The Big Apple Christmas Spectacle: Rockefeller Tree

We couldn't get through the holidays without a holiday blog post-the demands of the age of technology .  But, hopefully this one gets you thinking.  We don't have any ideas for compostable or reusable gifts...but the "greening" of Christmas is an interesting trend to follow.  The Rockefeller tree has undergone the transformation, the green transformation that is.  But how green is it?  The "Huff Post Green" recently questioned the success of this transformation.  This questioning brings to light a thought process that is important always and especially this season, "green" is marketable-do your research.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harris-silver/rockefeller-center-christmas-tree_b_1125549.html

On the flip side, for the past 4 years the Rockefeller tree trunk has been donated as lumber to "Habitat for Humanity", check out this video on the recent recipients of their "Rockefeller Tree" house.

http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/top_stories/566604/rockefeller-christmas-tree-crafted-into-new-home/

The "Secrets" aren't so Secret. Start with Simple.

Norbert M. Lechner of Solar Today enlightens us in this recent article. 

http://www.solartoday-digital.org/solartoday/20111112/#pg48

*check out the building rotation diagram!!

Just because these ideas are not sold for money doesn't mean that they are not important.  It is easy to identify necessary actions with a monetary cost, but here we recognize decisions and processes that contribute to harnessing solar energy to its fullest potential.

Although the following highlights in responsible solar design may seem obvious, keep your eyes peeled for a truly "solar responsible" building by design.  Lechner points out to us that many modern architecture designs and promotions directly inhibit passive solar benefits.  

PV should be used as a complementary strategy of using solar energy, not as a replacement to these “solar smart” actions


What are passive solar techniques?

o   Form and orientation

o   Size

o   Number of windows

o   Location of windows

o   Solar heat gain coefficient of the glazing of windows

o   Daylighting

o   Shading-most of the world population lives in hot and humid climate conditions! This can make a big difference!

o   Landscaping around the building

o   Color of the roof and walls

Integrity, Workmanship, Honesty and Competence: A Testimonial

“Bill and I work hard for our money so we think long and hard about how we spend it. Like many people, our home is our largest investment - besides, it is where we raised our family and we are rooted in our community. When we thought about choosing a contractor for a new solar system at our home, cost was important of course; but equally important to us were integrity, workmanship, honesty and competence. We found all of these things in Jon Costanza and his team.

At first the vocabulary of solar technology was new and intimidating to us. Jon and his staff took the time we needed to explain the technology, walked us through the grant process, and showed us how it would work and look at our home. They filed paper work and patiently answered all our questions thoroughly and professionally. We are delighted with our new solar powered system and delighted that we chose SunPower Builders.”

Bill and Mary
West Chester, PA

PA Solar and Wind Expo a Success!

On June 11^th and 12^th, Sunpower Builders and Jon Costanza participated in the Solar and Wind Expo at the Valley Forge Convention Center. The Expo was well attended and showcased a variety of vendors, all specializing in the sustainable market, including producers, financiers and top experts in the field.

Jon Costanza was a popular speaker, engaging attendees with two presentations; “Solar Homes, 1711 – 2011: From Commonsense to Green Building, and “ 4 Decades of Solar and Ecological Design and Construction: A Practical Perspective. One listener, hoping to speak to Jon personally after his Sunday talk said, Costanza was “extremely informative and the speech was packed with useful information”.

PA State Rep Wants to Stabilize the Solar Industry

Here is some great press on the efforts of Representative Ross and his dedication to making sure the solar energy industry in PA stays as strong as it can be.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11145/1148916-454.stm#ixzz1NQSh0dBi

Solar Term of the Month: SRECs or Solar Renewable Energy Credits.

We posted last week about the price of SRECs - so it makes an excellent choice for our Solar Term this month.  

The state of Pennsylvania, as well as many other states, requires electricity suppliers to provide a percentage of their electricity sales from solar generation – this requirement, stipulated through legislation, is called a Renewable Portfolio Standard. If the electricity suppliers and distributors do not meet their requirement, they must pay a 

penalty called an Alternative Compliance Payment.

This means that electricity suppliers/distributors will a) Have to construct large solar arrays to provide sustainable electricity or b) More likely, they will purchase this power in the form of “Credits” from homeowners and businesses that have solar installed on their homes and facilties. If you own solar photovoltaics, you produce SRECs, which can be sold on the open market like any commodity. Price per SREC varies and fluctuates with the market, and will continue to do so, but current pricing is approximately $125/SREC (you can visit www.srectrade.com for info. on current pricing and recent sales!) SunPower will take care of registering your system and aggregating your SRECs.

SREC Credits Are Dropping In Value

The solar industry and its customers are currently experiencing a dramatic drop in the price of solar credits due to the lack of market demand for solar credits. This situation is getting worse and it is not going to improve for the next few years because the number of solar credits utilities need to comply with the law is set too low for the number of projects currently in operation or planned. The result is there is virtually no market for Pennsylvania SRECs.

Four things you can do to help today!

1. Contact your House Member now and ask him/her to co-sponsor Representative Chris Ross’ bill to fix the solar requirement. The bill provides an easy “bridge” solution by adjusting the requirement in years 2012-2015 and restricting out of state projects so that Pennsylvania ratepayers would have to pay for out of state development of solar. If you are not sure who your Representatives are, it’s easy to find out: go at www.legis.state.pa.us – in the upper right hand corner, enter your zip code and you will see their contact information.

2. Stay on top of developments and participate by joining PASEIA or contributing to the saving solar campaign . Go to: www.mseia.org and click on the PA state icon for information.

3. Come to Harrisburg for the launch of our legislative campaign on May 24th. Press conference at the capitol at 10AM followed by visits to legislative offices. This is a key event to show businesses and the public are interested in seeing this problem fixed.

4. Plan to be an active participant on this issue until the legislator’s adjoin for the summer (around June 30)