Solar States Blog

Time and again, we hear about a new “solar project” in the works.  The plans for these large-scale installations are always quite grand and include the promise of profits in the near term.  However, more often than not we don’t see projects coming to fruitarian.  For some reason, great projects are not growing the wings they need to get off the ground.  Obviously, it all comes down to money.

Consider the finances of a solar project.  Per kW installed cost, federal tax credits and state incentives are fairly similar across the board.  In terms of income, we have the value of generated electricity, which is usually chump change compared to the big hitter…  SRECs.  Yes, the government’s answer to the age old question “How do we make them comply?”  For those of you unfamiliar, there are hundreds of websites, but generally speaking, Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) are credits generated for every MW-hr of photovoltaic derived energy.  The owner of the panels owns the credits and is free to sell them.  Buyers of credits are the large electricity generators (PECO, PennPower, Edison, etc.)  The generators will buy credits to make up for any shortfalls they have in meeting the state mandated renewable energy standard.

Now lets get back to SRECs.  How much are they worth?  Well, it depends where you live.  Check out the table below for June 2010 prices:

Prices for SRECs vary from state to state ($290 to $665).  Between states that all trading of SCRECs across state lines, the prices are more normalized, however, the driving forces for the markets are still ambiguous.  That’s another word for unpredictable or volatile.  Two words that investors don’t like to hear.  Of course the laws of supply and demand come into play here, however there is no means of predicting where prices will go.  So, if you were an investor and the return on your investment was based on a volatile and unpredictable commodity would you feel safe investing your money?  Is investment in solar projects the equivalent of visiting the tables in Vegas or AC?

So, although the state regulators had good intentions with the renewable energy portfolios, incentives for projects and mandated penalties for non-compliance, the plan had a huge hole.  Since SREC prices can not be counted on, the driving forces thrusting us into the age of renewable energy have sputtered.  Is there a solution?  Of course…  1) Renewable Energy Portfolio standards need to be nationalized; 2) A “bottom price” needs to be placed on SREC prices.  By nationalizing the programs, the disparity between neighboring states will be normalized.  Meanwhile a bottom price will reduce a portion of the risk associated with investment in solar projects.  If governments are really serious about energy independence and investing in the green future, they too will soon see the shortfalls in the current system.  Lets hope for change.

Sandip D. Shah, Ph.D.

When the eggheads at Princeton University set out to put solar panels on the roof of the building that houses the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium, the project looked doomed to fail. After all, Tom Nyquist, Princeton’s director of facilities engineering says that the array will not produce enough to power the building and that the costs will be considerable. But the project looks like a smarter long-term investment as it launches Princeton into the world of SREC’s.

SREC’s, or Solar Renewable Energy Credits, are units of produced power. Each time a solar electric system generates 1,000 kwh of electricity, the project’s investor–in this case, Pennsylvania Power & Light–can then sell or trade the SREC’s. As power is being pumped back into the electricity grid, Princeton is effectively renting their roof space to Pennsylvania Power and Light in exchange for reduced energy bills. The result is a fully functional and sustainable power system with no upfront costs to Princeton.

Solar Ivy

The best part about this system is that solar is the fastest progressing energy technology, increasing in productivity by over 10% per year. So, over the useful life of the array, Princeton will continue to get more bang for their buck until the solar array takes over for their power needs alltogether. And as this technology takes off, the value of SREC’s improves so everybody wins.

You don’t get into the Ivy League without having a few good ideas up your sleeve. And you don’t get to be a permanent fixture at the Princeton library without pulling your weight. If you do your homework, this is a good deal for all involved.

The Amish way of life has learned to live side by side with secular residents in Lancaster County for years, despite differences in the way the two cultures choose to live. But while Lancaster’s newest proposed addition will involve electricity, it shouldn’t ruffle too many Mennonite beards as this improvement is both respectful to the environment and completely silent.

Suburban Philadelphia’s Community Energy unveiled plans this week to build a $20 million solar array on 40 acres of farmland in East Drumore Township, Lancaster County. The solar farm would generate enough electricity to power 900 homes using nothing but the sun.

Amish ingenuity to use natural resources to create energy is at the heart of this simple innovation. And with the productivity of solar panels increasing everyday, it is likely 900 homes is a conservative estimate over the 25-year lifespan of the array.

The success of this plant will create construction jobs and help diversify the state’s coal-heavy energy portfolio. Keep it here for updates on this and other projects around the state.

As Solar States founder Micah Gold-Markel continues the fight to bring solar energy to Philadelphia, Solar States is bringing some new voices to the conversation. This month, Solar States is hosting monthly investor salons to talk to alternative energy investors and venture capitalists about the state of the alternative energy marketplace and what it will take to make the solar dream a reality in Philadelphia.

Solar States would also like to bring you in on the conversation. That’s why we will be video taping these meetings and taking your comments on the Solar States blog. These videos will start to appear on the blog in early December, after the first Salon takes place. Keep all eyes glued here for more information on these exciting investment meetings.

On today’s This Week In Duh, we ring our own bell a little bit; toot our own horn; scratch our own back, if you will. This partnership we have created is so brilliant, we just have to shout about it. I mean, who would have thought that an environmental education center would partner with a solar environmental education and install company? Please, hold your applause until the end.

Ok, so maybe our networking isn’t totally brilliant, but this partnership may be. For our part, we are just happy these guys would work with us. The Schuylkill Center has been around nearly 25 years, educating the educators, the nature buffs and the regular city dwellers here in Philadelphia on the wonders of nature, and how to keep it as wondrous as possible. As one of the oldest environmental education centers in the country, we feel their experience and dedication is the best foothold for our solar education programs.

This month, Solar States helps lead a two-day teacher workshop on solar energy. Participants will work with industry experts, learning about the grant and incentive programs that will bring solar technology to the forefront of Pennsylvania’s energy portfolio. Teachers attending the program will receive lesson plans that use solar energy in science, math, social studies and civics classes. Participants also receive a $50 stipend, 11 ACT 48 credit hours, a free pyranometer or multimeter, and small PV cells to use in the classroom.

Some things were just made to be together: peanut butter and jelly, cookies and milk, a 130-watt solar panel and a 250-watt, grid-tied inverter. If you don’t get that joke and you would like to, check out more information here. If you have some duh-inducing technology news of your own, e-mail me at john@solar-states.com. 

Solar States is at it again! With students at the Science Leadership Academy finishing up another great semester of solar design and photovoltaic research, we thought long and hard about what our next step should be in bringing solar education and industry to the Philadelphia area. But in the end, it came down to one simple question: what comes after high school?

College. And in college, the first classes you take are the intro classes, the 101 classes, with names like “Intro to Psychology” and “History of Early America.” This is Green Energy 101.

GREEN BY EXAMPLE is our newest course, teaching you the basics of LEED certification, weatherization, solar and other groundbreaking innovations. Taught by LEED expert Sam Klein (LEED For Homes Quality Assurance Designee), GREEN BY EXAMPLE can show you the investments you should consider and the ones you need to make in order to become LEED certified or just save your family a few bucks. And with guest speakers from the Philly solar and green building communities, we are making sure you are getting the most up-to-date information.

Before Philadelphia students and prospective installers can get on a roof and install solar panels, they have to understand the basics of home and commercial energy. There are natural, creative ways to plug the energy leaks that are harming your environment and draining your wallet. Come learn about them.

And even if you are afraid of heights; even if you can’t tell an inverter from a ballast mount; even if you have no interest in solar at all, wouldn’t you like to know how to stop your house from hemorrhaging energy and costing you a fortune? Get your prerequisite energy knowledge out of the way with Green By Example.

Ok Sales Pitch over. Thanks for your interest in our mission and if you are interested in signing up, we will see you in class!

GREEN BY EXAMPLE: An introduction to Alternative Energy, Weatherization and LEED For Homes

When: Saturday, June 6th, 2009 / Saturday, June 13th, 2009 / Saturday, June 20th, 2009 / Saturday, June 27th, 2009

Where: Northern Liberties Community Center, 700 N. 3rd Street (at the corner of 3rd and Fairmount Sts.)

Time: 9:30am-12:30pm

Cost: $350 for the entire 4-week program. There are 5 spots available to low-income participants.

The experimenting has died down in a sense because everyone is getting ready to go on Winter Break. Currently, we are planning on doing further experiments relating to our sunlight angles. After break, we will more than likely redo the Clinometers experiments if we need better accuracy, or try another form of experiment if need be.

After performing our sunlight angle experiment with the Clinometers (I found out the proper name for them), we found the average sunlight angles. The average angle that sunlight hits our school from the West is 20°. The average angle East of our school is 30°. Using this data, we will know effective angles to set up solar panels on our schools roof so that we can potentially collect as much energy/power/electricity as possible to help towards making our school Green in the future.

We have come to an agreement in class on what type of experiment to perform. In order to find the sunlight angles, we will be doing an experiment based on our 9th grade Geometry projects. We will have a viewing tube attached to protractors with sting and weights. As we look up to see the tops of the buildings where sunlight, the weight will pull the string down and show us the angle at which sunlight hits our school. Each group will have their own viewing/angle device and use it to find the sunlight angles at several different points to get an average sunlight angle in the polar directions, east and west from our school.