Solar Compass

Cumberland School: From Visualization to Realization in a Matter of Weeks

Yoel Hanegbi led his team with installing "peel & stick" adhesive photovoltaic panels on the roof of Cumberland Elementary in Sunnyvale, California.

Eshone Energy, working as the PV installer with Bruns Belmont Construction, Inc. , broke ground in August and the 14.7 kW roof-mounted solar system was up and officially running by September 1st.  This was a small solar project that nevertheless, generated a lot of excitement for the students and the surrounding community; so much so that a similar Solar Project was initiated for Lakewood Elementary PV System, also in Sunnyvale.

Here are a few shots of our recently installed Solar Power System on the roof of Cumberland Elementary School.

Some details about this Solar project:

• 14.7 kW Photovoltaic (PV) system
• Eliminates 25,000 lbs of CO2 annually
• Energy Output:  23,000 kWh
• 108 Adhesive Unisolar panels of the Amorphous type
• 3 inverters from SMA
• Angle of the panels: 20 degrees
• Project was completed in 4 weeks

Students especially enjoy going online to check the energy data in real time through the Fat Spaniel Monitoring System.

SOLAR POWER NOW for Schools Going Solar. That's being  SMART SOLAR TOGETHER.

Check out this 3-minute video on the process, progress and completion of the project (video coming soon!)

The Federal Government Provides Relief for School Districts through CREB and QSCB Bonds

Yoel Hanegbi, CEO of Eshone Energy, shares exciting news regarding the latest methods for School Districts to obtain funding for Solar Projects.

Many school districts are eager to Go Green and installing solar panels on their schools holds great interest for them.  But in these tough economic times, many hesitate to pursue it further because they simply don’t have the financing available to get the project started.  There are many incentives and rebates available, and some fortunate school districts find they can tap into State Modernization Grants to close the gap and fully fund the Solar Power System.  Others put up a bond for voter approval specifically targeted for Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems and other Renewable Energy applications.  And still others are opting to go with Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), though many would prefer to own the system on top of Going Green.

However, with Bonds, school districts generally end up paying back two and three times the face amount of bond dollars received.  For any investment, interest rates are used to describe the cost of capital. For PV solar projects, the initial investment costs are the biggest cost factor so that the interest rate plays an important role in the overall costs of the project.  

But if you act fast, you can get 0% or near 0% bonds the Federal Government is offering through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

These two bonds, Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) and Qualified School Construction Bonds  (QSCBs), allow school districts to pay off the bonds from the dollars they would have paid for their electricity consumption.  Dollars that had previously been earmarked for the utility company is now designated for bond repayment and after 15 years, it’s paid off and then all that money can now be funneled back into the general fund!

• Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) are a means to lower the cost of capital for renewable energy projects.  They can provide public entities with interest free – or near 0% interest - capital.   Public entities can apply for those funds at the IRS for allocations.  Once the public entity has received an allocation, a CREB can be issued to finance a PV Solar project.  The ARRA has increased the allocation to provide $2.4 billion to finance qualified renewable energy facilities but have a deadline of 8-4-09 for 2009 so unless you’re already in the process of filling out the application (starting on page 21), it’s too late to file this year but now’s a good time to become familiar with the requirements for next year’s filing deadline.

•  Qualified School Construction Bonds  (QSCBs) applications have a deadline of 8-25-09 so it’s still possible to get your application in on time.   While CREBs are limited to $3 million per Renewable Energy Project, QSCBs have a $25 million cap.  The bonds provide federal tax credits for bondholders in lieu of interest in order to drastically reduce the cost of borrowing.  The ARRA provides for an allocation to each state, along with separate allocations for large school districts. The 2009 national bond volume cap for QSCBs is $11 billion with $773,525,000 allocated to California in 2009 and the same amount is expected for 2010.   More allocations totaling $581,966,0o0 in calendar year 2009 were made directly to California's eleven largest urban districts which may choose to re-allocate any unused balance to the State of California.  Here’s a link to download the application.

With upfront costs being a major factor in the decision process, these two methods can significantly reduce that cost, making the decision to Go Green a responsible and affordable choice.  Not to mention that you’ll be doing your part to stimulate the economy by creating jobs, which is the main thrust of the ARRA in the first place.

Why SRECs Are Important To Schools

Eshone Energy delves into the benefits of schools owning their Solar Power System and keeping their SRECs as a source of ongoing revenue.

“One of the cornerstones of President Barack Obama's energy plan is developing more domestic renewable energy like wind, solar and geothermal,” writes Arthur O'Donnell,  Executive Director of the Center for Resource Solutions in an article for the Mercury News.  “Renewable energy holds the answer to not only eliminating the 40% of our overall greenhouse gases, but creating a clean source of energy for the coming revolution in electric vehicles. With its immense opportunities in innovation and job creation, it's a rare bright spot in an otherwise dark economy.”

One of the recent ways to get involved in clean energy is to buy Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs).  These are tradable certificates that represent all the clean energy benefits of electricity generated from a solar power system. Each time a solar electric system generates one megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity, an SREC is issued, which can then be sold or traded separately from the power. This makes it easy for individuals and businesses to finance and invest in clean solar power. 

Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) were developed to help meet compliance goals for renewable portfolio standards (RPS) or for voluntary renewable energy purchases.  RPS policies differ greatly from state to state with 26 states and the District of Columbia already adopting RPS policies.  California’s will be aggressive with goals of 10% by 2010 and 33% by 2025 if the current bill is passed.  

SRECs are a win-win situation for both the buyer and the seller.  When someone buys an SREC, even if they don’t own their own solar power system, they can still benefit from the environmental benefits of that renewable-energy generation. For the seller (the system owner), SRECs provide another revenue source, which can significantly offset the system costs.  The retail price of a REC ranges from 1c/KWh to 2.5c/KWh for residential and small commercial customers.

Utility companies will be big buyers of SRECs since states have specified percentage targets for the amount of renewable energy a utility company must provide for their consumers.  SRECs are a major means to help utility companies meet these RPS compliance goals.  SRECs are normally traded between parties through purchase and sale agreements that are negotiated between the buyer and the seller. Aggregators and brokers also actively participate in the SREC market.  For a detailed report on how SRECs work in detail, please read, “A Comprehensive Guide for Managing Complex Solar REC Activities”, by attorneys Tauna Szymanski, Scott Stone, and Carter Chandler Clements.

Schools will benefit from owning – and selling – their SRECs more than with most other types of RECs (wind, landfill gas, biomass, etc.).  Why?  Because utilities will get penalized if they don’t meet their Solar percentage targets. They could opt for an alternative compliance payment (ACP) but the cost is much higher for the Solar ACP than for a standard ACP (i.e., New Jersey’s current Solar ACP is $711, while the standard ACP is $50 per REC.)  This makes SRECs that much more attractive in the market (buyers would not buy SRECs to satisfy their compliance obligations if they could pay less for the ACP).  

SREC’s can provide a significant revenue stream.  For example, 3 Phases Energy Services report that SRECs can contribute 42% to the Net Present Value (NPV) of a solar project in Colorado.  Even though this same report shows California (currently not trading RECs for compliance) is at 2%, this is poised to change shortly and significantly.

Global Warming has become a real and present threat to the world’s environmental balance.  Change is coming, borne out of necessity. President Barack Obama's energy plan is evidence of the Nation’s call to action and setting RPS standards to regulate compliance is one result of that call. Because of that, even though schools operate on tight budgets, monetary incentives specifically set aside for schools to implement Renewable Energy Sources is more readily available than other types of funds.  And by installing Solar Power Systems, the opportunity is there to generate revenue (SRECs are one source), which can then be applied to other pressing educational needs.

Critical Evaluation of the U.S. Renewable Energy Policy

Yoel Hanegbi, CEO of Eshone Energy, invites guest writer Christian Paulus to provide an assessment of the U.S. Renewable Energy Policy; where it falls short and what solutions he offers to close the gap.

Policy decisions are necessary to accelerate adoption of renewable energy. We have been fortunate that in the U.S., major bills providing significant subsidies have recently been signed into law. However, do we put those funds to work in the most efficient way?  In this article, we will review the U.S. policies for PV Solar systems and evaluate the behavior these policies promote.  Finally, we will contrast the U.S. policy direction with Germany's, as the leader in PV solar.

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  .   A) Government policies and subsidies to promote renewable PV Solar energy projects

Government policies provide the legal basis for grid-connected distributed energy generation. They also provide incentives and subsidies to offset some of the costs of Solar Photovoltaic (PV solar) installations. We will provide an overview of the most important policies applicable for PV solar systems in the State of California.

1)  Federal tax incentives

      Federal tax incentives significantly lower the costs of PV solar projects for

      taxpaying entities such as residential consumers or businesses.

• Investment Tax Credit (ITC) - The “Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008”¹, signed into law on October 3, 2008, includes an 8-year extension of the 30% residential and business Investment Tax Credit for solar systems.
• Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) and Bonus Depreciation² - The IRS allows businesses a five-year accelerated depreciation of eligible assets such as PV solar systems, reducing the taxable income.

If certain criteria are met, the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 also provides a bonus depreciation: 50% of the installed costs of a PV solar system can be depreciated in the first year, while the remaining 50% can be depreciated over the original schedule. 

2)  Federal incentives for the public sector

Next to federal incentives for residential consumers or businesses, there are also federal incentives for the public sector such as Clean Renewable Energy Bonds and Renewable Energy Production Incentives.

• Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs)³ - For any investment, interest rates are used to describe the cost of capital. For PV solar projects, the initial investment costs are the biggest cost factor so that the interest rate plays an important role in the overall costs of the project.

CREBs are a means to lower the cost of capital for renewable energy projects. They can provide public entities with (supposedly) interest-free capital. First, the Congress needs to allocate funds. While this had only happened twice in the past, as part of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009⁴”, an additional $1.6 Billion has just been allocated. Public entities can apply for those funds at the IRS for allocations. Once the public entity has received an allocation, a CREB can be issued to finance, for example, a PV Solar project. An investor who purchased the CREB receives a tax credit instead of interest payments.

Drawbacks include high transaction costs, an overall difficult process and the requirement to make the first bond principal payment in the same year the CREB was issued, even though the system may not be in service yet. Furthermore, CREBs claim to providing interest-free financing is often not true.

• Renewable Energy Production Incentives (REPI) - REPIs provide a production-based incentive program for renewable electricity generation. There are two significant challenges: Incentive commitments are made long term, but its funding is dependent on annual federal appropriations. In fact, “funding has been insufficient to meet 100% of the qualified REPI payments”.⁵  As a result, lenders don’t count on REPIs.

 3)   State and local incentives

In addition to the federal government, state and local governments can also provide incentives to promote renewable energy projects. Those programs are financed through System Benefit Charge Programs (SBCs) or through state and local government bonds. SBCs have been implemented in many states to fund various renewable energy related programs such as the California Solar Initiative, which can significantly lower the costs of a PV Solar project.

California Solar Initiative (CSI) - The goal of the CSI is to create 1,750 MW through PV Solar. The incentives decline with increasing electricity generation in ten steps. There are two incentive types:

• Expected Performance – Based Buy – Down (EPBB): EPBB applies for systems smaller than 50KW. Incentives are paid one-time, up-front, based on the expected performance of the system rather than merely based on the installed capacity.
• Performance Based Incentive (PBI): PBI applies for systems over 50KW. Subsidies are paid for five years based on the actual KWh generated.

The current residential EPBB payment is $1.90/KWh.

State and local government bonds^{6 -} Next to SBCs, State or local governments can issue municipal bonds (General obligation bonds or revenue bonds) to raise capital for PV projects. However, there are many examples where the issuing government was not able to get the bonds to market, despite authorization to issue them.

 

   4)     State policies enabling revenue generation

Net Metering -Many states provide net metering policies which provide the framework for distributed energy generation: It regulates, and thus simplifies, how consumers can feed in electricity, which was generated in a distributed fashion, into the utility power grid.

 

“Net metering allows consumers to offset the cost of electricity they buy from a utility by selling renewable electric power generated at their homes or businesses back to the utility. In essence, a customer's electric meter can run both forward and backward in the same metering period and the customer is charged only for the net amount of power used.” ⁷ If a customer generates a net excess, he will receive a retail credit from the utility, which will be carried forward to his bill for up to 12 months⁸.

 

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) - Many states define Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), specifying targets for renewable energy as a percentage of the overall energy the utilities provide to their consumers.

 

The dominant mechanisms to help utilities meet the RPS compliance goals are Renewable Energy Credits (REC’s) or Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs): SRECs represent the attributes of green energy from PV Solar systems, which can be sold separately from the generated electricity. They can also be traded in voluntary green power markets.

 

SRECs can provide a significant revenue stream: 3 Phases Energy Services report that SRECs can contribute 42% to the NPV of a solar project in Colorado.^{9 10} The retail price of a REC typically ranges from 1c/KWh to 2.5c/KWh for residential and small commercial customers.11

However, RPS policies differ greatly on state, region, utility or green power market level. While in California SRECs do not trade for compliance yet, the California Public Utility Commission is proposing to change that¹².

B) The behavior the renewable energy policy promotes – a residential PV solar use case.

We will now evaluate what impact the policy decisions could have on a residential PV Solar system owner. ¹³ We consider two residential consumer examples: A fairly moderate 3KW system and a larger 10KW system. The Federal Investment Tax Credit and the California Solar Initiative’s EPBB apply, which together, significantly reduce the initial investment costs nearly 50% However, in both cases the initial investment costs ($12,810 or $42,700 respectively) can still be considered to be significant. Financing can play an important role in overcoming this barrier by spreading the high initial investment costs over the life time of the system. The financing payments replace, at least partly, the payments to the utility company for an electricity bill. There are multiple financing approaches such as simply using a consumer credit or using a commercial entity such as a solar solution provider.

When using a financing approach, an interest rate needs to be applied to depict the cost of capital as well as the investment risk. No matter how low the interest rate, the ITC and CSI EPBB subsidies are not sufficient for PV Solar systems to reach grid parity.  Unless investors are willing to pay a premium for “green” electricity, wide spread adoption of PV solar systems will not occur.

In an attempt to further adapt to reality, we can consider that during the past five years the average residential electricity prices increased 4.78% per year. Assuming that this trend continues, revenues from generating electricity through PV solar will also increase: The 10KW PV Solar Power System can reach or surpass grid parity (for all interest rates of 6.78% or smaller) while the smaller 3KW PV Solar system can only reach grid parity with a positive monetary value set at an unrealistic interest rate of 0%.

   1)    Break even scenarios 

     This calculation reveals two significant drawbacks of the current subsidy

     structure:

• Investors need to be willing to make long term assumptions about electricity price increases to justify a PV Solar investment.  If electricity prices increase less than expected, investors are stuck with too high payments over time periods of 20 – 25 years. Of course, on the other hand, if electricity prices increase more than expected, investors not only have predictable prices over a long time period, they also have locked in a price which is below the market rate. While there is risk and opportunity, many investors will simply not be willing to make assumptions for time periods of 20 to 25 years.
• Energy conservation is not incentivized.  Instead, the larger the PV system, covering potentially more wasteful energy consumption habits, the higher the monetary returns¹⁴. Furthermore, environmentally conscientious persons who conserve energy and who may be most interested in installing a PV Solar system, receive less monetary value from a PV Solar investment and thus may not invest at all.

Smart PV system owners take tiered¹⁵ utility pricing models into consideration to further maximize their monetary return.  The rates increase in steps as consumption increases. In addition, we can calculate the break even electricity price within this tiered model, where a PV Solar investment would turn into profitability.

 

The graphic below demonstrates that there is a threshold, mostly depending on the applied interest rate¹⁶: For an interest rate of 6% (reflecting a hypothetical electricity price of 0.214$/KWh) or even 7%, it would make economic sense to replace the electricity consumption for Tiers III, IV and V with electricity generated from a PV solar installation. It would not be profitable to substitute the entire electricity consumption, i.e. Tiers I and II. If an interest rate of 8% is applicable, it would only make sense to replace Tier IV and Tier V, but not Tier I, II and III any more.

  2)    Break even points in a tiered utility pricing model

     As a result, the existing incentive structure promotes substitution of only

     parts of the  electricity consumption: The installed capacities will be limited.

 

On top of all the challenges mentioned above, the existing benefits structure is complex:

• There are too many, fragmented programs.¹⁷
• Programs often differ widely on local, state, utility or green power market level.
• Programs often differ widely on the recipients of the benefits such as residential consumer, businesses, public entities.

It is time consuming to research the various programs and potential recipients of benefits may not be aware of them.

 

Lastly, some programs are short term in nature: They do not provide sufficient financial predictability and continuity. As a result of the complex and/or short term nature of the policy decisions, the value of incentive programs may not be maximized.

 

3)    To summarize:  The existing policy decisions can promote undesirable or unfavorable behavior. The current subsidy levels and structures:

• Do not support the goal of widespread adoption. Unless many consumers are willing to pay a premium for “green” electricity, wide spread adoption of PV solar systems is not encouraged.
• Do not reward energy conservation. Instead, consumer segments with high electricity consumptions are rewarded, who are less likely to be environmental conscience and thus less likely buyers of PV systems.
• Do not maximize installed capacities. Instead, only partial substitution of the electricity consumption by PV Solar generated electricity is promoted, further limiting adoption.
• Require consumers to make long term assumptions and thus, does not provide sufficient long term predictability (e.g. electricity price increases).
• Can be unstable over the long term so they are not utilized (i.e. REPIs).
• Are complex and thus, the value of incentive programs may not be accessible to all potential recipients.

C) The behavior the German renewable energy policy promotes

Let’s now contrast the U.S. Policy approach and the behavior it promotes with Germany's Renewable Energy Law (EEG), which is discussed in “Policy decisions are necessary for a transformation of our energy systems”. At the heart of the EEG are Feed-in tariffs, which specify the payments for renewable energy generation.

The simplicity of this policy structure is immediately obvious: For example, a typical residential consumer operating a PV Solar Power System on his roof will receive 43.01 Euro cents for every KWh fed into the electricity grid.

To provide an accurate financial comparison between the U.S. and the German policy benefits, we need to consider that the average solar radiation in Germany is significantly lower than in the U.S. and that the residential electricity prices in Germany are higher (16.5 Euro cent / KWh) than in the U.S. The graphic below depicts the financials for a 3 KW Solar Power System with a solar incident of 1,000 KWh/m2/year.

Economic benefits when applying the German EEG law

Even without making any long term assumptions about electricity price increases, a moderate 3KW system almost reaches profitability at a 0% interest rate. 

Once long term assumptions about electricity price increases are taken into consideration, the EEG policy drives widespread adoption of PV solar for all consumer segments, even with a high financing interest rate of up to 7.1%: The Net Present Value is positive (i.e. consumers earn income on their PV Solar Power System).

Since the Net Present Value is positive below the break even interest rate of 7.1% interest (i.e. the Internal Rate of Return), this policy encourages installing the maximum capacities or even installing over-capacities.

The German EEG law has been introduced in 2001, providing long term stability for all PV solar operators.

We conclude that the German EEG policy does not promote many of the undesirable behaviors, which can occur as a result of the U.S. Policy directions. We recommend introducing feed-in tariffs into the U.S. energy legislation to further increase adoption of renewable energies.

Please click here to see the full text, including more graphics, the sources listing, and assumptions.

What is the Solar Impact of Props 1A and 1B?

California is holding a Special Election on May 19, 2009 and Eshone Energy looks at the propositions to see how they impact schools.

First, let’s look at the summaries of both Proposition 1A and 1B.

      PROP 1A: STATE BUDGET. CHANGES CALIFORNIA BUDGET PROCESS. SUMMARY: Changes the budget process. Could limit future deficits and spending by increasing the size of the state “rainy day” fund and requiring above-average revenues to be deposited into it, for use during economic downturns and other purposes. Fiscal Impact: Higher state tax revenues of roughly $16 billion from 2010–11 through 2012–13. Over time, increased amounts of money in state rainy day reserve and potentially less ups and downs in state spending.  

      Impact:  Schools would receive 1 ½% of state revenues (about $1.5 billion per year) till $9.3 billion has been paid back to schools and community colleges. 

PROP 1B:  EDUCATION FUNDING. PAYMENT PLAN.  SUMMARY: Requires supplemental payments to local school districts and community colleges to address recent budget cuts.  Annual payments begin in 2011–12.  Payments are funded from the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund until the total amount has been paid.  Payments to local school districts will be allocated in proportion to average daily attendance and may be used for classroom instruction, textbooks and other local educational programs.  Fiscal impact would depend on how current constitutional provisions would otherwise be interpreted. Potential state savings of up to several billion dollars in 2009–10 and 2010–11. Potential state costs of billions of dollars annually thereafter.

      Impact:  This is how schools would be repaid the $9.3 billion.

Actually, the CTA (California Teachers Association) is urging everyone to vote YES on all 6 propositions, stating that “Only by voting Yes on all six of these measures can we hope to contain the damage to schools throughout California.  Failure of these measures will create an immediate $6 billion hole in California’s state budget, making a bad situation even worse for our schools.”  Not a surprising stance, considering that 5,000 teachers have been laid off with thousands more jobs threatened.

The Combined Impact:  If Props 1A and 1B pass, $9.3 of the $12 billion previously cut will be returned to the schools.  If Prop 1C also passes, another $5 billion could become available on a loan basis, giving California an opportunity to move up from being ranked as 47th in the Nation in funding per student (keep in mind though, that California educates 12 ½% of the Nation’s student population).  Props 1D and 1E temporarily redirect $1.6 billion to the General Fund, which also helps schools, while 1F indirectly helps the General Fund by limiting salary increases to state officials.

The Solar Impact:  When funds are severely cut, a school district’s attention is focused solely on meeting the student’s most basic educational needs.  And while it’s true that converting to a Solar Power System frees up the money that used to pay electrical bills, it does take time and effort to move forward with projects of this size.  Passing these propositions allows school districts to breathe a sigh of relief and then turn their attention to Renewable Energy options, which, in the long run, helps the students, the economy, and the global community.

Solar Compass Quicknote: Eshone Energy Renews Commitment to SEPA

Yoel Hanegbi solidifies his commitment to Renewable Energy by joining SEPA (Solar Electric Power Association).

President Barack Obama is betting on Solar Power to help pull the economy out of its deep slump.   And organizations like SEPA are ready to lend a helping hand.   Indeed, Obama’s administration would do well to tap into the resources found there. 

 SEPA is the go-to resource for unbiased and actionable solar intelligence.  Breaking down information overload into business reality, SEPA takes the time and risk out of implementing solar business plans and helps turn new technologies into new opportunities.

SEPA is a co-presenter of the annual main event, the Solar Power International conference and Expo and the Solar Power International 2009 will occur October 27-29^th in Anaheim.  Last year, the Expo attendees received a surprise visit from Governor Schwarzenegger who gave an impassioned speech, echoing Obama’s firm belief that the Solar Power Industry will not only benefit the environment but the economy as well by creating millions of Green Jobs.   "The Solar Power International conference and expo is by far the biggest and best in the United States,” the governor notes on the Solar Power International website.  “It's a showcase for this industry whose time has really come.   And the prospects for solar energy have never been brighter."

“I’m proud to be associated with this organization,” says Yoel Hanegbi, CEO of Eshone Energy.  “We had attended their Solar Power 2008 Conference as an exhibitor and were so impressed with the organization that I knew we needed to become a more integral part of it.”  

SEPA’s mission is to facilitate solutions for the use and integration of solar electric power by utilities, electric service providers, and their customers.   Eshone Energy's mission is to provide Solar Power Energy Solutions for their customers.  And with President Obama’s Stimulus Bill opening more funding avenues, seems like we’ve hit the trifecta in this race toward energy independence.

 

The City of Berkeley Celebrates Schools Going Solar

Eshone Energy joins in the official celebration of Washington Elementary’s successful completion and operation as the first public school in the Berkeley Unified School District to Go Solar.

It’s been six months since the Solar Power System was installed on the roof of Washington Elementary in Berkeley.  The dust has settled, the Solar Panels are running  efficiently, and people feel good about it.  Perfect reasons to throw a party and that’s just what Tom and Jane Kelly, founders of KyotoUSA did the evening of February 23, 2009 at their West Berkeley office.  This HELiOS celebration brought together many of the people who’d played some part in bringing this project to fruition.  Attendees included Berkeley Mayor, Tom Bates, Council Member and Architect of Record, Tom Butt, BUSD board members, Eshone Energy, Facilities Director Lew Jones, parents, a folk singer, students and a host of sponsors who’d devoted money, time and energy to this Solar Project.   

What makes this particular solar project significant, aside from being the first public school in the district to Go Solar and being the largest Solar Project thus far for Berkeley, is that it’s an excellent model illustrating how well the individual school’s needs are addressed when it comes to creating the best Solar Power System for the school.  Tom Kelly’s HELiOS Model showed how to install a Renewable Energy System on their school while making it cost-neutral for the School District from day one.  And Eshone Energy carried out an energy audit that allowed the school to strategize on how to reduce their carbon footprint in the most cost effective way (this Energy Audit is a free service provided to those schools that want to be ready to go when the Stimulus Package funding arrives).

Yoel Hanegbi, the CEO of Eshone Energy, said, “Eshone always works with the school to find the optimal design and funding.  In this case, we ran into the unexpected condition in the roof structure and worked with the architect and the DSA to approve our alternative solution in record time, allowing us to flip the switch on schedule.”

Another feature specific to Washington Elementary was the installation of water bibs, which helps with the system maintenance. “In addition,” said Guy Robby, Operations Manager, “Eshone installed an upgrade feature from Fat Spaniel, a weather station that incorporates real time measurements and can be viewed on the web.  This is useful for marketing and education as well as for operations and maintenance purposes.”

Julia Jafari, Eshone’s Regulation and Compliance Manager points out that, “Eshone is very attentive to the local needs of the community when we install Solar Power Systems.  In each project, we contact the local government to learn about their training center, tap into their resources, and employ local employees and apprentices whenever possible.”

The thing about Schools Going Solar is that it becomes fertile ground for other Green Projects.  Going Solar stimulates students, parents, board members, and the surrounding community into taking positive action.  “When a group of parents at Washington School first heard the news that there was a proposal for their school to be retrofitted with solar panels, it caused quite a buzz”, says Linda Currie, a graphic designer (Download SamTrans3.10.09webnew) and a former parent at Washington School.  “After Tom Kelly brought news of the proposal to a PTA meeting, parents formed a working group and this group worked with Tom, coming up with some good ideas for energy efficiencies.”

Linda goes on to note that soon the word got out to the teachers, students and community as a whole.  A new awareness arose. Parents started working with Safe Routes for Schools, a county-wide program to encourage safe ways to get students to school without being driven. Folk singer Nancy Schimmel wrote a song about the Washington solar project, and soon the whole school was singing.  The PTA planned a Spring Fair, with a green-focus, to celebrate the kick-off of the upcoming solar installation. The fair was complete with a station for making solar ovens out of a pizza boxes, a bike-powered smoothie maker and bike-powered hayride.  At the end of the fair, there was very little waste, thanks to the compostable cups, plates and utensils. 

“Being a part of the Washington Solar Project,” Linda concludes, “taught me that parents can be powerful agents of change in our communities in creating a more sustainable future for our children and our planet.”

Going Green is definitely bearing fruit in Berkeley…and in surrounding cities.  The success of this Berkeley Solar Project convinced three more schools in other school districts to sign construction contracts with Eshone Energy this summer.  

Here's a 3-minute video on the process, progress and completion of the project.  Bring on the sun!

Solar Compass Quicknote: Eshone Energy is Expanding

CEO Yoel Hanegbi moves Eshone’s operations to a 7,000 square foot building to accommodate the company’s growing business.

Spring may not be here yet but there’s a definite spring in the steps of Eshone Energy’s  employees as they come through the doors of their new workplace.   Expansive is one word that comes to mind.  Refreshing is another…with so many people concerned about the weakening economy, it’s refreshing to see evidence of – and be a part of - a thriving market.

Yoel Hanegbi, CEO, had revealed the move during his State of the Company luncheon right before the Christmas last December, which sent employees home for the holidays with the reassurance that 2009 promised to be a banner year for Eshone Energy. 

“We have been expanding at a rapid rate,” says Guy Robby, Operations Manager.  “We grew by three times last year and we’re still growing.   This larger office will allow us to work more efficiently and make room for the support personnel we need to achieve our goals.”

The headquarters remains on Walsh Avenue but is more than triple in size of the previous office space.   The new address is:  2334B Walsh Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95051.

About Eshone Energy: Eshone Energy is a solar integrator providing a broad range of services. We work with our clients to streamline the process from planning and funding to design, installation and ongoing system maintenance to ensure they maximize value at every stage. We combine smart design with efficient implementation and innovative technologies to deliver solutions that meet the unique needs of our clients. We specialize in public and commercial sector turnkey, grid-connected solar power systems.

Solar Compass Quicknote: Obama Signs Stimulus Bill

Obama declared Tuesday, after he’d signed the $787 billion stimulus plan, "We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time."

Yahoo! News noted in their news article, “Underscoring energy-related investments in the new law, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden flew separately to Denver where the president signed it at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science before roughly 250 people including alternative energy business leaders. Earlier, the pair examined solar panels on the museum's roof.”

Though a large chunk of the funds will be dedicated to stemming home foreclosures, this stimulus package also puts Obama’s energy goals into motion, including the creation of Green Jobs to help the country step away from foreign oil dependence.

Obama hopes it will create or save 3.5 million jobs as well as extend unemployment benefits.  States will get cash to prevent them from cutting aid for schools and local governments.  Billions are slated for road and bridge construction, mass transit, high-speed rail and national parks.

 

Editor’s Note:  Stay tuned to the category, Obama’s Solar Plans for the latest news as it relates to Renewable Energies.   Ingrid McCleary

Obama Supports California’s Renewable Energy Efforts

Eshone Energy applauds Obama’s recent speech at the White House where President Obama admonishes Washington’s response to California’s Renewable Energy efforts.

 “California has shown bold and bipartisan leadership through its effort to forge 21st-century standards, and over a dozen states have followed its lead,” Obama states.  “But instead of serving as a partner, Washington stood in their way. This refusal to lead risks the creation of a confusing and patchwork set of standards that hurt the environment and the auto industry.”

 

Reversing the effects of Global Warming requires world-wide efforts on the part of the governments and its citizens.  In the United States, while each person, city, state can implement change, patchwork standards are a very real possibility if Washington doesn’t provide the necessary unifying leadership. “The days of Washington dragging its heels are over…We cannot afford to pass the buck or push the burden onto the states,” Obama then went on to say, “that's why I'm directing the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately review the denial of the California waiver request and determine the best way forward. This will help us create incentives to develop new energy that will make us less dependent on the oil that endangers our security, our economy and our planet.”

 

Based on this speech, the Huffington Post, felt that “California was handed a big environmental victory when President Barack Obama endorsed a key part of the state's greenhouse gas reduction plan.  He also gave a public boost to the Golden State, offering a clear sign that liberal-leaning California can expect a friendly relationship with his administration after eight years of clashes with former President George W. Bush.”

 

As expected, this recent news has California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger feeling pumped.  "For too long, Washington has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to the environment," he said.  "Now California finally has a partner and an ally in Washington, in the White House."

 

Below are a few of the latest and greatest Obama led efforts towards renewable energy while keeping an eye out specifically to help put Solar Power in Schools:

• As noted at PV-tech.org on January 29, 2009: “The U.S. House of Representatives last night passed President Obama's $819 billion stimulus bill that looks set to benefit the renewable energy industries. The bill features a provision that will allow projects to convert investment tax credits into direct payments to investors in those projects for the next two years. However, there is some doubt amid this cause for jubilance, as it seems there is a second version of the same bill being passed around the U.S. Senate that omits this provision. While it is claimed that the two versions of the bill will be merged at some point in the future, the Senate will vote on its version of the bill next week and it is a cause for concern for the solar industry that the provision might eventually be phased out of the merged bill…”
• As noted in CNNMoney.com on February 4, 2009, writer Steve Hargreaves asks, A big chunk of the nearly $900 billion economic rescue package may go to alternative energy and environmental projects. Who will benefit, and is it enough? 
  

Here are a few of the grant breakdowns:

• Renewable energy loans - $8 - $10 billion. This funding will allow for stalled projects to continue and new projects to be launched.
• Smart grid - $4.5 billion to go towards a digitized power grid. The money would be used for matching grants to utilities and to set up pilot programs in select cities.
• Large renewable projects - $17 billion for tax credits against prior profits.
• Renewable energy bonds - $1.5 billion – Allows local and state governments to raise money for renewable energy projects by issuing bonds backed by the federal government.
• Renewable energy manufacturing - $1.4 billion - In Senate version only - Tax credits for companies who manufacture renewable energy components such as solar panels.
• Small scale renewables - $1 billion – Removing the cap on the 30% tax credit for businesses investing in solar power.
  

Editor’s Note:  Stay tuned for more details as they are unearthed.  Please feel free to post your comments and questions below and Eshone Energy will do their best to dig up the facts that you need.  Ingrid McCleary