Apparently, some people around Edmonds have questioned this conventional wisdom, and are putting their wallets behind it.  The Edmonds Community Solar Co-Op, formed this year by Sustainable Edmonds board member Chris Herman, installed the array pictured here.  It’s a 6 kilowatt array atop the Frances Anderson Center.  You can see it above the Main Street Kids child care center along Dayton.

This array began generating power in mid September, and has already generated over 650 kW-hrs of energy, which is right in line with initial estimates for this time of year.  What makes this installation unique is that it isn’t a utility-owned array, or even an array purchased by a mangnanimous person of capital, but rather, by a humble local co-operative.

Now, the ECSC is looking to expand this array in the upcoming year.  Costs for Made-In-Washington solar panels have come down significantly, and the Co-Op has an agreement with the City of Edmonds for additional roof space atop Frances Anderson Center to host a larger array.  The financial plan is outlined below, but numbers can be hard to read in isolation, so how about an explanation?

Here’s how it works.  Anyone in the State of Washington can join the Solar Co-Op by paying a joining fee of $25, and adding money to the Co-Op in increments of $1000.  The Co-Op contracts out for the installation of the array, including all of the permitting, engineering, manufacture, and mounting.  To help with the finance and legal complications that daunt us mere mortals, the Co-Op has enlisted the services of Seattle-based Tangerine Power.  That’s why the signup page has a tangerine on it, and why each $1000 addition to the Co-Op is called a Sun Slice.

How does the money come back to the Co-Op?  Two ways.  First, the energy that the solar array generates is used by the Frances Anderson Center.  The City of Edmonds pays the Co-Op a reduced rate for this energy, in exchange for the use of the roof.

Secondly, and more substantially, community solar power generation is incentivized through the State of Washington. The State pays the Co-Op $1.08 for each kW-hr generated.  All of these funds are pooled, and the Co-Op members receive back money based on how many Sun Slices they initially purchased.  This arrangement will exist until 2021, when the Community Solar regulations expire.

So why the push now for more people to join?  It’s simple – taxes, and time.

First, taxes.  Federal solar incentives provide Co-Op members 30% of their initial investment back in the form of a tax credit.  However, the size of that tax credit is locked in as of December 31st – at least 5% of the total system cost must be invested by year’s end in 2011.  So, even if there is a huge and enthusiastic growth of interest in community solar in 2012, the array size will be limited by how much was invested in 2011.

Secondly, time.  As outlined above, the majority of the payback to Co-Op members is through the Washington State Community Solar program incentives.  These incentives, which started in 2011, are set to expire in 2021.  The later an array is installed, the less time it will earn these incentive payments.  Of course, the array will still make power well beyond 2021, but we people of modest means often look to at least break even.

Do the numbers work out?  Yes.  The table below summarizes the numbers for a maximum-sized additional array of 60 kW.  Smaller arrays would be proportionally structured.  The bottom line – the array will do better than break even, based on state production incentives, by 2021.

What’s NOT included in the analysis below is what happens to the array after 2021.  The Co-Op has the option of selling the array at the end of the community solar period, or even signing up with the City of Edmonds for a continued power production agreement.  The roof on Frances Anderson is fairly new, and the array will have decades of rated production left in it, so there will be good reason to pursue an arrangement like this.

Photo by Paul K Anderson

SSA Marine plans to develop one of the largest coal export facilities on the continent at Cherry Point, in northwest Washington. Each day, as many as 18 coal trains (9 loaded and 9 returning) would shuttle coal from Peabody Coal mines in Montana and Wyoming to Spokane, through Pasco, down through the Columbia River Gorge to Vancouver and Longview, and up along the coast, passing through Lacey, Tacoma, Seattle, Edmonds, Everett, Marysville, Stanwood, Mt. Vernon, Bellingham, Ferndale and all points in between.

Anyone who lives in Edmonds, or has even visited the Edmonds waterfront, beaches, and marsh, will sense that adding more coal trains (a mile-and-a-half long, each), will have an adverse impact on our economy, ecology, environment, and our ability to use our waterfront areas.  The potential for accidents also goes up when more coal trains are added.  Here’s a coal train that jumped the rails in Auburn just last month.  Imagine if this was near the Edmonds Marsh:

The plans for the new coal shipping terminal will be under review likely for the next two years.  It’s easy to dismiss something that will be so long in coming, but the counter to that is that the review phase is the ONLY chance for affected communities to raise their concerns.  Once it’s approved… construction begins and the trains start rolling.  And here’s a fun fact: one coal car carries about 100-110 tons of coal, which is enough to power a large power generation facility for about 20 minutes.  Is that worth the risk?

What can you do and where can you learn more?

Attend our organizing meetings.  Learn more about the project and its potential impacts from local professionals and community organizers, and learn how you can participate in the process.  Our next meeting is:

• Thursday, December 1st, 7-9pm
• Edmonds Library Plaza Room (upstairs), 650 Main St. Edmonds
• RSVP for the event by emailing SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com

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Links and resources:

1. National Geograpic, “Seeking a Pacific Northwest Gateway for U.S. Coal“, Oct 20, 2011.  Some of the specifics in this article are incorrect (such as the number of jobs, and the proposal to ship wheat and other commodities in addition to coal), but much of the arguments for and against are well stated.

2. “Coal Train Facts”, http://coaltrainfacts.org .  A comprehensive website of facts, public documents, and background material essential to fully understanding the coal export issue and how it impacts the PNW.

3. Sierra Club “Coal Free Washington” group.  Website for information and organization with the intention of eliminating coal from WA.

Event information:

When: October 19th, 1:30 PM

Where: Edmonds Library, Plaza Room (2nd floor)

Who: All Interested Community Members

The Solar Array and the Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative:

The 4.2 kW array was installed in September, funded by a group of local citizens, organized as a Cooperative.  The solar panels and inverter were all manufactured in Washington State, fulfilling one of the goals of the Co-Op to support employment here in Washington.

Membership in the Edmonds Community Solar Co-Op is open to all Snohomish PUD customers, not only those of us in Edmonds! You can find out more by contacting us at SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com, or signing up at http://www.tangerinepower.com/edmonds

What Am I Commenting On?

During scoping, public comment is allowed on the following:

• Proposed purpose and need for the project
• Potential natural and built environment effects to be considered
• Potential alternative transit routes
• Results of the Alternatives Analysis report (copy available at the link below)
• Other aspects of the project

You can provide your comments to Sound Transit via several paths

1. Email to northcorridorscoping@soundtransit.org
2. Mail to: Lauren Swift, Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA 98104
3. Attend a public meeting.  There are three public meetings planned, all scheduled for 6pm to 8pm.

• Shoreline, Oct 11th, Shoreline Conference Center, 18560 1st Ave NE
• Lynnwood, Oct 13th, Embassy Suites, 20610 44th Ave W
• Seattle, Oct 18th, Ingraham High School, 1819 N. 135th St

There is a lot of information available for you to review before providing your input, but it’s well worth the effort.  This kind of development is only done once, so we should all take the time to make sure we think through the long term implications of the choices available.

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Links:

1. Sound Transit North Corridor Transit Project: http://www.soundtransit.org/NCTP
2. NCTP Alternatives Analysis study: http://projects.soundtransit.org/Projects-Home/North-Corridor-Transit-Project/North-Corridor-Transit-Project-Library.xml
3. Sustainable Edmonds facebook EVENTS page, listing the NCTP Scoping Feedback sessions.  Be sure to “LIKE” our facebook page while you’re there, as we will provide updates there, as we get them.

The City of Edmonds is lending out energy meters, such as the Belkin meter shown, to help homeowners reduce their energy usage

I’ve heard a lot about “vampire loads” lately: appliances that suck electricity even when you have turned them off.  But before today, I didn’t have the technology required to hunt them down.  Vampire hunting sounded like a fun way to spend an unseasonably cool summer day, so I headed to Frances Anderson Center to equip myself for the hunt.

The City of Edmonds, using a portion of their federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funds, purchased several small portable watt-meters for use by individual home and business owners for just this purpose.  The meters are available for checkout from the front desk at Frances Anderson Center, and in fact, I was the first customer!

There were two meter styles to choose from, the “Kill-A-Watt” meter, and the Belkin “Conserve Insight” meter.  Kill-A-Watt is a single device, a little larger than a large smartphone, while the Belkin device has a separate plug and meter, making it easier to fit into tight places.  I opted for the Belkin (shown in the photo).

Now I’m a bit of a self-admitted energy geek, so I wasn’t expecting to find a hidden $100 load, but I was still curious to see if any of my appliances and electronics were significant Vampires.  I was also curious to see what the difference was between the power used by my desktop and laptop computers, which turned out to be quite significant.

To help me keep track of all of the numbers, I drafted a spreadsheet.  For each device, such as my TV, I recorded the power it consumed when OFF, when ON, and, for some devices that had a standby feature, I recorded power in STANDBY.  A copy of this spreadsheet is posted on our GoogleDocs website, so you can download an Excel copy, or use the GoogleDocs version online, for your own measurements.

I had a long list of potential vampire hiding spots at the outset.  I’d heard that cell phone chargers and other chargers continue to drain power even when the devices are no longer charging.  Myth busted.  I tested two cell phone chargers, an iPod/iPad charger, and several laptop power supplies – none of them drew power with the device unplugged.  And, with a fully charged device, these chargers were only drawing about 1/2 of a Watt to maintain charge.  Simply not worth the effort to invest in the fancy gadgets on the market now to manage your charging devices.

Then came the entertainment center.  I have read that televisions and DVD players that have remotes are vampires.  Well… apparently not mine, as again, each device consumed less than a Watt when in OFF or STANDBY.  Good news, but I wanted to find some vampires!

What about gaming systems and cable TV boxes?  I have a bit of an advantage here, as my kids only have one gaming system, a Wii.  The Wii is well-known for its low energy usage (and high energy games for the kids!), which was confirmed by measurement.  Anyone having an XBox or PS3 might have a different story to tell, as several studies have shown them to use from 60W to over 200W, even when ”off”!  And cable boxes… we only use internet TV, so I was unable to confirm the recent Seattle Times story about set-top cable boxes being such enormous energy hogs.

It turns out, I only had two real Vampires, and they were both quite small compared to, say, a set-top cable box or an XBox.  I have two small stereos, one consumes 6.8W in standby, the other, which has a powered subwoofer, consumes 15W in standby.  A few easy corrective actions reduced these to zero.  For the first stereo, I plugged it into a power strip, which I then use to completely turn it off, vice placing it in Standby.  For the second stereo, I used the power switch on the subwoofer to turn it off all the way – a switch that I previously didn’t even know existed.

And what about the laptop vs. desktop computer?  While not technically a vampire hunt, I thought it would be a good to know how these two stack up.  The desktop PC varied in power consumption based on how busy the computer was in executing commands, but the general range of power consumption was 60-110 W.  My trusty old laptop, doing similar work, only consumed 20-30 W; a savings of up to 80 Watts!  So, guess I’m sticking with the laptop.

Do you have vampires lurking in your house?  I’d be willing to bet you do.  If you live in Edmonds, go check out a free energy meter from Frances Anderson Center.  The kids enjoy the vampire hunt  – I will neither confirm nor deny the use of costumes, though a wooden stake was always at hand.

Once you’ve checked out your gear, let us know what you found, either on our Facebook page, or by email at SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com

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Links:

1. Sustainable Edmonds facebook page 
2. Excel spreadsheet for estimating savings from vampire killing
3. GoogleDocs spreadsheet for estimating savings from vampire killing
4. Seattle Times, “Atop TV Sets, a power drain that runs nonstop”:
5. City of Edmonds energy conservation website

The article is published on the Edmonds Beacon website , and is reproduced in its entirety below.

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Energy Efficiency Saves Money

by Mayor Mike Cooper

In communities across America local residents, businesses, and public agencies spend millions of dollars each year to buy energy—often dirty energy—from outside the community.  By using energy more efficiently and by producing more energy locally, communities can reduce the outflow of energy dollars.  This keeps more dollars circulating among local businesses close to home.

When communities harness millions of dollars for energy efficiency retrofit work and new energy infrastructure projects, they directly create good, family-wage local jobs in the trades as well.

Over the past several months Edmonds has been involved in several exciting partnerships that will substantially reduce our energy costs and move our community towards energy independence.

Shortly after my arrival as Mayor we entered into an agreement with New Energy Cities to assist the city with an energy action plan.  We engaged a group of over 60 stakeholders from across the community to set priorities and discuss actions.  The plan is complete and I will be making recommendations to the council for next steps in the near future.

The purpose of this action plan is to guide the collaborative work of regional public, private, and civic leaders in Edmonds to create a model for new energy leadership so successful that it inspires others to follow.

With gasoline near $4/gallon, we have taken action to purchase hybrid and all electric vehicles in our city fleet, saving over $6,500 in fuel costs per year!  In addition to the economic benefit of lower fuel consumption, this will also reduce carbon emissions by 303 metric tons of CO2.  We are moving forward with plans to install electric car charging stations around the city to encourage consumers to consider using electric vehicles.

Our partnership with the Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative establishes Edmonds as a leader in efforts to have local governments sign agreements with private investors.  These agreements form an important partnership between the City of Edmonds and a growing number of our citizens wanting to take decisive action to address energy independence, energy efficiency, and climate change.  When this project is installed it will save the city over $3200/year in electricity costs.

The City has improved its energy performance by managing energy strategically across the entire organization by making cost-effective improvements to its buildings.  These efforts earned our City Hall the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) prestigious ENERGY STAR, the national symbol for protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency.  Buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

While the city has made major strides in energy savings, there is more left to do.  The city is committed to reaching our goal of reducing our energy use 20 percent by the year 2020.  We are currently undergoing an assessment of our fleet and facilities to determine where we can gain the most savings.

In these difficult and challenging economic times, these efforts will help keep our finances sustainable and at the same time reduce the amount of emissions your city government is putting into the atmosphere.

Enter the Edmonds Community Solar Co-Op. The idea of the Edmonds Community Solar Co-Op is to lower the barriers to installing solar, by centralizing the installation in a sunny location, pooling the installation costs, and using State incentives to lower the costs over the long term.

Sustainable Edmonds spearheaded the Community Solar Co-Op idea to provide a means for families in Snohomish County to be a part of putting solar power in our City, in increments that are far more affordable than an entire rooftop home install.   A typical system installed on a home costs at least $30,000 for a small system.  The Community Solar Co-Op model allows families to put in as little as $1,000 towards the project at a time, putting it within reach of far more of us.

Dealing with so many people putting money into a project, we knew we would need help.  So one of our first acts was to enlist the help of Tangerine Power, as they have the know-how and experience to deal with the intricacies of a Co-Op owned array of this scale.  Other Community Solar projects in WA have centered on using a few high-dollar investors, instead of asking for a large number of small investors.  That is certainly an easier path, but one that is not consistent with our goals – to get more people involved with building our sustainable future.

The installation plan calls for a first phase installation to start this Summer, and we’d like to make it as big as possible.  But we need your help: we need more people to step up and contribute to this first phase of the installation.

If you are interested, you can get a hold of our Community Solar team in a variety of ways:

1. Sign up directly on the Tangerine Power website.  You can sign up for “Sun Slices”, which is what each $1000 portion of the Co-Op are called, right on the site.

2. Email us here at SustainableEdmonds@gmail.com , and we can call you to speak with you about the project further.  We can also arrange to pick up a check vice using PayPal, as that will keep 3% more of your money in the project, vice going to fees.

The Community Solar Project is “Of Edmonds, By Edmonds, and For Edmonds“, and we sincerely hope that you choose to be a part of it.  There is no other project that will more clearly show our City’s commitment to a green energy future, and the financial barriers will never be lower than under the Community Solar program.

Want to learn more?  Email us, and we’ll be happy to chat!

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Sierra Club’s Five Reasons to Install Rooftop Solar:

1. If you care about the environment, rooftop solar is as green as it
gets. Every kilowatt hour of solar you generate either replaces
electricity that might otherwise come from burning coal or frees up some other
form of energy so that it can replace electricity from burning coal.
Remember: No one ever had an asthma attack because of a solar panel.

2. Solar has never been more affordable. The materials costs
for solar rooftop installations have fallen dramatically, and for now, you can
still benefit from significant federal and (depending on where you live) state
incentives for installing solar that bring down the cost of both purchased and
leased systems.

3. Solar-leasing programs, where you basically rent or
purchase power from a system for 10 to 20 years, have made it possible for
homeowners to put solar on their roofs for as little as $0 and still save on
their utility bills. You get all the environmental benefits as well as a
locked-in electrical-utility rate that will protect you against soaring
electricity rates in the years ahead.

4. Rooftop solar also helps the U.S. economy by providing
work for the people who design and install the systems. A stronger economy based
on good green jobs at home helps us all.

5. Not only are you greening your electrical use at home but you are also
making it possible to green your personal transportation by
charging an EV or plug-in hybrid at home. How can you not love an energy
solution that displaces both coal and oil? Ever hear of a catastrophic
solar-power spill threatening fish and wildlife?

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Links:

1. Edmonds Community Solar Co-Op program through Tangerine Power:

http://www.tangerinepower.com/cpc/edmonds.php

2. Sierra Club Insider blog article, “Every Rooftop Matters”

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/michaelbrune/2011/06/rooftop_solar_panels.html#

Some countries put a sizeable tax on gasoline and diesel in order to more accurately reflect the true cost, and use that money towards programs such as renewable energy development and social programs.

Is cheap gasoline necessary for economic development and prosperity?  Or is it merely subsidizing an industry by not forcing the payment of the true cost of the hazardous product?  Watch for yourself, and make your own judgment.

Homes with green certifications fetch an average of a 30 percent price premium over similar homes that lack green certifications.  The price premium was higher for upgraded existing homes than for new homes, which is great news for Edmonds, as our city is almost completely built-out.

Making improvements without gaining a formal green certification may help increase the value of your home as well, though the study did not look at this scenario, so it is probably best to pursue some level of certification when doing any remodeling to your home.

Certifications that were included in the study were EarthAdvantage, Energy Star, a combination of EarthAdvantage/Energy Star, and LEED for Homes.  Here in Washington, we have an additional certification system available called “Built Green”, as well.

Green certification isn’t as scary as it sounds.  There are a few different programs that provide residential remodel certifications, and they have clear guidelines and checklists for you and/or your contractor to follow.  Be sure to ask your contractor what green building certification programs they are authorized for, and if they give you a blank stare, that might be a hint to go elsewhere!

This report comes at a good time for us here in Edmonds, as we recently received the final New Energy Cities report from Climate Solutions.  And the report found that the biggest impact that we, as a City, could make on reducing our energy imports, would be … drumroll please…. home energy retrofits!

This report bolsters the case for home energy retrofits, in that not only will home energy retrofits help us reduce our energy use as a City, but will increase our home selling prices as well.  The resources below will help you get started.

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Here are some links to help you learn more:

1. “Green homes fetch higher prices“, Portland Business Journal, June 8, 2011.

• News story that initiated this post

2. “Certified homes outperform non-certified homes for fourth year in Portland Metro Region“, PR Newswire – Earth Advantage.

• Press release from Earth Advantage, who conducted the study
• Contains county-by-county tabulated data

3. Earth Advantage Residential Remodel Resources

4. Washington Built Green website.

• Includes lists of certified contractors and specific checklists for different projects

4. List of all Green Building Programs, national and by state, provided by PATH – Public Private Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology.

5. Energy Star for Homes website.

Photos: Bloomberg

The Baby Boom generation had the Summer of Love, and a social revolution based on social justice, personal freedom, and sexual liberties.  Now, today’s youth are self-organizing under a different banner – sustainability, and a green revolution.

This is the conclusion drawn from a survey sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which surveyed 400 young adults between the ages of 18 and 35.

The survey was part a much larger study of sustainability undertaken by UNEP, called the Global Survey for Sustainable Lifestyles (GSSL). The GSSL is one of the first in-depth surveys to be carried out worldwide.

More than 8,000 young adults from 20 countries responded to an online questionnaire available in 10 languages. Questions focused on respondents’ concerns and hopes for the future as well as pressing priorities that should be addressed by public officials to advance sustainability.

Four Canadian and American universities collaborated on this international project: Two Montreal universities (Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) and Concordia University), Dalhousie University in Halifax, and Fordham University in New York City.

What emerges from the research is that young adults in the New York City area, Halifax and Montreal share the dream of a better-balanced way of life, inspired by more just and humane values and distinguished by fulfilling work, family and social lives.

For these young people, living responsibly means consumption based on necessity, reducing car usage and using public transportation for routine travel. They recognize the need to use less water and less energy. Buying local products, recycling and composting are among the practices they are willing to adopt to improve the environment, emphasizing the importance of reducing waste in every form.

Opportunities and Obstacles

In all three cities, the young adults were quite strongly motivated to pursue changes that they perceived as being necessary to improve long-term sustainability.  However, their conclusions about what actions to take differed significantly.  Canadians tended to focus on economic and environmental efforts, while New Yorkers focused more on economic actions, though they also had very focused ideas for transportation and housing.

While today’s young adults are more connected than ever, due to the information explosion of the past few decades and devices that put the world’s information in the palm of your hand, they aren’t necessarily more informed about how to actually effect the changes they’d like to see.  Sixty percent of survey respondents rated themselves as knowing little or nothing about how their own communities are managed.  Without this knowledge, their ideals are going to have a tough time finding their way into policies that span communities.

Takeaways

- The youth are idealistic as ever, and their new passions center on sustainability

- Local sustainability ideas are linked to location, and reflect the efforts of local community education campaigns, so we should continue to educate the public about local activities and action plans so that they can join in

- Those of us who DO understand how communities are managed clearly have a responsibility for educating our young adults, so that they can bring their energy and ideas to bear where it matters

For more information, here are the sources used to compile this article:

1. Concordia University website, “Sustainability Across Three Cities”:

http://www.concordia.ca/now/campus-life/going-green/20110601/sustainability-across-three-cities.php

2. Vancouver Sun article, “For this generation, revolution calls for greater sustainability: survey”

http://www.vancouversun.com/this+generation+revolution+calls+greater+sustainability+survey/4876814/story.html

3. UN Environmental Programme Report, “Recommendations for Effective Policies for Sustainable Lifestyles”, summarizes the surveys from all countries

http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=WEB/0166/PA

4. City of Edmonds website:

http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/