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NEWS BRIEFS
Port Townsend's efforts to generate, share
renewable energy earn state 'Solar City of the
Year' honor
By Jeff Chew
PORT TOWNSEND --
 Tudi
Haasl and Deb Wiese find fun, pleasure and
dollar savings in their new solar voltaic system
installed late last summer by Power Trip Energy.Besides the 30 percent federal tax credit that will save them $10,000 on the more than $30,000 system, the 29th Street residents paid nothing to Puget Sound Energy for September, the first month the system operated atop the roof of their 1,400- square-foot home. "The tax break was really motivational for us," Haasl said. "It's also exciting just to be helping the environment," Wiese added. Another thrill for Haasl and Wiese is watching their power meter run backward, delivering excess power back to the grid. That's where the fun comes in. Theirs is the 75th solar system in Jefferson County, a number that earned a special honor for Port Townsend, home of the heaviest concentration of solar arrays. 'Solar City of the Year' The Northwest Solar Center, a Washington State University and Shoreline Community College project that helps Northwest utilities to implement community-based power production incentive programs for local solar power producers, last month honored Port Townsend as "Washington Solar City of the Year." Mike Nelson, Northwest Solar Center director, said Port Townsend was honored for "having done more solar electric systems than any city in the state, per capita." Other award winners at the Northwest Solar Summit included Jefferson County power provider PSE for "Best Large Solar Utility," and the Washington Public Utility District Association, of which Jefferson County Public Utility District is a member, for "Best Solar Trade Association." Jefferson County's 75 systems compare to about 100 systems for all of Seattle, Nelson said, putting the number into perspective. 50 systems in Clallam In neighboring Clallam County, about 50 systems have been installed, said Jeff Randall, Power Trip Energy sales and marketing representative. Clallam County is slowly catching up with neighboring Jefferson County, Nelson said. Most of the systems in the county have been installed in the sunny Sequim-Dungeness Valley -- called the "blue hole" by pilots because of its number of sunny days -- where the Olympic Mountains rain shadow begins to dissipate cloud cover. The rain shadow extends through Port Townsend and the Quimper Peninsula and northeast to Whidbey and the San Juan Islands. Nelson said those who invest in solar systems are usually environmentally conscious. "You look up on the roof and you see a solar array," he said. "Then you look in the driveway and see a Prius."
The center works with legislators and local
government and industry officials to promote
programs that expand the renewable technologies
market.
Port Townsend 'special' "What makes Port Townsend so special is that people here are not only vocal activists, they also become the change they want to see," said Andy Cochrane, president of Power Trip Energy. "If we want to live in a solar-powered community, we have to start by living in solar-powered houses. "Here in Port Townsend, more of us are living in solar-powered houses than in any other community in the state." Randall represented Port Townsend-based Power Trip Energy Corp. at the 12th annual Northwest Solar Summit in Olympia in late October to accept the award on behalf of the citizens of Port Townsend. The award was the first of its kind, and it came as a surprise, Randall said. With 75 systems in Jefferson County, that means there is one array for every 294 people, Randall said. With 14,818 PSE power meters in the county, that means one-half percent of all PSE's metered customers in Jefferson County have grid-tied photovoltaic systems, or one out of every 200 PSE customers, Randall figures. By comparison, he said, there are 51 systems in the city of Bellingham and 1,113 statewide. PSE has 504 systems on its power grid with Jefferson County, amounting to 15 percent of those systems. Randall said Power Trip Energy has installed 168 systems since it was founded in 2002, totaling 634 kilowatts of power. "In 2009 we installed 40 systems totaling 224 kilowatts," Randal said of the company that employs six people. "It was the best year we've ever had." ________ Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
************** Date &
Time: Saturday, October 3, 2009, 10:00 -
4:00 PM Clallam and Kitsap Solar Presentations: In addition to the solar home tours, Power Trip Energy will be presenting two “Spin Your Meter Backwards” workshops during the weekend of the tour. Presentation times and locations:
Saturday, October 3rd, 1 pm and at 2:30 pm - Sequim High School, 601 N Sequim Ave, Sequim, WA. Kick-off location for the Clallam Solar Tour where you can get maps and other tour information. Presentations will cover grid tied solar PV, financing, and utility energy conservation programs. All events are free and open to the public.
Sunday, October 4th, 11:30 am – Peninsula Home and Remodel Expo, 1200 NW Fairgrounds Road, Bremerton, WA. The Peninsula Home and Remodel Expo coincides with the same weekend as the Kitsap Solar Tour. Power Trip Energy will be giving a “Spin Your Meter Backwards” presentation during the home show. An entrance fee is required to enter the home show.
************** The Kitsap Sun printed our OpEd piece about the state's Cap and Invest legislation currently being debated in Olympia. Go to: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/apr/01/my-turn-support-cap-and-invest-legislation/ Posted April 1, 2009
************** Posted March 25, 2009
These systems will allow system monitoring at the module level through the Enlighten website. Our first test site is accessible through this link: http://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/prrd332. Some of our clients have indicated they are also willing to make their systems publicly viewable. We will be adding those systems to our website soon.
**************
The Monday, March 2, 2009 edition of the Kitsap Sun
contained an article written by Christopher Dunagan
entitled For Some in Kitsap County,
To check out the article go to http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/01/for-some-in-kitsap-cloudy-economic-times-are-a/. For the video go to http://www.kitsapsun.com/videos/detail/finding-solar-solution. Photo of Charles "Tony" Neal by Derek Sheppard | Kitsap Sun Thanks for the great article Chris!
************** Posted January 13, 2009
Andy Cochrane Joins
Congressman Jay Inslee on Panel at Olympia Screening of
Fuel
Oscar contender FUEL is an insightful portrait of America’s
addiction to oil and an uplifting testament to the immediacy of new
energy solutions. Director, Josh Tickell, a young activist ,
shuttles us on a whirlwind journey to track the rising domination of
the petrochemical industry—from Rockefeller’s strategy to halt
Ford’s first ethanol cars to Vice President Cheney's petrochemical
company sponsored energy legislation — and reveals a gamut of
available solutions to "repower America" —from vertical farms that
occupy skyscrapers to algae facilities that turn wastewater into
fuel. Tickell and a surprising array of environmentalists, policy
makers, and entertainment notables take us through America’s
complicated, often ignominious energy past and illuminate a hopeful,
achievable future, where decentralized, sustainable living is not
only possible, it’s imperative.
Check out the trailer for Fuel at
www.thefuelfilm.com
Power Trip Energy president Andy Cochrane had the privilege of
attending a screening of Fuel in Olympia on January 10th where he
joined Congressman Jay Inslee, Rhys Roth of Climate Solutions, and
Rachael Jamison of the Dept. of Ecology's Green Building
Coordinator in a moderated Q & A session after the movie. The
Olympia screening occurred before a packed house at the Capital
Theater. Power Trip Energy is working to bring Fuel to the Rose
Theater in Port Townsend soon. We encourage renewable energy
enthusiasts to view the trailer and ask your local theater to bring
Fuel to your community.
Power Trip Energy's movie critic Jeff Randall lists this movie as
"Four stars, a must see!"
**************
Power Trip Energy president Andy Cochrane responded to the news saying,
“It’s nice that congress is agreeing with what our clients have known
for years now: solar works. It works great here in the northwest, and
there has never been a better time to invest in grid tied solar PV for
your home or business. There are over 700 grid tied systems installed
in Washington State, and this number is doubling each year. The
citizens of Washington State are leaders, not followers. We do
appreciate that the federal income tax credit extension will return to
our customers some of the money they have invested in their solar PV
systems. The 8-year extension of the credit and the removal of the
$2,000 cap for residential systems just makes sense for our country.”
Even though the elimination of the $2,000 residential cap does not take effect until January 1, 2009; we here at Power Trip Energy encourage our clients to act now and not to wait until January to schedule a site evaluation or to purchase a system. We anticipate being very busy after January 1 as a result of the improved federal income tax credit. We recommend having your solar PV system installed as soon as possible and waiting to commission the system (having the utility make the final connection) after January 1 to take full advantage of the new federal income tax credit. Please contact us at 360-643-3080 for more information. ************** Al Gore Poses Renewable Energy Challenge to U.S. Posted July 28, 2008
Former Vice President Al Gore challenged the United States to shift its entire electricity sector to carbon-free wind, solar and geothermal power within 10 years. “This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans - in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs,
“To those who argue that we do not yet have the technology to accomplish these results with renewable energy: I ask them to come with me to meet the entrepreneurs who will drive this revolution. I've seen what they are doing and I have no doubt that we can meet this challenge. “To those who say the costs are still too high: I ask them to consider whether the costs of oil and coal will ever stop increasing if we keep relying on quickly depleting energy sources to feed a rapidly growing demand all around the world. When demand for oil and coal increases, their price goes up. When demand for solar cells increases, the price often comes down.” Check out the video of Al Gore’s full speech at www.wecansolveit.org, click on link at the bottom of the page. The staff at Power Trip Energy count ourselves among the “entrepreneurs who will drive this revolution,” as referred to by Al Gore. Expect to hear more from us soon. We’ll have a challenge of our own for you.
**************************** July Solar Home Tour a Success Posted July 28, 2008
The 2008 ASES (American Solar Energy Society) Solar Tour for Jefferson County held on July 12 was a huge success. This was the first summer solar tour held in Washington State and the weather cooperated with sunshine and blue skies. Approximately 300 – 400 tour participants traveled to Port Townsend from as far away as Vancouver WA, Bellevue, Anacortes, Redmond, Kingston, Bremerton, and Port Angeles. Tour participation was up about three times over last fall’s solar tour.
Power Trip Energy hosted the tour and held a kick-off event that over the course of the day at Wildberry
Farm. All the seats were filled at three solar workshops held at the Power Trip Energy Shop including standing room only at the back of the room (see photo above) Thanks to Puget Sound Energy for helping to sponsor the event and for PSE employee Jake Wade for attending and leading one workshop. Power Trip Energy employees provided guided tours of the 5 solar systems installed at Wildberry Farm. A drawing limited to walkers and bicyclists for a $35 gift certificate to PT Cyclery went to a group of college students from Bellevue who cycled to the various tour sites (and Waterfront Pizza).
The eleven solar tour sites reported between 25 to 50 tour participants at each site throughout the day. Homeowners were at each site to answer questions including what their system cost, how much of their home’s energy the system is covering, and what it was like working with the installer.
Steve Moore, whose 7.2 kW system was installed in May 2008, reported that one visitor asked what kinds of things went wrong during the course of the installation. And Steve shrugged and said, “It all went great. We were here the first day Power Trip started the installation. We left town for 5 days and when we arrived home the following week the system was complete and the utility had turned on the system. Sorry to disappoint you, but nothing went wrong.”
The 2009 Solar Tour for Jefferson County has not been scheduled yet, but it will likely be a summer event again. ASES Solar Tours for King, Kitsap, and Clallam, and other Washington State counties are scheduled for October 4, 2008. Learn more about upcoming solar tours at www.solarwashington.org.
**************************** Watch
"Port Townsend going crazy over solar energy" |
||||
On
Friday, October 3rd, new federal legislation was passed that extends the
30-percent federal investment tax credit for both residential and
commercial solar installations for 8 years (through December 31, 2016).
This landmark legislation is part of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008, designed to address the U.S. financial
crisis.. 
innovators, engineers, and to every citizen,” Gore told the crowd at a
Washington DC event on July 18. The problem according to Gore, “We're
borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it
in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change.”
