October 3, 2008

A Look at the Presidential Candidates'
Current and Past Record on Solar Power

With the presidential elections soon upon us, I thought I would take a fact based look at the two candidates’ past and present records on renewable energy. We will also take a look at the two candidates’ campaign promises as far as renewable energy.

The interesting thing about this topic is the general belief by the public (regardless of politics) that solar power should play a vital role in our energy policy for the foreseeable future.

A new survey from SCHOTT (Schott is one of the leading solar industry companies) has revealed that the vast majority of Americans believe that developing solar power is vital to the U.S.

The Solar Barometer survey, conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research, finds that 98% of Independents, 97% of Democrats and 91% of Republicans support development of solar.

Moreover, 74% of Independents, 72% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans favor an extension of federal tax credits for renewable technologies, and 77% of Americans believe the federal government should make solar power development a national priority.

"These results are an undeniable signal to our elected leaders that Americans want job-creating solar power - now," says Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

In researching this article I tried to stay with the facts so let’s start with the two candidates past history on renewable energy.

McCain’s voting record on renewables

Recently the Associated Press noted that "McCain has not shown up for eight Senate votes last year and this year to extend [renewable energy] tax credits, which expire at the end of this year. The last such vote was July 30."

In fact, on Dec. 13, 2007, the Senate was considering a bill to spend $13 billion on renewable power over five years. The cloture vote to allow the amendment to be brought to the Senate floor required 60 votes; it received 59 for, 40 against, and the one senator absent was McCain.www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00425

A spokesman later said he would have voted to block the bill.

Again, in February, the Senate tried to include in a stimulus package an extension of the renewable tax credit, plus nearly $3 billion more for alternate energy. The cloture vote again failed 59-40-1. And again, McCain's absence stopped the bill from coming to a vote.

In an article from the Wall Street Journal, “McCain Raised Concerns About Subsidies for Solar Power”. Laura Meckler and Stephen Power reported that during a interview with McCain he said, “I’m a little wary–I have to give you straight talk–about government subsidies. When government jumps in and distorts the market, then there’s unintended consequences as well as intended.”

An aide to the Arizona senator said Tuesday that McCain hasn’t decided exactly what form of support is needed, but that it likely will be consistent with past measures he has supported.

What the McCain Web site says about renewable energy

John McCain Believes That The U.S. Must Become A Leader In A New International Green Economy. Green jobs and green technology will be vital to our economic future. There is no reason that the U.S. should not be a leader in developing and deploying these new technologies.

Obama’s voting record on renewables

Since his Senate debut in 2005, Obama has had 24 opportunities to vote for clean energy, and he chose clean energy 23 of those times. The one time he did note vote with Barbra Boxer was in 2005 when he voted for nuclear power subsidies as part of the McCain-Lieberman bill.

“There can be little doubt that Obama has championed the cause of US renewables such as wind, solar, and geothermal,” said Ethan Zindler, New Energy Finance’s head of North American research, noting that Obama has voted repeatedly for extending the production tax credit and the investment tax credit and for a national renewable portfolio standard while in the Senate. “He hasn’t just talked the talk, he’s walked the walk in his voting record.”

What the Obama Web site says about renewable energy

The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan says it will:
Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon on the road by 2015. Ensure 10 % of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 % by 2025.

Conclusion

Germany, with its less than desirable average yearly sun, has taken the lead in solar power installations. Curiously, many solar cell manufacturers located in the United States stand to lose less than the country as a whole does. The CEO of Nanosolar, Martin Rosencheisen, said that “there’s strong enough worldwide demand for his products that losing the investment tax credit would have only a marginal impact on his business.” But while international buyers snap up cells, the nascent industry at home will continue to languish. It is, Rosencheisen says, “really embarrassing,” in light of the steps other countries have taken to encourage investment.
 

Websites to Check Out

A great resource and interesting Web site that has news and articles dealing with off grid living is www.off-grid.net. The Web site collects information from all over the world so you get a global perspective.
 

Helpful Tips & Stuff We've Learned
Living Off the Grid

One of the most power hungry appliances in any home is your refrigerator. We started with a propane fridge but eventually decided that an efficient electric top mount freezer with the fridge on the bottom was the way to go. We came to this conclusion after realizing that although a propane fridge did reduce the load on our solar system, the long-term costs of propane added up. With a few calculations it became clear that within a few years the extra cost of a larger solar array was worth knowing we would have no long-term propane costs for a refrigerator. Go to the www.energystar.gov Web site for more information on efficient appliances.

Spotlight on New Products

HIGH-QUALITY MODULES FROM NORWAY
NOW AVAILABLE IN THE USA

Megawatts of top-quality modules - Just in time to help with the module shortage in the USA.  We are thrilled to offer our customers these high-performance, environmentally advanced PV modules from Norway-based REC Solar, one of the world's largest PV companies.

The Best of Two Continents

One of the most vertically integrated solar companies and the world's largest producer of solar-grade silicon and multicrystalline wafers, REC controls all stages of the manufacturing process with rigorous quality assurance.

REC Solar combines the highest grade US-produced silicon with renowned Scandinavian design and manufacturing standards to produce solar modules with uncompromising quality and exceptional performance.

Environmentally Sound from Start to Finish

REC is committed to reducing its environmental impact at each step of the production process. Utilizing the region's abundant hydroelectricity to power most of its production, recycling at every opportunity, and adhering to Scandinavia's famously high standards of environmental regulation, REC delivers the industry's highest levels of ecological responsibility in both process and product.

Call us for current pricing on these modules 1 888 782-0706
 

An Off Grid Perspective
The weakest link in off grid systems
The battery

We get asked frequently about battery selection. I usually start by asking a few questions of my own.

The first is how you plan on using the system. If your system will be at a full time residence and you will be around to do a monthly check and water the batteries, then a flooded lead acid battery may be a better choice. These flooded lead acid (FLA) batteries are less costly and have more tolerance to abuse and deep cycles.

If the system will be at a part time residence or a low maintenance system is desired, then a sealed battery is a better choice. Leaving a flooded lead acid battery to dry up is asking for a fire or at least a ruined battery bank. The trade off is that sealed batteries tend to have lower tolerance to abuse and cost more.

Next is the class or the cost for your battery bank. I generally steer my clients away from the industrial/ high cost batteries because I feel that battery technology is on the brink of changing how we use batteries. The type of batteries that will be available in the near future will be lighter, last longer and will take up less space. So buying a battery with a ten year warranty just does not make sense to me. I would rather see my clients in a battery for half the cost and know that in 5-8 years when their batteries give out they will have many new options for replacement. With that said, if your site is in a location that makes battery replacement very difficult, then choosing a high end battery may be the way to go.

Finally what voltage battery do you choose? I will save figuring out the size of your battery bank for another newsletter but let’s talk about battery voltage. There are in general 2, 6 and 12 volt batteries available. Why the choice and which should you use? We try to choose a battery bank that will reduce the connections between batteries and reduce the parallel connections. The best way to look at this is to understand that every time we hook a battery in parallel ( positive to positive, negative to negative) you are giving electricity an additional path to follow. Let’s say you have an inverter that runs on 12 volts DC. You could take one 12 volt battery and power the inverter. You would soon find that your one battery will not hold enough power or amp hours to last very long. So you add another three 12 volt batteries in parallel, remember positive to positive, negative to negative.

The electrical path has 4 pathways to get from positive to negative. Eventually this leads to some batteries in the bank that get all the charge and some batteries that will discharge more than others. Also you have three connections on the positive side and three connections on the negative side. More connections equals a higher cost and inefficiency through corrosion and wire length.

Now let’s take the same system and use six 2 volt batteries. If we connect the six 2 volt batteries in series (positive to negative) we add the voltage and have one string of batteries that could have the same overall amp hour rating as the four 12 volt battery bank. That means only 5 connections and the only path for the electricity to go through each battery. Thus each battery is forced to work just as hard in the battery bank. In, general the less parallel connections in a battery bank the better. This is also why we push to use 48 volt inverters versus 12 or 24 volt systems.

Please feel free to make comments and suggestions for upcoming newsletters to farrel@apxsolar.com

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