The OPEN PV Project: See Real Time Solar PV Installations from 2000 to 2012 and More Cool Info I just stumbled upon The Open PV Project that was compiled by NREL. It provides some cool vanity metrics, like a PV map of solar PV installations from 2000 to 2012, and so some very useful state by state market… Continue reading “The OPEN PV Project: See Real Time Solar PV Installations from 2000 to 2012 and More Cool Info”
Geothermal and Solar Installers: Get to Know Your Municipal Utility (It’s not a Waste of Time) “Municipal utilities are more open to trying new things than investor-owned utilities.” This is the lesson I took away from my visit to the Wyandotte Municipal Services as part of a delegation from the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association. They’ve… Continue reading “Geothermal and Solar Installers: Get to Know Your Municipal Utility (It’s not a Waste of Time)”
State-by-State Comparison of Geothermal Heat Pump Legislation I want to thank John Rhyner, Greg Mueller and LI Geo for putting together this report. If you’re new to legislation around renewable thermal technologies this article will provide you a great overview and direction for where you can get… Continue reading “State-by-State Comparison of Geothermal Heat Pump Legislation”
New 10 Year $.12kWh TVA Solar PV Feed in Tariff –> Requires NABCEP Solar PV Entry Level Certification In September 2012, the TVA introduced a new solar PV feed-in-tariff. The TVA will for solar PV production at retail electric rates + a FIT rate for 10 years, and then just retail rates for the following 10 years. A few… Continue reading “New 10 Year $.12kWh TVA Solar PV Feed in Tariff –> Requires NABCEP Solar PV Entry Level Certification”
A Guaranteed 5 Year, $100/MWh FIT For Renewable Thermal Sources Could Eliminate Oil Use for Single Family Homes in Vermont “A Simple Plan for Eliminating Oil Usage for Single Family Homes in Vermont” was the message of my talk at Renewable Energy Vermont 2012 last Monday. If you’re working in the renewable energy industry in Vermont, you should join REV.… Continue reading “A Guaranteed 5 Year, $100/MWh FIT For Renewable Thermal Sources Could Eliminate Oil Use for Single Family Homes in Vermont”
Two Things I Learned at the 2012 IGSHPA Conference On Tuesday October 2nd we hosted an evening program titled, “How to Make Money in Renewable Energy” for 45 brave souls who traveled to Indianapolis for the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) Conference. These were the panelists: Allan… Continue reading “Two Things I Learned at the 2012 IGSHPA Conference”
Inside Implementing the New Hampshire Thermal REC Program This post is part of a series to do a state by state in-depth analysis of current research, policy and other legislation in New England that is impacting, or has the ability to impact the geothermal industry. An in-depth analysis… Continue reading “Inside Implementing the New Hampshire Thermal REC Program”
[Photo Guide] Installing Solar PV Racking on Flat Roofs in NYC For residential applications everyone knows that a 10 pitch metal seam room is as easy as you get can for residential solar, followed by high quality asphalt shingles. Unfortunately, there are a lot of places in the country, specifically in cities, where… Continue reading “[Photo Guide] Installing Solar PV Racking on Flat Roofs in NYC”
New England Geothermal Policy Update, Review, and Next Steps: Massachusetts This is the first piece on geothermal lobbying efforts that I’m completing in addition to other industry communications and research efforts. In the next few weeks, I’ll be publishing information on the current state of policy and next steps in… Continue reading “New England Geothermal Policy Update, Review, and Next Steps: Massachusetts”
Made in Detroit: Do you Have a Customer with a Thermal Problem? A hybrid solar panel made in Detroit using automotive components, with investment from an EPC contractor in Florida. Interesting. Interesting enough that I spent two hours this week along with other members of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association touring… Continue reading “Made in Detroit: Do you Have a Customer with a Thermal Problem?”
Alumni Profile: Virgil Bellini & the Growth of California Solar Thermal California Solar Thermal (CST) is a San Diego-based solar installation business on pace to do 42 solar thermal projects this year. According to California Solar Statistics data they are the #1 solar thermal company in southern California, and are currently… Continue reading “Alumni Profile: Virgil Bellini & the Growth of California Solar Thermal”
Solidifying Clean Energy As a Political Force in New England September 2012 Post Event Update I had a great time at Munro’s conference and learned a lot. Thanks again to Munro for hosting. My workshop went well, it’s a little difficult to get people to open up but after a… Continue reading “Solidifying Clean Energy As a Political Force in New England”
11 Reasons to Attend the Colorado Geothermal Heat Pump Conference Generation Geo 2012 Conference & Expo is the only event in the Rocky Mountain region to examine the most critical elements influencing the adoption of geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) into today’s built environment. Generation Geo, Sept 27 – 28, will explore… Continue reading “11 Reasons to Attend the Colorado Geothermal Heat Pump Conference”
[Photos] Repairing a 30 Year Old Solar Thermal System in NYC Last week, I spent a day repairing a solar thermal system that has been operating for more then 30 years in NYC. I just wanted to share a few pictures and points because it’s super cool. The system was installed… Continue reading “[Photos] Repairing a 30 Year Old Solar Thermal System in NYC”
Taking Geothermal to the Next Level –> First Steps to Building A Lobbying, Research and Communications Juggernaut The geothermal industry has reached a point where technical competence is no longer a bottleneck to the growth of the industry. WE KNOW how to design projects that work. Now, there are a few more items that are holding us… Continue reading “Taking Geothermal to the Next Level –> First Steps to Building A Lobbying, Research and Communications Juggernaut”
“How To Make Money in Renewable Energy” Meet-Up at the 2012 IGSHPA Conference Going to the IGSHPA conference in Indy? If so, let us buy you a drink. HeatSpring Learning Institute, GeoConnections, and ClimateMaster are hosting a meet-up for business owners in town for the IGSHPA Conference. Tuesday October 2nd – 7-9pm – Cost: Free… Continue reading ““How To Make Money in Renewable Energy” Meet-Up at the 2012 IGSHPA Conference”
Keeping Vermont on the Cutting Edge of Clean Energy and How You Can Get Involved Vermont has long been on the cutting edge of renewable energy and energy efficiency. They like to get stuff done, from solar permitting to efficiency and biomass. Two weeks ago, I spoke with executive director of Renewable Energy Vermont, Gabrielle… Continue reading “Keeping Vermont on the Cutting Edge of Clean Energy and How You Can Get Involved”
HeatSpring’s 100 Year Plan & How it Impacts You We started HeatSpring in 2006. Recently it dawned on us that doing this work is really hard, but there’s nothing we’d rather be doing. We’re proud of what HeatSpring is, and talked about what it might become over a 100-year… Continue reading “HeatSpring’s 100 Year Plan & How it Impacts You”
[Interview] Learnings from Ball State and the Largest Geothermal Project and What It means for Selling District Heating Geothermal A few months ago, I heard about the largest geothermal heat pump installation was breaking ground at Ball State University. Clearly, this is amazing project that could change the whole industry. Also, I always noticed PR for huge solar PV… Continue reading “[Interview] Learnings from Ball State and the Largest Geothermal Project and What It means for Selling District Heating Geothermal”
Are Solar Renewable Energy Credits Taxable? There has been much recent discussion on solar and energy blogs and in other discussion forums relating to the tax treatment of Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (“SREC”) income. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of… Continue reading “Are Solar Renewable Energy Credits Taxable?”