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Questions?
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UPCOMING EVENTS
ENVIROPALOOZA!
Date & Time: Saturday, April 11, 2009, 12 - 4 pm.
Location: IslandWood, 4450 Blakely Avenue NE, Bainbridge Island, WA
Event Description: Join us in this annual celebration of National Environmental Education Week and Earth Day. An afternoon of family fun is plan that focuses on the fascinating subject of garbage, recycling and reduction of waste. Power Trip Energy Corp will have a booth at the Enviro-Fair where environmental issues will be the focus. See photos of homes powered by the sun and talk to solar agent Bob Dash who also owns his own solar home in Indianola. The folks from the Junkraft Project will give a presentation on their research, followed by a musical performance by Seattle singer and songwriter Benjamin Doerr. Art and educational activities are planned throughout the day. Bring a picnic and enjoy the afternoon with you family and friends!
To learn more: http://islandwood.org/events/enviropalooza
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND SOLAR WORKSHOP - "SPIN YOUR METER BACKWARDS"
Date & Time: Saturday, April 18, 2009, 1-2 pm.
Location: Bainbridge Island Commons, 402 Brien Drive, in Winslow
Event Description: Power Trip Energy Corp will present a "Spin Your Meter Backwards" workshop which will feature the benefits of solar photovoltaic systems in the Pacific Northwest. Power Trip Energy President Andy Cochrane will also discuss tax and state incentives now available. This event is free.
To learn more: http://powertripenergy.com/events.htm
JEFFERSON COUNTY HOME SHOW
Date and Time: Saturday & Sunday, May 2 - 3, 2009, 10 am - 4 pm.
Location: Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 4907 Landes Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Event Description: The 2nd annual JeffCo HomeShow has a building, remodeling and landscaping focus. Exhibitor booths and demonstrations offer inspiration for all of your new construction and home improvement plans. Power Trip Energy Corp. will have a booth at this event and will be presenting "Spin Your Meter Backwards" solar presentations at 10:30 am Sat. and Sun.
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STATE OF THE INDUSTRY - ENPHASE MICRO-INVERTERS
Through the end of last year, for our grid-tied pv systems we have exclusively used string inverters, mostly SunnyBoy inverters from SMA, and recently, including PVPowered and Fronius inverters depending on which inverter would ideally match the pv arrays. At the beginning of this year we began evaluating the Enphase micro-inverters. These are small inverters used for each individual module, which should optimize system performance and allow for module-level system monitoring. We have now installed several of these systems and you can view some of the publicly available data thru a link at our website, currently in the "News" section. We have been very happy with this product so far, however they are undergoing a change in manufacturing facilities, and we expect there will be a period of time when the product is unavailable before we resume these installations later this year.
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CHANGES IN FEDERAL AND STATE SOLAR TAX LAWS
The two recent major pieces of legislation out of Washington DC have had some significant changes for the tax credits available for our clients who install grid-tied pv systems. The "Bailout Bill" signed by President Bush in September 2008 removed the $2000 cap for residential projects on the 30% federal tax credit. Uncle Sam will now pay for 30% of your grid-tied pv system. That bill also made that tax credit available to tax payers who are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax; those filers had previously been excluded from taking the credit. This credit may also be carried forward until any unused portions are used up (when the credit exceeds your tax liability.) The "Stimulus Bill" signed in February 2009 by President Obama altered the commercial 30% tax credit significantly by including the option of taking a grant in lieu of the credit. The grant in lieu of the tax credit is not available for homeowners. This program will be administered by jointly by the Departments of Energy and Treasury, and seems to be mired in a bureaucratic rule-making process so the details are not available yet.
The Washington State Sales tax exemption is slated to expire June 30, 2009 and we are disappointed to see it is unlikely to be extended. Unfortunately, the price of solar is about to get 8+% more expensive on July 1st.
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NEW FACES AT POWER TRIP ENERGY
In order to accommodate the increased demand for site evaluations, we have added four new solar field agents. Two of the new agents are existing clients of Power Trip Energy, so they have the experience of owning their own grid tied solar PV systems.
 Michael Barenburg - Whidbey Island and Anacortes, San Juan and Skagit Counties email: Michael@powertripenergy.com
 Bob Dash  Rob Gruye - Jefferson, Clallam and King Counties email:robg@powertripenergy.com
 Brian Watson - Kitsap County email: brianw@powertripenergy.com Adding solar field agents near you is just another way that Power Trip Energy Corp is making solar power more accessible to regular folks in western Washington.
or to speak to a solar agent call us today at
(360) 643-3080
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