Urban Americans Appear to Have Limited Understanding of How Best to Conserve Energy

A study in the August 16, 2010 Early Online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America suggests that Americans have a relatively poor understanding of how best to conserve energy in their daily lives.

The focus on curtailment actions over efficiency actions is likely related to the cost and ease of implementation.The study finds that“efficiency improvements almost always involve research, effort, and out-of-pocket costs (e.g., buying a new energy-efficient appliance), whereas curtailment may be easier to imagine and incorporate into one’s daily behaviors without any upfront costs.”Click here to download the study.

Repower at Home Diverts One Million Pounds of Coal from Power Plants, Raises the Stakes

Repower at Home’s October 10th Coal Challenge has already reached its goal of reducing energy usage for participants by the equivalent of one million pounds of coal. Now, their goal is to divert seven million pounds of coal before October 10, the 10/10/10 Global Work Party.

Join the challenge by creating an account and taking action in your home. Each action you complete saves energy and earns points. For example, the annual energy savings from programming your thermostat is equivalent to diverting 870 pounds of coal from a power plant. By completing this action, you could earn 870 points and contribute 870 pounds to the challenge goal.

From http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2010/08/why-we-ve-failed-again?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-August11-2010

For all the talk about a new “Clean Energy Economy,” federal action on the issue has been downright pitiful this year. It’s easy to simply blame Congress, but it’s more complex than that. The renewable energy and environmental community need to share some of the blame as well.

Let’s set the stage, shall we?

Renewables are still the fastest growing form of energy globally. But the United States – the large, powerful nation that it is – has slipped behind in the increasingly-heated competition to build this new industry. In the last few years, the renewables industry has done a great job navigating the scattered, stop-and-start nature of the U.S. market. But the lack of consistent federal support has finally caught up.

For example, China is now the world’s fastest growing wind market. Chinese producers are starting to give American companies like GE some serious competition. Competition is a wonderful thing. But when a long-time technology leader like GE starts feeling the pressure from companies that have grown practically overnight, you pay attention.

China is a big country, of course. So its sheer size gives it an advantage.

Then you look at Italy, a country three fourths the size of California. Italy installed more solar PV last year than both California and the U.S. as a whole. This year will be the same.

And don’t forget about cloudy Germany, a country that will install around 6.5 GW of solar PV in 2010. The U.S. will install around 800 MW. God bless the Germans. Even though solar is probably not a great investment for the country given its resources, the leaders crafted a national strategy, acted upon it and helped create a solid foundation for the global solar industry. If it weren’t for the German push, the solar market wouldn’t be where it is today.

Now over to the U.S. where leaders still haven’t been able to pass a national target for renewable heat and electricity or even extend the production tax credit and Treasury grant program to give investors some clarity. Wind installations are down to 2007 levels, new small hydro development is extremely slow, geothermal developers are worried about not qualifying for tax credits, and solar, while definitely moving at a steady clip, doesn’t compare with the massive amount of capacity smaller countries are putting online.

Analysts have been calling America a “sleeper” market for years. Well guess what: It hasn’t yet begun to wake up.

To be fair, the drag in the market has also been caused by factors like lower demand for energy and falling natural gas prices. Policy is only one piece of a larger picture. But when a strong national signal to the market is there, the other pieces tend to fall into place.

2010 was supposed to be a defining year for renewables. An international climate change conference. A supportive president. A coal mine explosion and a massive oil spill. Instead, the industry ends the year with more uncertainty. Why? The irony may be that those factors contributed to the inertia and partisanship in Washington.

For far too long, environmental advocates and renewable energy interest groups pushed for a comprehensive climate bill. It was clear this spring that Congress wasn’t going to act. But rather than focus on smaller things that could have an immediate impact – principally an extension of the Treasury Grant Program or the production tax credit – they kept focused on the politically-volatile carbon cap and trade during an election year.

President Obama, who was trying to score some political points after the Gulf oil spill and show his support for “green jobs,” announced a few large loan guarantees to some sexy solar companies. However, he was completely silent about the things that would benefit the entire industry: Again, long-term tax credits or a renewable energy target.

Everyone – Congress, the President and the advocacy community – failed to recognize the politically expedient steps that needed to be taken. Instead of creating certainty for developers and investors, all we got in 2010 were some great photo-ops and a lot of partisan bickering. Once again we’ve proven that all the talk about a clean energy economy has been just that: Talk.

We still have many more months before the year comes to a close. But with the mid-term elections coming up, getting something passed looks less likely by the day. Let’s hope that Congress pulls it together and has the sense to give the industry some clarity for 2011.

 http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2010/08/why-we-ve-failed-again?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-August11-2010

Board Member joins the Solar Training Network

We are pleased to announce an exciting training opportunity for Aur J Beck, one of the Illinois Renewable Energy Association’s board members & the Southern IL Center for a Sustainable Future’s president and was one of only three solar instructors from Illinois who was asked to join the Solar Instructor Training Network.

Aur is the chief tech for Advanced Energy Solutions Group, Inc where he is charge of the Green Geek Squad (their renewable energy installation network).

According to Tehri Parker, Executive Director of the MREA, “Instructors for this program were chosen based on their skills and passion. We are looking for individuals who can quickly scale-up new and existing solar training programs. This is going to take a lot of determination and follow through on the part of the instructors. We knew from Aur’s application, and the past work we have done with him, that he would be an excellent candidate for this program.”

As part of a 5-year, federally funded initiative through the U.S. Department of Energy, the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) is working with partner organizations in seven Midwestern states to provide training to instructors involved in solar photovoltaic and solar thermal installer training programs.

Participants in the institutes will participate in the MREA’s Institute for Sustainable Power Quality (ISPQ)-Accredited Training Program.

Participants advanced through lecture, site evaluation, and hands-on installation experiences on a solar training roof. In addition, course instructors will provide information and facilitate discussion on model training programs, curriculum development, sustainable financing, and training lab design. Upon completion of the institute, participants will have continued access to an online shared resources environment for solar instructors managed by the MREA as part of the Midwest Solar Training Network.

The goals of Solar Instructor Training are to accelerate market adoption of solar technologies by ensuring that high-quality installations are standard and to create sustainable jobs within the solar installation industry.

More information about the Solar Instructor Training Network is available at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/instructor_training_network.html

More information about the Illinois Renewable Energy Association is available at www.illinoisrenew.org

###

Solar Instructor Training Network

Background

The Solar Instructor Training Network was launched in October 2009 to address a critical need for high-quality, local, and accessible training in solar system design, installation, sales, and inspection. Solar Instructor Training is a 5-year effort intended to create a geographic blanket of training opportunities in solar installation across the United States.

In partnership with the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) addresses workforce development barriers within the solar industry. In addition to ramping up its efforts to increase the number of trained workers in the solar industry, DOE finances accreditation of solar trainers and training programs, certification of installers and installation instructors, and distribution of best practices for training programs.