Scotts Contracting - StLouis Renewable Energy

4.18.2013

I’ll Follow The Sun: How Does Your Utility Rank On Solar Power?

I’ll Follow The Sun: How Does Your Utility Rank On Solar Power?: pHow much solar energy did your utility add last year? We know Australia has embraced solar. Germany too. Even Bangladesh has jumped on board. But what about U.S. states and communities? For the sixth year in a row, you can take a look at the utilities that have done the most to incorporate solar power [...]/p

They are ranked both by total megawatts added, as well as watts-per-customer. This means the big utilities with lots of customers are going to dominate the total megawatts added rankings, because they can invest in large projects. Small utilities have a chance to rise to the top of the rankings that measure solar energy added per-customer. The rankings take into account large-scale solar projects as well as smaller customer net metered projects that anyone could have on their roof.

Here are some key takeaways:

2.4 gigawatts = 8 natural gas plants: Utilities added 2,384 megawatts of solar capacity in 2012, compared to 1,480 in 2011. This can be compared to 8 natural gas-fired power plants.
Both big projects and net meters: 1,106 megawatts of the total came from large-scale projects, and 1,151 megawatts came from smaller, customer-sited solar projects. There were far more of the smaller projects – 90,000 small to just 70 large, which gives you a sense of the scale of both how much power is generated from a large project, and how widespread the smaller projects have become. The large-scale projects grew the most from 2011: 250 percent.
88 percent through power purchase agreements: Utilities purchased the vast majority of the solar power on their grid from solar companies — only 12 percent of the projects are owned by the utilities.
California domination: Pacific Gas and Electric’s purchase of the 250 megawatt Agua Caliente project (which received loan guarantees from the Department of Energy), the largest solar PV project in the world, represented more than a quarter of its 805 megawatt total. Along with the solar power added by Southern California Edison and Sacramento Municipal Utility District, that brings California’s share to well over 1 gigawatt. PG&E added more in 2012 than the entire country added in 2010. Sacramento had the only municipal utility on the top ten list, largely though its 50MW of large-scale projects.
All panels: No projects fueled by concentrated solar power came online last year, though 750 MW worth of projects will be completed this year.
Solar power concentrated: 80 percent of the smaller net metered projects were in California, New Jersey, Arizona, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.
Northeast Ohio as Silicon Valley of alternative energy?: Looking at the watts-per-customer rankings, the Ohio towns of St. Mary’s, Bryan, and Napoleon all made the top ten, along with utilities in Hawai’i, Tennessee, California, Arizona, and New Jersey. Rural Northeast Ohio is not typically known for investment in solar, but proportionally, it rose to the top in 2012. St. Mary’s dominated, with 562.8 watts-per-customer (Kauai Island Utility was the next highest at 282.1). As Patrick McGowan, Mayor of St. Mary’s put it: “It is my opinion that the City of St. Mary’s should have a diverse energy portfolio embracing various technologies. I feel that Green Energy solutions, including solar power, offer our citizens clean and economical energy.”[...]/p

Thank you for stopping by St Louis Renewable Energy. Feel free to comment in the section below or contact Scotts Contracting- St Louis Home Improvement Projects and Energy Reducing Needs Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog

4.16.2013

Act Now to Save Solar in Missouri!

Tell your Legislators: Vote NO on HB44

Dear St Louis and Missouri Solar Advocates,

Some of the smartest, most successful companies and organizations in the world are deploying solar — including Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, FedEx, GE, GM, Google, IKEA, Macy's, Target, Walmart, and the U.S. military.

So, why is the Missouri General Assembly dismantling incentives to bring more solar investment to the state?

Help us spread the word and tell your legislators to protect the state's solar industry.

Across the nation, the solar industry is creating jobs, building a more resilient power grid and tackling climate change head-on. By nearly all measures, the solar energy industry has been one of the fastest growing industries over the last five years and 2012 set records for new solar installations, despite a slow economic recovery.

And yet, Missouri's legislators are considering a bill that would stall renewable energy development by allowing the renewable energy standard to be met by existing hydro power. Tell them this makes no sense.

The best way to encourage companies to invest and create jobs in our state is to give them certainty about policies.

This bill signals to the business and investment community that the rules are changing and their investments are no longer welcome here.

In 2012 alone, $32 million was invested in Missouri to install solar on homes and businesses. There are 64 solar businesses creating investments and jobs in the state. This bill would cripple that momentum.

So why are your representatives moving backwards? Because there is a lot of money and power invested in keeping the status quo.

Tell your legislators -- you want more, not less, incentives for solar.

Thank you for all you do,

Carrie Cullen Hitt
Senior Vice President, State Affairs
Solar Energy Industries Association

4.14.2013

Our StLouis Flower Garden 2013

Since learning about the decline in the Bee and Butterfly Populations in the past few years we have decided that anything that could be done to help the much needed Pollination Services that these insects provide is not only helping to create a beautiful garden but also has the added benefit of helping the USA farmers- that grow the food that we need for the USA.

We decided to add some color to our yard and property this year by Starting the following seeds in our Mini Indoor Greenhouse Facebook Page. You will notice that all of the majority of the plants are: Butterfly and Bee Friendly.

Read More About Butterfly Gardening and Bee Population Decline

My Nature Loving Friends at Karmik Korner at 3131 Morgan Ford, StLouis MO also have in stock Butterfly Houses if you would like to help protect the much needed Butterfly Populations.

BLUE and PINK ROCKET LARKSPUR DELPHINIUM Ajacis

TROPICAL BIRD OF PARADISE Mallowwort Mallow

3.PORTULACA MOSS ROSE MIXED COLORS

CARDINAL CLIMBER VINE Red Flower Ipomea Quamoclit

SWEET PEA ROYAL FAMILY MIX Lathyrus Vine

Himalayan Tibetian GOJI BERRY

Cosmos

Babys Breath

Rainbow Rose

Web Link for the Indoor Seed Starting Station-See how the plants are growing at my girls facebook page

Thank you for stopping by St Louis Renewable Energy. Feel free to comment in the section below or contact Scotts Contracting- St Louis Home Improvement Projects and Energy Reducing Needs Get Your Green Building Tips and Resources at St Louis Renewable Energy Green Blog

4.12.2013

St Louis Residents-Add your voice to this petition before its too late

Compliance with Missouri's Renewable Energy Standard

Missouri utilities are blatantly disregarding the state’s renewable energy requirement. So Renew Missouri and our partners across the state have filed legal action to require compliance with the law.

Add your voice with this petition!

History/Context:

In 2008, two-thirds of Missouri voters demanded that investor-owned utilities increase their use of renewable energy. This was the highest passage margin of any statewide renewable energy initiative ever.
Last year, utilities were required to demonstrate that 2% of their energy came from renewable sources. However,utilities have built virtually no new renewable energy; instead, they have sought to confuse the intent of the law through their influence in Jefferson City.

How are they out of compliance?

1. Roll-Over Energy:

Utilities claim they can comply by using "old renewable energy" created at a time when the law wasn’t even in effect.
This is like trying to roll over cell phone minutes from a time before you even had the phone.

2. Old Hydro-Electric Plants:

Utilities are trying to use large, century-old hydroelectric facilities, even though the law explicitly forbids the use of these large hydro facilities.

3. We Demand Power, Not Credits:

The Missouri renewable energy law was passed to bring Missouri new, cleaner sources of energy and create jobs here at home.
Instead, IOUs are wasting our money on “renewable credits” from far-away states that deliver no electricity to Missouri. This means that Missouri sees no new jobs and no change in how we get our energy, while out-of-state energy producers see larger profits.

We need to invest in Missouri's economy and create local jobs!

Missouri gets roughly 85% of our energy from Wyoming coal, sending $1.3 billion out of our state every year.
If we instead invested in clean energy back home, we would keep some of that money in our local economies and create thousands of jobs, giving us cleaner air and healthier people in the process.

Help us deliver 21st century jobs and clean energy to Missouri by signing on to this petition that asks the Public Service Commission to do THEIR job and FORCE utilities to follow the law.