Green Collar Living in the Mountain State

Winter Solar / 2012 Waiting for Winter

2012-01-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

Some winters are better for skiing and others are better for solar.

Yesterday found me wearing shorts and working in the garden while our home's PV system pushed more than 800-watts back to the grid. The weather has been so mild and sunny that we even have a Lenten Rose budding in the garden.

White Grass Ski Touring Center in January of last year.

The lack of snow has been bedeviling to the friends and neighbors who look forward to the season each year. It has been hard on the folks who make a living from tourism and winter sports here in Tucker County. I've added some photos from the last couple of winters - good times.

Skiied into this off-grid home to set the solar tracking system upright so that I could brush snow off . This must have been in 2010 when snow started in December and didn't quit until sometime in March.

The back forty in 2010

The way back forty in 2011

Winter days are shorter for sure, but when you do have a beautiful cold sunny day you can see record peak power production from a solar PV system. Cold temps conspire with added reflectance from snow and these two factors can cause production numbers to be surprisingly good despite shorter days (these are also the days when sunblock is a must if you are out in the snow!).

If you're missing skiing you can take some comfort from the following YouTube segment. It's about 5 minutes long and has nothing to do with photovoltaics, but it is imaginative and may cause your jaw to hit the floor. Enjoy. Think Snow!

New Net Meters for First Energy Customers

2011-11-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

Customer-generator n. Utility jargon for your neighbors with solar on the roof

Seen the new net meters? New and old net metering customers in First Energy's MonPower and Potomac Edison service areas of West Virginia and Maryland are being fitted with improved metering equipment to help track customer generated power as it is pushed back onto the grid.

New net meter for a First Energy customer (note, the code is 01 and the reading is 00000 kWh). Being brand new it has not had time to record any energy, but the small arrow below the 01 points to the right indicating that energy is moving from the utility grid to the home.

The new meters began to appear in July. I've been asked by several customers about the different flashing codes on the new meters. The First Energy folks have been getting a lot of calls too. To help their customers get a handle on reading the new net meter they produced a nice pdf which you can view here. The pdf has illustrations and explanations for what the meter is measuring and reporting.

I checked my new net meter a couple of days after it was installed this past summer. It flashed through three separate screens. Each screen references a code and displays a reading (in kWh). Here's what the meter read and what it means:

Code	Reading	Meaning
01	4	Net kWh that I owe money for (14-10 = 4 kWh)
04	14	Total kWh that my home has pulled in from the utility grid (14 kWh)
40	10	Total kWh that my solar pushed back onto the utility grid (10 kWh)

Another cool aspect to these meters is the dial emulator which is really an arrow that displays at the bottom of each meter screen demonstrating the direction that power is presently traveling. As you look at your net meter the arrow will point to the right if you are pulling in power from the utility grid. It will point to the left if you are pushing power back. The arrow will display more or less quickly depending on the amount of power that is running through the meter. The old dial-style mechanical meters would spin to the right or left, faster or slower, in a similar fashion.

Solar Tracking Trio

2011-09-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

What about those solar things that follow the sun.......................? I get asked about tracking systems from time to time. Above is a fantastic time-lapse video of a solar PV system that relies on three dual-axis Wattsun trackers. PIMBY Energy installed this system for Richard and Susan back in the fall of 2009. Their property has great solar exposure which the tracking motors help to improve by moving the PV panels so that they are directly facing the sun. The upshot is that the panels are able to produce 22% more power than they would without tracking.

Below are a few additional photos of the installation. All the different personalities and talents that helped out on the project kept the mood light and made for a great experience.

Solar in West Virginia: Photon Magazine Article

2011-07-18T04:27:00.000-07:00

Photon Magazine sent a writer and photographer out to the Mountain State last January to gather stories about the solar market in West Virginia. Photon is an international magazine read by professionals who deal in all facets of the solar industry including; solar panel manufacturers, utility-scale project developers, financiers, and installation experts. The article has just come out in print edition and it highlights three solar businesses in WV as well as a sampling of their customers.

Mike, from Photon Magazine, discovers the power of poultry at Taproot Farm in Capon Bridge, WV. Mike and photographer, Frederic, saw some stiff January temps in their multi-day tour of the state.

Beth and Tim, owners of Taproot Farm and customers of PIMBY Energy, pose here for one of the photos that appeared the magazine's article on the solar industry in West Virginia.

Solar Power Featured at The West Virginia Sustainable Fair in Elkins this Month

2011-04-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

Solar Arrives at Davis & Elkins College

2011-03-04T06:25:00.000-08:00

Do you know this gazebo? This gazebo is a familiar feature to anyone who has spent time on the campus of Davis & Elkins College. My friends who went to school at D&E remember the gazebo by Tolstead Lake as a common meeting place.

The student organization GreenWorks! just finished working with PIMBY Energy to add lighting to the interior of the gazebo to extend its use beyond daylight hours. The dusk-to-dawn lighting system uses low-profile LED strips which consume about 36-watts of power combined. The light is warm, but not glaring.

GreenWorks! received a grant to install the lighting system which is powered by an 80W PV (solar) panel. The students assembled the components in early February, but we had to wait until yesterday for weather that would allow for the completion of the installation.

Professor Russ McClain, Director of the Center for Sustainability Studies, sponsors the GreenWorks! group and spent more than his fair time with a shovel at yesterday's install. Russ and Bethany are pictured above with the PV panel and the electronics that control the lighting.

One of the hardest parts of the install involved the transplanting of an azalea. Barry and Russ spent almost two hours carefully digging and replanting it.

February weather proved too cold and snowy for outside work. Instead, the GreenWorks! group (Jennifer, Matt, and Bonnie) assembled the electronics cabinet and mounted the PV panel to the cabinet rack.

The final product.......Instead of disappearing at dusk the gazebo now looks like a welcoming place. I really enjoyed this project. Most of my work involves powering homes or businesses with solar - this is the first gazebo that I have had the opportunity to electrify!

Thanks so much to all who helped to make it a good experience - Russ, Bonnie, Jennifer, The New Guy, Matt, David, Bethany, Bob, Barry.

Alternative Energy - West Virginia Small Farms Conference 2011

2011-02-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

Solar, Wind, Super-Insulating and Geothermal will be topics at the West Virginia Small Farms Conference this February 17.

The 2011 WV Small Farms Conference will be held at the Lakeview Resort & Conference Center outside of Morgantown, WV. The Alternative Energy workshop on Thursday includes a full day of presentations capped off with a field trip to visit a net-zero energy home that uses power from solar and wind as well as many green building materials.

Alternative Energy Agenda – February 17, 2011

WV Small Farms Conference – Morgantown, WV

8:00 – 9:30 Living Off the Grid in West Virginia (Panel Presentation)

Off-grid Homeowners: Sonny and Linda Jobe, Tom Berlin, Jim Sconyers

Ever think about what life would be like without a utility bill? Hear about what it takes to live off-grid from folks who live that lifestyle right here in West Virginia. This panel discussion will touch on various aspects of off-grid living including; appliance selection, solar power, house design, generators, and wind energy.

9:30 – 9:45 Break

9:45 – 11:00 Harvesting Solar Energy; Your Solar Investment

Mountain View Solar & Wind

Did you know that investing in a solar power system yields a higher rate of return than most traditional investments? Come hear how harvesting solar energy can reduce your dependence on fossil fuels and produce a return on investment that you can brag about to the neighbors.

11:00 – 12:15 Geothermal Heating and Cooling in the Mountain State

Dan Halleran

Heating and cooling a home can be costly. Geothermal offers a solution to help take the sting out of this persistent expense. Dan Halleran, a 30-year veteran of the geothermal industry, will talk about the success of geothermal systems and what consumers need to know to make a good decision about whether geothermal is right for their home.

12:15 – 2:00 Lunch

2:00 – 3:15 Building the Net-Zero Energy Home

Berkeley Home Technologies

New home construction can be tailored to create a comfortable living space that enjoys few utility bills and the surety that power will always be available. Learn about the building design, materials, appliances, and power sources for one Net-Zero Energy home in the Morgantown, WV area. The featured home will be the focus of the afternoon field trip at 3:30.

3:30 – 5:30 Field Trip to Net-Zero Home

Registration for the Thursday workshop costs $50. You can register at the conference. Click here for more information about the other conference workshops, registration, lodging.

The Book Exchange Hosts the Largest Solar Installation in West Virginia

2010-11-18T04:14:00.000-08:00

The Book Exchange, Inc. of Morgantown, WV hosts the largest PV (solar electric) system in the state. The system harvests power from the sun using a group of fifty-two solar panels mounted to the roof of the Evansdale store location.

Most students hurrying in to grab a textbook, school supplies, or Mountaineers sweatshirt will overlook the addition to the roof – that’s the beauty of a PV system. By nature, PV systems are inconspicuous. They operate silently, and with no moving parts, can easily blend into the cityscape.

The Book Exchange is a long established family business which places a strong emphasis on customer service and WVU school spirit. Its place in the Morgantown community is noteworthy not only for the retail services to students and alumni, but also for its commitment to community life and culture in the city.

The Fleming family, who owns the business, is leading by example. Not only is the 12-kW PV array the largest in the state, it is also the only PV system installed on a commercial building in all of Morgantown. The decision to forge ahead with this project reflects the Fleming’s desire to be good stewards of the environment, responsible corporate citizens, and savvy business owners.

PIMBY Energy designed and installed the PV system. Allegheny Power made the final interconnection on August 13, 2010. The fifty-two PV panels were manufactured in Oregon by SolarWorld which is the largest PV manufacturer in the U.S. The system is connected to the grid for net metering and does not use any batteries. Annually, the system produces about 10% of the store’s energy demand and it offsets the generation of more than eleven tons of CO₂ gas emissions. Online production monitoring was enabled on November 16, 2010.

Financial incentives, including a 30% federal tax credit and accelerated depreciation, coupled with an emerging Renewable Energy Credit market allow for an expected payback in just over seven years. Once paid off, the system is forecasted to provide more than $4,000 each year in income. That works out to an ROI of 14% - a return that few market investments can match.

The Book Exchange at 342 Patteson Drive in Evansdale next to Kroger

Jonathan and a short stack of the 230-watt modules used on the Book Exchange. The white surface of the roof makes for a bright work site (think snow). I'm curious to see if the reflective nature of the roof improves the expected output of the PV panels.

Anita, Jonathan, and I following the final wiring of the PV system late last May

Installation of the last of fifty-two 230-watt SolarWorld modules

Chris modeling the two 6-kW SMA inverters. Power production from the inverters is available online through the SunnyPortal.

Dave Bartrug (Allegheny Power) and I at the system commissioning last August

A long lists of thanks is in order for all the people who helped bring this project to light (pun intended and cerainly misused).

Matt, John, Dolores, Amanda and all of the Book Exchange staff
Kroger at Evansdale
City of Morgantown
Allegheny Power
Dana Berrry of Berry's Electrical Services (an outstanding electrician - if you need an electrician in the Morgantown, WV area these are the guys to call 304-599-7213)
H&H Hardware (for all of the heavy lifting and all the help with orders)
The late John Fleming (who introduced me to a wonderful community of friends and family)

Fall Install of an 8.6-kW Solar Array in Hampshire County, West Virginia

2010-11-15T17:14:00.000-08:00

We had beautiful weather last week (and a beautiful place to work). This is an 8.6-kW PV array at Dovedale Farm in Hampshire County, West Virginia. The farm is celebrating its centennial this year.

In the photo, Chris and Rob are making the wire connections between the PV panels that make up the second of three rows.

Chipper Answers Your Prius Questions

2010-11-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

Q:

How much solar electricity can you stuff into a Prius and still drive it safely?

A:

1170 watts:

Thanks Chip!!

WDTV News Coverage "Couple Builds Energy Efficient Home in Preston County"

2010-10-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

Karilynn Galiotos from WDTV Channel 5 spent a few hours at last weekend's Open House in Hazelton, West Virginia. She compiled a really nice piece for the news channel complete with video of the solar, wind turbine, and interviews with the owners and the general contractor. You can read a transcript on the WDTV website.

A Great Home and a Great Day for an Open House

2010-10-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Great weather and fantastic attendance marked the October 23 Open House event at Karen and Larry's home near Hazelton, WV. With the sun shining and the wind blowing the electric meter was racing backward.

There was a lot of interest in the solar thermal system which heats the home and also provides the domestic hot water. Jonathan Sherman from Berkeley Home Technologies acted as the GC on the construction of the house and was available for questions regarding all aspects of the home's construction and operation.

One aspect of the home that I really enjoyed seeing was the wide use of LED lighting. Here is an example of some can-style recessed LED lighting in one of the rooms. LEDs were also in use in closets, under counters and as cove lighting in the main sitting room. The electricity making these lights glow is all coming from the home's 2.7kW PV array and 2.5kW wind turbine. PIMBY Energy installed the hybrid wind and solar electric system which is grid-tied for net metering and also has battery-backup.

The house looked great inside and out. Would you believe that those countertops are made from recycled paper!?

A BIG thanks to Mr BIG for the use of this and several other nice shots!

Solar and Wind Power on Display in Hazelton, West Virginia - Oct. 23, 2010

2010-10-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

Karen and Larry are inviting the world to come visit on October 23, 2010 from 1PM - 4PM.

Curious about.........?

Solar Thermal, Solar Electric (PV), Wind Power, ICF Blocks, SIP Panels, Spray Foam Insulating, Radiant Heating, LED Lighting, Net Metering, Passive Solar, Energy Efficient Appliances, Battery-backup, etc…

Meet the owners of the Clister/Findley residence and talk with the contractors who designed and constructed this ultra efficient dwelling near Hazelton, West Virginia.

The Open House event is scheduled from 1PM to 4PM on Saturday October 23, 2010. Hazelton, West Virginia is close to Morgantown, Clarksburg, Fairmont, Kingwood and the rest of God's green acre in the beautiful north central part of the Mountain State. This is a showpiece of some of the best existing and emerging building technologies - it is well worth the drive!

Directions to the Open House

From US 68

· Take the Hazelton exit (exit 29)

· Go south for ~3 miles

· Turn Right onto Cherry Grove Road

· Go ~ 1 mile

· Turn Right onto Bolyard Road (look for Open House/Solar Tour Signs)

· Go 0.5 mile and you're there (can't miss it!)

Questions? (304) 704-5943

Talkin' Solar - Audio From Summer '09 Solar Tour of Davis and Thomas, West Virginia

2010-10-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Chipper (Mr BIG) and I with a mutual friend (Winter 2010 - Thomas, WV)

Mr BIG has compiled audio from a tour that we took back in the Summer of 2009 where we looked at a couple of solar (PV) installations in Davis and Thomas, West Virginia. These installations are both grid-tie or net metering jobs. The conversation ranges from energy use to system sizing and net metering requirements. I have a hard time listening to myself talk and so I feel very grateful to Chipper/Mr BIG for taking the time to not only record, but also edit the audio and include some stills to help illustrate what we were talking about.

Take a look & listen:

The West Virginia Solar Tour 2010 (Oct 2)

2010-09-28T05:03:00.000-07:00

The American Solar for Energy Society helps local organizations and homeowners publicize an annual tour of homes with solar electric (PV) and solar hot water systems. More than 3,000 communities across the U.S. will host solar tours on Saturday October 2.

A 52-panel PV array at the Book Exchange. This is one of the solar electric (PV) projects that will be on the Morgantown Solar Tour.

This year ASES Nationa Solar Tour sites include a solar hot water system in Naoma, West Virginia as well as several solar electric and solar hot water systems in Morgantown, West Virginia. These tours give the public a chance to see renewable energy technology at work within their own community.

To learn more about the Naoma, West Virginia solar tour contact:

Cathy Kunkle @ 304-854-2182

http://nationalsolartour.org/content/solar-power-open-house

To learn more about the Morgantown, West Virginia solar tour contact:

John Garlow @ 304-276-3655

http://nationalsolartour.org/content/morgantown-solar-tour
http://www.morgantowngreenteam.org/articles/2010_solar_tour_brochure.pdf

Wind Turbine in Highland County, VA

2010-07-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

I was over in Highland County today and was again reminded about how truly beautiful that area is. The following video shows a 2.5kW turbine that is located on the flank of Snowy Mountain. You can read more about this turbine by clicking here.

The video shows the turbine coming to life and then reaching a fairly good speed. It is a nice progression and the video shows the same machine from a couple of angles. The machine weight is a bit more than 300 lbs. It is an ARE110 with a blade length of about 6'. The nameplate rating of 2.5kW denotes the amount of power that the machine can output at peak wind speed (~26mph). If the wind speed is less, then the resulting power will also be less.

This turbine was originally installed in the Spring of 2009 by PIMBY Energy. It is on a 100' tower and uses an 8' stub tower to provide additional clearance for the turbine blades

A Winter To Remember on Snowy Mountain

2010-07-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

Go straight to the article, A Winter to Remember on Snowy Mountain by Keith Carson & Polly Newlon

Shortly before New Years I got a call from Keith saying that he'd gone out that morning only to find his wind turbine on the ground - 100' lower than it should have been. That's a problem.

Keith and Polly are customers of mine who live off the grid in Highland County, VA. Here's a photo of Keith (left) and his neighbor Dave as they work on disassembling the wrecked machine. We spent the first day of 2010 cleaning up this mess.

Keith and Polly have authored a great article about their winter and how losing the turbine affected their off-grid lifestyle. It is a nice read and it was originally printed in the Highland Recorder early in June.

The tower manufacturer had under-engineered the stub pipe (seen in the photo above) and this resulted in the failure. It also put Keith and Polly in a tight spot because they depend on the wind turbine for a greater portion of their electricity in the winter months. Needless to say, I was relieved to get a new turbine back up on the tower and so were they.

Below is a photo of Chris bolting up the new machine in preparation for the crane. Note that things are much less snowy on Snowy Mountain. You can see Keith and Polly's home in the background as well as the lowest section of their 100' turbine tower.

Keith took the following photos of the actual pick..........................................

Taproot Farm Taps Power from the Sun

2010-06-15T18:59:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Beth at Taproot Farm in Hampshire County, WV who reminded me that blogs don’t have to be great literary works – they just need to be consistent and interesting (or consistently interesting?!?!). Thanks!!!!

Taproot Farm is poised to come on line as one of West Virginia’s newest solar power plants. Beth and her husband Tim contracted PIMBY to install a very nice 5-kW PV system on a pavilion adjacent to their home on the banks of the Cacapon River.

Allen, Beth and Tim’s youngest, worked with us on the install. Allen is just back from a 2-week course at Solar Energy International (SEI). There’s no better way to apply all of that learning than to get right into an installation.

Sun at Work (almost)

Son at Work

Guys on the Roof at Work

PIMBY Truck at Work

Bees (really) at Work

More Bee Work!
Meet the newest hive at Taproot Farm.

Bird Kills Turbine: Lives to Tell

2010-01-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

Bird and bat kills are an issue that utility-scale wind farms deal with. Small residential-scale wind turbines do not pose a similar hazard. But recently I witnessed a situation where a small wind turbine in West Virginia became the victim of bird activity.

In an ironic twist, I went to see the wind turbine that was out-of-order owing to an infestation of starlings. I’m calling it a “turbine kill” and I think that I might encourage my friends at the USFWS to investigate the incident.

More often we hear about bird or bat kills occurring at utility-scale wind farms. Bird and bat kills are real problems associated with the location of wind farms along routes that are traditionally used for migration. These kills can number in the hundreds of animals. They’re bad news.

Small wind turbines don’t pose the same threat to birds and bats. I have yet to talk with a customer or a long-time wind turbine owner who can recollect a bird or bat fatality at their site. Small turbines are sited differently and are simply a different scale. More often they serve as perches for birds…………………………………..and evidently that can be trouble for a turbine.

I’d evicted a nest of birds from this same machine more than a year ago. They made it back in and set up house (probably while the wind turbine controller was in the shop this past November). Unfortunately for the birds, turbine owners, and myself the nest that was constructed was built on the main terminal block in the head of the turbine. Once the upgraded controller was placed in service and the machine began to again operated things in the new nest got hot. Things got hot enough to smolder and melt the terminal block and short circuit the wind turbine.

What a mess!

Here are a couple of nest shots

And here's the melted terminal strip

The machine is up and running again. I captured a short video while I was down at the farm.

Flying Blind: Our Friend TED Takes a Holiday

2009-12-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

Sarah didn’t like TED when he first came to live with us. I think she found him to be a bit of a nag. However, yesterday TED left for an extended vacation at a friend’s home and Sarah, only hours after his departure, stated, “I miss TED”. I do too.

TED is our indoor electric meter. We keep him on the stove in the kitchen when he is in residence. This is a good location; one where he can frequently remind us about our energy use. If we turn on a light or a computer or take a shower TED immediately starts counting the kilowatt-hours. He is pretty sensitive (10-watts or more). TED tells us how much power we lose to phantom loads each day. He knows how much energy it takes to run an on-demand electric hot water heater (1 shower = 1 kWh). As the day moves along TED keeps adding up the kW and keeps track of our running monthly total as well.

TED is an example of what all houses should be equipped with. Traditionally electric meters are on the outside of a home. Electric meters on the outside of a home are somewhat akin to having a gas gauge in your car’s trunk. If you can’t read the gauge while driving then you can’t hope to efficiently operate the vehicle – you’d have to keep stopping and getting out to check the fuel level!

An electric meter on the inside of the home should be standard equipment. Managing use is dependent on understanding demand. TED helps us understand our day-to-day and month-to-month energy use. He helps us to be better consumers. That’s why we miss TED. For us, it is important to see a real-time record of our consumption – it helps us exercise better use of electricity at home. The feedback from TED when you turn off a light or turn on an appliance is immediate and quantitative. Without this kind of reinforcement we are simply acting on intuition – driving a car without a fuel gauge?

More about TED is at http://www.theenergydetective.com/index.html
We use the 1001 model, but there are now several enhances versions available.

The SREC: Revenue from Renewables

2009-11-24T01:58:00.000-08:00

We just sold our first SREC and I’m stoked. It looks like we can afford to buy the cats another package of toy mice to keep them enthralled during another long West Virginia winter.

SRECs are Solar Renewable Energy Credits. These are also called, “RECs” for short. The market for RECs is growing thanks to the institution of aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standards or RPSs. That’s a lot alphabet soup, but the upshot is that ordinary homeowners like ourselves can receive payment for the clean power that we make with our PV system.

A SREC is equivalent to 1,000 kWh. The value of a SREC varies, but this most recent sale saw the price at $290/SREC. SREC sale value will differ from state to state and sale to sale. Some states, like New Jersey, see a SREC sale price that can be closer to $650. Companies who purchase SRECs are really purchasing the positive environmental benefits that go along with clean power generation – they are obliged to buy these to offset some of the pollution that traditional fossil fuel sources produce.

The clean energy we produce is worth more than the fossil fuel power that our local utility sells. Our SREC revenue represents $0.29/kWh while retail rate for utility power in our region of West Virginia is $0.07/kWh. The power that we produce from solar is therefore worth the avoided cost ($0.07/kWh) + SREC value ($0.29/kWh) which equals $0.36/kWh – more than five times the retail value!

Our SREC sale was handled by SRECTrade.com. This company holds a monthly auction to sell SRECs in a variety of different states within the regional PJM grid network. The SREC market is one that is still fairly new, but may become stronger as state RPSs ramp up and require utilities to provide a greater and greater portion of their power from clean sources. Even at this early stage, the sale of SRECs is providing a revenue stream to home and business owners who have taken the initiative to produce some, or all, of their power with solar technology.

Virginia Rebates – New and Now No More

2009-11-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

Poof! Just like that, it’s over and done. The Virginia renewable energy rebate program, begun on November 1, 2009, stopped accepting applications yesterday, November 18, 2009. The program, endowed with 15 million dollars, was overwhelmed by applicants and after less than twenty days is depleted. Incredible.

That’s bad news if you were hoping to cash in on the rebate program. On the positive side it shows that there is a mass of humanity that is eager to install solar and wind power equipment at their homes and businesses - a groundswell for distributed generation of clean power (PIMBY).

The Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy provided oversight for the rebate program. You can check out their rebate program page to learn a bit more about the program. There is some suggestion here that a second round of applications may be entertained at a later date.

That Miracle of Geography

2009-10-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

I need to share something that I just recently learned at this year’s West Virginia Wind Working Group. The working group meeting is an annual event that is usually well attended. I like to go to learn a little bit about the big wind companies and the projects that they have ongoing – I just find it very interesting.
This year I missed the morning session, but I did have the pleasure of listening to Erik Duncan from Invenergy LLC whose talk was entitled “The Cost of Developing and Constructing Wind Farms.” Invenergy works all over the U.S. developing wind farms. In WV they are most famous for the Beech Ridge farm that is under development in Greenbrier County and which has struggled due to a lot of opposition. What I found most striking about the talk was the fact that it costs six times as much to develop a wind farm in the Appalachians as it does to develop one in the Midwest.
Now I might have missed the significance of this, but a fellow audience member asked for clarification and this really peaked my interest. If it costs six times more then why develop here in West Virginia? The simple answer was that the sale price for the electricity makes it more than worthwhile. Wow!
OK. So let’s look at a map. The premium market for electricity is the east coast. Aside from developing coastal wind farms what is the next best location? That’s right….check out the bulls eye on West Virginia. (You can click on the map to make it easier to see.)

Wind, like coal, is an energy resource that is driven by geography/geology. You either have it or you don’t. West Virginia has a wind resource that is highly rated and relatively close to a premium market. As renewable portfolio standards go into effect in neighboring states the value of wind power will increase dramatically. We, as West Virginians, need to be aware that what we have is unique and highly valuable. It would behoove our state legislators to be aware of this fact too so that they don’t sell us out for a wink and a handshake. At present, utility-scale wind projects receive a 30% break on B&O taxes and their property tax is assessed at only 24.95% of the fair market value. These state “incentives” short change county government and the residents of the counties in which the wind farms are installed. Given the growth in the renewable energy market and the geographic advantage that West Virginia maintains it would probably be a wise move to end the incentives or drastically revise them so that local governments see more revenue from these projects. It’s geography, not incentives that make West Virginia an attractive (albeit difficult) location for wind farm development.

Windy Days for Wind Turbines in WV

2009-09-29T17:13:00.001-07:00

With the arrival of the cold front yesterday we have emerged from late summer doldrums and officially entered the windy season.

I ran out to Sheeps and Peeps Farm this AM to take some video with the digital camera. The Bergey Excel-S turbine was jammin! Some video highlights include Sampson (the dog) howling (he sounds like an owl), wind chimes, the turbine pegging its nameplate rating (10kW), and the utility meter "spinning" backward.

One note about the spinning backward; the new digital meters have a set of bars that emulate the pace and direction of electrons through the meter. These dial emulators are hard to see and are not nearly as exciting as the traditional dial-style meters.

FPL Big Wind Gets a Transmission Change

2009-09-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I drove out for a Sunday bike ride last week and were lucky enough to stumble upon a transmission change at the FPL Mountaineer Windfarm. The following pictures demonstrate the scale of these large utility machines. These are considered to be 1.5MW machines. This was the first wind farm in West Virginia. The machines are seven years old (they may have a 25-year service life)

This spot off of Rt. 219 is one that catches a lot of attention. Many visitors to the county hit their brakes when they make the turn and come face to face with one of these big turbines. The gawking caused the Division of Highways to install "No Parking" signs.

We did some gawking along with several other curious motorists. Most of this windfarm is off limits to the public. So the best spots to see the machines are from Rt. 219. The machine receiving the work is at the southernmost end of the farm and is easily the most accessible.

The clamp to take down the spinner was installed on Sunday, but the weather wasn't suitable for taking the assembly off of the machine. I made it back on Monday just after the spinner had been lowered to the ground.

Once the spinner was down the top of the nacelle had to be removed. I was hoping to hang out and watch the entire transmission swap, but things slowed down once the transmission was on the ground (maybe it was lunch time). Anyway, I had to shove off and get to work myself so I missed the reassembly of the turbine.

These wind machines are dramatically different from what I work with. Most small wind machines don't use a transmission and tend toward fewer moving parts. Fewer moving parts = fewer wear points and less maintenance.

NY Times: More Sun for Less........

2009-08-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

NY Times readers have been forwarding me the August 26, 2009 article, “More Sun for Less: Solar Panels Drop in Price”. Many thanks to Sarah, Pete, and Richard who passed along links!

Solar panels are often the most expensive component of a PV (photovoltaic) system. The drop in price is really a big deal. The drop is being driven by a glut of panels on the market. Demand serves to keep the cost of these panels up. I run into a lot of folks who like to postulate that price will come down as more folks buy the technology. I find this outlook to be a bit jingoistic. They assume that because no one on their cul-de-sac has solar panels that this must be a fledgling industry suffering from an inability to mass produce a product. To understand the economics that drive the cost of solar technology you have to look beyond the borders of the U.S. Europe and Asia drive this market. The U.S. is a solar backwater.

Less than 35% of GE PV panels were slated for the U.S. market in 2006

The NY Times article highlights the cessation of solar incentives in Spain as one reason for the glut in PV panels. Spain has chosen to stop incentivizing solar just as the U.S. is beginning to ramp up its incentives. Of course, Spain’s decision isn’t the only causative agent, the beleaguered global economy is also driving the drop in price. The price drop and the increase in U.S. incentives may be just the formula to help popularize solar in the States. That is exciting!

So how much cheaper are solar panels? I disagree with the Times perspective that reports a 40% decrease in cost. What I’ve seen is a drop that ranges between 11% - 20%. Not bad. Eventually I think the cost will come back up. As more homes and businesses in the U.S. step up to produce their own clean power demand for panels will increase. I imagine we may rapidly see a rebound in price, but in the meantime this is an outstanding opportunity to combine low prices with state and federal incentives and “go solar.”

Sheeps and Peeps (and Wind Turbines)

2009-08-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

The barnyard has a new addition.......

This is the new 10K Bergey wind turbine at the Sheeps and Peeps Farm in Preston Co., WV. The turbine is grid-tied and it provides power to the house, barn, and office.

The sheep seemed to be generally unconcerned by the new wind machine. Sampson, the pasture pup, was a bit agitated by the strange spinning thing, but he has made peace and is now focusing on finding the left over fat scraps that he neglected during the installation.

Sheeps and Peeps Farm specializes in hand-dyed yarns. The dyes are derived naturally and some of the colors are really fantastic. You can find their merchandise on Etsy. I was lucky enough to start this job during the spring lambing season and so I not only got to see the workshop/office but also the barn in full swing.

The powerhead is shown here prior to mounting on the tower. This tower is an 80' freestanding tower - no guy wires. The powerhead weighs about 950 lbs, thus the mechanical assistance from Tim who took time out from haying to help.

When you get a box of this caliber the possibilities are vast. Clubhouse, lemonade stand, veterinarian office, new PIMBY Energy corporate headquarters......who knows.