Stephen Lacey wrote for Climate Progress 12 Feb 2012,
More than 68% of New European Electricity Capacity Came From Wind and Solar in 2011,
That’s almost a 10-fold increase over deployment in 2000, when only 3.5 GW of renewable energy projects were installed. Last year, 32 GW of renewables — mostly wind and solar — were deployed across European countries.If Europe can change its energy strategy that quickly, so can we.
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PS: Owed to William House.
Georgia law says you can’t do that.Say you own a coffee shop. You’d like to install solar panels on your roof but can’t afford them. A company offers to install and lease you the equipment, provided you sign a long-term contract. The company will sell you energy at a cheaper rate than you already pay Georgia Power. No longer would you be so susceptible to spikes in electricity prices. Nor would your money be helping to support burning coal or nuclear power.
That’s why SB 401 is in the Georgia Senate. It’s
a common-sense measure that would put people to work, create a new sector in Georgia’s economy, and promote clean energy. In addition, the legislation would help shield people from increases in electricity rates, which, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, have risen nearly 50 percent over the last seven years.Why would Georgia Power not like that? Continue reading
Drs Sidney Smith and Pat Godbey not only have started Tabby Power, which sells solar power directly to customers. They also have an outfit called Lower Rates for Customers, which is about generating solar power in one place and selling it in another. There are various legal impediments to doing that.
Charlie Harper wrote for the Courier-Herald and Peach Pundit 9 February 2012, A Little Sunshine On A Battle To Expand Renewable Energy,
Essentially, customers with solar panels meter not only power comingHere are the details and text of SB 401. It has six cosponsors:into their house from the existing grid, but also the amount of power returned to the grid. The generating company — Georgia Power in most of the state — is required to buy surplus power back based on their state granted regulated monopoly status. Currently, projects are limited in size to 10 Kw for residential customers and 100 Kw for business customers. SB 401 removes these caps.
More intricate details of the bill provide for private ownership of
these systems, as opposed to current law which requires the owner of the property to also own the attached grids. This will allow for manufacturers of solar grids or interested third parties to enter into financing or lease agreements which pay for the systems long term out of cost savings for the customer. By allowing for these arrangements, many customers can access these systems with no money up front, as opposed to the high initial capital costs which would take years to recover.
You can help, by signing this petition.
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The new units turn in winds of as little as eight miles an hour, and provide alternating current to operate readily-available household appliances.Hm, we often have 8 MPH winds even in south Georgia….
Here’s the video:
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PS: Owed to Scout Smith.
Yesterday, the Driftaway Cafe started serving up with solar.
WJCL and WTGS wrote yesterday, Solar Power Surges in Savannah
A ground breaking project is underway in the coastal empire that harnesses the power of the sun and hopes to pave the way for the future of clean energy. One main part of this project is for everyone to be able to supply their own power.Cheaper, cleaner, and accessible: that’s good business sense!Clean, sustainable energy has been a hot topic for some time now, especially, energy that doesn’t send our money overseas.
“We need to develop every available source of American energy,” says President Obama.
The problem is that until now alternate sources have been out of reach or too expensive for most of us.
“It’s very important we learn how to harness our own power and how we structure that today is important for future generations,” says Dr. Sidney Smith, co-owner of Lower rates for Customers.
“Lower Rates for Customers” is hoping to do just that. The plan is to make solar power the way of the future and affordable for everyone. They have an all encompassing plan that can have anyone generating their own electricity within 45 days, even if you don’t have the land to put up solar panels.
“We provide you with the place, the hook up, the technology and Georgia power will send you a check to supplement your power bill,” says Dr. Pat Godbey, co-owner of Tabby Power.
Business like the Driftaway Cafe jumped on the chance to get involved.
“Their financial model for the future just struck a nerve with me and I wanted to be a part of it,” says Driftaway owner, Robyn Quattlebaum.
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Matthew McDermott wrote for Treehugger 6 January 2011, Over Half of Germany’s Renewable Energy Owned By Citizens & Farmers, Not Utility Companies
Germany’s promotion of renewable energy rightly gets singled out forNot only is that more distributed, but it also may be a faster way to get solar deployed:its effectiveness, most often by me as an example of how to do things well versus the fits and starts method of promotion common in the US. Over at Wind-Works, Paul Gipe points out another interesting facet of the German renewable energy saga: 51% of all renewable energy in Germany is owned by individual citizens or farms, totaling $100 billion worth of private investment in clean energy.
Breaking that down into solar power and wind power, 50% of Germany’s solar PV is owned by individuals and farms, while 54% of its wind power is held by the same groups.
In total there’s roughly 17 GW of solar PV installed in Germany—versus roughly 3.6 GW in the US (based on SEIA’s figures for new installations though the third quarter of 2011 plus the 2.6 GW installed going into the year).Nothing prevents Georgia Power or Colquitt Electric or any of the other power companies operating in Georgia from leading the solar pack. For example, power companies concerned that solar doesn’t produce at night could still deploy solar peak load generation, thus dispensing with natural gas peak load generation.Remember, Germany now produces slightly over 20% of all its electricity from renewable sources.
While the power companies are not leading, private organizations such as Tabby Solar, founded by a pair of doctors, are forging ahead anyway.
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Mary Carr Mayle wrote for SavannahNow 27 September 2011, Solar firm establishes energy trust
Two area doctors, co-owners of the Tabby Power Solar Co. in BullochInteresting angle, that: they’re not directly selling the power to the county; they’re using some of their income to buy bonds for the county. And they’re inviting others to do the same:County, have formed the Georgia Energy Trust Fund to direct part of their company’s proceeds to the county.
And, while it will take more than a few generations – some 350 years, in fact – Savannah dermatologist Dr. Sidney P. Smith and Brunswick pathologist Dr. Pat Godbey hope the trust fund will eventually generate enough money to pay all of Bulloch County’s budget and create a prototype other rural Georgia counties can follow.
Initially, the doctors are donating 1.5 percent of the gross receipts from their six-acre solar farm in Pembroke to the trust, which will invest in state bonds for the county. The county will then receive half of the earned interest, with the other half reinvested for the county.
Other county solar installations, both private and public, will be able to contribute to the fund, he said.Will Georgia Power (or somebody) sue? We’ll see!
And they didn’t wait for North Carolina or New Jersey to do it first:
Smith believes the Georgia Energy Trust is the first trust fund of its kind in the country.Sounds like a plan to me!“It will lead to financial independence in the counties in which it is enacted.”
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More about those public comments:The Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP) addresses Vermont’s energy future for electricity, thermal energy, transportation, and land use. This document represents the efforts of numerous state agencies and departments, and input from stakeholders and citizens who shared their insights and knowledge on energy issues over the past ten months. The plan can be downloaded from this website or may be viewed at the Department of Public Service, 112 State Street, Montpelier during regular business hours.
The release of the Final CEP 2011 includes the CEP Public Involvement Report II (above). This document summarizes the written comments received during the second public comment period, between the release of the CEP Public Review Draft (CEP) on September 13, 2011 and the close of the public comment period on November 4, 2011. Over 1,380 written comments were received via email, the Comprehensive Energy Plan website, and hard copy between July 15 and November 4. Approximately 350 stakeholder groups, including municipal, business, and non-profit entities, submitted comments. Over 830 form-letter comments were signed and submitted by members of at least three different organizations. Over 200 comments were submitted by individual members of the general public.Real input from the entire state. Imagine that!
Vermont’s population is about 622,000, or the size of a single Congressional district, so maybe it’s easier for them than for Georgia. On the other hand, maybe a regional south Georgia energy policy, or even a county policy, would be possible.
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Elizabeth Shogren wrote for NPR today,
EPA To Unveil Stricter Rules For Power Plants.
She described new rules for coal plants EPA is going to release in the next
few weeks, including controls on mercury, “arsenic, acid gases and other pollutants.”
Southern Company doesn’t like that.
“It’s physically impossible to build the controls, the generation, theOther power companies see no problem: Continue readingtransmission and the pipelines needed in three years,” says Anthony Topazi, chief operating officer for Southern Company, which provides electricity to nearly 4 million homes and hundreds of thousands of businesses in the Southeast.
Topazi says electricity rates will go up, putting marginal companies out of business. He says unless his company gets six years, it will not be able to keep the lights on.
“We will experience rolling blackouts or rationing power if we don’t have simply the time to comply,” Topazi says.
Press release from GreenLaw, 6 December 2011, Longleaf Defeat Marks End to Nation’s Longest Running Fight Against Coal Plant: Agreement Marks Milestone of 160 Coal Plants Canceled,
The country’s longest-running campaign against construction of a newContinue readingcoal plant ended today as LS Power, a New Jersey-based power company, announced that it will cancel plans to build the Longleaf Energy Station in Blakely, GA. Sierra Club, Friends of the Chattahoochee and GreenLaw have been organizing against the Longleaf coal plant since it was first proposed in 2001. This victory comes as part of a legal agreement between LS Power and Sierra Club.
This victory marks the 160th proposed coal plant canceled since Sierra Club launched its Beyond Coal campaign in 2005. This victory is particularly noteworthy because the struggle lasted for a decade and involved numerous hearings and appeals, and sustained local opposition by hundreds of Georgia residents. Longleaf was one of the very first plants proposed when, in 2001, the coal industry attempted to block clean energy development by building more than 150 new coal plants across the US, a move which would have effectively locked the nation into dependence on coal-fired electricity for the foreseeable future. Longleaf was one of the last remaining new coal projects proposed anywhere in the United States, counting 160 proposals that have now been defeated or abandoned in the past decade.
Several times over the past decade it looked like LS Power would move