We who advocate for clean, renewable alternatives like solar and wind power are up against a big roadblocks. As things presently stand, renewables have a ways to go before they reach cost parity with fossil fuels. Conventional wisdom suggests that parity will come when the costs of fossil fuels are equal to those of solar technologies (actually, when environmental damage, related illnesses and military costs to protect sources are factored in, we’re already there). As far as wind power goes, even on the windiest places on earth, it’s doubtful that covering the landscape with wind turbines (which nobody wants to look at) would even come close to meeting our current and growing energy demands.

But… what if we looked to the windiest places off the earth? For large-scale wind generation, that might be just what we need to do.

Winds at ground level, even in Hawaii, are not constant – and except during the hurricane season, not usually strong enough to be cost-effective in replacing conventional forms of electrical generation. 16,000 feet up, it’s another story; jet stream winds have the capability of generating 100 times more energy than ground-based wind turbines – and at half the cost of the lowest rates in the country (so, about .02-.04c a kilowatt hour). While each of the small, independent companies currently involved in developing this exciting new technology are pursing slightly different paths, the basic concept is a flying wind turbine, stationed in the jet stream, delivering electrical energy to the ground via a series of aluminum cables.

As you might expect, realization of this idea is not without considerable challenges. The main question is: how do you keep the generator aloft and control it without the risk of it crashing to the ground? Another problem is maintenance. Even conventional aircraft such as helicopters require frequent and substantial maintenance after only a few hours of flight, and even in flight, helicopter rotors require constant fine adjustments to their pitch (angle). 

One Canadian company, Magenn, has plans for a generation system that is suspended by means of a helium balloon. Another company based in California is experimenting with an alternative arrangement of multiple rotors that would address the issue of adjusting the pitch for every small change in conditions. Meanwhile, scientists at a university in the Netherlands have built a model that uses elaborate kites.

Controlling these devices from the ground also presents many challenges and will require some highly sophisticated computer hardware and software. 

But the technology exists, and for large-scale wind power generation, it may be closer than we think.

In October, Kona Brewing Company flipped the switch on their 229kW Sunetric solar energy system. In the months since, they’ve continued brewing the excellent beer for which they’re known, harnessing the power of the sun to offset more than 60% of their electric usage in the process. For Kona Brewing and for Sunetric, the installation is something to be proud of — they’re making a huge dent in our islands’ dependence on fossil fuels and inspiring families and business-owners alike to do the same. As we were getting ready for the Kona Brewing Co. PV system launch, we ramped up the excitement with the Solar-powered Beer Sweepstakes, and more than a thousand people entered! The three lucky winners below will each, along with a guest, be flown over to Kona, get a rental car and hotel for a few days, and enjoy a personal tour of the Brewery and its new photovoltaic system. Not to mention a draft beer tasting and dinner for two! Without further ado, here are the Solar-powered three:

Eric Storm

Eric is a musician and DJ and owns his own graphic design business, Absouloot Design. He lives on Big Island, where he’s installed his own home photovoltaic system, offsetting half of his electricity usage. Eric’s favorite KBC beer is Pipeline Porter. Eric will be bringing his wife with him on his Kona trip and is looking forward to seeing Kona Brewery’s PV system!

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Jeff Eshelman

Jeff works for the IT department at Oceanic Cable, and is thinking seriously about going solar himself. His favorite Kona Brew is also Pipeline Porter, and he plans to bring his wife, Andrea, with him to Kailua-Kona on their trip!

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Michelle Ogata

Michelle is a registered nurse at Wahiawa General Hospital. Though she is already enjoying the benefits of a solar hot water heater, she’s interested in putting up a photovoltaic system at her home as well. She has three kids aged 7, 12, and 16 and hasn’t been to the Big Island since she was a little girl. She’s eager for her trip to KBC!

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We’d like to thank Kona Brewing Company for working with us on this project and making the groundbreaking PV system and this sweepstakes a reality. And a big mahalo to everyone who entered the Solar-powered Beer Sweepstakes as well! Keep your eyes on the Sunetric Facebook page for more chances to win solar prizes, and let us know when you’re ready to go solar yourself! Get your free evaluation here.

We at Sunetric know that our children — our keiki — are our future, and that they will shape the world they come to inherit. That’s why we do what we do: in providing and innovating in alternative energy, we work to ensure they grow up in a beautiful, healthy world, and hope to inspire them to carry on sustainable lifestyles. Now we’ve taken it a step further.

Along with our partners Lex Brodie’s and GreenFleet Hawaii, we are incredibly proud and excited to announce the GreenFleet Hawaii Recycle Energy Scholarship. Alternative energy technology is going to become a much bigger, more exciting, and vital field with each passing year, and our children need to prepare today for the energy challenges of tomorrow. The Recycle Energy Scholarship is designed to help local students aiming to study renewable energy, sustainability, and related fields.

Download the Recycle Energy Scholarship Form PDF now. (Don’t wait! Forms are due by June 30, 2011!)

Please be aware: SB 722 is up for Committee hearing tomorrow (Tuesday, 2/1, 2:55 pm, Conf. Room 225, State Capitol). SB 722 amends the “Barrel Tax” to, among other things, provide additional funding to DBEDT to continue efforts towards reducing Hawaii’s dependency on oil. It is a very important bill for the future of the Hawaii State Energy Office, and your support is vital to its passage.

• SB Read the SB 722 hearing notice.
• If you live in Hawaii, call or email your local representative to express their support this initiative!
• Whether or not you live in Hawaii, please email this message to your friends and family in Hawaii.

Over the last couple of years, a number of bills have made their way to the Hawaiian legislature that would serve to reduce the solar tax credit, thereby stifling clean energy innovations and disincentivizing businessowners and homeowners that would otherwise invest in solar.

One such bill is HB566, which limits the total amount of the credit per year for all technologies over the next five years to $7 million, placing unreasonable burden on alternative energy investors and businesses — a move that would appear to save money in the short term but spell death for innovation and forward-thinking energy policy in the long term.

HB566 is being heard Tuesday morning in the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee.

Sunetric has already joined solar, thermal, and wind energy companies statewide in opposing this bill. Your help makes a difference. You can submit testimony to the bill; doing so indicates our concern with the bill and will be vital to its defeat.

To submit your testimony: visit the Hawaii State Legislature website, indicate ‘HB566′ in question 1 to get the requisite hearing information, fill in the rest of the form, and finally upload a letter on your company letterhead saying that you oppose the bill. Your letter should be succinct and keep an objective, matter-of-fact tone, indicating how long you have been in business and how alternative energy opportunities serve the efficiency of your internal affairs as well as your customers, in turn energizing the economy, and how this bill could potentially hobble an extremely promising industry just as it is taking off.

We at Sunetric thank you in helping us to oppose this bill and look forward to a bright future for solar in which we can all enjoy cleaner, less expensive power.

This week we heard both Governor Abercrombie’s State of the State address as well as President Obama’s State of the Union address. It’s clear that on both a state and national level, clean energy initiatives are going to be important issues for the upcoming year and well into the future.

State of the State

Neil Abercrombie has a section of his website dedicated to his energy policy, and seems intent on working with the legislature to create an independent Hawaii Energy Authority or to make some major changes to the Public Utilities Commision. The idea is that this will streamline some of the red tape that causes the hurdles to implementing clean energy technologies here in the islands, giving the industry a chance to grow, new technologies to be developed, and more jobs for island workers.

In his own words:

“We will also move to ensure energy and food security for Hawaii. I have spoken of and sustained my interest in an independent Hawaii Energy Authority to move the clean energy agenda. However, I am encouraged by the ideas put forward by legislators and the energy community that propose a significant restructuring of the Public Utilities Commission to move energy projects and better connect our islands with the information and transportation infrastructure that is needed to make us more self-sufficient. I look forward to working with the legislature to come up with a solution so we can move on these matters with dispatch.

This is an exciting time for Hawaii as we move towards the goals set out in the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative of 70% clean energy from renewable sources by 2030.

State of the Union

President Obama also addressed the nation regarding clean energy and, like Governor Abercrombie, tied the move towards energy independence to the economy and the creation of new jobs and industry:

“Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re selling.  So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal:  By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.  

“Some folks want wind and solar.  Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas.  To meet this goal, we will need them all — and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.”

It is encouraging to see the leaders of our government making it a priority to invest in clean energy technologies, but the rest is up to the legislature and also the public. Every household can help by making the commitment to using clean energy technologies, like going solar. Sunetric is committed to helping you to find the best energy solution for your home or business.

See the full text of Governor Abercrombie’s State of the State address here, and President Obama’s State of the Union address here.

Sunetric CEO Alex Tiller will be part of a panel discussion on financing renewable energy systems tomorrow, January 26th at the Ala Moana Hotel. Please see below for more information and click here to view the symposium brochure.

Hawaii Community Reinvestment Corporation Symposium
“Innovative Resources & Strategies for Business, Non-Profits, Developers and Community Builders”

Featured speakers: Roque Barros (Jacobs Family Foundation), Matt Bayles (Bank of Hawaii), David Bylund (Architects Hawaii), Donna Gambrell (CDFI Fund), Gordon Furutani (HUD), Jerry Hirata (SBA), Robin Hyerstay (Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.), Marc Click (DBEDT), Michelle Morlan (National Development Countil), Jody Mukaigawa (FHB), Alex Tiller (Sunetric), Terrance Ware (City & County of Honolulu)

Time: 8:00am to 4:00pm
Place: Ala Moana Hotel
Sponsored by: Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, Pacific Business News, American Savings Bank, Chun Yoshimoto LLP, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Finance Factors, Ltd.

General: $100.00 per person
Non-Profit/Government: $75 per person
(includes continental breakfast and lunch)

For more information on the HCRC website, click here.

Last month, President Obama signed into effect the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. While billed as a stimulus package of economic and tax relief measures, there is one section in particular which will spur growth in the solar industry in 2011.

Section 1603 of the act extended a 30% cash grant for commercial renewable energy projects started in 2011. So rather than wait for the the federal Investment Tax Credit, this is an up-front incentive for grant recipients to go solar now. To date, the Treasury Department reports over $5.7 billion in cash grants under Section 1603, a majority of them solar electricity projects.

In addition, an accelerated depreciation provision for new business equipment means that businesses may expense 100% of their investments in solar and other technologies, rather than relying on depreciation over time. Combined with generous state and federal tax credits, there has never been a better time to invest in solar power.

Besides the up-front savings for businesses, another benefit of the extension is the thousands of new jobs that will be created as consumers and businesses continue to move towards renewable energy sources and more efficient use of our natural resources.

While it was hoped that the extension would be for a two-year period, this initial one year extension is a step in the right direction. In the year ahead, we’ll be keeping an eye on bipartisan efforts to extend these measures even further.

Happy Happy New Year Sunetric community!!!  The team here at Sunetric hope your 2011 is off to a fantastic start.

Each year millions of people across the world make new year resolutions to get in shape, eat healthy, spend more time with the family, etc. yet more often than not this last only a few weeks.

It’s no secret that we, Hawaii, are the most fossil fuel dependent state in the nation which causes a very dangerous scenario for our future because of the finite nature of fossil fuel and the fact that our state is more and more vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices and availability.

2030 is the year in which we hope to achieve 70% clean energy with 30% from efficiency measures, and 40% coming from locally generated renewable sources.

These goals are the most aggressive in the nation – and if we succeed, we will become a world leader in clean energy.

Like most new year resolutions, we get off to a great start but somewhere along those lines we lose sight and we lose focus.

The Blue Planet Foundation posted a blog that talked about how Blue Planet founder Henk Rogers passed out copies of a page from a 1977 Hawaii legislative report (below).  On this report was a graphic that showed exactly how Hawaii could become energy self-sufficient by 2010, excluding airline fuel.

The post when on to say, “The last generation, it seems, wanted to do the same for us as we want to do for the next.  The question remains not whether we can, but how do we get there.” 

We created a new year resolution back in 1977 to become energy self-sufficient by 2010 and somewhere along the way we lost sight and lost focus.  Now that that year has passed, we have yet another opportunity to get it right.

Fossil fuels are not infinite.  We will run out one day.  No one can predict when but we can’t afford to wait another 30 years and find out the hard way.

Each of us are going to play a crucial role in making this happen and you can do your part today, by going solar.

Going solar has never been more affordable and easier.
 
Let’s not look back in 2031, in an oil crisis, wishing we had done something sooner.

Let’s make 2011′s new year resolution the year Hawaii went solar!

If you asked the average person what the U.S. Treasury Department’s Section 1603 Program is, it’s doubtful that they would have any idea. But this program, with its unassuming and technical name, is actually one of the best government programs for developing solar technology and supporting the growth of the industry that’s available today.

Simply put, the Section 1603 program allows businesses to receive a cash grant instead of the 30% federal Investment Tax Credit for the installation of renewable energy systems, including solar. The program was to expire on December 31, 2010, but President Obama signed a one-year extension as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010.

For Hawaii, this is an incredible opportunity to take advantage of a unique program. To date, Section 1603 has distributed nearly $6 billion in grants for a variety of renewable installations, including solar electric and solar thermal projects. In fact, 1,200 of the 1,656 projects which have been funded by the program have been solar electric installations. This program gives the solar industry in Hawaii the opportunity to bring federal funds to the state to support a larger program of energy independence. The largest of the Section 1603 solar project awards—$19.5 million—went to eSolar Inc. of California.

For businesses, Section 1603 includes some provisions that make solar installation even more attractive. An “accelerated depreciation provision” is included for any new equipment purchased for a business under the program. Under previous tax laws, businesses were allowed to recoup the cost of their investments over time, according to a depreciation schedule, but this new provision allows that to occur in a single year. The President asked for the accelerated depreciation measure in the belief that it would encourage businesses to invest in alternative energy, creating a flurry of new “green collar” jobs.

While those provisions are great for business and corporate investment, there are also parts of Section 1603 that are targeted at residential installations. As part of the program, solar contractors can receive a cash grant for a residential installation if the contractor continues to own the solar property.

Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association called the extension of the program, “a great day for America’s solar industry…the solar industry can continue its record growth, creating new career opportunities for Americans in all 50 states in 2011.”

It’s true that it’s great for the solar industry in general, but what’s good for solar power is good for Hawaii as we push for lower energy costs and energy independence. It’s an opportunity to bring federal funds to Hawaii and help to develop the solar generating infrastructure which is already growing rapidly.

While everyone in the solar industry would like to have seen a two-year extension of the program, the one-year extension provides an unexpected and welcome opportunity. It gives businesses and residents the chance to take advantage of government incentives and install solar generation capacity in homes and businesses throughout the state. As of the first of January, the clock is ticking. It would be a shame to miss an extraordinary chance to invest in solar through the provisions of Section 1603.

We hope you’re in the midst of a wonderful holiday season, spending time with family, eating good food, and enjoying our warm Hawaii sunshine!

2010 has been an exciting year for renewable energy in Hawaii and for us here at Sunetric. The solar outlook has never been brighter – state and federal governments continue to extend generous incentives for commercial and residential solar, and in October, Hawaii state regulators approved a revolutionary Feed-In Tariff. This new program allows companies generating up to 500 kilowatts of renewable energy to use a standard contract for pricing, terms and conditions when selling power to HECO’s utilities on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island – this should open incredible new horizons in energy independence for our state, and we’re elated to be at the forefront of this positive change for Hawaii.

As a company we were very proud to be voted Hawaii’s Best Solar Company by the Star-Advertiser and listed as the Top Solar Company in Hawaii Business Magazine’s Top 250. Additionally, our founder, Sean Mullen was highlighted on Pacific Business News prestigious Forty Under 40 list as a individual making a difference for Hawaii’s future. In our seventh year of business, we achieved a number of exciting milestones in 2010. We grew our professional management team, we moved in to a brand-new, state-of-the-art office space in Kailua, and just before the new year, we are set to cross the threshold of 100 employees, ALL IN HAWAII! We are also nearing completion on the largest rooftop solar installation on Oahu for Y Hata & Co., which when complete will add to our accomplishments of the largest rooftop- (Kona Commons) and ground-mounted (Wilcox Memorial Hospital) PV systems in the state.

Building off of the excitement and promise of the past year, we’re more enthused than ever about Hawaii’s energy future – 2011 stands to be a remarkable time for renewable energy; we look forward to sharing it with you, online, in the community, at events, and where-ever the sun shines!

Happy Holidays and all the best from Sunetric in 2011!

There was a great article in the December 2010 – January 2011 Building Management Hawaii magazine by Lance Luke that talked about what went into the Y. Hata solar system installation.

According to the article, “When food distributor Y. Hata was looking for a way to reduce its energy cost, four companies found the solution for them.  Locally-owned and operated roofing company Surface Shield Roofing, Pacific Industrial Coatings, Construction Management Inspection (CMI), and Sunetric partnered to provide a roofing and solar system that reduced energy cost and enhanced the integrity of the roofing system.”

The article went on to say, “The roof mounted photovoltaic (PV) solar system is one of Hawaii’s largest at 600kW and will include 2,616 230 watt solar modules on the roof.  Estimated energy savings through lower electrical cost from the PV system and cooler interior spaces due to the new roofing system is estimated to be around 25% or more.”  

To read the full article please click here.