We continue to have more interest than we can service at the moment, and as we continue to hire and train, our current needs are greatest for another electrician.  Please pass the word about this great opportunity for the right person.

http://olympic.craigslist.org/trd/5157049962.html

Electrician (01 or 02) for Solar Installs (Port Townsend)

Alana Linderoth does a good job writing an update from our recent Sequim Solar Tour, and covering Clallam PUD’s new interconnection requirements.  Sequim has seen a relatively high rate of grid-tied pv installations and will continue to do so despite additional expenses due to Clallam PUD’s new rules.

http://www.sequimgazette.com/news/311067641.html

Our speaker on the 21st is Graeme Sackrison, Board Chairman of the Thurston Climate Action Team. T-CAT is a non-profit that focuses its efforts toward energy efficiency and transportation projects that help combat climate change. Join us for this Power Lunch and learn how things evolved with Thurston Energy, where they found success, what they are still trying to accomplish, and some lessons they’ve learned. The Kitsap, Bremerton and Bainbridge communities also have active energy efficiency efforts…and we’ll have a conversation comparing their experiences with ours. RSVP through Eventbrite with this link;https://powerlunchkitsapmay21.eventbrite.com

This is the third in our monthly Power Lunch Kitsap Series, presented by Power Trip Energy and Rice Fergus Miller Architecture and Planning.

The event is 12:15 – 1:15 pm, Thursday May 21, at RFM’s office at 275 Fifth Streee, Suite 100, Bremerton, WA 98337.  These are brown bag events, feel free to bring your own lunch.

Tesla’s recent product announcement is quite a PR achievement.  Yes I’m sure it is an engineering and manufacturing achievement as well, and hopefully will be increasing efficiency and decreasing cost of home storage.  It is not quite as revolutionary as it appears, and currently unavailable.  I expect we will still be talking people out of batteries for the most part, even after we get our hands on the first Powerwall that becomes available to us, which will most likely be 12-18 months from now.

Tesla hasn’t contacted us yet to partner on these installations.  I have found that a couple of articles from Wired magazine seem to have the same initial perspective that I have, linked below.

In the meanwhile, we will continue to install grid-tied pv so you can make your own energy.  There has never been a better time to install your own solar, and any work we do for you on that front now will be easily integrated with residential storage at a later date, be it from Tesla, SunPower, LG or any of the other Lithium battery products, once they become available and prove themselves reliable and reasonable.

Pictured below is the Lithium battery storage available from SunPower that I viewed a couple of months ago at the SunPower dealer event.  This unit includes the inverter and charge controller, which are necessary but not pictured in all of the Tesla photos so far, nor included in the published pricing.

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/teslas-batteries-will-power-home/

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/get-tesla-home-battery-let-physics-explain/

Can America Get to 100% Renewable Energy by 2050?

This question is debated by two academics in a reasonably articulate and polite manner on this recent “Energy Gang” podcast.  Debates may not in the end be the best way to reach a satisfactory conclusion, but they can be very entertaining when done well.  I found the proponent, Mark Jacobson, to be informed and convincing, but I freely admit a pre-existing bias for his position.  I subscribe to this podcast through itunes and it is consistently informative and interesting.  You may enjoy listening, and I would love to hear what you thought.

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/debate-can-america-get-to-100-renewable-energy-by-2050

Join us April 16th for another brown-bag lunch lecture. We are pleased to present Richard Berg from Terrapin Architecture. Richard will speak about how to achieve a high level of insulation and energy efficiency through Passive House methods, which combined with solar panels can achieve, or get close to, net-zero energy usage.

The event will be held at:

Rice Fergus Miller Architecture
275 5th Street, Suite 100
Bremerton, WA 98337

Thursday, April 16, 2015 from 12:15 PM to 1:30 PM (PDT)

This Passive House is a beautiful example of sensible yet extreme energy efficiency, resulting in greater comfort and lower energy bills.

We are looking for some more help at the shop:

Shop / Yard / Vehicle Maintenance Person

Must be dependable and have a maintenance skills, clean driving record and local references.

Duties include, but may not be limited to:
– Receiving freight incl checking packing slips against recvd items.
– Keeping warehouse clean and organized.
– Taking garbage and recycling to dump and metal yard.
– Cutting wood pallets into kindling.
– Sweeping and cleaning floors.
– Cleaning the bathroom and break room.
– Mowing and weed-whacking. Planting a few flowers.
– Vehicle fluids and filter changes as per maintenance schedule, tire rotation, air pressure checks.
– Vehicle washing.

Will start part time Mon-Thurs afternoons here at our shop in Glen Cove. Room to grow in a growing company for the right person. Eventual benefits as per company policy include quarterly bonuses, group health care plan, sick and vacation accrual, annual profit sharing, and lots of fun working beside owners in our small team.

E-mail resume to info@powertripenergy.com

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”  I am reminded of this quote attributed to Gandhi, as we have definitely entered the fighting stage as the utilities commence freak out about roof-top individually-owned solar PV.

Chris Dunnigan does a good job with this status update, though I’d like to add a couple of easy points he did not make in his article.  http://www.invw.org/article/solar-payments-at-stake-1512

While characterizing the WA state solar incentives as taking a “bite” out of the state budget, at about $4 million in 2014, he fails to note the state budget totals about $34 Billion annually – making this equal to about 0.01% of the state budget, one ten thousandth, hardly a “bite” and not a bad deal for 6500 grid-tied PV systems, getting an average of about $600 each annually.  At a current rate of increase of 25% annually, this incentive could grow for a long time before becoming significant.  We are all in favor of fiscal responsibility for our state, and this incentive has resulted in hundreds of good jobs being created, and in a positive (though very small) increase in the cleanliness of our electricity usage here in Washington.

The utilities are citing potential technical difficulties resulting from the variability of solar energy throughout the day – an argument which is a pathetic joke.  The amount of contribution to our grid currently from rooftop solar is infinitesimal, as is the amount of lost revenue to the utilities.  This is not a realistic concern, the numbers don’t add up and the utilities are unable to present any actual data to bolster their claims.  My advice to you is to not believe it, don’t let the uninformed parrot this argument without showing actual evidence of it’s truth – they can’t.

In the meanwhile, we’ve been on pace installing about 60 kW per month, a record Q1 for us by a long shot.  Will the utilities be successful making grid-tied PV systems less attractive for individuals in Washington?  I can’t know, though we will continue to fight against that.  If you have been considering going solar, now is a very good time to move forward.

“Status of EV Development Activity Across Washington State“ 
Key Speaker: Tonia Buell, Interim Director of Public/Private Partnerships,
Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia WA

Electric vehicles [EVs] – electric cars, electric scooters, electric buses, and electric trucks – are rapidly becoming a routine option for transportation and delivery in Washington State and there is now a considerable amount of related activity within Jefferson County to increase EV ownership and use. Although only about 100 EVs are currently in use here, several hundred are projected to be in regular use by the year 2020.

This EV transition in Jefferson County is a clear example of why the local energy sector is one of the brightest opportunities for economic development here. Individual EV investments and personal commitments to the positive changes EVs offer for transportation and delivery are expected (i) to rapidly increase the number and variety of locally owned EVs, (ii) to broaden the scope and capacity of local facilities for EVcharging, and (iii) to gradually promote county EV use by residents, businesses, and tourists so that electric trips gradually replace fossil trips.

This transition will be addressed by our Key Speaker for March, one of the leading authorities in Washington State on EV development who has great enthusiasm for EV use.

The March Key Speaker is Tonia Buell, Interim Director of Public/Private Partnerships at the Washington State Department of Transportation in Olympia WA, who will discuss her experiences throughout the state with building EV ownership, with arranging for installation of EV charging stations, and with promoting EV use.

Following her presentation, Ms. Buell will answer questions raised by Energy Lunch attendees.

For further details about the March 2015 Key Speaker presentation see the attached one-page pdf file.

Please note that the March 2015 Energy Lunch will take place between the hours of 12:00 Noon and 3:00 PM at the Port Townsend Community Center (PTCC) at 620 Lawrence Street (at Tyler Street) in uptown Port Townsend.

12:00 Noon: PTCC Meeting Room Available for Brown Bag Lunch and General Discussion of Local Energy Topics of Interest
12:30 PM: Key Speaker Presentation: “Status of EV Development Activity Across Washington State” by Tonia Buell, Olympia WA (includes Q&A)
1:30 PM: Continuation of General Discussion of Local Energy Topics of Interest
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Special Workshop (to be separately announced)

Barney Burke, Commissioner of Public Utility District #1 of Jefferson County, will be present at PTCC to introduce Ms. Buell and to direct the Q&A for the Key Speaker presentation.

All residents, business people, farmers, local event organizers, and government officials are encouraged to attend this important presentation on the future of electric transportation in Jefferson County

Those who plan to attend at noon are welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. Good sandwiches and other brown bag food is available at Aldrich’s, Pan D’Amore, and other nearby locations in uptown Port Townsend.

Thank you.

Rick Van Auken
Programming Coordinator