Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Community power movement gains speed

Nationally, more people are investigating generating at least part of their electricity, and increasingly, joining with other like-minded people is the way to go.

Questions remain, such as how to distribute income that could come from a solar garden, and if such group ownership falls under the Securities Exchange Commission's realm of influence.
For more, see Becky English's piece at Smart Energy Living.

So, we want to know: what brings you to the community energy table? Answer in the comments section, please.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Solar Panel Hosting Company to pitch before investors at NREL



Your chance to see Joy get grilled (and she can't talk back)!


Where:
Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
1445 Market Street
5th Floor
Denver, CO 80202



When:
Wednesday June 1, 2011 from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM MDT


Dear Cleantech Industry Colleague,

Please join us on June 1 for the next CREED pitch practice program.  We've moved the event from May 31 to June 1 to give an extra day between the Memorial Day holiday and the series.

We look forward to seeing you on June 1 at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce for this program. 

Agenda
June 1, 2011

4:30 - 5:00- Registration and Networking - refreshments will be provided 

5:00 - 5:05- Opening Remarks - Marty Murphy, NREL

5:05 - 5:30
 - Guest Speaker -  David Moll, Founder & Managing Director, Infield Capital 

5:30 - 6:30 - Cleantech Business Case/Pitch Presentations
and Critique

Business Case 1
 - American Electric Vehicle, Chris Groesbeck, President and Director of Business Development

Business Case 2
 - BiO2 Solutions, Loren Losh  

Business Case 3 - Solar Panel Hosting, Joy Hughes, Founder  

6:30 - 7:00 - Networking and Adjournment   


About the Solar Panel Hosting Company:   
Solar Panel Hosting offers a way for everyone to own solar panels in their community. People who have a shaded property, rent a home or apartment, or might move. As a pioneer Hosting Service Provider, SPH is bringing together solar subscribers, property owners, investors, and local solar professionals to build and manage distributed power plants everywhere. This independent company is dedicated to protecting key landscapes through ten principles of responsible solar development.


Thursday, May 19, 2011

Standard Offer and Customer Bill Example

For handy reference, here are the tables for XCEL standard offer and a customer bill example.  (The customer is only getting back 5.9 cents per kWh - I hope it won't really be that low!)


Have fun!  

Joy

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

XCEL Solar Gardens Program for Colorado

Solar Gardens

Solar*Rewards – Community Program

In 2011, Public Service proposes to add to its Retail DG REC acquisition by launching a new program based on House Bill 10-1342. The Solar*Rewards Community program, a solar garden program, will enable customers who cannot or wish not to participate in the Solar*Rewards programs an opportunity to participate in solar generation. Customers will purchase or lease shares of a solar garden installed in their community. Subscribing customers will receive credits on their bill for the energy produced at a central location, avoiding the need to install solar on their homes. This program provides Public Service customers with more solar program offerings.

For the RES Compliance years 2011-2013, the Solar*Rewards Community program will offer to purchase the energy and RECs from qualified solar gardens up to 6 MWs each year for the first three years. The offering will include up to 3 MW for standard offers of 500 kW or less. The other 3 MW offering, the Large program, will be handled through a competitive solicitation for systems greater than 500 kW up to 2 MW. The program structure, terms and conditions, and payment schedules will be detailed later in this section. Starting in 2014, the Commission will determine the minimum and maximum solar garden purchases the Company will target to acquire.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Greetings from the women of the San Luis Valley

I prepared this statement to be read at the WISE (Women In Sustainable Energy) meeting in Denver this evening.

-----------------------------------

Greetings from the women of the San Luis Valley!

Recently, I spoke to a woman with One Block Off the Grid. Of their 300,000 fans, she says about 80% are male - and this is probably true for the energy industry in general. I bet when it comes down to the decision of when to put solar on the roof, most of those men will say "let me ask my wife...".

Recently, here in the San Luis Valley, we heard a proposal for a 650-foot tower - directly in front of Great Sand Dunes National Park. Who but a man would have thought of that one? This valley is unique, a wetland in the mountains with three national wildlife refuges, and independent people who don't want to become an energy colony.

Morey Wolfson's STAR report proposes 5.5 Gigawatts of solar in the valley by 2050 - close to a hundred square miles, with big transmission lines to suck all that power up to Denver. Simply from an engineering point of view, this means no power during one of our week-long winter fogs, when the front range typically remains sunny.

We need to bring together the women in each community to decide how to produce our own energy locally - - call it the "Curves of Solar". First, fill the good roofs. Second, build solar gardens for apartment dwellers and those with shade. Last, only if we need to, locate the bigger plants along existing transmission lines, throughout the state.

Please come visit and meet us! We are the first place in America to meet all our daytime energy needs with solar, and for our population we have more off-grid houses than anywhere else in the country.

Many thanks,

Joy

Joy Hughes, Founder, Solar Gardens Institute http://www.solargardens.org
CEO, Solar Panel Hosting LLC http://www.solarpanelhosting.com
(719)207-3097 direct

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Contacts:

Becky English beckyrep@gmail.com
Joy Hughes (719) 207-3097
Action Alert:  MONDAY Bill to Gut Colorado Governor's Energy Office in Committee!

Hello clean energy colleagues,

 
I'm sorry to impose on your schedules on such short notice, but our good friend Reprentative Max Tyler (30% RES champion) is mobilizing testimony against a bill that just dropped Friday.  HB 1312 eviscerates the Governor's Energy Office as we know it.  Sadly (per Max), Governor Hickenlooper and Rep Becker have worked together to craft this bill.  The bill is essentially a referendum on the New Energy Economy, and assures favorable treatment ahead for coal, oil, natural gas, and nukes.  It must die.  
 
If you're able, please come to the hearing for to the Legislative Services Building Annex just south of the Capitol building tomorrow / Monday May 2  at 1:30 pm  and testify about why reorganization of the Governor's Energy Office as this bill mandates   is boatload of bad ideas.  Environment Colorado's Pam Kiely is drafting talking points that I'll distribute as soon as I have them.
 
If you cannot attend, please email your comments to:
Speaker of the House Frank McNulty    Frank.McNulty.house@state.co.us    and
Chair, Agriculture Committee Jerry Sonnenberg   jerry.sonnenberg.house@state.co.us           
Thanks very much for your active participation!   I've copied the bill summary below my signature, emphasis mine. 
 
Kind regards,
 
Becky English
Solar Gardens Institute


Joy Hughes, Founder, Solar Gardens Institute http://www.solargardens.org
CEO, Solar Panel Hosting LLC http://www.solarpanelhosting.com
(719)207-3097 direct