The Solar Reflector   
            Newsletter of the Texas Solar Energy Society     


Renewable
Energy
Roundup

      September 24-26
 
   By Debrah Dubay

  Dedicated to bringing Texans the information they need to make informed decisions, increase sustainability and maintain comfort, the Renewable Energy Roundup is ready to celebrate its 11th year in Fredericksburg's Market Square.
  Read more about the 60+ speakers, 100+ exhibitors and the in depth workshops available.    

Chapter News

CHT Nat

TXSES has chapters in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, North Texas and El Paso. Read what's happening in your neighborhood and get connected to your solar community. Don't forget the ASES Solar Tours in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas/Ft. Worth Oct. 2.

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An umbrella community raising awareness and funds for 70 environmental and conservation minded organizations through workplace donations.


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Chairman's Corner
   John Gardner/TXSES Chairman
   September 2010

    The Renewable Energy Roundup and Green Living Fair is coming to Fredericksburg, September 24th, 25th, and 26th. This fantastic event is cosponsored by TXSES and TREIA. It is amazing to realize this is the 11th year for the fair. It is a tribute to all the volunteers, event staff and the Roundup committee who have worked long and hard to make each year a success. There are no more qualified (and expert) folks in the country than those who organize and run this event. Please thank those you see for their ti me.
   Our family of chapters is getting bigger and a new chapter in the valley will be starting up this fall. They are very enthusiastic about spreading the word about renewables.
    I cannot express how very important it is to the State of Texas to pass legislation favorable to solar energy in the 82nd Legislative Session starting in January 2011. Please do what you can to help make this happen. It is vital that everyone write and/or call their state representative and senator to let them know you support the expanded growth of renewables in Texas.
    Natalie Marquis has returned to the flock as our Executive Director. We are very happy to have her return to sanity and come back home. She will be at the Roundup again this year.
    Thanks for being a friend of the Texas Solar Energy Society-do come visit our booth at Roundup and have a solar friendly fall.

Three TXSES Chapters Will Participate in    the ASES National Solar Tour October 2, 2010

By Sally Stafford

On October 2nd, the American Solar Energy Society opens homes and businesses across the nation for one day to educate the public about renewable energy, energy efficiency, and ultimately, lower utility bills. The Texas Solar Energy Society will be represented by their chapters in Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas/Fort Worth for this self-guided tour. As of Sept. 16, 672 tours have organized for the largest grassroots solar tour in the country (the number of tours climbs daily!). Free to the public, some tours such as Houston's, will offer tour goers printed maps for a small charge.

  Read more about the tours in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas/Ft.Worth.
                                  
      Legislative History in the Making-
   Prodding Texas into the 21st Century
             Clean Energy Economy


By Michael Albrecht

 
Armed with an exhaustive clean energy report issued this summer by former Texas Deputy Comptroller Billy Hamilton, key state lawmakers are not missing a beat from the 2009 legislative session.

   Speaking at a Capitol press conference on August 16, 2010, Sen. Kirk Watson and Rep. Mark Strama unveiled the report, a "new tool" they say will convince fellow lawmakers to finally pass renewable energy legislation this coming session. Indeed, one of the key renewable bills last session, Sen. Troy Fraser's SB 545, won Senate approval by 26-4, only to die on the House floor in the final days of the session. Meanwhile, other states and countries are moving ahead with their own renewable energy plans, leaving Texas, for the time being, in the dust.
        
    Read more about the the push for solar and renewable incentives in the upcoming legislative session and how a PUC ruling could affect the process.                                   
          El Paso High School Students Create             Delta Solar and Receive TXSES Grant

By Duncan Schulte

Delta Solar was founded by a group of friends and students as a part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas. The rigorous diploma program requires a Community Action Service (CAS) project. Our CAS project was started with the goal of being a collaborative community initiative seeking to educate the public about the processes, applications, and viability of solar energy. Living in the "Sun City," we felt we could reach out to people and hopefully educate and/or change (hence the Delta) their minds about what this solar energy hype is all about.
   Read more about these outstanding solar citizens and their efforts to guide El Paso toward a clean energy future.
      UT Engineering Student is Recipient of   TXSES Scholarship

Edited by Lucy Stolzenburg

Stephanie Matyas, a senior engineering student at UT Austin, is the recipient of a $1500 scholarship from TXSES, in honor of founding member Dr. Gary Vliet. An honors student with numerous awards and internships to her credit, she became interested in renewable energy earlier this year while studying at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. While in Stockholm, she took courses in Applied Heat and Power Technology, Advanced Renewable Technology, and Energy Management.
   Read moreabout the renewable energy projects Stephanie participated in while studying in Sweden this year and her plans for the future.

       
              The Solar Reflector is a publication of TXSES

 Executive Director - Natalie Marquis
 Chairman - John Gardener
 Editor - Lucy Stolzenburg
 Copy Editor - Susan Tedter

The Texas Solar Energy Society, a 501 (c) (3), was founded in 1976 as a non-profit organization created to increase awareness for the potential of solar and other renewable energy applications and to promote the wise use of sustainable and non-polluting resources.
                       
TXSES is a chapter of the American Solar Energy Society, shining light on the solution since 1954.