Solar Oregon holds its First Annual Community Dinner   

Solar Oregon is pleased to invite you to join us at A Cena Ristorante for a memorable night of fabulous food and great company. A Cena owner Chris Custer and Chef Gabe Gabreski will be serving a five-course dinner of traditional Sicilian pastas, secondi, and sweets, paired with local wine. A cocktail hour of delicious antipasti and passed wine will proceed dinner.

It will be a night to remember, so be sure to RSVP while spaces last!

 >>Click here to learn more  

Join us for Solar Oregon's 32nd Annual Meeting  and Celebration!  

 

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

12:00 - 4:00 p.m.

World Trade Center, 121 SW Salmon St.  

 

 

 

This is when the Solar Oregon staff and board give thanks to those who have contributed time, energy, money, and love to the solar cause.

 

Check out a fleet of electric cars and talk to their owners. Hear presentations on the different methods of financing solar in Oregon, and the relationship between electric cars, the smart grid, and renewable energy. All Solar Oregon members are then invited to stay and elect new board members and officers for the coming year. 

 

>>Click here to read more

The dream of many of us who have worked in the renewable energy field for years has been to conceive of an energy system that is 100% renewable and sustainable. That dream is now being developed by visionaries and planners throughout the Northwest. The key elements necessary for a 100% renewable grid in Oregon are being developed or are already in place. While we are not talking about a 100% renewable grid by 2020, we are looking at approaching this goal by 2050-2075, which in the time frames of power system planning is "pretty soon." This article is simply a "30,000 foot" introduction to this possibility.

 >>Click here to read more  

Meet Emily Krafft, 

Solar Oregon's new Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator!  

   

 

Emily is excited to be part of the movement for a renewable energy future at Solar Oregon and hopes you all will join her.    

A graduate of Lewis and Clark College and an enthusiastic volunteer, she has enjoyed working with many excellent non-profits including the North Portland Tool Library, Food and Water Watch, and SCRAP. She was previously The ReBuilding Center's Education Coordinator and in-house furniture maker, where she taught scores of teenage girls how to handle power tools.   

>>Click here to learn more about Emily

Solar Now! University Goes to Roseburg 

By Lee Rahr, Residential Solar Program Coordinator, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability 

On September 22nd through the 24th, Solar Now! University hosted its second annual train-the-trainer conference in Roseburg, Oregon. Over fifty participants from Pendleton to Medford attended, representing local governments, non-profits, solar advocates, solar installers, and utilities.  

>>Click here to read more 

Solar Secret Sauce 

By Ron "Mac" McDowell, Solar Oregon Board Member  

Last August, nineteen 6-8th graders and staff from OMSI's summer science camp visited Yoshida Foods International for an "Eco Class" and a tour of the Portland sauce factory. These 10-12 year olds had the opportunity to see first-hand how businesses use solar technology to provide their energy needs, and Solar Oregon was there to share in the experience.    

>>Click here to read more     

Get involved with your solar community!  Learn about Solar Oregon's  education and outreach programs and current volunteer opportunities.  We have a particular need for grantwriters, website gurus, energy educators and solar enthusiasts.   

All are invited to Solar Oregon's Volunteer Orientation:  

Tuesday, October 25, 6:30-8:00 p.m.  

1231 NW Hoyt St, Suite 402, Portland, OR 97209 

If you have questions please email emily@solaroregon.org or call 503-231-5662

 >>Click here to let us know you're coming! 

By Mike Koshmrl and Seth Masia, of The American Solar Energy Society

During August, three homegrown photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers failed and two European manufacturers decommissioned their U.S. production lines. All told, the United States lost 20 percent of its panel manufacturing capacity.   

Example of a Solyndra panel

By far, Solyndra's fall was the loudest. In September 2009, the Fremont, Calif.-based thin-film manufacturer received a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ramp up to a 450-megawatt (MW) factory. Solyndra's was the first section 1705 loan guarantee awarded, and the first to backfire. The bankruptcy triggered a congressional investigation into whether the timetable on Solyndra's loan guarantee application was accelerated. Search warrants were issued, and the FBI raided the spanking-new and shuttered Fab 2 factory and Solyndra executives' homes. 

>>Click here to read more  

More free PV Training!  

Bummed you missed out on it in September? Never fear - the good people at Chemeketa Community College in Salem are offering it again this December!

Chemeketa Community College in Salem is offering a FREE intro course that will prepare students for the NABCEP PV entry level exam. The training provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of the application, design, installation, and operation of grid-tied and stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems.     

 >>Click here to learn more and register for this free course 

Goal Net Zero Interest Group

October 24th, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Basement Lecture Room of the Heritage Building,

3934 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd   

 

As people interested in net zero energy homes we know you like to take charge of your future.  You see a future of soaring energy costs, even energy scarcity, as well as the environmental effects of energy consumption.  So you prepare for this future by creating a net zero energy home--a comfortable home that uses very little energy, and produces few carbon emissions. But what happens when there is a full-scale, prolonged emergency such as a major earthquake, where power and water may be out for weeks or months, and where your physical wellbeing may be at risk?

Alice Lasher, an Emergency Management expert, will be our presenter for this session.  Alice is a professional Firefighter, EMT, and Community Emergency Response trainer. She is dedicated to sustainable living and is an outstanding speaker.  You won't want to miss this.

>>Click here for more information and to RSVP

Solar Drinks returns to Lucky Lab NW!

Tuesday, November 8th

6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Lucky Lab, 1945 NW Quimby Street.

>>Click here for more info and to RSVP