lot of Pollan’s points into a highly
watchable 20-minute video (see below). Now he follows up with an
article in the Times on ways for meat eaters who aren’t interesting in
abandoning flesh altogether to at least manage their intake a bit more thoughtfully.

The tips aren’t all that surprising. Just solid good sense. Buy less
meat. Stop making protein the center of the plate. Learn some new
recipes. Etc. (And check out the reader advice.) I’ve been on a similar regimen since making a New Year’s resolution to reduce the meat in my diet. So far, so good.

One tip that I might add: prepare more of your own food. This advice
is sort of implicit in Bittman’s column. He generally offers cooking
advice, so it’s fair to assume that most of his readers either cook or
aspire to. I’m not sure how true this is of Americans generally,
though, so the biggest behavioral adjustment for many of us might be
simply figuring out how the stove works.

Birmingham City tries a Four-Day-Week

2,400 city employees in Birmingham, AL will be working
four-day weeks this summer. The city believes this may save employees
up to $1 million in gas expenses alone, or about five million pounds of
CO2.

The motivation of the change was cited as fuel costs for both the
city and its workers, but the move also highlights how we can reduce
emissions and save money at the same time. In addition to the fuel
savings consider the savings in keeping the office locked down: no air
conditioning, no computers, lights, or elevators, all of which add up
to more energy savings for the city. And the effect on employees is
huge:

“People are more excited about having a four-day
week than they have been in the past about receiving a cost-of-living
raise,” said Deborah Vance, Langford’s chief of staff. “It’s savings
for the city, but it’s also actual savings realized by the employees.”

No wonder other cities are following the trend.

Perhaps the most refreshing thing is that you won’t find this
analysis on any academic studies of how to reduce carbon. Perhaps its
just a bit too radical, even if Birmingham is behind the innovation
instead of Berkeley? Hey, this is American Dream! You work hard and
prosper. You don’t want anybody telling you you can only work hard four
days of the week. But when reality of high energy prices sets in its
hard to argue with the rationale of these cities:

• 20% less commuting (and carbon)
• Significantly less
  energy use (the extra hours in the morning and evening will be worked
  at cooler times, so the A/C won’t need to crank so hard).
• More people starting earlier in the day (and finishing later) reduces road congestion at peak times, improving mileage.
• Perhaps
  everybody would use their extra day to get out in the sunshine and
  exercise and reduce obesity levels, thereby reducing health care costs
  in the city (or maybe this would increase emissions?

And can there be benefits to the business too? Some personal observations:

• People do less work on Fridays anyway.
• I’d be a happier employee (and therefore more productive) if I only worked four days a week.
• You’d save money in energy bills.
• Your Carbon Balanced Business offset wouldn’t cost as much.

Is anyone currently working a four day week, or thinking about it
and care to share their experiences? Do TerraPass members think a four
day work week is a reasonable “silver bullet” solution for climate
change?

Source: TerraPass

Delays in renewal of federal credit could slow this green energy sector

While lawmakers offer numerous proposals to lower energy prices and
slow global warming, Congress still hasn't taken a small step to help a
clean source of power -- wind generators.

Electricity production
from wind farms soared 45 percent last year and now powers about 4.5
million U.S. homes without emitting any greenhouse gases that
contribute to global warming. But industry representatives say further
growth is threatened because a tax credit they rely on expires in
December.

"We're at a situation today when projects for 2009 are being put on
hold," said Greg Wetstone of the American Wind Energy Association.
"Here's something we can do right now that can have huge payoffs . . .
to promote major greenhouse gas reductions."

Indiana has one
working wind farm and two more in development in Benton County, one of
several Indiana counties with wind speeds strong enough to power large
turbines.

"Any effort at the federal level to encourage
investment in alternative and renewable energy is welcomed," said
Brandon Seitz, director of the Indiana Office of Energy & Defense
Development. "Indiana's wind resources and available transmission lines
have played a large role in attracting significant wind development."

Congress struggles to fund a one-year extension that will cost $3.5
billion to pay wind generators the credit for 10 years. The House
passed the extension in May, but the Senate has failed three times to
approve it this year.

"Now it's time to take quick action and
extend the credit because investors need certainty about tax policy
before putting additional money into wind energy," Sen. Chuck Grassley,
R-Iowa, said last month after the House vote.

On Tuesday, the
Senate failed again to approve wind power's tax credit, which was
contained in a larger package of tax provisions.

Duke Energy Proposes Solar Power Generation Plan

Duke
Energy Carolinas is proposing a $100 million plan to install electricity
generating solar panels at up to 850 North Carolina sites including
homes, schools, stores and factories.

On 6 June 2008, the company filed an application with the North Carolina
Utilities Commission asking for approval to implement this solar
distributed generation program. Distributed generation is energy
created close to where it is used, rather than being produced
in large power plants and transported to customers over power
lines.

"We
believe an initiative of this scope and scale will help us meet
the requirement of North Carolina's new Renewable and Energy Efficiency
Portfolio Standard (REPS)," said Keith Trent, group executive
and chief strategy, policy and regulatory officer. "This program
also will enable us to evaluate the role of distributed generation
on our system, and gain experience in owning and operating renewable
energy resources."

If
the program is approved by regulators, Duke Energy Carolinas would
spend two years installing approximately 20 megawatts of distributed
solar generation on rooftops of customer businesses and homes
or on ground sites within the company's North Carolina service
area.

Solar
power has to be converted from direct to alternating current.
Once that's done, Duke Energy Carolinas customers will benefit
from more than 16 megawatts of power, enough energy to serve more
than 2,600 homes.

Duke
Energy Carolinas would own and operate the equipment and the power
produced by each installation would be used to serve the utility's
customers. Customers who agree to place solar panels at their
location would be rewarded based on the size of the installation
and the amount of energy it produces.

The
company plans to recover its $100 million investment through North
Carolina's new REPS cost recovery mechanism. The company estimates
that, over its life, the program will increase the average customer's
bill by no more than 25 cents a month. The average customer uses
about 1000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month.

For more information: Duke
Energy

Don't let a lack of space stop you

At my home in Alabama, we have dedicated a section of the front yard to
the vegetable garden. This year, we have planted cucumbers, tomatoes,
pumpkins, onions, garlic, bell peppers, and sunflowers. Our plot is not huge, only 4-5 feet wide and 20-30 feet long, but by combining some containers and in-ground plants, we maximize the space and the yield.

I am working in South Carolina for several months and living in a flat, so I am not capable of planting and tending the garden space to which I am accustomed - but this will not stop me.

Two years ago when I was working a year and a half job in North Carolina, I transformed my balcony into a hanging garden thick enough to blot out the afternoon sun. I am doing it again at the new flat.



Even the smallest patio
or porch can boast a crop of vegetables or a garden of flowers
in containers. Planter boxes, wooden barrels, hanging baskets
and large flowerpots are just some of the containers that can
be used. The container gardener is limited only by his imagination.

Last week, I began this year's container garden with two tomato plants, five of cucumber, two bell pepper, and intermixed a few sweet basil plants.



The point is to not succumb to the thought that you don't have enough space to garden - if you have room for a pot, you have room for a garden.