California may be the first state to require storage systems for renewable energy.
As a bellweather state, AB2514 is an interesting concept....
AB 2514 would require utilities to incorporate energy storage in their distribution networks. The rules will mandate storage equal to 2.25% of daytime peak power by 2014 and 5% of daytime peak power by 2020.
It is estimated that 135MW of storage would need to be added annualy at a cost of around $200million.
We will update this site with information on this bill as it proceeds.
Storage of energy from Solar and Wind will give rise to some interesting opportunities and challenges..Here are some ideas....
- Store energy as compressed air in underground chambers.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 March 2010 20:02
California Net Metering Cap AB510- Approved by Legislature
Written by GF
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 10:51
CA Cap on Net Metering to be raised.
The California State Assembly has passed A.B.510, a bill that would raise the cap on net metering. The next step is for Gov. Schwarzenegger's approval to become law, according to the Vote Solar Initiative.
Net metering is a simple billing arrangement that allows solar customers to get fair retail credit for the excess electricity their systems generate during daytime hours.
Under California law, so-called customer-generators are credited at the same retail rate at which they are charged, which helps customers recoup the significant upfront costs of their solar-power systems more quickly. The California Solar Initiative passed by the Legislature in 2006 made net energy metering available to customer-generators on a first-come, first-served basis until the generating capacity of those customer-generators reached 2.5% of an electric service provider’s energy-producing capacity, or "aggregate customer peak demand."
Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 March 2010 12:55
Harmony Re - About Us
Tuesday, 17 November 2009 09:55
Harmony Re is a sustainability focused organization with speciality in renewable energy. The following are some of the solutions we provide:-
Solutions for - Material requirements. Harmony Re provides a full range of Solar and Renewable Products. If we do not stock it, we can locate it. Try us today!
Solutions for - Solar PV Design Permit Packages - A complete design package ready to be permitted.
Solutions for - Your excess inventory. Providing a confidential online clearing house to the industry. This assists in efficient redistribution of excess inventory among market participants.
Solutions for - Reducing theft of solar modules. Developing and co-sponsoring an online solar module theft tracking system for the industry. Also developing unique RFID tracking system to warn if any modules are being "relocated".
Solutions for - Photography and Videography of solar/renewable installations including timelapse photo and video.
Solutions for remote monitoring of inverters and modules without need for wires.
Solutions for - Sustainable business management. We [rovide a structured performance measurement system for green companies to track their performance against a balanced stakeholder focused scorecard. See link.
Contact Harmony Re at 800-824-2933 or via our website (contact us).
Last Updated on Thursday, 25 February 2010 17:10
San Diego Home Solar Finance AB811
Sunday, 14 February 2010 15:02
The Clean Generation Program is a San Diego initiative under California Law AB811 to finance residential installations through the properties rates and taxes account This attaches the loan to the house and not the homeowner.
The first phase was originally expected to be implemented by March 2010. This has been delayed and is now expected to commence in July 2010. This phase will cover 600-800 properties.
We will update this article with further information and developments on this initiative as they happen.
Solar panel (module) theft is a growing concern for customers, installers and manufacturers. With a 7-8 year payback period and 25+ year life, the loss of solar panels can have a major impact on the industry. Action is needed now to create ways to reduce theft.
Harmony re is to identify where this is occuring via our sister organization at Harmonyre.org. This non-profit site is developing a global database and solar theft tracking system which will show the instances of solar theft accross the world. Users will be able to view the locations of solar thefts around the world, and also submit their own information to the system. The system will show location of solar thefts accross the world via the online site, as well as through a downloadable kml file for Google Earth.
If you are interested in seeing the live site when it is launched, please create an account from the Login form on the right.----> We will send you an email when the site is ready. Alternatively we expect first version to be available online by March 1st. Donations are also welcome. Companies donating will be shown on the site.
The police recommend that owners engrave their drivers licence numbers onto the units to deter theft and assist in recovery. If you want to pre-register any stolen modules, please email us the details of the items stolen including:-
1. Make and Model of the panels stolen. 2. Quantity stolen. 3. Serial numbers of the stolen modules if you have them available. 4. Location - Address or Longitude and Latitude where they were stolen from. Note: We may alter the longitude and latitude slightly to ensure that the actual location is not exactly represented. This alteration is done, so that we represent the general occurence location of theft, but do no give away actual location of the units.
In addition to the tracking site, we are also researching ways to prevent theft. If you are interested in keeping up to date on developments, create an account and we will keep you informed when major developments take place.
Here are links to additional articles on the subject of solar theft.
Congressman Mike Thompson, who represents the Napa Valley, has included a provision against solar thefts in the Solar Technology Roadmap Act. The bill will create a national registry for solar panel serial numbers to try to short circuit the solar crooks.
Lets take action now - Thieves are literally stealing the future of the planet.
