solar squirrel

PV modules

A majority of my new job has been focused around solar PV (photovoltaics).  As such, we decided it made since for the VP of Renewable Energy Technologies to attend some solar installation training to become more technically savvy.  I looked around for a good long while in search of a course that was 1) affordable 2) close and 3) had good credentials - IREC accredited and taught by NABCEP Certified installers.

I looked at Boots on the Roof but honestly, it was just too expensive (would have had to fly there and the price was over $3k).  There were a few local options at the community colleges, but their instructors weren’t NABCEP Certified nor did they have IREC accreditation.  I’m one of those people who insists on getting what they pay for (even if it wasn’t my money) so I did quite a bit of research.  I ended up choosing to attend Infinite Solar in PA.  The course was advertised as a 5-day entry level course.  While I wouldn’t really consider myself ‘entry’ level, I figured this course would be perfect for me because it would allow me to get the hands-on experience I was looking for.  Because the course was in Philly, I asked my good friend Chris if I could stay with him and his fiancee.  Of course he said yes and the planning began! So this meant I could drive AND wouldn’t have to pay extra for a hotel.  Double win. [NOTE: Due to a co-worker's concern I have decided to remove the sentences that used to be here.]

So…the week before Easter I was headed to Philly.  Chris planned out for me the most efficient routes for getting to Philly from Akron as well as my daily drive to the school.  It was soooo nice to have someone local to help with that kind of stuff.  I left for Philly Sat afternoon and stayed Sat to Sat.  We had a blast - Chris and Cathy showed me around Philly and we did a ton of really fun stuff including lots of AWESOME food and beer consumption.  (Hence my facebook status updates w/ beer and food pictures).  It would have been way more fun if I didn’t have to wake up at 6am every day, but we decided that I would just have to come back this summer.

Now onto the course discussion.  I guess when I read ‘entry-level’ I didn’t really think about it -  i.e. anyone - even if you didn’t finish high school - could possibly be one of the students.  The math portion of the class was beyond embarrassing.  Having spent over 6 years as an embedded software engineer I came to forget that not everyone has things like Ohm’s law memorized or that current times voltage = Watts (power).  Those things are just like second nature to me - kind of like driving or putting on my shoes.  I forget that maybe some people haven’t had to think about that since middle school.  Ok, so I’ll give you that.  Maybe you didn’t work on medical imaging equipment where you had to think about the kV and mA that were selected by the user in order to get the desired power settings for you CT scan.  Got it.  But there is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO BASIC ALGEBRA.  We spent a good 20 min discussing the fact that if V=IR, it also magically means that I=V/R.  And there were people that didn’t get this!!!!!!  WTF!!????!!!!!  How can you get through life not understanding basic algebra??!!!  I seriously use algebra at LEAST once a week!!!  This course was a lesson for me in many ways…some of which had nothing to do with solar installation.  So I was beyond baffled by the fact that people didn’t understand how to do basic calculations.  Also - there was this guy that I think must have been mentally disabled sitting next to me.  He was asking THE DUMBEST questions…every time he talked I had to think about something sad so that I wouldn’t die laughing.  It got to the point where the instructor would look at me when he started to ask a question - like we both had this understanding that this guy was just a whack-o - and it would make me have to try even harder not to laugh.  He was asking things that were totally unrelated to the course.  I swear I thought he was going to ask if aliens existed next.  Just completely random stuff.

All in all the course was good, and I did learn some things that I didn’t know like info relating to the NEC (National Electric Code) and safety stuff.  The installations were very good and we got to install on an indoor roof as well as a standing seam roof, a ballasted system, and a pole-mount system.  Any question I had was able to be answered with a non-biased response.  I also networked with one of the instructors and he is interested in possibly coming on board as a technical consultant for Carbon Vision.

Pole Mounted system with micro-inverters

Rear view of pans used for ballasted flat roof system

PV installed on the indoor shingled roof

S-5 clips mounted to standing seam roof

I’m sure the pictures are probably boring to most people - but it was really neat to get exposure to so many different types of installations.  I’ve already used what I learned about mounting systems to talk with an engineer working on a mounting solution for a corrugated roof on a system that is in planning right now.

Bad news about the week was that I didn’t get any good training in.  I made the mistake of doing a run on the treadmill Friday and now my IT band is not happy with me.  Argh.  Lifetime has an outdoor run club that meets for the first time next week that I’m planning on going to and I’m going to start doing Solon track workouts on Tue evenings.  I am determined to get over this dumb injury!

So - this post has nothing to do with running, biking, swimming, or reef tanks.  [Stop reading now if you are bored by renewable energy or discussion of the legalities behind renewable energy credits].  This post does describe something that is funny that happened with First Energy (NYSE: FE).  Read on if you want to hear about something that they just recently did that was countered and finally withdrawn.

As part of my job I’m responsible for filing applications with the state of Ohio for getting the renewable energy projects that my company develops certified as renewable energy resource generating facilities.  (The name of the application I fill out is ‘Application for Certification as an Eligible Ohio Renewable Energy Resource Generating Facility’).  The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has an electronic-based system where you can file these applications online using their docketing system.  The system is sort-of bureaucratic, but for the most part quite efficient and the people who I’ve spoken with are very nice and incredibly helpful.

As a way to stay on top of the applications, I opted to receive a daily email that summarizes the activities for the day.  So, every day at around 5pm I receive an automated email which summarizes the days events and the different items that have been submitted to the PUCO online system.  I only elected to receive info on the renewable energy projects (REN).  Typically there will be new application filings, affidavit filings, updates, and finally the granting of the certification by PUCO.  Boring stuff, I know, but it’s good to know what’s going on and I like to see the different types of renewable energy projects that are being applied for.  It’s not just solar pv and wind, but also things like biomass (i.e. gas from a landfill), fuel cells, geothermal, and hydroelectric power.

Recently an application was submitted by First Energy for a Biomass facility.  Wow! I thought - way cool - I hadn’t seen any biomass applications so I opened up the application and checked it out.  Generally you are required to include pictures so I wanted to see what it looked like.  (I was hoping for a biodigestor or something of that nature).  Well wasn’t I surprised when this was the photo enclosed in the application:

Wait a minute - that sure looks like a coal-fired power plant to me… Upon reading the application further, I realized that the photo is indeed a coal powerplant.  It’s located in Oregon, OH.  It’s called the Bayshore Plant.

First Energy was trying to apply for certification as a renewable resource generating facility by claiming that they were using biomass along with the coal for use in this plant.  OK, fine, but after reading a bit more I also realized that they were only going to be utilizing a very small percentage (0-5%) of the fuel as biomass, and on top of that, who knows the source of the biofuel, how it’s collected, etc.

What if the source of the wood in the birquette is from half way across the world from trees that were better off not being chopped down?

Interestingly enough, I am not the only one who had these questions.  Several organizations, including the Ohio Environmental Council had the same questions and concerns and filed with PUCO to intervene.

Today my usual daily summary email arrived shortly after 5pm, and wouldn’t you know it - First Energy withdrew their application!  I was so surprised!  I wonder why they withdrew…maybe it was just not worth it for them to go through the process of documenting the details of the sources of the so-called ‘biofuel’ that they were going to be using in collaboration with the coal?  Who knows - but this is good news for all of us who are actually working to get REAL renewable energy working in Ohio.  And by real I don’t mean saying that your facility is a renewable energy facility if it has a small fraction of it’s power coming from something that may or may not actually be considered biomass.

I have been waiting and waiting for someone to come up with an entire gym concept that encompasses sustainability, conservation, and reuse. I should have guessed that one would spring up in Portland, Oregon; the same place that has electric car dealerships. Check this place out - The Green Microgym. I’m sure you’ve always wondered what would happen if someone harnessed the electricity from your workout - at least I know I have - but I was discouraged to find out that the amt. of energy that I create is actually quite small - I sure feel like I’m generating a lot when I’m working out hard! But this gym actually has taken some really good ideas into action using solar to subsidize some of it’s energy and also using member’s art work on the walls. I’m most impressed with some of their equipment which I have never seen before. I love the idea of harnessing  kinetic energy, which I honestly feel EVERY gym should do - and it looks like this one is currently investigating it with the use of this company called ReRev. Why not use some of that energy created by all the jumping around during an aerobics class? I know there is a dance club in Rotterdam that uses the same idea from dancers on the dance floor…I am definitely going the next time I am in the Netherlands for more than 48 hours.

I haven’t posted for a while…I’ve had pain in my left knee for a week (started last Sat.). I ran about 15 miles yesterday with Elizabeth and Janet at an easy pace and it felt pretty good during the run, (after taking 4 days off) but after my knee pain is now back. I think it’s ITB, which both Elizabeth and Janet have had in the past. Todd told me not to run AT ALL, because I need to let it heal. I think he’s right, but at the same time I don’t want to loose the fitness-level that I’ve achieved so far. So I don’t know what I’m going to do. I need to get in to see someone ASAP and make sure what I have is ITB-related and go from there. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Tidal Turbine installed in Strangford Laugh (N. Ireland)

Check this out - Northern Ireland is home to the first ever mega-watt scale tidal turbine. Maybe this can be my excuse to go on vacation to Ireland again. It is one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been - green everywhere; clean air; fluffy sheep EVERYWHERE. What more could you ask for?