Archive for August, 2011
Sun And Beer: A Power Combo In Atlanta
Sweetwater Brewing Co and Empower Energy Team Up to make “Green” beer
By Pete Dank, IBTimes-UK http://uk.ibtimes.com/Green beer isn’t only for St. Patrick’s Day anymore. In Atlanta, SweetWater Brewing Company is remaking its brewery to meet growing demand, and a hefty photovoltaic system is part of the project. Sweetwater said its expansion from 26,000 to 114,000 square feet of space should be wrapped up by November and “fully functioning” in January 2012. Beer production, which was at 77,000 barrels in 2010 and is expected to grow to 90,000 this year, will be able to rise to as high as 400,000 barrels with all that extra space. And to a large extent, it’ll be beer brewed by the power of the sun.
Photo courtesy Solyndra
The company said the PV system planned for the revamped brewery will be “the largest private commercial solar installation in Atlanta.” Empower Energy Technology is the lead on the project, and the company spec’d out the system at 157 kilowatts, with first-year electrical generation pegged at 234,684 kilowatt-hours based on Atlanta’s climate. (According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American home uses 10,896 kWh of electricity annually, so you could call SweetWater’s solar setup a 22-home system.)
Photo courtesy Sweetwater Brewing Co.
The system consists of 750 Solyndra panels, each rated at 210 watts. According to SweetWater, the system is so light – just 2.8 lbs. per square foot – that it won’t require boosting structural support. The self-ballasted Solyndra panels also don’t need to be attached to the roof, so no nasty holes and bolts. The system will be a nice banner for solar power, too; SweetWater noted that it “will be visible from passing Marta trains and the Buford Spring Connector that takes commuters to and from I-85 and I-75 and the adjacent Beltline.” To learn how Empower Energy can help you harness the energy power of the sun, call 404.681.3270 or email mark Bell at mbell@empoweret.com.
A Tax Fix Everyone Can Get Behind
We ran across this good news from following our friends at the USGBC – U.S. Green Business Council. Lane Burt, their Technical Policy Director, wrote an excellent blog post on this subject.
At Empower Energy Teechnology, we preach energy efficiency all the time. People hire us to help their businesses become more energy efficient and implement cost saving energy management programs. The subject of Mr. Burt’s blog post addresses the issue from the point of making our laws more equitable for existing buildings.
Here’s the problem.
If you invest in your own building energy efficiency, you will have to pay federal taxes on the value of the investment. If you were to keep wasting energy, all that wasted money would be completely deductible from your taxes.
That’s right; in effect our tax code unintentionally subsidizes wasted energy. Despite the economic benefits (not to mention the domestic job creation and the environmental benefits), investments to create energy efficient, better buildings do not receive the same treatment under the tax code as wasted energy.
That’s why the USGBC is working with a diverse coalition of industry and environmental organizations, like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Real Estate Roundtable, to change this. It’s their highest priority to convince Congress that energy efficiency is at least as valuable to the nation’s prosperity as wasted energy.
They have proposed changes to fix Section 179D of the tax code, and existing policy designed to encourage energy efficient new construction to make it usable for existing buildings.
Read Mr. Burt’s blog post – click here.
Read about the proposed changes – click here.
Get Involved
Contact your members of Congress and ask them to support changes to the Section 179D to make it work for existing buildings.
For more informat ion please contact :
Lane Burt, lbur t@usgbc.org, Technical Policy Director
Bryan Howard, bhoward@usgbc.org, Legis lat ive Director
Georgia is Ideal for Solar
In an opinion poll conducted by One Block Off the Grid (http://1bog.org/), 19 out of 23 solar company CEOs said they “strongly agreed” that strengthening state solar policies would lead to more hiring at their companies.
“As soon as Wisconsin lawmakers create stronger solar policies like SRECs here, I can start hiring and putting solar panels on all the homes, farms, and businesses that want them,” said Todd Timmerman of Timmerman’s Talents LLC in Platteville, Wisconsin. “Our state does have some incentives, but not enough to allow me to expand my business the way I’d like.”
“Georgia is ideal for solar, but utilities here have far too much sway over our state energy policy,” said Steve Barker, CEO of Walker Solar Power in Mansfield, Georgia. “Before I can start hiring, lawmakers have to stand up to them and create real solar policies in our state. It’s time.”
What Can You Do?
Call (don’t email) your state government representative
Your state rep has the most power to create the kind of programs that spur job growth quickly, so if you’re only going to make one call, make it at the state government level, not federal. Get contact info at www.votesmart.org/mystate_summary.php
Make sure your call counts
A staffer will most likely take your call. Tell then, “I’m a voter calling in support of creating stronger renewable energy incentives and programs in our state. I’ve heard that New Jersey and other states have created a lot of new jobs through clean energy incentives. I’s like similar programs in our state.”
If you’re really fired up
You can also call your senators and state representatives in Washington, D.C., repeating all of the above steps. To get their phone numbers, go to Congress.org or call the main switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask for your state representative or senator.
Magnify your impact
Encourage your friends and family to make the call. Here’s a sample Facebook status you can use: “I want more jobs created in the U.S., so I called my state representatives in support of stronger clean energy incentives in my state. You should do this, too. Visit: www.votesmart.org/mystate_summary.php or Congress.org for contact info.”
