KySEA Blog
Feb 01, 2012
Can weather stripping and caulk help you get healthy?
The answer is yes, according to research compiled and released this week by the health experts and the Kentucky Environmental Foundation. The “Health Impact Assessment on Coal and Clean Energy Options in Kentucky” is a review of health and scientific data and perspectives from Kentuckians on the specific health impacts – positive and negative – associated with our energy policy options. Health impact assessments (HIAs) are designed to be tools for government decision makers and other stakeholders when considering public policies that affect our health, but occur outside of the health sector.
It turns out that energy efficiency and renewable energies from sources like solar, wind and hydro could have both indirect and direct benefits to public health. Much of the benefits of efficiency and renewables come in the avoidance of pollution created and released from fossil fuels and their chemical byproducts; pollution that is linked to heart and respiratory diseases, birth defects, developmental disabilities and even tooth decay. By contrast, wind turbines, solar panels and hydroelectric dams do not release any pollution. But some direct benefits include improved general health and increased productivity from home weatherization and less eyestrain, headaches and other illnesses from energy efficient lighting.
With health care costs are high and getting higher, and Kentucky is among the least healthy states, we should be looking for every opportunity to improve our health. Recent polling data shows that Kentuckians want our legislators to prioritize public health improvements. Energy efficiency and renewable energy reduce pollution that makes us sick, and that’s a powerful reason to support clean energy policies for our state.
Let’s encourage Kentucky legislators to consider clean energy policies as if our health really matters…because it does!
You can find the HIA at: http://kyenvironmentalfoundation.org.
Jan 12, 2012
New study shows diversifying into clean energy can create 28,000 jobs and save Kentuckians on electric bills in the future
A new study estimates that in 10 years Kentucky could create over 28,000 jobs while lessening the growth of electricity bills by passing clean energy legislation currently in front of the General Assembly.
A new study estimates that in 10 years Kentucky could create over 28,000 jobs while lessening the growth of electricity bills by passing clean energy legislation currently in front of the General Assembly. Synapse Energy Economics produced the study, which is an analysis of the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 167) introduced by Representative Mary Lou Marzian.
“This study confirms that legislation to diversify our electricity portfolio would be economically beneficial to Kentucky,” said Justin Maxson, President of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED). “The bill would allow the state to hedge against increasing rates by making homes and businesses more energy efficient. And it would spur the creation of clean energy jobs installing renewable energy projects and making energy efficiency upgrades.”
“The era of cheap energy is coming to an end,” said Maxson, “and it is really a question of whether we in Kentucky take advantage of the opportunities that exist in the clean energy economy of the future.”
Synapse’s study is a high level analysis of the proposed legislation’s impacts on Kentucky’s electricity bills, jobs, and economy. The study concludes that making small but significant steps to begin diversifying Kentucky’s portfolio over the next ten years will lower the bills of Kentucky’s residents, business owners, and industrial facilities compared to their bills without a clean energy standard.
Synapse projects that, under the REPS, average annual electricity bills could be eight percent to 10 percent lower than under a do nothing scenario. In addition to saving Kentuckians money, the REPS would lead to over 28,000 net new jobs over and above any jobs lost in fossil fuels and add $1.5 billion to gross state product once fully implemented in 2022.
“Efficiency and renewables are already the emerging trend in construction in the Commonwealth,” said Kentucky solar entrepreneur Matt Partymiller of Solar Energy Solutions in Lexington. “This report by Synapse captures what Kentucky engineers and contractors already know and what other states have already seen. Legislation like the Clean Energy Opportunity Act will provide the tools necessary for Kentucky builders to create jobs while ensuring Kentucky energy costs stay low.”
The study’s findings are supported by what neighboring states that have passed similar legislation have experienced. North Carolina has seen tremendous growth in the number of clean energy firms operating in their state since passing an REPS in 2007. Ohio built on the strengths of its traditional manufacturing sector to start building clean energy equipment in state, and reap real economic benefits from their 2008 law.
Synapse carried out the study for the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, a Berea based economic development organization, and the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, a coalition of over 50 businesses, affordable housing advocates, non-profit organizations and faith based groups. MACED and KySEA wanted to understand the economic impacts of an REPS in Kentucky, and a comprehensive analysis of a bill like the Clean Energy Opportunity Act has not been part of the policy conversation until now.
The report can be accessed at www.maced.org/files/Potential_Impacts_of_REPS_in_KY.pdf
Jan 06, 2012
2012 Clean Energy Opportunity Act Filed -- HB 167!
Representative Mary Lou Marzian (D-Jefferson) filed the 2012 Clean Energy Opportunity Act! Be on the lookout for updates on HB 167 -- this year's Clean Energy Opportunity Act. You can visit the LRC website for progress updates, or stay tuned here on the KySEA website as we continue to show our support for strong clean energy policy in Kentucky!
WEKU: New Business Model for Solar Energy
This entry is cross-posted from the Appalachian Transition blog, where it appeared 1/5/12.
WEKU featured a story on the Berea Municipal solar farm yesterday, quoting Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance members from Solar Energy Solutions, MACED, and Alternative Energies Kentucky. We're thrilled to see the Berea solar farm up and running, and glad good coverage like this story (and yesterday's post about Rockcastle Regional hospital's solar installation) are helping to show that solar powers Kentucky. Congrats to all involved in this innovative, interesting project.
New Business Model for Solar Energy
(Click here to listen to the story on WEKU's website)
In December, billionaire Warren Buffet made his first move into solar power, buying one of the world's largest solar farms, which is in California. Market watchers wondered if this was a sign that solar was coming of age, that it was no longer a "feel good" nod to environmental correctness but a sensible investment. Still, California isn't Kentucky and Buffet is hardly an average ratepayer. So, we looked at how solar was faring in the Commonwealth.
For many, solar just makes sense. Every day enough sunlight falls on the earth to provide energy independence for years. Solar promoters say it's just a matter of capturing that energy and turning it into power that can run everything from light bulbs to play stations. Of course it's not as simple as it sounds. In Kentucky, it's even less simple. After all, people reason, this isn't the Southwest where the sun shines all year round. And coal has long provided us with some of the cheapest electricity in the world.
Still, solar is beginning to make its mark here and advocates predict there's more to come. Matt Partymiller a gray beard of Kentucky's solar energy industry, having started his solar energy solutions six years ago…
"We started out with two of us part time and six years later there are now ten of us full time and we hope to continue to develop that. If we continue to develop the way we have we'll be at 20 next year and that'll be great."
Partymiller says solar’s more competitive, even in Kentucky.
"We are seeing the cost of solar come down, we are seeing the speed at which solar is installed improve and we are seeing electric rates going up. It's just a matter of time before we as an industry end up competitive."
During his six years in the business, Partymiller says the cost of solar panels has been cut in half.
His firm has just completed installing a unique solar system in Berea. The city-owned electric utility built a solar farm and offered shares to its customers.
In the first phase, an array of 60 solar panels was installed outside the municipal utility building. For $750, utility customers can buy all the power generated by a single panel for 25 years.
Berea's the first community in Kentucky and one of the first in the nation to offer this approach. It has several advantages for solar-inclined ratepayers. First, it doesn't matter if a house has good sun exposure. Second, it's cheaper because there’s an economy of scale. The cost is about $3.30 a watt compared to $5 to $6 if installed on a home. Third, if ratepayers move within the utility's service area, the credit on their bill moves with them. Fourth, if they move outside the area, they can simply sell the balance of their leases to other customers.
No one was prepared for the reaction when the leases went on sale. Josh Bills, who’s a consultant with the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, helped Berea design the system.
"It was really quite shocking to everybody involved, the utility, the contractors, the public, the council that the system leased out so quickly. There are 60 modules, there's a limit of two modules…..and in four days all 60 leases were subscribed."
The first array, as a group of solar panels is called, cost about $64,000 installed and was financed in part with federal stimulus money. Encouraged by the strong sales, Berea used the money from those leases to begin construction on a second array that is also selling rapidly.
Cool as this all sounds, customers are still bidding on a long payback. Assuming electric prices increase at the rate of 10 percent a year, it will take Berea ratepayers 23 years to recover their $750. For companies and individuals who can take advantage of tax breaks or subsidies on their projects, the payback could shrink to 8 to 10 years. With no moving parts, solar installations have limited maintenance, so the cost of electricity remains virtually the same over the entire life, which can be well over 25 years.
John Cotten directs marketing for Alternative Energies Kentucky. It’s a Danville firm that manufactures and installs solar panels.
"It isn't dirt cheap, we're not going to tell anybody it is. You are making a longterm investment. It's no different if you were building a room addition on your house, you're not going to get the money back until you sell your house. In this case, though, you are going to start getting a return as soon as we turn the power back on….and that investment is going to last 25 to 50 years."
Cotten says the long payback is not as big an issue as whether there's enough sunlight in this sometimes gray state to make solar worthwhile.
"There is plenty of sunlight in Kentucky. That's a really large fallacy. We could probably retire with our company for every time we've heard that from different people but it's really not true. …actually the largest solar nation in the world right now is Germany. Germany's productive sunlight average per day is about 2.2 to 2.8 hours a day, Kentucky's runs anywhere from about 4.5 to 5.5 hours a day."
The problem in Kentucky, many experts say, is that we’re energy hogs. Conservation, they say, is the first and cheapest approach to reducing energy costs.
Steve Whitman, who’s the project manager on the Berea project…
"The first thing I tell everybody is do the easy things first. Tighten up your windows, get your insulation where it should be in your attic and your walls, do the caulking, do the steps that you should take to improve your energy efficiency. Then, if you have funds left over, this is one of the best longterm investments you can give to yourself."
For Whitman, it's all about taking control of your energy future.
"I've been an electrician for over 35 years and I've been involved with solar for a little over a year….i think the key for the future is energy conservation…American's like to be empowered. If you realize that you could install a solar system and tie it into your home and see the savings and see the other ways you can save, I just think it's a way to empower people to do what you should be doing anyway."
To learn more about the Berea solar farm, go to http://bereautilities.com
Jan 04, 2012
Solar Powered Health: Rockcastle Regional State's First Solar Powered Hospital
Rockcastle Regional Hospital adds solar power to further commitment in creating a healthy community.
This entry is cross posted from the Appalachian Transition blog.
Business Lexington has a story today on Rockcastle Regional Hospital's new solar array. It is a great example of a community institution taking advantage of clean energy opportunities in Kentucky--we hope to see other hospitals and community institutions following in the footsteps of Rockcastle Regional soon!
Rockcastle Regional State's First Solar Powered Hospital
Mt. Vernon, Ky - Rockcastle Regional Hospital has become the first hospital in Kentucky to use the sun as a major energy source.
The hospital went live with a solar array on November 30, 2011, incorporating solar power into its energy management plan and reducing its reliance on the public power grid.
Rockcastle Regional Hospital CEO Stephen A. Estes said the investment fits into the hospital's mission of creating a healthy community.
Facilities and Materials Management Director Gary Asher and CEO Stephen A. Estes with the new solar panels.
"We've built our organization on forward-thinking innovation. Now we've applied that mindset to energy management, and it creates a win-win for us and the community in the long term," Estes said. "As corporate citizens, we feel an obligation to conserve energy, and doing so frees more resources for patient care and wellness initiatives."
Discussions took place with several companies and Green Earth Solar of Knoxville, Tennessee was awarded the contract. Green Earth Solar was launched in 2006 and has completed dozens of solar projects including dairies, manufacturing facilities, restaurants, parks and residential areas. Rockcastle Regional is the company's first hospital project.
Two hundred and ten solar modules have been installed on the roof of the hospital's Outpatient Services Center. The modules will produce around 290 watts each (60.9 kW total) and will account for enough energy annually to power eight to ten homes. Kentucky Utilities will purchase the power generated.
The solar panels essentially will power the third floor of the Outpatient Services Center, which is a space that will be utilized for community wellness events. The panels will also provide an educational experience for local students.
Opening its doors in 1956, Rockcastle Regional Hospital & Respiratory Care Center is a not-for-profit community healthcare system that operates emergency, 26-bed inpatient acute beds and outpatient acute care programs, a 93-bed long-term care program for patients dependent upon mechanical ventilation and a medical office complex. For more information about the hospital, visit http://www.rockcastleregional.org
Jan 03, 2012
2012 Clean Energy Opportunity Act Filed!
Look out for HB 167!
Representative Mary Lou Marzian (D-Jefferson) filed the 2012 Clean Energy Opportunity Act! Be on the lookout for updates on HB 167 -- this year's Clean Energy Opportunity Act. You can visit the LRC website for progress updates, or stay tuned here on the KySEA website as we continue to show our support for strong clean energy policy in Kentucky!
Dec 21, 2011
Sustainable Energy Briefs
Kentucky falls in national energy efficiency ranking
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently ranked 37th out of all states on its annual state energy efficiency scorecard. This represents a step down from previous years’ rankings. In 2010, Kentucky was 36th and in 2009 it was 33rd. The rankings are based on an array of metrics including state levels of funding towards energy efficiency and best practices in state energy efficiency policy and program implementation.
Fort Knox Army Base partners with EKPC’s Nolin Rural Electric Co-op to Install Clean Energy Systems
Over the last two years, Fort Knox has partnered with the co-op to create a plan to reduce energy use 35% by this year. The plan included energy efficiency upgrades, a major solar installation, and a geo-thermal heating and cooling system placed in the base barracks. Annual savings from the energy plan is estimated to be $2.8 million. Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Industrial Efficiency Efforts in Richmond, KY Saves Money For Sherwin Williams Plant
Sherwin-Williams is the largest producer of paint in the United States today. The company owns over 3,000 stores throughout North America, with one of its largest plants located in Richmond, KY. The Kentucky-based Sherwin Williams plant is doing something unique – it’s leading the way on industrial efficiency.
In 2008, via a partnership with the Division of Energy’s Industrial Technology Program, Sherwin William began the process of launching an energy reduction program. By the 2010 the plant had reduced its total energy consumption by over 25% - with the potential to reduce energy intensity to 50% as more improvements are brought online. Source: Personal interview by Lauren McGrath of Sierra Club with plant engineer
Energy Improvements Can Save Money and Create Jobs in Cincinnati Area, Study finds
Energy efficiency upgrades to the area's homes and non-profit buildings can save area residents $60 million in lower energy bills and create more than 300 local jobs, according to a study released last month by the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance. The study looked at the economic impact of energy efficiency investments to the metropolitan area, which includes the Kentucky counties of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton.
Nov 30, 2011
What's a Meter Geek?
By Sam Avery, of Avery and Sun, a KySEA group member
When was the last time you looked at your electric meter? If you’re like most people, you don’t even know where it is, but if you’re a Meter Geek, you’re likely to answer: “This morning.”
I became a Meter Geek the day I hooked up the PV system on my own house. I just stood there watching the numbers bounce around. Dan joked: “Where’s Sam…? Oh, he’s over playing with his inverter.” I still check it every day or so.
But I’m not the only one. I just got an email from Dennis and Wendy: “Yesterday morning the electric meter read one kilowatt hour less than the day you all hooked up the panels. I doubt that we will ever have to pay more than the basic rate again. Thanks. It is a great feeling.”
And then there’s Don. (We installed his system a couple of years ago.) He had one of the old rotating wheel meters. He called me up one day to tell me that, with the sun shining and just the right number of lights on and the coffee maker brewing, he could run outside and watch the wheel come to a perfect balance. It tried to edge one way or the other until the coffee was ready, and then it resumed its backward march. He used to invite friends over just to stand outside and watch it with him.
When you install solar, you get rewired. You pay attention to things you did not notice before. You watch what the clouds are doing, how the shadows play, and wonder how many kilowatt-hours you’re likely to produce today. You think about the sun bringing life into your home. More importantly, you think about where the new energy is going. It’s yours – for free – but there’s only so much and you don’t want to waste it. You want to have enough for how you live but you want to live by what is there.
The most important thing about being a Meter Geek is that you begin to see energy as energy – not just as a bill you have to pay. You stop converting it into dollars. It falls on your roof, you gather it up, and turn it into lighting, music, vacuum cleaning, computing, televiewing, or coffee brewing. You’re not buying anything – and not mining or burning anything, either. And you’re paying attention to how energy flows through your life. If you don’t have a way to produce energy and you’re trying to conserve, it’s all yin and no yang – it’s all going one way and you’re trying to slow it down but you can’t make it stop. But when energy flows both ways you see the yin and the yang. You feel the balance.
The reason I’m raising this topic now is that I am about to have the consummate Meter Geek experience. The day I installed my system – the day I became a Meter Geek – my electric meter read 3432 kilowatt-hours. That was November 2007. The PV system has been cranking out kwh ever since, more than I have been using, and today, Aug 25 , the meter reads 00008. By the time you read these words it will have gone to 00000, and I have no idea what happens after that! It’s another Y2K. I’m a little afraid it will read 99 million or something, and some computer will spit me out a bill for $ 9 million or so. I have no idea. I’ll be finding out soon, but you won’t find out until….
Nov 14, 2011
KySEA Groups Discuss Upcoming Legislative Session
About half of KySEA member groups attended a meeting in Lexington on Monday, November 7th, to discuss the upcoming 2012 Kentucky legislative session.
Thirty three representatives from 23 KySEA member groups participated in lively discussion about how to move the Clean Energy Opportunity Act forward this session and about how to support other opportunities that might arise to advance clean energy in the state.
The group heard preliminary findings about a Health Impact Assessment from the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, which shows the health advantages for Kentucky of moving to clean energy.
Curtis Stauffer, of Metropolitan Housing Coalition, also presented about a recent report from the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, entitled the 2011 State of Metropolitan Housing Report. It looked at a variety of factors surrounding affordable housing in the Metro Louisville area, focusing particularly on approaches to providing fair and affordable housing that uses less energy.
He showed the graphic above to highligh that denser housing types in transit oriented developments are significantly more energy efficient than less dense housing types in suburban style development. And, green, energy efficient building practices- significantly reduce home energy use in all types of developments.
Those present at the KySEA meeting agreed that Kentucky needs better solutions both in building new homes and retrofitting existing homes in order to lower people's energy bills. With electricity rates rising across the state, this will be a topic of much consideration during the next session. And the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, supported by KySEA offers some of those solutions.
Nov 01, 2011
Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance Meeting
Monday, November 7th, 2011
10 am to 4 pm
Northside Library Branch
1733 Russell Cave Road
Lexington, KY
The Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance will host its fall meeting on November 7th. The agenda will include:
-Preview of the 2012 legislative session: Perspectives from key KySEA members including a green energy business and an affordable housing provider, as well as opportunities to plug into KySEA's legislative work
-Overview of the Clean Energy Opportunity Act
-Two exciting presentations on reports related to clean energy by Metropoltan Housing Coalition and Kentucky Environmental Foundation.
Bring a brown bag lunch. We hope you will join us.
Please RSVP by clicking here.
Oct 25, 2011
Join Us: Solar Energy To Be Discussed in Frankfort Tomorrow!
The interim joint committee on local government will host a "discussion on solar energy" tomorrow, October 26th, in Frankfort at 10 am in the Capitol Annex room 171.
Join us to support Matt Partymiller and Denis Oudard of Solar Energy Solutions and the Kentucky Solar Energy Society, both member groups of KySEA.
The committee is co-chaired by Senator Damon Thayer and Representative Steve Riggs. Both are interested to learn about the opportunity Kentucky has to advance solar energy and how local governments can take action.
For more information, email jeff@kysea.org or denis@kysea.org.
Oct 20, 2011
Capitalism will drive demand for solar energy
By Denis Oudard, representative to KySEA for the Kentucky Solar Energy Society
Posted: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/10/16/1923111/capitalism-will-drive-demand-for.html#ixzz1bAIpmegN
Solar electricity will be cheaper than any other source of electricity by 2020.
There, you heard it from me first. This claim is now more believable than ever.
Signs are everywhere that this will be reality within our lifetime. The reason is very simple, and it has nothing to do with the Environmental Protection Agency or environmentalists. It has to do with good old capitalism.
First, some basic, but important, data.
You can go crazy trying to determine the cost of electricity from coal (try the Internet), but since I have seen some utility bills from large companies at about 3.3 cents per kilowatt hour, it is quite safe to assume that — under most circumstances — it is less than 3 cents, including the transmission to the point of consumption.
More importantly, it is safe to assume that it is not going down. Kentucky residential customers pay about 8 cents per kWh and they know it has not been going down.
Today the solar industry can install utility-size systems that over their 40-year lifetime will produce electricity at a cost of 10 cents per kWh, down from about 18 per kWh about a year ago.
The reasons for this sudden decline are several, but the two main factors are:
■ European countries have lowered their feed-in-tariffs, the amount of money European utilities promise to pay for solar electricity, making them less attractive to investors
■ China is investing huge amounts of money in solar production plants. This has created an oversupply situation in the photovoltaic industry, sending the price of PV modules tumbling.
The cost of solar was going down before these two recent events and it will continue going down, most likely in fits and starts. Eventually, it will halve again, and again and again. I predict that by 2020, the cost of a solar kWh will be 2.2 cents, delivered.
Many in the industry make similar predictions. Forward thinking companies and governments all over the world are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to install solar systems. Once the cost of solar electricity reaches "grid-parity," the point where solar electricity is cheaper than the alternatives, they will spend hundreds of billions of dollars.
Solar has all kind of neat advantages. It produces electricity without water, without ashes and without various unwanted gases and poisons. But as we have seen, for many people those advantages are not enough. The decisive advantage of solar is that its cost is going down.
The implications are far reaching. Countries and states that do not act now to build a solar energy infrastructure, including knowledgeable engineers, qualified installers, modern transmission lines and even electricity storage, will find themselves with the highest electrical bills in less than 10 years.
Some say that coal is already the expensive solution today because of its externalities: its pollutions of all kind and their consequences. What seems to be the source of cheap electricity today will no longer be the source of cheap electricity tomorrow, no matter how you do the math and no matter how you account for externalities.
Some people say we cannot afford to rely on more expensive renewable energy. Their message — that renewable energy is pushing the price of electricity up — is the exact opposite of what is going to happen. Sticking with the status quo is what is going to cause the cost of electricity to increase the most. Investing now in renewable energy will create the cheapest electricity in the near term.
Groups involved with the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA) and the Kentucky Solar Energy Society (KySES) are finally making some progress in Frankfort waking up our legislators to this reality. They are advocating a bill that would progressively increase the portion of clean energy that utilities purchase and implement policies — which states including Ohio, North Carolina and New Jersey have already adopted — to grow Kentucky's clean-energy market, clean-energy expertise and clean-energy jobs.
Oct 11, 2011
Renewed Energy
Re-posted from the Louisville Eccentric Observer.
Activists point to higher bills, job creation in urging legislators to support clean energy
By Anne Marshall
Earlier this month, the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s public hearing unfolded much like a game of dominoes. Held at Louisville’s Johnson Traditional Middle School, members of the scant crowd leaned into the microphone, one after another, their pleas all generally falling into line: Don’t raise our bills, protect low-income families who can’t afford ever-blooming energy costs, and get serious about alternative energy.
Clean energy advocates hope the combination of rising rates, along with the potential for job creation, will steer legislators towards passing the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, a bill that’s gone nowhere in the past two legislative sessions. It mandates that a portion of Kentucky’s energy come from renewable sources, rather than solely from coal. An admittedly uphill battle in a mountaintop removal state.
“I think it will look nearly impossible until the day before it passes,” says Wallace McMullen, conservation chair with Louisville’s chapter of the Sierra Club.
The Sept. 6 hearing was part of a series as the Public Service Commission decides whether LG&E and Kentucky Utilities should be allowed to tack on an environmental surcharge to bills. That could raise residential electric bills in Louisville by up to 19 percent over the next four years. (The Sierra Club and Metropolitan Housing Coalition will go before the Public Service Commission in November as interveners in the surcharge case. The Sierra Club questions the analysis behind the fee. The Housing Coalition is concerned with how the higher bills may inevitably hit the poor the hardest.)
The charge would eventually drop off once the utilities have covered the estimated $2.5 billion needed to improve existing coal-fired power plants not meeting Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. One such upgrade would include the addition of “scrubbers” that will catch emissions before they escape into the air. Joan Lindop, with the Greater Louisville Sierra Club, likens this to billions on Band-Aids.
“If they scrub more emissions out, that’s more that’s going into a coal ash pile,” she says. “We’re really not wanting to encourage them to spend that money on old plants when it could be used for renewables.”
And so for the third year, advocates are gearing up to push legislation they say would spark production and demand of solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power.
In 2010, the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 239) was assigned to the state House of Representatives’ Natural Resources and Environment Committee, headed by global-warming denier Rep. Jim Gooch, D-Providence. It did not get a hearing. In 2011, the bill was strategically rerouted outside of Gooch’s committee and into the Tourism Development and Energy Committee led by Rep. Leslie Combs, D-Pikeville. That resulted in measured progress: A discussion hearing. No vote.
This year’s proposed legislation will look much like the one from last year, with two critical pieces. The first includes a renewable and efficiency portfolio standard, a policy already adopted by 29 other states. It would require utilities to generate 12.5 percent of retail sales from renewable energy by 2021, with at least 1 percent from solar.
This is a rather conservative standard when compared to several other states demanding that well over 20 percent of energy eventually be derived from renewable sources.
The other proposed policy calls for a “feed-in tariff,” which works as a contract, establishing a fixed premium price for energy produced in Kentucky, be it from large-scale operations or individual homeowners.
Mike Hynes, president of the Housing Partnership Inc., a developer of affordable housing in Louisville, wrote a letter to the Public Service Commission in support of this idea. Hynes recently installed solar panels on one of the Housing Partnership’s properties, but was careful to only invest in panels that would generate 75 percent of their energy needs.
If Hynes outfitted the building with enough panels to exceed 100
percent of their desired energy, LG&E would give him a credit to go
toward future bills, rather than pay him for that energy.
“Basically,
that builds up in perpetuity. In my mind, that creates an incentive not
to produce enough electricity as one could for their household,” he
says. “With a rebate program, that’s an incentive to create systems that
are larger than what you can use."
Several regional utility companies including Duke Energy, Georgia Power and Florida Power and Light have tariff programs that pay per kilowatt-hour, then turn around and put that energy back into the grid.
Tom FitzGerald, with the Kentucky Resources Council, says the timing is right for renewables.
“The
unit cost of solar and wind is coming down,” says FitzGerald, adding
that while coal may appear to be the cheapest source of fuel, that’s not
including environmental costs and restrictions.
“Over the course of time, you start having to fold in extra costs because externalities have to be accounted for.”
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, will sponsor the renewable energy bill again this year. She says supporters are tailoring their arguments for the legislation in light of another sore subject — jobs.
“When you’re looking at business and manufacturing folks coming to Kentucky, they want constancy in the market,” she says. “Coal is cheap now, but it’s going up.”
The Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance reports that neighboring states with clean energy standards are experiencing a boom in manufacturing and construction employment. For example, after Ohio passed legislation in 2008, about 1,500 solar-related jobs were created.
While no one expects the Clean Energy Opportunity Act to garner much attention until election hoopla ceases, advocates believe this year the support just might be there. They point to this week’s Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment in Lexington, where various panels discussed the issue.
“What we have to consider is coal is always going to be No. 1 for the foreseeable 15 to 20 years,” Marzian says. “But if we don’t start looking at different tools … we’re going to be left holding the bag.”
Oct 05, 2011
KySEA Member, Kentucky Conservation Committee, Welcomes New Director
Re-posted from the website of Kentucky Conservation Committee, a KySEA member.
Frankfort, KY--October 5, 2011--The Kentucky Conservation Committee has appointed Art Williams, former director of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, as Executive Director.
KCC has lobbied the General Assembly for environmental and conservation legislation since 1975. Two recent legislative achievements required LEED certification of new state buildings and established a foundation for the protection of more conservation lands.
In accepting the position, Williams said, “I look forward to working with the members of the General Assembly, citizens of the state, and other interests to bring progressive and workable solutions to tough issues facing our great Commonwealth.”
Until recently, KCC relied on volunteer work and a part-time lobbyist but times have changed. The President of KCC’s board, Dr. David Wicks of Louisville, said, “Kentucky’s legislature confronts a wide range of challenges related to energy and conservation -- climate change, the state’s dependence on fossil fuels, rampant development, and the limited role of renewable energy . All these threaten Kentucky’s celebrated bio-diversity and suppress opportunities for new, green jobs. Providing an effective voice for conservation of our lands, air, and waters requires a year-round effort.”
Art Williams, an attorney, brings 33 years of environmental and energy experience in the public and private sectors to this position. He has been the Energy and Environment Advisor to the City of Louisville, served in the Office of General Counsel of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and as Commissioner of the Department for Environmental Protection, and was a partner and head of the environmental practice for the Louisville law firm Woodward, Hobson and Fulton.
Wicks said, “Art has dealt effectively with difficult and complex energy, environmental and conservation issues in his career and helped bring people with opposing positions together to achieve positive results. We’re fortunate to contribute his collaborative talents to the legislative process on behalf of Kentucky’s environment.”
KCC will introduce Williams as its Executive Director to the public at an annual meeting to be held Saturday November 5, 2011, at the U of L Shelby campus from 10am to 4pm, where the association will discuss issues for KCC’s focus in the upcoming legislative session.
KySEA welcomes Art Williams to the work!
Oct 03, 2011
KySEA Members Populate the Governor's Energy Conference
Last Monday and Tuesday, September 26th and 27th, nearly 20 representatives of KySEA member groups attended the Governor's Conference on Energy and the Environment.
Member groups in attendance included: Kentucky Solar Energy Society, Solar Energy Solutions, Alternative Energies Kentucky, Center for Sustainable Cities Design Studio, Phinx LLC, Sierra Club, Wellhead Energy Systems and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.
KySEA representatives also staffed a table promoting the benefits of clean energy in the Commonwealth and the Clean Energy Opportunity Act during the two days.
The KySEA table entertained quite a bit of traffic, having conversations with conference participants about topics ranging from green energy on schools to clean energy training opportunities to in-depth discussions about the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. Several KySEA member group representatives also took the time to get to know one another.
KySEA representatives attended the wide variety of conference sessions that were offered. The conference did advance the discussion about clean energy solutions compared to last year in that break-out sessions about distributed energy options in Kentucky, the Kentucky Home Performance efficiency program and the statewide Kentucky Recycling organization were offered.
Further, former Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado was invited to speak on a plenary session about the advances his state saw in job creation and renewable energy production during his tenure. He credited the success to the implementation of statewide energy policies that encouraged such growth.
Many speakers, including Energy Secretary Len Peters and Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson, indicated that the most promising policy advancement potential in Kentucky, in their minds, is energy efficiency.
"There's a quiet revolution going on in conservation," Adkisson said.
The Clean Energy Opportunity Act, supported by KySEA, would increase the amount of energy that utilities offset through energy efficiency programs every year.
Sep 28, 2011
Solar Farm To Be Built at Indianpolis Airport
Re-posted from the Associated Press
A solar energy farm that is expected to produce enough electricity to power 1,200 homes will be built at Indianapolis International Airport.
The Indianapolis Star reports that the project will cost an estimated $35 million to $45 million to build. The array is expected to be operational by the middle of 2012. Its power will be bought by Indianapolis Power and Light Co.
The Star reports the 41,000-panel solar array will be built by a partnership of 3 Indianapolis companies.
The Star said about 85 construction jobs are expected to be created and that the long-term operation of the array is expected to create about 18 positions.
Airport officials said Tuesday that no public money is involved in development of the solar farm.
Sep 21, 2011
Kentucky Celebrates More than 100 Energy Star Schools
Re-posted from the Alliance To Save Energy
On Thursday, Aug. 16, Millbrooke Elementary School in Christian County, Ky., hosted an awards ceremony to celebrate the certification of the 100th ENERGY STAR school in the state. Organized by County Energy Manager Bob Valentine, the event also honored four ENERGY STAR-certified schools in Christian County – all of which are partnered with the Alliance to Save Energy’s Green Schools program sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Keynote speaker and first lady of Kentucky Jane Beshear joined representatives from TVA, local officials and business leaders to honor the state’s ENERGY STAR schools. Since Gov. Steve Beshear took office in 2007, Mrs. Beshear has devoted herself to efficiency initiatives including the Kentucky Green Team and Energy Conservation, which aim to bring energy efficiency to homes, schools and businesses across the state. Kentucky schools have followed suit, increasing the number of ENERGY STAR schools from eight in 2006 to 105 in 2011.
Students Save Energy at School, Home
Students are the key element to a school successfully gaining ENERGY STAR certification. Accordingly, the Green Schools program focuses on giving students an active role in their school’s energy saving initiatives.
Each school has a “Green Team” comprised of students, teachers and staff who work to educate themselves and the school community about the importance of saving energy – at school and at home. Mrs. Beshear noted that students’ hard work on saving energy translates into more money for the school district.
ENERGY STAR Schools Save Thousands of Dollars
The Green Teams made great strides at all four ENERGY STAR-certified schools to promote energy-saving behaviors in students, teachers and parents.
Through campus and community education, the students promote such simple behavioral changes as turning off lights in unused rooms, changing the thermostat a few degrees, and turning off computers and appliances when not in use. Changes like these helped the schools save more than 120,000 kWh of power over the past year, which amounts to over $20,000 saved. Their effort is underscored by the fact that all four schools were built more than 45 years ago.
Green Schools: Growing in Kentucky
The savings continue to add up. Christian County now has eight K-12 schools participating in the Green Schools program, many of them returning for their second year with the program. With continued success of the program, Green Schools hopes to engage more students and the entire community in learning and living energy efficiency.
Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, chief sponsor of the clean energy bill KySEA supports, is a leader in the "Green Schools Caucus" effort in Frankfort. The caucus has helped to facilitate funding to make many of these schools possible.
Sep 16, 2011
Green Jobs in the Bluegrass Are Growing
A recent report on green jobs in Kentucky indicates that green employment in the state is expected to grow at a more rapid pace than the workforce as a whole, with anticipated growth of 6.8% over the next two years.
Excerpts from the executive summary:
"The survey indicates that approximately 4.6% of Kentucky’s workforce are performing green jobs. A majority (78%) of the green jobs in Kentucky are full time positions while approximately 9.4% of the organizations in Kentucky include green jobs of some type.
The majority of green jobs in Kentucky are in the Recycling and Waste Reduction core category, followed by Energy Efficiency, then Pollution Reduction and Cleanup. However, the Energy Efficiency and Recycling and Waste Reduction categories appear positioned for the most employment growth in the green core areas in the next two years.
While the state’s green workforce is poised for growth, approximately 9% of employers anticipate difficulty in finding qualified candidates to fill positions in the Energy Efficiency, while an estimated 6% are anticipating similar challenges in finding qualified candidates... [in other green work areas.]
Certifications can have an impact on an employer’s interest in hiring candidates for green jobs. In making hiring decisions over the next two years, 15% of employers indicated a favorable response to hiring a job candidate with a certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and 10% of employers cited Build-It Green Certification as increasing the likelihood that they would hire a candidate. On the other hand, a modest 7% of employers stated that they would only hire “already trained” employees for green positions.
The dominant modes of preparing green employees include, in order of employer preference, on-the-job training (79%), in-house classroom (39%), and online training (30%)."
The report was authored by ICF International and the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training.
Sep 12, 2011
Solar Electric Classes Attract Participants from Across Kentucky
By Andy McDonald, Director, Kentucky Solar Partnership (A KySEA member)
In August the Kentucky Solar Partnership hosted four days of trainings in Frankfort on solar photovoltaic system design and installation. Thirty two participants attended the first two-day class, “Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics.” Eighteen participants stayed for day three, “Solar Site Assessments and PV System Design,” and fourteen people attended the final day, “PV and the National Electric Code.” The classes were taught by Chris LaForge of Great Northern Solar, a NABCEP-certified solar PV installer and an ISPQ-certified PV instructor.
Instructor Chris LaForge with students outside KSP's Solar Trailer
Our participants included electrical contractors, solar electric contractors, recent college graduates, engineers, and others exploring solar energy as a potential career path. Two students from the University of Louisville will use the knowledge they gained as they help design U of L’s entry in the international Solar Decathalon solar home design competition. Four participants will receive Continuing Education Units from the Kentucky Office of Housing, Buildings and Construction to support their electrician’s licenses.
Our participants came from a wide geographic area, ranging from Paducah to Prestonsburg to the Cincinnati Metro area. One person came all the way from Missouri and another from Evansville, Indiana.
Andy McDonald discusses his home's solar PV installation
On the second day of the training the class made a field trip to my home to view my recently-installed grid-tied solar PV system. This five panel, 1.125 KW array is a ground-mounted, battery-free system that was sized to meet 100% of my family’s annual electricity needs. Participants also had a chance to view KSP’s Solar Trailer, which demonstrates an off-grid, battery-based PV system. The chance to view operational PV systems in real-world applications was a highlight of the trainings for many participants.
Chris LaForge explains how to use a solar pathfinder
Nine of our participants were able to attend thanks to financial support offered by MACED (the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development). MACED supports the development of small businesses in eastern Kentucky and has a special emphasis on supporting sustainable energy enterprises. In addition to financial assistance to attend ASPI’s workshops, MACED also offers financing for business development investments, “energy microloans” for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments for eastern Kentucky businesses, and technical assistance to building trade contractors. MACED also has a Certified Energy Manager on-staff to provide energy consulting.
Coming up in October KSP will be hosting a five-day, hands-on installation training. Many of our participants from August will be returning to gain hands-on skills as we install an off-grid solar electric system on a mobile trailer. Registration for the October workshop is already full.
To learn more about MACED’s Energy Efficient Enterprises project, contact Elizabeth Graves at 859-986-2373 or egraves@maced.org.
Sep 07, 2011
Worldwide solar panel oversupply knocking out U.S. manufacturers while making solar competitive with coal
By Dan Hofmann, RegenEn Solar (A KySEA member)
(Editor’s note: In the last two weeks, three large American solar panel manufacturers including Evergreen Solar and Solyndra have sought bankruptcy protection due to increasing competition from China and plummeting solar panel prices. There’s been a 70-percent decrease in solar panel prices over the last 24-month, according to industry sources.)
Global competition and Europe’s budget woes are having an unexpected effect on the residential solar-energy business, a trend that’s bad for U.S-based manufacturers, but great for consumers.
The price of solar panels has dropped so dramatically during the first six months of 2011 that now, for the first time, solar is competitive in pricing coal-fired electricity from LG&E.
The way panel prices are falling, even without the federal tax credits that expire in 2016, solar has reached parity with coal-fired plants.
This is a big deal.
Many – if not most – contractors in the industry can install a solar panel system for 8 cents per kilowatt-hour (after tax credits), the same rate that LG&E residential customers currently pay.
And LG&E rates are set to increase by 19.2 percent during the next five years while solar customers would be locked in at 8 cents per kilowatt-hour for 25 years.
The drop in solar panel prices is due to an unexpected reduction in government incentives throughout Europe that caused an oversupply for solar manufacturers worldwide.
Increased production from heavily subsidized Chinese manufacturers that can crank out solar panels at extremely low prices also contributes to the price drop.
As these solar panels prices fall, the U.S. industry is passing those savings directly to the homeowner.
There are economies of scale with solar, so the price per kilowatt-hour can range from 10 cents to 7 cents depending on the amount of kilowatt-hour usage per year. Some homeowners we talk to use 7,000 kilowatts per year while some people with large houses use 50,000 kilowatts per year,
The average LG&E residential customer uses about 11,500 kilowatts per year. This also applies to large commercial facilities where we can match the cost per kilowatt rate of around 3 cents.
The arithmetic behind the cost per kilowatt for solar is the amount of electricity the solar panels are guaranteed to produce while under warranty.
The industry standard is 25 years on the solar panels and, more recently, some inverters.
So, you take the upfront installation cost (after tax credits) and divide that by the total kilowatt-hour production over 25 years.
Another benefit is that solar panels can produce electricity for 40 or 50 years, so the actual cost per kilowatt-hour could end up being much less.
It will be interesting to see how the panel price war plays out, and whether consumers will proceed with long-planned solar projects, or hang back to see how low prices go.
Homeowners could buy a system now that pays for itself in 10 years, or wait five years for a system that pays for itself over five years – the ROI time horizon would be the same.
The take away here is, we now have an endless clean energy source that costs the same as fossil fuel energy.
Document Actions
- Send this |
- Print this |
