News from ReVision Energy

Pat Coon of the newly-named ReVision Energy writes,

I've got a couple of things I'd like to get out to the world of energy aware citizens:

1. Brite Built Barn. This is a net zero building we've been working on that has a cool blog and tracks a neat project. We'll share more info on this project next time...

2. Adam Cote is running for the first district's seat. He has worked in renewable energy and seems like an excellent candidate. I'd like to get out the word about his candidacy.

3. Here's a link to a green build course put on by Waterfall Arts in Belfast. It should be really good. Check it out here.

Jen Hatch from ReVision Energy's Portland office writes,

Happy Spring to all!

April showers bring May flowers . . . and an abundance of trade show events that we will be attending!

Coming up:

MidCoast Sustainable Energy Expo at the Central Lincoln County YMCA in Damariscotta
Friday, April 18^th from 12-6pm
Saturday, April 19^th, from 9-4pm
For more information email: midcoastgreencollaborative@gmail.com

The Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset presents a Sustainable Energy Conference on April 26^th from 9-5pm. If you have questions regarding the conference, please feel free to contact: pathways@chewonki.org

May 10^th – Smart Energy Expo 12-5pm at the Kennebunk High School
Sponsored by the Maine Partners for Cool Communities
For information contact Jennifer Niese at: turnstone@gwi.net

May 16^th – MEBSR Conference at the Abromson Center, USM from 8 -5:30pm
What is sustainable business and how can your company benefit from incorporating it into your business operations? Come hear the compelling experiences of business large and small as their behind-the-scenes strategies, stories, and bottom line profits are presented from a variety of angles.
We invite all businesses and individuals, members or not, to join us on May 16th at the USM Abromson Center in Portland, for this inspiring gathering in a casual atmosphere to gail tools and skills for building a vibrant and rewarding future for Maine businesses.
MEBSR is a network of Maine businesses working together to achieve sustainable business success. Join today and become part of a business community focused on integrating people, planet and profit.
Contact Sanna McKim for more information: 338-8908

Hope to see you at one of these events! As always, please call our office to find out how we could put renewable energy to work for you, 221-6342.

Be well,
Jen

News from ReVision Energy

Jen Hatch of the newly-named ReVision Energy writes,

In like a Lion
March is nearly here, and spring is almost amongst us. I happen to love the winter but I can image that many are looking forward to transition from this particularly snowy season.

The snow has not slowed us down this winter; in fact I think people's increased concern for alternative solutions to their rising energy bills has given rise to the awareness of solar. We have been fortunate to work with many homeowners to reduce their energy bills by supplementing that source with solar energy.

As summer is not too far off the horizon we continue to stress the benefits of solar energy. If you are a homeowner who is burning oil or gas during the months between May to October, where there is little to no call for heat, you may be interested to know that a solar hot water system will turn that furnace off, and keep it off, unless of course there is a particularly high demand for hot water, or if there is an extended period of time without sun. Think about how much oil or gas you use during those months, and you can think of that as a start to your savings.

Did you know that if you are a commercial business the state will pay for 35% of your solar hot water system, capped at $10,500? We recently held a seminar geared for restaurant businesses, as we feel that restaurants, with their continuous and extensive usage of hot water, are excellent candidates for a solar energy system. Any business that wishes to find out how a solar application can benefit them should contact our office. The state rebate is incredibly favorable at this time for commercial systems.

Not only is there a state incentive, there is also an incentive on the federal level, 30% uncapped of the remaining cost of the system. With these rebates the payback is hard to beat.

ReVision Energy recently worked with WPXT-TV and Efficiency Maine as part of the 'Green Team' that helped to give the Wright family in Falmouth a home efficiency makeover. Jed Wright was selected out of 100 nominees for the first ever green make over show provided by WPXT-TV. ReVision Energy provided the labor and materials for the solar hot water installation. You can view an article that ran in the Press Herald at the link provided below:

Going Green In More Ways Than One

And last, but certainly not least, we are pleased to tell you that we have finished the Yarmouth High School solar photovoltaic installation. This summer students from the Yarmouth High school worked on writing a grant provided by the public utilities commission for a demonstrative solar electric system to be installed on the roof of their school. The proposal not only included panels for the roof but also a data monitoring system that will track what the panels are doing and will be able to be read and utilized in the classroom.

The students demonstrated that a solar electric system benefits not only the school but the community as a whole. They were awarded the grant money last fall and were recognized by the governor for their ambition and hard work. The forecaster has been keeping tabs on this project, this is their most recent story highlighting the installation.

Sun shines on Yarmouth High solar project

As always, please call our office to find out how a solar application may benefit you, 221-6342.

Be well,
Jen

Promoting Renewable Energy in Maine

Here's an editorial piece I wrote about how we can promote renewable energy in Maine:

As energy prices increase, many people in Maine are unable to pay their fuel and electricity bills. The long-term solution to this crisis is to heat and power our homes and businesses with the free energy from the sun that is already being delivered every day to every part of our state.

I believe we Mainers should begin weaning ourselves from an unhealthy addiction to foreign oil. We should let the market determine the price of gasoline and fuel oil. Artificially subsidizing the costs of burning fossil fuels through government programs simply makes the problem worse by retarding the necessary investment in sustainable local energy solutions. The rising price of fossil fuel levels the playing field for solar, geothermal and tidal energy.

Although market forces are probably the most efficient way to allocate resources toward viable energy solutions, it is unrealistic to expect politicians to restrain themselves from trying to use governmental power to help people struggling with the unprecedented fossil fuel crisis. Several proposals are circulating now about how to reduce the price of fossil fuels (dragging us further into a hopeless situation) or to reduce the price of renewable energy (arguably moving us closer to a sustainable energy future). All of these proposals suffer from the same problem: lack of government funding to sustain the subsidies in the face of increases in the real costs of fuel.

In particular, I think efforts to re-regulate our electricity market through feed-in tariffs are particularly misguided. Experience with regulated energy markets worldwide shows that central planners are unable to predict real costs and technological advances. As a result, tariff pricing leads to massive inefficiencies, higher prices and poor public infrastructure investments.

A better approach, in my mind, is to pursue our current policy of renewable portfolio standards. Rather than dictating a particular price as in a tariff scheme, regulators dictate acceptable standards for how energy is to be generated. For example, regulators may require energy providers not to pollute, or to use only renewable fuels. The market is then free to set efficient prices and make investments in technologies that meet the production standards set by regulators. Regulators enforce the rules by fining or imprisoning violators.

The major risk to both a tariff scheme and a renewable portfolio standard is that the regulators may set an unrealistic target that simply cannot be met by the market in a cost-effective manner. A renewable portfolio standard, however, is better able to allow prices to increase to attract the necessary additional capital to make the required investments. In the end, regulators will have to confront the reality that they can control price or they can control quality, but they can't control both. At this stage in our energy crisis, I believe we must focus the efforts of our regulators on improving the quality of our energy supply and allow prices to rise to reflect the true costs of our energy systems.

There are several ways to capture and use solar energy:

• wood, potatoes, straw, ethanol, biodiesel and other "biofuel"
• passive solar design
• active solar heating
• active solar power
• wind power

Forcing a tariff rate on the various options is likely to be extremely difficult. However, there are clear standards that could be established and enforced by state regulators under a renewable portfolio standard. For example, emissions can be measured and standards adopted that would eliminate coal and wood-fired power plants, shifting investment toward cleaner sources by simply fining or imprisoning producers that exceed pollution standards. We could nudge along the adoption of clean energy systems by expanding our current "net-zero" policy for home-owner clean energy systems to be a "net-positive" policy. Home owners who have installed solar panels on their grid-connected properties should be paid for all of the net power they feed back to the grid, not just a portion of it as is currently the law.

Whatever policy the state adopts, it must take steps to provide long-term predictability to the market. Since we have recently adopted electricity price competition with renewable portfolio standards, I think it would send the wrong signal to go back to a regulated tariff scheme. My message to regulators is this: "Set high standards, enforce them strictly, and give private investors the confidence that the rules of the game aren't in flux."

In the end, our state and we residents must confront the basic fact that fossil fuel prices are out of our control. Sooner or later we should switch to local, clean sources of energy: solar, geothermal and tidal. These are the only energy sources that can sustain our future economic prosperity.