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

As we approach the first Power Lunch Kitsap event, we have created an EventBrite invitation.  Please feel free to share with anyone who may be interested.

Our inaugural speaker for this series will be Jake Wade of PSE speaking about the renewable energy incentives, and updating us on current numbers and production data.  The events will all be 3rd Thursdays, this first one is March 19, 12:30-1:30 at the offices of Rice Fergus Miller Architects 275 Fifth Street, Suite 100, Bremerton.

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/power-lunch-kitsap-tickets-15444858989?aff=eivtefrnd

We are currently adding to our installation installation crew.  The right candidate will be a licensed electrician or will become an electrical trainee once working for us.

Job duties include working with the crew to perform the full installation of grid-tied pv systems from start to finish.

All tasks will be completed with priority given to the highest quality workmanship, safety on the job, and excellent customer service.

The work tasks include:

– Site evaluation to determine best method of roof access

– High roof work while harnessed to install the racking system, including sealing and flashing many different roof types.  Attic carpentry is sometimes required to provide additional bracing.

– Carrying 40-60 lb pv modules up a ladder, sometimes to the second story roof.

– Mounting, grounding, and wiring pv modules to the racking

– Conduit runs from roof to electrical panel, sometimes in attic or crawlspace

– Installation of inverter and other equipment, electrical interconnection to existing or sometimes new electrical service panel

– Maintenance of clean job site, properly stocked work vehicle, and warehouse

If you can do those tasks well in four 10 hour days per week, we offer:

– an excellent work experience with good pay

– on-the-job and classroom training

– company group health plan

-profit sharing

-vacation accrual, and

– quarterly bonuses based on performance

– all while doing the right thing for our clients, our community, and the environment.

Our crew is open to installers who love to work in all types of inclement weather and work hard long hours with a positive, cheerful, and professional attitude.  The highest priority will be given to candidates with:

– experience installing PV

– electrical experience and familiarity with the NEC

– NABCEP certification

To apply please submit a resume to info@powertripenergy.com, no calls or walk-ins please.

We are happy to announce the commencement of a monthly series of free presentations regarding a variety of local energy topics.  The first three of these events have speakers confirmed and we will be announcing subsequent events as speakers are confirmed.  These events are the 3rd Thursday of every month at 12:30-1:30 pm in Bremerton at the offices of Rice Fergus Miller, 275 5th St, Suite 100, downtown near the ferry dock.  There will be no food provided, please bring a brown bag lunch for yourself if you wish.

The first speaker March 19 will be Jake Wade from PSE, who will speak to the solar policies and incentives of the largest utility in the state, and present data as to the number of grid-tied solar pv systems and the amount of energy they are currently producing.   Next up April 16 will be Richard Berg from Terrapin Architects speaking about his experiences with Passive Houses and extreme residential energy efficiency.  On May 21, Graeme Sackrison will talk about the challenges and successes experienced implementing Residential and Commercial Energy Efficiency measures as a member of the Thurston Climate Action Team and Lacey City Council.

This series of events is sponsored by Power Trip Energy Corp and by Rice Fergus Miller Architecture.  The full schedule is here:

https://powertripenergy.com/power-lunch-kitsap/

“Do you install batteries with the Solar Panels?”

Recommendation #1 – If possible, build your home and structure your life so that a few days without electricity is not an emergency. This means:

• Secondary heat source if primary source of heat for house is electric.
• Keep some water stored in containers if you have a well pump and no tanked storage (this is a good idea even if you rely on a municipal water system.)
• Plenty of rechargeable batteries for flashlights and radios.
• Portable stove for cooking if you have an electric stove in your kitchen.
• Heat water for washing dishes and hands and face on wood stove or cook stove if you have an electric water heater.
• Eat the food that will spoil first, consolidate in freezer.  If temp is freezing outside, this can help keep some food frozen.  It may also be possible for you to get ice from a store to keep fridge and freezer cold.
• A small portable inverter that can charge your mobile devices from the car battery.  This can be very small that plugs into your car “cigarette lighter” port, or slightly larger that will clamp onto your car battery terminals.

This is the advice that will let you get through ordinary outages with minimal inconvenience for the least expenditure.

Recommendation #2 – If recommendation #1 does not work for you, buy a generator that uses fuel you are already using for other engines.  If you have a car that runs on gasoline, get a small gas generator and store some gas.  In the order of expense and capacity from lowest to highest:

• A small generator and a heavy duty extension cord with a surge strip can power several plug-in devices.  A Honda 2000 watt generator is less than $1000 and is very quiet while sipping gasoline.
• Re-wire a small number of “critical circuits” into a backed up sub-panel, and use a generator transfer switch to manually disconnect from grid, and run those circuits from a small generator.
• Get a large whole-house generator, and replace your main service panel with an auto-transfer panel.

Here are the reasons we do not currently offer battery back-up:

• Batteries are currently expensive, inefficient, and relatively low energy density on a residential scale.  It is possible you could spend tens of thousands of dollars on a huge battery back-up, and still be out of power three days into a winter outage.
• The best practice for combining batteries and pv is to utilize an AC-coupled battery system.  Our homes run using AC electricity (alternating current.)  Previously, battery back-up systems were DC-based systems where the pv power source had been connected directly to batteries before being converted to AC by inverter for use in the house.
•  With an AC-coupled system, the pv power is sent directly to the a grid-tied inverter and the power is either used by house loads or sent back onto grid.  The battery bank is managed by its own inverter/charger and is just another household appliance.
• The AC coupled battery system can be added at any time to a house with a grid-tied pv system.

Recommendation #3 – You should install the grid-tied pv system without batteries now because:

•  Prices are lower than ever.
•  All of the available incentives from federal to state are focusing on grid-tied pv systems, and there are no incentives for battery back-up systems.
•  An AC-coupled battery system can be added later, hopefully after prices fall and perhaps better battery technologies will be available as a result of the growth of the Electric Vehicle market.

If you are inclined to do further research on your own, here are three AC-coupled systems we are currently keeping an eye on, with the intention of installing for our existing solar customers when the technology and pricing improves.

Mission accomplished (Phase 1 at least) with the completion of this charging location at John L Scott Real Estate. The fifth of five Level II EV charging stations installed in Port Townsend – access is free to the public.

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/61257

To review, as you come into town, your 6 free level II locations are:

Power Trip Energy – 83 Denny Ave – 2 Level II’s, one 30 A, one 20 A – under the solar canopy

John L Scott – 2219 W Sims Way

PT Laundromat & Car Wash – 2115 W Sims Way

GreenPod Devt – 1531 W Sims Way

Windermere Realty – 1220 Water Street

NW Maritime Center – 431 Water Street – the last parking spot on the right on Water St

The 4th free public EV charging location this year went live today at GreenPod Devt / Senergy Station.  The owners of this business are generously donating the electricity and parking for free public EV charging.  Fair warning: there is a lot of activity at this site, and vehicles may sometimes need to be moved to gain access to the charging location, until all of the people involved with the various businesses here become accustomed to the EV service equipment.

Equipment donated by Power Trip Energy Corp as part of the Power Trip Port Townsend EV Tourism Initiative.  This location is especially SWEET because it used to be a Texaco station until the late 1980’s, recently morphed into an incubator site for multiple sustainable enterprises.

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/61051