This summer Berkeley, California will begin an innovative financing program for solar electricity.
Essentially, the City will front the costs for a solar photovoltaic system for residents (and businesses) who would otherwise not be able to afford the upfront financing. In return for covering the initial costs, Berkeley will levy a 20-year tax assessment on the property to pay for the loan. The tax will apply to the building, not the property owner. Thus, if the owner sells the home, the assessment will stay put. The next owner will inherit the remainder of the loan – and the solar photovoltaic system.
Berkeley City Council passed its initiative last November. Since then, officials have worked to set up the program including initiating low-interest municipal bonds to finance the system and establishing a network of city-approved solar installation companies.
When the program launches, property owners who wish to participate will contact a city-approved solar installer. The City will pay the installer, then apply an additional tax assessment to the property that covers the installation costs and associated administration fees, less any rebates or tax incentives that may apply.
Berkeley expects that extra property tax payment will amount to roughly $65 per month depending on the size of roof top system. In general, most residential solar installations within the city range from $15,000 to $20,000. Over time, however, the increased tax should be offset from decreased electricity bills.
May 20, 2008
There’s a village on the island of Jeju-do in South Korea that relies completely on solar energy to light and power its buildings.
The village of Donggwang is small (40 homes), yet its environmental non-impact is huge. In 2004, the South Korean government covered 70 percent of the installation costs to place solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of all the homes, schools, and other buildings in the village. Now the sun supplies 100 percent of the village’s electricity needs.
Treehugger.com picked up on the blog originally posted on Ecoworthy.com over the weekend. The author does not say why the Korean government offered to cover 70 percent of Donggwang’s installation costs. Videos on YouTube depict Jeju-do as a beautiful and lush semi-tropical island that tourist websites call a lovely vacation and popular honeymoon destination.
Now all us solar fanatics have another reason to visit!
May 12, 2008
Happy Earth Day.
We’re glad this tradition continues after 38 years. Of course, 38 is just a blip in the actual age of the planet. Yet our increasing awareness and reverence for our home is as critical as ever. The groundswell of ideas and trends – such as increased consumer demand for “green” products and public support for “green collar” jobs – that have entered both our collective consciousness and the marketplace bode well for our planet. We hope they stick.
We live on a really cool planet. Let’s keep it that way.
April 22, 2008
The South by Southwest Music Festival is happening right now in Austin, Texas.
Not surprisingly, the music industry, like others, is finding ways to address climate change. At this year’s festival the concert organizers are purchasing Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from the City of Austin to offset the carbon emissions it generated from last year’s event. According to the concert’s press release, “Austin Energy will retire 448 solar RECs on behalf of South by Southwest and use the proceeds from the sale to begin implementation of a local renewable energy project.”
Austin Energy plans to expand its services by investing in solar powered charging stations where people could charge everything from small electronics such as cell phones and MP3 players, to electric bikes and scooters.
Other musicians have also embraced solar. Jack Johnson has received great press coverage for recording his new album, Sleep through the Static, using power generated from his studio’s grid-tied solar photovoltaic system.
Let’s hope other musicians and artists continue down the long – green – and winding road.
March 12, 2008
In 2003, solar photovoltaic panels were installed at the White House. Two smaller solar thermal systems were also installed to heat water: one for landscape maintenance personnel, the other for the presidential pool and spa.
The Reagan Administration had ordered a previous set of solar thermal panels removed in the 1980s (the Carter Administration had installed the first set).
The Park Service, who oversees White House maintenance, decided to install a new set of solar panels on a maintenance building adjacent to the main house because as James Doherty, an architect with the National Park Service told Environmental Building News in 2003, “we are always looking for opportunities to promote renewable energy and sustainable design and we decided to take advantage of this next opportunity to pursue that mission at the White House.”
Although the White House has never revealed (for security reasons) how much energy each system generates, it acknowledges the system is modest and more a symbol of the Park Service’s commitment to renewable energy than an all-out power system. The Bush Administration itself never really announced the project. Instead the installation was completed “under the radar;” industry trade journals were the media that picked up the story.
We, at Cooler Planet, decided to remind people of these national panels because we hope that the next Administration furthers these solar efforts – replete with lots of fanfare.
March 8, 2008
Could we someday have a fabric that could power our cell phones and MP3 players? Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology hope so. Yong Qin, Xudong Wang and Zhong Lin Wang are developing a fabric embedded with piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowires to create a nanogenerator within our clothes. These minute generators could create electricity from our own body movements.
Their article, published in the February 13 edition of the journal Nature, describes how by coating half of the zinc oxide wires with gold the fabric’s embedded wires can then convert physical movement into electricity. Evidently, the gold plating enables the microscopic wires to act as an electrode so that when the “charged” wires contact the non-gold plated wire an electric current can run through the fabric. Their research has also demonstrated that the microscopic wires must be arranged similar to a bottle-brush as opposed to another type of alignment.
All is not perfect, however. Though the scientists have added a polymer layer to prevent the zinc oxide from wearing away, the research team must still figure out how prevent the zinc oxide from degrading when wet. It wouldn’t do to power your cell phone in clothes that cannot be laundered.
February 21, 2008
Curious to know your own carbon footprint? We checked out two different online calculators over the weekend. The EPA has published its own carbon calculator tool: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html. Another useful carbon footprint tool can be found on www.carboncounter.org.
Be ready to collect some data about yourself. Each tool requests that you compile annual data from your electricity and gas bills. The EPA tool asks for actual costs while the Carbon Counter tool prefers the same data in terms of kilowatt hours of electricity or therms of natural gas. Both tools also ask you to enter information about how many miles you drive each year and the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.
The tools also differ. The EPA tool asks about your recycling habits; while the Carbon Counter is more interested in your annualized miles via air travel.
In the end, both tools calculate your carbon dioxide emissions and provide national averages so you can see how you fare. The EPA calculates emissions in terms of pounds of carbon dioxide per year, whereas the Carbon Counter tracks total carbon dioxide emissions as metric tons. So if you’d like to compare, remember that 1 metric ton = 2204.62262 pounds.
Each tool suggests ways that you can reduce your carbon dioxide emissions. The EPA tool allows you to readily see how much you might save once you’ve answered a series of questions. The Carbon Counter offers ideas on how much money you could contribute to a carbon offset organization to neutralize your activities. Either way, it’s good to note where each of us stand in terms of carbon dioxide. As we all learned in kindergarten – there’s always room for improvement. We could all help reduce carbon emissions.
February 4, 2008
Most scientists agree our climate is changing – they may not agree on the causes for that change – but most concur that global warming is real. Essentially, too much heat remains in the earth’s atmosphere.
The main culprit for that heat retention is carbon dioxide, a byproduct of combustion. The coal, oil, natural gas, gasoline, diesel fuel, and wood we burn emit carbon dioxide. Of course, we have used these materials and have emitted carbon dioxide for millennium. What makes our actions different now is the magnitude of our emissions and their cumulative effect on our atmosphere.
Trees and other vegetation have always helped (and will continue to help) process carbon dioxide and release oxygen, however, our continuous use of fuels, demand for wood to make paper, furniture, and houses, and clearing of land to make way for agriculture exceed our planet’s “natural” pace to consume carbon dioxide.
Carbon neutral is the term coined to rebalance our consumption. You can calculate the carbon you use, and then purchase credits from companies that invest in clean energy projects. These “carbon neutral” companies pool resources to invest in large-scale development of projects such as wind power, solar power, or land preservation to help our planet heal.
Mind you a quid-pro-quo attitude is not enough to “fix” our addiction to combustion-production. That’s where actions such as installing solar panels come in. The more all of us choose less energy producing products and activities (like Energy Star appliances, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and high gas-mileage cars, to name just a few) the more hopeful we can all be that our lifestyles we so enjoy will not wreak total havoc on our environment.
January 30, 2008
