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Upcoming Events:
August 8-10: Northeast Organic Farmers' Association Summer Conference (Amherst, MA) from August 8-10.
More details
September 13: Hudson Crossing Festival (Saratoga Springs, NY) Join us at Champlain Canal Lock 5 Island for Hudson Crossing Fest 2008!
October 10-12 : One Thing Conservation Expo ( Hartford CT) more details
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Staff News: |
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*CONGRATULATIONS to Ben & Nicole Swanson who were married in Newport, RI in June. Ben manages Sales in the Rhode Island office.
*THANK YOU and best of luck to summer intern Kate Goldstein! Kate is a recent Brown University graduate and is on her way to attend grad school at the University of Texas at Austin where she will be studying Engineering.
*GREAT JOB to Mark Albright and Phil Smith (Springfield, MA office) who both passed the PV-1 licensing exam.
*WELL DONE to Ray Furse (Warren, CT office) who presented at the Green Building Seminar in Salisbury, CT on July 19th and...
*Liz Argo (Cape Cod SolarWrights) who presented at New England Green Building, Cornwell Lumber in Provincetown MA on July 24. |
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SolarWrights has been voted among Rhode Island's "Best Places to Work" by the Providence Business News for the second year in a row. Read More | |
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Featured Project: Bernard Farm |
The sun shines on this Sherborn, MA riding stable and apple farm. This 38kW/DC/Peak grid-connected photovoltaic system uses 150 Kyocera KD205GX-LP modules on the riding stable and 42 KD 180GX-LP modules on the apple barn. The project also includes Solectria inverters and a Fat Spaniel automated data acquisition center.
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SolarWrights has acquired Connecticut's Sunsearch LLC |
Solarwrights is pleased to announce the acquisition of Sunsearch LLC, a solar energy company based in Guilford, Connecticut.
Sunsearch has been designing, installing,and servicing solar systems since 1975 throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and their reputation for quality craftsmanship and porfessional expertise in the areas of solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies is recognized nationwide.
"This acquisition will allow SolarWrights to expand our geographic location into the southwest corner of Connecticut and further strengthen our solar thermal division," Bob Chew, founder and president of SolarWrights, said in a statement. Sunsearch founder Everett Barber, who has joined SolarWrights as its chief solar-thermal engineer, "is well-respected, and an established name in the solar industry," Chew said. "We are particularly impressed with his expertise in the field of solar-thermal technology."
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Massachusetts starts a
'Green Era' |
Source: The Boston Globe, 7/3/08
Governor Deval Patrick has signed a landmark energy bill that does away with long-standing obstacles to building renewable power projects in Massachusetts and making homes and businesses more energy efficient.
The Green Communities Act was hailed by environmentalists as among the most innovative efforts in the nation to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to encourage use of clean technologies that don't contribute to global warming.
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SolarWrights and Babson College: Partners in Wind |
Babson College has become the first college in the greater Boston area to utilize wind power through an on-campus installation, joining the growing number of US colleges and universities that have chosen to develop their commitment to sustainable business practices through the use of renewable energy technologies.
The college's decision to complete the installation was the result of a proposal spearheaded by a team of three graduate students (Rob Banagale-M'09, Jonah Eidus-M'09 and Clinton White, M'08) and introduced through the Babson Energy and Environmental Club (BEEC), a student-led organization at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.
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Massachusetts enacts new solar, net-metering legislation |
Source: SEBANE On July 2, 2008, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed the "Green Communities Act," SB 2768, a far-reaching piece of energy legislation.
Key solar provisions in the Act include:
Net Metering. Section 78 of the Act makes several changes to the net metering law for solar and wind generating facilities.
The size of facilities eligible for full net metering increases from 60 kW to 1 MW. The Act also establishes partial net metering (net metering for all charges except utility distribution charges) for facilities between 1 MW and 2 MW.
The net metering carry-over period changes from monthly to perpetual: net metering credits may be carried over from month to month indefinitely at the full retail rate.
The owner of a net metering facility may direct that its net metering credits be applied to other customers. This means that net metering credits generated by a customer in one location may be used to reduce the bill of another customer (or another utility account of the same customer) at a different location.
The aggregated capacity of net metering within each electric utility service territory is capped at 1% of the company's peak load.
The Department of Public Utilities is directed to issue regulations to implement the new net metering provisions.
On-Site Generation Carve Out in the Renewable Portfolio Standard. Section 32 of the Act creates a carve-out for on-site renewables in the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The RPS requires electricity suppliers to obtain a minimum percentage of the electricity they supply from renewable generation. Until now, however, suppliers could use any renewable generation to meet their RPS obligations. Accordingly, they relied on the lowest cost renewables, primarily biomass and utility-scale wind. As a result, the RPS did little to help PV. The new provision requires electricity suppliers to meet a percentage of their RPS obligations with energy from on-site renewables, such as PV. The statute directs the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to set that minimum percentage. The statute also directs DOER to establish an Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) rate for the on-site requirement. The ACP is the fee electricity suppliers pay if they have not secured generation to meet their RPS obligations. The on-site generation requirement will take effect once DOER establishes the minimum percentage and the ACP rate.
Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust. Section 49 creates a new governing board for the Renewable Energy Trust. Although the Trust will still reside within the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), it will no longer be governed by the MTC board.
Utility Ownership of Solar. Section 58 allows each electric utility to own up to 50 MW of solar generation. Utilities may recover the costs of solar generation from ratepayers if they obtain approval from the Department of Public Utilities.
Utility Rate Design. Section 78 of the Act requires the Department of Public Utilities to consider the potential impact on PV and other forms of on-site generation when it designs utility rates.
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Sanders challenges Vermont solar opponents |
Source: The Nation, 7/20/08
A truly independent voice in the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has been a leader in pushing the Democratic Congress in a progressive direction - and energy policy is no exception.
Sanders challenged the myth that a state like Vermont can't produce solar energy - and it's important to differentiate between solar thermal plants and photovoltaic panels. "The country that is probably leading the world in photovoltaics I believe is Germany," Sen. Sanders said. "Germany's solar exposure is worse than Vermont's. It is a technology that can be used in 50 states. Photovoltaics can work, and it's important to know that because [the notion that it can't] is a myth."
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Additional $2.5M allocated for solar at Connecticut affordable housing developments |
Source: RenewableEnergyWorld.com, 7/9/08 The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) board has announced authorization for an additional $2.5 million for CCEF's Affordable Housing Initiative. The Affordable Housing Initiative is an incentive program that helps make solar photovoltaic (PV) installations an attractive, affordable option for developers of both small and large-scale affordable housing projects.
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RI Governor vetoes renewable energy bill |
Source: Forbes Magazine, 6/27/08
RI Gov. Don Carcieri vetoed a bill that would force the state's major power company to buy renewable energy for 10 years at a time, a requirement that lawmakers approved to stimulate investment in wind turbines and solar power projects.
The proposal was supposed to fix a problem that renewable power advocates say blocks the construction of major green energy projects here: a lack of large customers willing to buy the power. Without a dedicated buyer, banks and investors will not fund the projects.
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