by jboullion | Dec 31, 2009 | Uncategorized
Though written in 2007, an analysis by RENEW’s executive director Michael Vickerman may be even truer today an a few years ago, given the risk involved in “traditional” investments. The analysis shows that an investmnet in a solar hot water system generates a better rate of return than putting money in the bank:
I wrote a column which was highly critical of using payback analysis to figure out whether installing a solar hot water system on one’s house makes economic sense. In almost every example you can imagine, the payback period for today’s solar installations ranges between long and forever. For my system, which started operating in January 2006, payback will be achieved in a mere 19 years using today’s energy prices, though by the time 2025 rolls around, half of Florida might be under water and the rest of the country out of natural gas.
But there’s no reason to let payback length rule one’s ability to invest in sustainable energy for the home or business, especially if there are other approaches to valuing important economic decisions. One way to sidestep the gloomy verdicts of payback analysis is to do what most companies do when contemplating a long-term investment like solar energy — calculate the internal rate of return (IRR) on the invested capital. The definition of IRR is the annualized effective compounded return rate which can be earned on the invested capital, i.e. the yield on the investment.
By using this familiar capital budgeting method, I’m able to calculate an IRR of 6.1%for my solar water heater if natural gas prices rise a measly 3% per annum. That yield exceeds anything that a bank will offer you today. It will likely outperform the stock market this year, which is due for a substantial downward adjustment to reflect the slow-motion implosion of the housing market now underway. And, unless you live in a gold-rush community like Fort McMurray, Alberta, your house will do well just to hold onto its current valuation, let alone appreciate by six percent.
While all investments pose some degree of risk, the return on a solar energy system is about as safe and predictable as, well, the rising sun. Fortunately for the Earth and its varied inhabitants, the center of our solar system is situated well beyond the reach of humanity’s capacity to tamper with a good thing.
by jboullion | Dec 30, 2009 | Uncategorized
From The GreenLaCrosse.com Promise:
Every little bit together – can make a big difference. We encourage everyone to do whatever they can to make their own green choices.
My GreenLaCrosse.com Promise:
1. I will reduce my fuel consumption by carpooling, riding a bike, using public transportation, walking etc.
2. I will use more green cleaning products.
3. I will eat more local and organic foods.
4. I will write a letter to my Representatives and Senators to express my green ideas
5. I will buy more local products within a 150-mile radius from my home to support the local economy and reduce transportation overhead.
6. I will dispose of my yard waste in accordance with the law. I promise to never burn my yard waste and to compost or re-use it whenever possible.
7. I will purchase and install a programmable thermostat to save money and energy on heating and cooling.
8. I will pick up litter when I see it and dispose of it properly.
9. I will recycle as many types of materials as possible including paper, aluminum, plastic and cardboard.
10. I will dispose of hazardous wastes in accordance with the law. This includes paints, household chemicals, electronics, fluorescent light bulbs and NiCd and Li-Ion batteries.
by jboullion | Dec 29, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Bob Geiger, staff writer for Finance & Commerce:
Last week, there was a minor change to the web site of Xcel Energy – an unobtrusive box picturing a wind turbine along with the words, “Learn more about Xcel Energy’s climate action.”
But the minor graphic signals a major effort at the Minneapolis-based utility – to promote its renewable energy efforts, as well as its support for a proposed federal policy aimed at limiting greenhouse gases.
The site lays out Xcel Energy’s game plan for dealing with climate change, and includes an endorsement of a uniform federal policy for a cap-and-trade system that is intended to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started the process to cap carbon dioxide emissions as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, established more than 30 years ago to deal with local and regional pollution.
In posting its support of a cap and trade system that charges polluters for emissions of greenhouse gases, Xcel Energy is taking the corporate position that such a system encourages technological change to lower such emissions.
In the meantime, Xcel itself is “looking to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions in Minnesota by 22 percent from 2005 levels” by 2020, said Betsy Engelking, director of resource planning for the utility.
by jboullion | Dec 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Gena Kittner in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Photovoltaic panels installed last week on the roof of Mount Horeb’s Grumpy Troll will soon enable the bar and restaurant to harness solar power to fuel everything from beer-brewing to pizza-making.
“A lot of the energy will be used for the brewery, as well as everything else that we do,” said owner Doug Welshinger, adding the beer mash itself will still be boiled using natural gas.
Once the switch is flipped , probably by the end of the month, Welshinger said the business will use about 95 percent of the electricity generated by the solar panels. “We do consume a lot of energy, there’s no question about it,” he said.
The Mount Horeb Utilities will purchase all of the energy generated by the 38 solar electric panels – most at 30 cents a kilowatt hour – about three times the rate that a business customer would pay for the same electricity.
The Grumpy Troll, at 105 S. Second St., will continue to purchase all of its electricity from the local utility at the normal rate, but will receive a monthly bill credit for the green power generated by the panels, helping to offset its total energy costs.
The higher rate for sending electricity to the utility is part of an incentive program offered by Sun Prairie-based WPPI Energy, which includes Mount Horeb Utilities as a member. The higher rate will last about 10 years, said Ann Rodriguez, spokeswoman with WPPI Energy.
by jboullion | Dec 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
An article by Diane Greer in BioCycle gives a detailed description of the biodigester at Gunderson Lutheran:
Gundersen Lutheran Health Systems and City Brewing Company, both based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, are partnering on an innovative cogeneration project fueled by biogas from the brewery’s waste treatment process. The system, which started operating in October, is expected to generate 3 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year of electricity, equivalent to 8 to 10 percent of the power used on Gundersen Lutheran’s La Crosse and Onlaska campuses. City Brewing will employ waste heat from the system, estimated at 17,000 mmBtus/year, to warm its anaerobic digesters producing the biogas. . . .
