DIY Solar Power System
June
Breaking news on rising rnergy costs in California…
From Associated Press : “Calif. regulators approve SoCal Edison rate hikes”
ROSEMEAD, Calif.—California regulators have approved a Southern California Edison Co. rate hike that adds $2 to $4 a month to the average residential bill.
Rosemead-based Edison says rate hikes are necessary to upgrade transmission lines and buy equipment.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved the increases Thursday. The hikes go into effect April 4.
PUC president Michael Peevey says it will add $2 to the average monthly residential bill of $85, but consumer groups estimate it’s closer to $4. Rates for business firms also increase.
Edison estimates 65 percent of its 4.3 million residential customers would see little or no change in their monthly charges because they participate in special programs for low-income families or consume little power.
From Orange County Register : “Regulators approve $2.1 Billion electric rate hike”
State regulators have approved a rate hike that will give Southern California Edison an extra $2.1 billion in revenue over the next three years.
The hike will raise the average residential bill $2 or so, to $85 a month, officials said.
Some details of the proposal changed on the dais, but regulators granted the utility $106 million for employee incentive pay, and $4.4 million to start re-licensing San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, where licenses expire in 2022.
Thursday morning, the California Public Utilities Commission chose the greater increase of two rate hike proposals before it, on a 4-1 vote. Emerging victorious was a slightly-scaled-down plan penned by commission president – and former Southern California Edison executive – Michael Peevey.
The rejected proposal would have given Southern California Edison a smaller increase – about $1.4 billion over three years. That was not enough.
“I cannot support a decision that would leave California hamstrung,” Peevey said. The less-expensive rate hike “would require deferral of vital infrastructure projects and potentially lay off hundreds of workers,” he said.
Commissioner Dian Grueneich was the only one to disagree.
“If ever there was a time to leave these dollars in the hands of Southern California Edison’s customers, now is the time,” said Grueneich.
The smaller increase was robust and prudent, she said. It would have saved ratepayers $765 million over the next three years, while still allowing Southern California Edison to invest in infrastructure.
Grueneich took particular exception to Southern California Edison’s claims that the smaller increase would force it to lay off 1,000 workers. “Edison’s claim defies logic,” she said, suggesting the utility was “crying wolf.”
More excerpts:
“Edison is taking advantage of economic concerns to drive through rate hikes that can only add to the pain,” TURN executive director Mark Toney said in a prepared statement. “The CPUC did all Edison customers a disservice today.”
That sentiment was echoed by the Division of Ratepayer Advocates, the PUC’s independent consumer advocacy arm. This decision gives Edison “excessive revenue increases,” it said in a prepared statement.
“The cumulative amount of the increases and the resulting rise in electric rates will impose an additional financial burden on Edison’s Southern California customers and households during these difficult economic times,” said DRA Deputy Director David Ashuckian in the statement.
For the full story click here .
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May
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After weeks of debate, Democratic leaders in House of Representatives and the Senate have reached an agreement on an economic stimulus package that would pump billions of dollars into ” smart grid ” projects and renewable energy.
The $789 billion package, which now must be approved by both chambers, contains $11 billion for modernizing the U.S. electricity grid and developing so-called smart grids.
Smart grids utilize technology to create more efficient and less costly methods of moving electricity.
Aimed at boosting the nation’s economy and creating jobs, the legislation also provides $6 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects such as wind or solar energy development.
Solar industry representatives said the stimulus bill would add 67,000 jobs to the sector in 2009 and a total of 119,000 jobs over the next two years.
“The solar provisions in the bill will allow us to begin hiring, create growth opportunities for small businesses throughout the country and keep the economic engine going,” Solar Energy Industries Association President Rhone Resch said in a statement.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama stressed the importance of providing tax breaks and loan guarantees for firms that produce solar and wind energy.
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May
The New Solar Homes Partnership Program (NSHP) is part of the $3.3 billion California solar Initiative. In the New
Solar Homes Partnership, a solar home is a highly energy efficient home that uses photovoltaic (or PV) modules to generate electricity from the sun. The program offers help financial incentives to make building new homes with solar easier and more cost effective than ever. Over the next 13 years this program will reward builders with $400 million in solar rebates.
HelioPower’s energy consultant, Tyler Michael, has developed a specialty working to help homeowners take advantage of this program. Working in the San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) utility territory, Tyler was recently quoted in the utility’s NSHP Program Fact Sheet.
Tyler works with homeowners and builders to meet the criteria of NSHP. Tyler has also worked with many “fire survivors” in the San Diego area to help them navigate the program.
“This program requires extensive cooperation between the architect, the contractor, the homeowner, and Heliopower to qualify them for the rebate.. NSHP has a much higher rebate allowance per watt than the normal CSI program,” said Tyler.
It is very important to plan the solar power system at the beginning of home design so that all the requirements can be met for this program. Advance planning is critical to qualify without adding more cost in the future. Upfront planning results in an energy efficient home in the future, which saves money every month on energy bills. “If you wait and install the solar power as a retrofit, you lose up to $1.00/watt in rebate. For an average home that would be about $5000,” said Tyler.
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HelioPower joins other environmentally oriented companies to support the city of Palm Desert’s Bright Ideas Expo , this Saturday, March 14, from 11am to 3pm. The focus of this family oriented & kid-friendly Expo is: Ideas to save money on your energy bills, and living “green.”
The Expo will be held in the Palm Desert Civic Center Park, located at Fred Waring Drive and San Pablo Avenue. HelioPower local solar energy experts, Matt Rifkin and Matt McPherson, will be at Booth 29! Talk to our Palm Desert team about how we can help you reduce or eliminate your electric bill and use the city’s Energy Independence Program to finance the purchase.
For more information about the Palm Desert Energy Independence Program, click here.
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May
Featuring Patrick Conlon of the Palm Desert Energy Independence Program, HelioPower will host a
free Solar Financing Q&A session, Tuesday, March 24 at 6pm. The event will be held in Conference rooms 1 & 2 of the Henderson Community Building, 72559 Hwy 111 Palm Desert, CA 92260-3306. Financing solar power systems for residential and commercial properties will be the focus of the free seminar.
Palm Desert’s Energy Independence Program is a model initiative for cities in California. Based on AB 811 legislation, the program works to support energy efficiency and renewable energy installations financed through city loans which are paid back through property tax assessments. For more information, click here .
“Solar in our community is becoming more and more affordable with the help of Palm Desert’s Assembly Bill 811 which will cover their costs of their system and is paid back though their property taxes at a low interest rate,” said HelioPower Energy Consultant, Matt Rifkin. “We want every single homeowner in the city of Palm Desert to realize the opportunity that their community is offering them,” he explained.
Rifkin and his “Team Desert” partner, Matt McPherson, are hosting the event on behalf of HelioPower. They most recently participated in the “Bright Ideas Expo” held by the city on March 14.
“Team Desert is excited to host the event on March 24 th at the Henderson Building. We are hoping to get a great turnout from Palm Desert residents and commercial building owners,” said Matt McPherson. “HelioPower would like to educate the residents of Palm Desert on the amazing program that their city is providing, which allows residents to install solar for almost no money down. By educating homeowners and business owners we hope to help the city of Palm Desert reach its goal of reducing city wide energy consumption by 30% by 2011.”
Palm Desert continues to participate in pushing initiatives that further solar deployment, not only in their city, but statewide. Area newspaper, The Desert Sun , quoted Mr. Conlon on March 12 concerning his efforts to get AB 432 addressing utility feed in tariffs passed. For K. Kaufman’s article, “Palm Desert eyes new solar plan,” click here .
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