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 Aleiha Wayman, REC Mechanical Foreman, and Bob Hastings, TriMet Agency Architect, soak up the sun next to TriMet's new 253-panel system at the South Terminus of the Green and Yellow MAX lines at SW Jackson Street near Portland State University.
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January 2012
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| THIS NEWSLETTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS: | |
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Thanks to our new and renewing Professional Members and Solar Supporters!
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| Solar Ambassadors |
Sabin Green
Portland, OR
David Sweet's house is part of the Sabin Green cohousing community. The Sweet's PV system provides about 2/3 of their annual electricity needs, and their solar hot water system provides preheated water to a tankless water heater for all their hot water needs and for their radiant in-floor heating system.
>>Click here to read more about David Sweet's solar home in Sabin Green
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| Volunteer for Solar Oregon! |
 Contact Volunteer Coordinator Emily Kraft to find out about upcoming opportunities at emily@solaroregon.org
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Letter from the
President and Executive Director
By Ron "Mac" McDowell, Solar Oregon Board President and Claire Carlson, Executive Director
 | | Photo by Bruce McGregor |
Happy New Year! Last year Solar Oregon spent a great deal of time working on our three-year strategic plan, hiring and training staff, relocating to a new home, and working to ensure that solar energy incentives become available to everyone in Oregon. As we look back, we're proud of all that we have accomplished, but we're even more excited to begin the New Year. Our organization is committed to bringing together citizens, government, business, educational groups, and sustainability advocates to help solve our energy issues and improve the quality of life in our beautiful state.
>>Click here to read more |
Solarize the Future
By David Sweet, Solar Oregon member & Solar Ambassador
Ralph Nader famously remarked, "The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun." But that was before we created the Solarize Portland model that has opened up solar energy to hundreds of Portland households and is about to open it to hundreds more.
Solarize Northeast had its start in the fall of 2009, when my friend Kelly Rodgers and I decided to see if we could replicate the Solarize model that had been created in Southeast Portland. We brought our plan to the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, which took it on, and the result was 204 solar installations in Northeast Portland.
>>Click here to read more >> Click here to visit the Solarize Northeast website |
"Free Tools for Estimating
PV System Output" By Andy Kerr, Solar Oregon member
This article is has been made available thanks to the generosity of Home Power magazine. For more great articles like this, consider subscribing to Home Power magazine!
Thinking of installing a photovoltaic (PV) system
but want to know how much energy and at what time of year a system would produce the most energy? You could contact some vendors and get some proposals to compare.
But if you want to become an educated consumer and have a better idea of your site's solar potential before you start soliciting vendors (or to verify what they told you), these free online tools can estimate your energy production and utility savings.
>>Click here to read more
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"For Aggressive Efficiency,
Choose Passive Solar"
By Norbert M. Lechner
Reprinted courtesy of SolarToday, the magazine of the
Every south-facing window is a basic passive solar space-heating system. The challenge is minimizing heat loss while maximizing solar energy collected throughout the day. 
Most passive solar space-heating systems are of three major types: south windows, also called direct gain; Trombe walls, where south-facing glass covers a mass wall; and sunspaces. A Trombe wall system delivers no light, only heat into the space. Although sunspaces are the least efficient and most expensive, they are popular. Besides their basic construction cost, they are expensive to insulate and shade. The most sustainable sunspaces are those that have no east, west or overhead glazing. In effect, they are south-facing building spaces that are not mechanically heated or cooled. Their south facade would be all glass and may be more than one story high. There is no truth in the idea that solar energy is too expensive to collect. It all depends on the system. >>Click here to read more |
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Solar Oregon Staff Now Officially Too Legit To Quit
And third round of FREE NABCEP PV Entry Level exam classes are now being offered!
Last December, members of the Solar Oregon staff took advantage of the second round of FREE classes, offered by Chemeketa Community College in Salem, which prepare students for the NABCEP PV Entry Level exam. They passed the exam with flying colors, and there's just no living with any of them now. Let's hear it for employers (like Solar Oregon) who encourage employee professional development and continuing education!
The good folks at Chemeketa Community College are now offering a THIRD round of this FREE intro course! 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, and qualifies students to take the NABCEP PV Entry Level exam.
This upcoming round of classes will be held in March.
>>Click here for more information and to register
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 Solar Drinks Returns!
The first Solar Drinks of 2012 will be held at the solar-powered Historic Kenton Firehouse in North Portland. John Patterson will join us to share tales from his solar industry tour of China.
Solar Drinks is a free event, but we are asking for a $5 suggested donation from non-Solar Oregon Members to help us cover the costs of providing this event.
We expect a large turnout for this event, so please RSVP! >>Click here to let us know you're coming! |
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 Upcoming Events |
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