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We met the Governor at the recent Tennessee Solar Symposium held in Nashville this month.   Jim, with his Stetson, and me, his sidekick, are listening to the Governor tell us how important solar jobs are to the State and its economy.  The Governor is leading Tennessee into the new era with his efforts to bring solar manufacturing to Tennessee. We mention that there are several barriers to the widespread interest in the state from domestic and foreign companies looking for sites to install panel manufacturing.   First, there needs to be a market for the product.  It would be advantageous to have a regional market for the solar panels produced in the state and that depends on one body, TVA.  The feed-in tariff is not enough of a draw.  What TVA must do is to have access to a revolving fund to loan their distributor customers the up-front cost of the solar and use the funds from the feed-in tariff to pay back the loan.  The money is then recycled so that more of our citizens can take advantage of the no-up-front cost to their getting solar for their homes.  Where is that money to come from?  We are working on that.

Steve and Jim working for TSEA to bring solar to you

Look at the scenery pass by you as you drive or ride through Tennessee.  Look at aerials or Google views of Tennessee and imagine the sites that are suitable for solar farms.  Rooftops, vacant lands, brownfields, parking lots, highway sidings and centerlanes; they are all around us.  With the price of solar PV dropping and the cost of electricity rising over time, these sites will be valuable income generators as our TVA generation partner pays an excellent feed-in tariff, somewhere between 19 cents to 21 cents per kilowatt-hour of solar power generated.  The price for solar PV today mounted in open fields can vary from $3.20 to $6.00 per watt installed depending on the technology chosen and the size of the array.  As the payback reaches 5 years or less, which in certain cases it has, then after the payback is completed, the expenses of the upkeep of solar arrays is minimal and the income is basically a continuous stream for the length of the contract between the purchaser and TVA through its distributor.  The present length of contract for the green switch partner program is ten years.  The banks are starting to realize the income stream is there and are investing in solar farms around the country.  Lets not continue the image that Tennessee is sleeping.

The State of Tennessee received notification that they were awarded the solar stimulus money mid-September. Why haven’t the state authorities released the information from the accepted stimulus grant? The amount of the funding is about 64 million dollars and we have been told that about half the money will go to establishing the solar farm in West Tennessee, but what about the rest of the funding? What solar programs will it support. There may be some revisions or changes that the University of Tennessee or Oak Ridge National Labs want to make with the grant monies? The money is two year money and time is moving on so when can we expect to get the details? Let us hear from you about what you think.
Steve Levy

We are looking for ideas on how you feel about solar electric financing for homes and businesses.  Obviously, the issue is the upfront cost of solar and how it can be financed.  The payback concept is based on TVA’s green-switch program where they pay you for each kilowatt-hour of solar electricity you generate.  The payment is based on what you presently pay for electricity, say 9 cents, plus 12 cents for each kilowatt-hour of solar you generate.  The 12 cents extra is called the ”feed-in tariff.”  Today, one can expect to reach break-even with the present green power switch program’s 12 cent per kilowatt-hour feed-in tariff in about 7 years.  Correct me if I am wrong about that assumed payback period.  Should the state of Tennessee create a revolving fund with zero interest, or should TVA do the revolving fund?  The idea of the revolving fund is that the money collected from the feed-in tariff would go to paying for the loan.  When the loan is paid back, the homeowner now starts collecting the feed-in tariff money which goes towards paying down their electric bill.  The contract you sign with TVA through your local distributor last ten years.  If the terms of the green-switch program improve to the customer’s benefit, those already on the program are automatically enrolled in the better program.  Not all the distributors of TVA power belong to this program so you need to check with your local electric utility.   The fund now loans others and with the expected decrease in cost of solar systems, the money in the fund goes further to finance more systems than before.  What are your thoughts?

Steve

Came across a great website for those interested in jobs in the solar industry.  Go to http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/partner/rew/online/jobs/2009-11-11/ where you can post your resume.  If you are looking for skilled future employees, this site is the way to go.  You will be reaching the right people at a reasonable price, in my judgement.

We will be electing a board of directors very soon.  There will be seven board members with representation from Memphis, Jackson, Tri-cities, Chattanooga, Nashville and Knoxville plus one more anywhere in the state.  If any of our members are interested in accepting the responsibility of being a board member, please send me a message.  Especially if you live in the vicinity of the regions mentioned.  The duties of the board members are contained in our bylaws that can be downloaded from our website.  We need to do this quickly as the members must be identified in our 501c3 application. 

Steve Levy

There were 195 solar interested parties attending the Governor’s Tennessee Solar Symposium yesterday from all over Tennessee.  The networking was intense as were the Governor and Matt Kisber’s talks.  Dr. Stacey Patterson had some information on the Solar Institute and its grant program which I will cover in a follow on article this week.  Kelly Tiller gave a timeline on the construction of the 5 megawatt solar farm along I-40 with a welcome center to be built by the Department of Transportation.  According to Dr. Tiller, the solar farm is more of an experimental station that will bring income for future expansion.  The details were lacking as it is too early in the process of developing the solar farm concept and the land for the solar farm has yet to be purchased.  The state has an option on the site.  Jim and I had an opportunity to speak with the Governor and to inform him of our Tennessee Solar Energy Association as a recent induction as a chapter of the American Solar Energy Society and to thank him for his forward action regarding solar manufacturing in Tennessee.

Steve Levy

The Middle Tennessee Solar Tour sponsored by Tennessee Environmental Council and LightWave Solar Electric drew record crowds on Saturday October 3, 2009.  Solar homes all across Middle Tennessee were open to the public to view and learn about solar energy as part of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Tour Day. Two of the nine featured homes saw over 100 visitors, while other homes saw 40-60 visitors.“It was quite a turnout and a great opportunity to educate Middle Tennessee about the benefits of solar energy.  The systems are more affordable than ever and TVA offers a great payback incentive.  My home was featured on the tour and my latest electric bill was actually a credit of over $50,” reported Steve Johnson, President LightWave Solar Electric.

The tour featured active and passive solar powered homes in Sylvan Park, West Meade, Green Hills, Antioch, Brentwood, Franklin, Mt. Juliet & Cookeville.  Homeowners and installers answered questions and showed off system components.  These homes also featured energy efficiency, conservation, and other renewable energy systems.

The tour also included the new passive solar home of Council Executive Director John McFadden in Mt. Juliet and Council Board Member Mary Mastin’s home just outside of Cookeville.  Mary and her husband Brian Paddock participated in the ASES tour for the fourth time. Over the last three years, they’ve had more than 140 people from all over the state visit their partially earth sheltered, passive solar designed home, to which they put on 4kW of photovoltaic panels in July of ‘06 and just recently added an additional 2 plus kW.

Mastin and Paddock built their house on a south facing slope 25 years ago to be passive solar, and they recommend making homes as energy efficient as possible before investing in solar panels.  Below is a list of energy-saving features of their house, which they printed up for the tour.

The Middle Tennessee Solar Tour is a unique opportunity to learn about solar and is scheduled to take place again next fall.  LightWave Solar Electric can answer your solar questions at any time, visit www.lightwavesolarelectric.com or call 615-641-4050.  You can also learn more at the American Solar Energy Society www.ases.org

Energy Saving Features of Mary Mastin and Brian Paddock’s Home

Step 1 - Design, orientation & construction.
Earth sheltered, waterproofed with Bentonite clay.  Passive solar gain from large windows which face true compass & solar south. Roof overhangs calculated to allow direct sun Oct. 10 to April 10 but no direct sun during summer. No east windows, 1 on the north, 2 on the West. (Heat reflective) Two water heaters for short runs to kitchen, utility, and bath water use areas.  Ducted for air circulation from cool tubes. Supplemental wood heat — circulating Rumsford fireplace & master suite wood stove & sauna. Add on room constructed with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF). Roller shutter for light control and tornado resistance.

Step 2 - Energy conservation & efficiency.
Insulation, & multipane windows.  Solar clothes dryer, paddle fans, night venting, compact fluorescent lights, energy star refrigerator & front load clothes washer, super efficient dishwasher & water heater. Geothermal heatpump (separately metered for energy use monitoring) with heat scavenger for water heating. Solar pool heater, two-speed pool pump. Solartube for electricity free daytime lighting.

Step 3 - Photovoltaic solar electric power generation.
4 KW max from 40 panels. Cost $39,000, installed. Subsidies: Federal income tax credit $2,000, TVA Generation Partners installation rebate $500, Generation Partners electric bill credit of 15 cents for every kilowatt hour generated.

On TVA’s Generation Partners program, we had to pay electric bills in only January and February of the first two years — a total of a $50. That is for a house with three computers, two printers, a scanner, two TV’s, central heat and air, a swimming pool pump and an air conditioned wine cellar and includes our household water which comes to the house from a spring via electric pump.  TVA has just changed its Generation Partners program to make participation even more beneficial. They will now pay you 12 cents more per kilowatt-hour for the electricity you produce than whatever their current charge is.

Thanks to the Tennessee Environmental Council for this article.

I was interested in the poll that showed the respondents identified the main obstacles to growth as the lack of financing (81.8 percent), little support from utilities (62.9 percent), lack of customer knowledge (61.3 percent), and insufficient level of incentives (59.1 percent).  I could not agree more.  The entire article can be accessed at: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/10/poll-prospects-good-for-the-us-solar-industry#at  .  These are the main drivers for the work that Jim and I are actively engaging.  Financing is getting better with some of the federal programs supporting solar.  The electric utilities still are reticent about the intermittent nature of solar and our thoughts are that energy storage at the souce of the solar is one way to promote better acceptance from the utilities.  Lack of customer knowledge can be combatted with the all our members speaking to public groups about the benefits of solar to the homeowner, businesses and to churches.  Come to Nashville on November 10 and participate in the Solar Energy Symposium.  Maybe the Governor and legislature can come up with better incentives.  Maybe our electric utilities can do the same. Hope to see you there.

Steve Levy and Jim Hackworth

You have an idea and have done some work.  Now you are seeking some seed money to fund the idea.  Well, there is a new seed money fund in Tennessee thanks to our legislature.   It is called the Tennessee Small Business Investment Company Credit.  Go to the website and start making plans.  This should be great for those interested in unique solar projects and inventions.  Who knows, you may be able to get an investment. 

Everyone

Please all register for the Tennessee Solar Symposium planned for Nashville on November 10th.  This is the Governor’s Economic Conference on solar.  He is returning from his recent trip to China and hopefully, he will have some good news for our state and its employment opportunities in the solar energy manufacturing.  The location of the event is the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville and the Governor is the opening speaker.  There will be breakout sessions with some of the state’s leading solar experts and businesses.  It is for one day and the best news is the registration is free!  The symposium starts at 9:30 Central Time and concludes early afternoon.  I urge anyone interested in solar energy development in Tennessee to be there.  Like to meet you all.  Jim Hackworth  and I will be there.  Look for the guy with the Stetson and that will be Jim.  I am the tall guy with him.  Come over and introduce yourselves.

-Steve