energy**** Video of the same name !!!!!
NOTE** This video is designed to be entertaining and funny with out takes from the 4+ hour main shoot, regarding the SRCC/FSEC fiasco:
Main Story link:
http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/01/31/srcc-certifications-an-unexpected-reality/
The video shows you moments of "stress relief" for the girls!! ...mixed with sound bites from me. The article below reflects the serious discussion about the subject of solar incentives.......
http://www.dailymotion.com/user/whfiii2000/video/x9k1bn_srcc-certifications-how-should-sola_news
http://en.sevenload.com/videos/TWZi491m-SRCC-Certifications-How-Should-Solar-Thermal-I
http://www.viddler.com/explore/fcfcfc/videos/3/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfgq09e0R78
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=58832469
A beginning .......
I think it is fair to say, the solar thermal industry has always been the underdog since the PV industry started to blossom. Prior to that it was the flag of choice carried by renewable energy advocates, dauntingly flying in the face of the conventionals fuels industry. It received a 40% no accountability tax credit win, that had the sweetness of arsenic and almost equal lethality. Successes were the in the majority, but a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch.
The twenty years following the elimination of the Federal tax incentives saw the remainder of the industry creeping along, slowly improving in all aspects from product engineering, best practices and the like. By the time the 2005 energy bill came along, the lobby had changed from, “warmth in the sun” to, “electrons dancing”. “ Beginning with Ronnie through the second Bush, the end of the tunnel could not be seen let alone the light. “Gun Ho” thermal pushes were reduced to, “we will take what we can get” table scraps. They dare not say, “please sir, can I have more?”
Economic turmoil and a change of the guard, at least on the surface, provided renewed opportunity for glasses to be filled. Unfortunately the shape of the glass for solar thermal remained the same. Post elimination of the solar tax credits, never motivated into a re-visitation of the methodology of reimbursement or reward.
So what is wrong with the current and historical way solar thermal incentives are paid, I.E. one shot up front subsidies contingent upon SRCC certification? To get a clear picture of this, you have to stand back and ask yourself, “as a world, what should we (Government we) be rewarding when it comes to renewable energy?” The answer is simple. Initial creation and continued production. Incentives for solar thermal systems (Federal and states with some variance) have always been paid based on a percentage of the total system cost, reimbursed as tax credit dollars for the implementation filing year.
First, this means you are not paying for what the system produces but what the system costs to install. An assumption is made that if a system costs “xyz” dollars and is for DHW, then it will produce “this” amount of energy. No actual measure of installed site output is even put in place for possible verification on the vast majority of systems.
Second, once the system has gotten its one shot up front incentive, (If SRCC approved collectors are used) if the customer wants they can take it down the following year and still have their full subsidy. Practically speaking one would not do this, but the point is with this Government payment system the reward is expended and there is no incentive for continued production, except reduced expenditures though conventional “fuel” usage. Those savings can vary a lot over time based on current market prices. Once the system has paid for itself, the customer gets a “feeling” of completion, and the motivation through “savings only” can give way to many external variables, not the least of which is roof replacement and system maintenance. I acquired three high quality flat plate collectors on the way to the scrap yard for $100 each, that had gotten the “roof boot”. Historically, thousands and thousands of others were recycled or land filled. So the possible total energy output over the life of the product was not realized, not because of product failure but do to a lack of motivation on the customers part to keep the system producing.
Third, a statistical numbers game abuse scenario serves to illustrate: Company “A”, a good reputable solar company and Company “B” a shrewd solar company. Company “A” and company “B” buy and sell the same solar SRCC approved SDHW system. Company “A” sells the system to the customer for $5000. Company “B” sells it for $10,000. With combined state and federal incentives, this customer gets a 50% subsidy. So, company “A”’s customer gets back $2500 and ends up paying an end cost of $2500. Company “B”’s customer gets back $5000. Additionally, company “B” offers a $4000 mfg. rebate. The $4000 comes out of the extra $5000 the customer paid company ”B”, making their end cost only $1000. Company “B” ends up pocketing an extra $1000 in the process! The tax payer becomes the victim, because for the $5000 dollars we put to our government, we only got one SDHW system installed instead of two. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is nothing anyone can do about this as such. It is a result of what happens when upfront subsidies get to a certain point if they are paid on a percentage basis.
Fourth, John Doe has put in for him, an SRCC certified SDHW system for $6000. His system produces around 8 million BTU’s a year. Lucky Pete puts together his own solar SDHW and space heating system being a very creative and experienced DIY’er, for $6000. Lucky Pete’s system produces around 24 million BTU’s a year, three times the amount of John’s system. The current Federal government program and possible state added subsidies reward John with $3000 of tax incentives (50%). Lucky Pete gets zero dollars! Why? Because Pete’s collectors were not SRCC certified and from the state’s perspective, he was not a NABCEP or IREC certified installer, depending on individual state programs. Clearly we are not rewarding the production of solar renewable energy?
If we actually paid incentives on what a system produces over time, in a two tier fashion (Initial cost and ongoing production), the numbers game goes away and the second issue gets a lot more motivation to keep a system producing. Lucky Pete also gets rewarded, and continues to as long as his system keeps producing, a good motivator for such. Attributes like creativity and inventiveness get spurred as well, which is equitable and fair to all from mfg’s to customers. Special interests would have a much harder time influencing and manipulating the system.
Critics would argue that obtaining thermal production data is near impossible and bureaucratically taxing. However remote data collection has progressed light years in the last two decades. Such technology eliminated the meter reader and provides security and environmental 24/7 coverage for millions of businesses and residences. Solar thermal controllers are currently available for BTU production and the controller market would explode if the “rules of the game” were changed.
With a system like this, the government wins because it does not have to pay a big amount all at once up front, freeing up funds for continued production incentives over time. The people win because as long as they produce, they get rewarded not only by conventional fuel savings but on the energy they capture. The market wins because now entities like the SRCC have to pull their own weight based on what they bring to the market, without a guaranteed customer base. And the planet wins because there is a system of rewards that actually invites RE production systems to be created and maintained based on a rock solid concept, energy production.
**********************************************
Main story link:
http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/01/31/srcc-certifications-an-unexpected-reality/
Video links "jump site":
http://whfiii2000.mindsay.com
SRCC Solar Ratings and Certification Corporation
NABCEP North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
NESEA NorthEast Sustainable Energy Association
ASES American Solar Energy Society
IREC International Renewable Energy Council
BTU British Thermal Unit
RE Renewable Energy
DHW Domestic Hot Water
SDHW Solar Domestic Hot Water
DIY Do-It-Yourself
NOTE** This video is designed to be entertaining and funny with out takes from the 4+ hour main shoot, regarding the SRCC/FSEC fiasco:
Main Story link:
http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/01/31/srcc-certifications-an-unexpected-reality/
The video shows you moments of "stress relief" for the girls!! ...mixed with sound bites from me. The article below reflects the serious discussion about the subject of solar incentives.......
http://www.dailymotion.com/user/whfiii2000/video/x9k1bn_srcc-certifications-how-should-sola_news
http://en.sevenload.com/videos/TWZi491m-SRCC-Certifications-How-Should-Solar-Thermal-I
http://www.viddler.com/explore/fcfcfc/videos/3/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfgq09e0R78
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=58832469
A beginning .......
I think it is fair to say, the solar thermal industry has always been the underdog since the PV industry started to blossom. Prior to that it was the flag of choice carried by renewable energy advocates, dauntingly flying in the face of the conventionals fuels industry. It received a 40% no accountability tax credit win, that had the sweetness of arsenic and almost equal lethality. Successes were the in the majority, but a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch.
The twenty years following the elimination of the Federal tax incentives saw the remainder of the industry creeping along, slowly improving in all aspects from product engineering, best practices and the like. By the time the 2005 energy bill came along, the lobby had changed from, “warmth in the sun” to, “electrons dancing”. “ Beginning with Ronnie through the second Bush, the end of the tunnel could not be seen let alone the light. “Gun Ho” thermal pushes were reduced to, “we will take what we can get” table scraps. They dare not say, “please sir, can I have more?”
Economic turmoil and a change of the guard, at least on the surface, provided renewed opportunity for glasses to be filled. Unfortunately the shape of the glass for solar thermal remained the same. Post elimination of the solar tax credits, never motivated into a re-visitation of the methodology of reimbursement or reward.
So what is wrong with the current and historical way solar thermal incentives are paid, I.E. one shot up front subsidies contingent upon SRCC certification? To get a clear picture of this, you have to stand back and ask yourself, “as a world, what should we (Government we) be rewarding when it comes to renewable energy?” The answer is simple. Initial creation and continued production. Incentives for solar thermal systems (Federal and states with some variance) have always been paid based on a percentage of the total system cost, reimbursed as tax credit dollars for the implementation filing year.
First, this means you are not paying for what the system produces but what the system costs to install. An assumption is made that if a system costs “xyz” dollars and is for DHW, then it will produce “this” amount of energy. No actual measure of installed site output is even put in place for possible verification on the vast majority of systems.
Second, once the system has gotten its one shot up front incentive, (If SRCC approved collectors are used) if the customer wants they can take it down the following year and still have their full subsidy. Practically speaking one would not do this, but the point is with this Government payment system the reward is expended and there is no incentive for continued production, except reduced expenditures though conventional “fuel” usage. Those savings can vary a lot over time based on current market prices. Once the system has paid for itself, the customer gets a “feeling” of completion, and the motivation through “savings only” can give way to many external variables, not the least of which is roof replacement and system maintenance. I acquired three high quality flat plate collectors on the way to the scrap yard for $100 each, that had gotten the “roof boot”. Historically, thousands and thousands of others were recycled or land filled. So the possible total energy output over the life of the product was not realized, not because of product failure but do to a lack of motivation on the customers part to keep the system producing.
Third, a statistical numbers game abuse scenario serves to illustrate: Company “A”, a good reputable solar company and Company “B” a shrewd solar company. Company “A” and company “B” buy and sell the same solar SRCC approved SDHW system. Company “A” sells the system to the customer for $5000. Company “B” sells it for $10,000. With combined state and federal incentives, this customer gets a 50% subsidy. So, company “A”’s customer gets back $2500 and ends up paying an end cost of $2500. Company “B”’s customer gets back $5000. Additionally, company “B” offers a $4000 mfg. rebate. The $4000 comes out of the extra $5000 the customer paid company ”B”, making their end cost only $1000. Company “B” ends up pocketing an extra $1000 in the process! The tax payer becomes the victim, because for the $5000 dollars we put to our government, we only got one SDHW system installed instead of two. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is nothing anyone can do about this as such. It is a result of what happens when upfront subsidies get to a certain point if they are paid on a percentage basis.
Fourth, John Doe has put in for him, an SRCC certified SDHW system for $6000. His system produces around 8 million BTU’s a year. Lucky Pete puts together his own solar SDHW and space heating system being a very creative and experienced DIY’er, for $6000. Lucky Pete’s system produces around 24 million BTU’s a year, three times the amount of John’s system. The current Federal government program and possible state added subsidies reward John with $3000 of tax incentives (50%). Lucky Pete gets zero dollars! Why? Because Pete’s collectors were not SRCC certified and from the state’s perspective, he was not a NABCEP or IREC certified installer, depending on individual state programs. Clearly we are not rewarding the production of solar renewable energy?
If we actually paid incentives on what a system produces over time, in a two tier fashion (Initial cost and ongoing production), the numbers game goes away and the second issue gets a lot more motivation to keep a system producing. Lucky Pete also gets rewarded, and continues to as long as his system keeps producing, a good motivator for such. Attributes like creativity and inventiveness get spurred as well, which is equitable and fair to all from mfg’s to customers. Special interests would have a much harder time influencing and manipulating the system.
Critics would argue that obtaining thermal production data is near impossible and bureaucratically taxing. However remote data collection has progressed light years in the last two decades. Such technology eliminated the meter reader and provides security and environmental 24/7 coverage for millions of businesses and residences. Solar thermal controllers are currently available for BTU production and the controller market would explode if the “rules of the game” were changed.
With a system like this, the government wins because it does not have to pay a big amount all at once up front, freeing up funds for continued production incentives over time. The people win because as long as they produce, they get rewarded not only by conventional fuel savings but on the energy they capture. The market wins because now entities like the SRCC have to pull their own weight based on what they bring to the market, without a guaranteed customer base. And the planet wins because there is a system of rewards that actually invites RE production systems to be created and maintained based on a rock solid concept, energy production.
**********************************************
Main story link:
http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/01/31/srcc-certifications-an-unexpected-reality/
Video links "jump site":
http://whfiii2000.mindsay.com
SRCC Solar Ratings and Certification Corporation
NABCEP North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners
NESEA NorthEast Sustainable Energy Association
ASES American Solar Energy Society
IREC International Renewable Energy Council
BTU British Thermal Unit
RE Renewable Energy
DHW Domestic Hot Water
SDHW Solar Domestic Hot Water
DIY Do-It-Yourself
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Re: 41 UNBECOMING BUDDHIST - That sounds really positive to me. Recently I've swung to the other direction...
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