Often I am surrounded by forward-thinking people. People, like me, who recognize that there must be a shift to renewable energy in this country, and this world. Fortunately, many people realize this. However, most, myself included, are talking about solar and renewables, but are not quite practicing it. “We want solar, but we do not know how long we will be in our house.” “When things slow down, I would like to get an estimate for solar on my house…” “After that next project/job/etc., we’ll be able to afford solar…” Meanwhile, every bit each of us does…now…within our means…matter.

Let me introduce Bob Hodash. Bob is a teacher at Sierra Middle School in Bakersfield, California. He has written and won grants from both the PG&E solar Schools program and the BP A+ for Energy program. He is the “Kids for Solar Energy” Club advisor and on the PG&E Solar Schools Program Teacher Advisory Board. This summer, Bob installed a 3.8kWh AC system. The picture of his installation was taken 08-26-07. The temperature outside was 92 degrees Farenheit, and the system was generating 3,085 watts at 2:30 pm.

As you read his story, think about how ideal your home or work is for solar. The change to renewables does not happen overnight, but one installation at a time…

Story submitted by Bob Hodash

722kwh in June! (722 Thousand-Watt-Hours!) That’s the amount of electricity my roof mounted solar panels produced in the first month of use, July 2007. Not bad for not even being at home. I was actually on vacation in upstate New York and my roof was producing electricity, providing the grid with extra power and making me money. PG&E credits the energy that my solar panels produce in excess of what I use and since I was away and anything consuming power was unplugged, it was all excess power. It’s actually more of a credit, and California has full retail net-metering which allows me to get maximum financial benefit for my solar production.

Of course for the globally minded, I saved many tons of carbon from being released into the atmosphere. On a hot day like today in California, my solar power and fellow solar power deployers may have helped the state avoid rolling brown or blackouts.

The image above was pulled off of the California Independent System Operator (ISO) website. The green line shows what was available, and the red line shows what our usage was… Today was a spare the air day, and may of my fellow schools along with businesses were asked to voluntarily reduce loads (turn off uneeded lights, increase the air temperature thus requiring less energy to cool the air, etc.). It’s unbelievable that our load went up over 50,000 MW, but there was my energy contribution…on a day like today, let nobody doubt that every individual contribution does make a difference.

I added no pollutants to the earth or the atmosphere and possibly convinced two others neighbors to follow my lead. More if this short article convinces others.

The process was a bit lengthy of choosing a contractor, the panels and the inverter, and then applying for a home equity loan. I went with a California company (SolarCity) to install, and California companies that made the panels and inverter (SolarWorld and Xantrex, respectively). Think Globally and Buy Locally! Once the decision was made the installation went very quickly and with only minor communication issues, which were quickly solved. The rebate from the Public Utilities Commission & PG&E was handled by the company (almost $9K) and the Feds will be chipping in at least $2K in April.

My advice for those who have panels installed, communicate with your contractor, make sure plenty of cold water is available to the installers (we invited our installers in for pizza lunch, which was of course was gladly accepted), and keep all of your paperwork organized, so you know what equipment you purchased, and try to work with one person as the job coordinator.

Would I do it again, yes! Do I feel good about it, yep!! And, do I brag to other people about it, please see above!!!

If you have specific questions please e-mail me at bhodash@bak.rr.com.

Thanks and “The Future is Clean Energy!”

In late May, AP Giannini Middle School in South San Francisco dedicated their 1kW solar array with a solar celebration. As part of the PG&E Solar Schools program, it is one of 8 systems provided to schools in the San Francisco area this year. PG&E has awarded dozens of these systems to schools in California - cost free…by the end of the year, there will be 100.

This dedication was unique in that it included students from another solar school. These students were from Evergreen 6 in Paradise, California. Evergreen was awarded a solar installation in 2005, and was given the opportunity to share what they had learned with students just beginning to learn about solar first hand.

Pat Snyder, one of the teachers from Evergreen said, “This is a great opportunity for students in our small community to travel to the city and interact with students from the city. It is a classic case of country meets city and at the end of the day, all students recognized that being responsible about energy is something we can all do - regardless of where we live.”

Students from Evergreen set up a number of stations including: solar beads, solar cooking, facts about the sun, a solar telescope, renewable vs. non-renewable energy, hydrogen car (with hydrogen made from the sun), as well as a station that explained the PG&E grant and the online monitoring of all solar schools. PG&E was there with their Mobile Customer Education Center (bus), “Helmet” (the mascot of PG&E), a Hydrogen Fuel Cell car, and several staff.

The Foundation For Environmental Education, The National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, and representatives from SolarCity were on hand to assist in student learning. Several school and government officials were also on hand to support the project and to convey how renewable energy fits into their vision.

Greg Holman, another teacher from Paradise observed, “What a great way to get students excited about solar! Today has been a sort of ‘passing of the torch’ from students that have had an installation to students just starting the journey.”

Here is how one of his students felt about the day:

EXPERIENCING SOLAR FIRST HAND

My school, Evergreen 6, located in Paradise California, went to San Francisco to teach the students of A.P. Gianinni Middle School about their new sharp solar array. It felt great to teach students about the gift their school was getting! I worked the arts and crafts booth where we gave the students solar-bead bracelets. The students of A.P. Gianinni were very excited about the bracelets and learning how dangerous ultra violet rays are. The students learned that solar beads change color when the ultra violet rays become harmful. They were amazed how exposed we were, even on a cloudy day!

The students will have the chance to see first hand what their science books are saying. After all, books can only get you so far; experiencing solar power ‘hands on’ is far more exciting! One of the questions a student asked that really stood out to me was, “How will solar energy help the world and my school?” We told that student that solar energy was a renewable energy source that would help us be less dependent on fossil fuel. All in all, I think the students of both A.P. Gianinni and Evergreen 6 had a great time and learned a lot about solar energy. I know I did!

-Michaela Mundt
Paradise, California

Although it was overcast for the entire Solarbration, there were many lessons to be learned about solar. Solar ovens were not able to bake cookies. However, they did get forty degrees above the ambient temperature. Photovoltaic cells were able to generate electricity, even with heavy clouds. The pigments in solar beads changed color, reminding us that we need to protect our skin from the sun - even when we cannot see the sun.

What will be fascinating over the coming months, will be to compare data from the Bay Area solar schools installations. Although there will be several installations in and near San Francisco, we will be able to see micro-climates and how two systems can have different results, even if just a few blocks away. We will be able to investigate this large-scale science project with the only variable being the location - all with a few clicks of the mouse.

With so much excitement and enthusiasm from the students, staff and parents at A.P. Gianinni Middle School, the solar schools program is a seed that will rapidly grow to be a huge part of the experience at APG!

Livermore, CA

Camp Arroyo is located on a 138-acre site at Del Valle Regional Park south of Livermore. The site is the former location of the Alameda County Tuberculosis Sanitarium, at the end of Arroyo Road. In 1996 The Taylor Family Foundation decided to construct Camp Arroyo to support children in need, and partnered with the East Bay Regional Park and YMCA. Camp Arroyo is now one of the Bay Area’s Premier Environmental Education and Conference & Retreat Centers, and receives over 6,000 visitors annually. During the school year, many of these visitors are students in the 4th-6th grade, staying for up to 5 days. James Choe is the Director of Outdoor Environmental Education at the YMCA Outdoor School at Camp Arroyo in Livermore, California. Recently I was able to talk to Mr. Choe about many of the exciting energy related activities campers get to experience. Camp Arroyo was selected as a PG&E Solar School given their environmental vision, and connection to thousands of students.

The entire facility was built to be a working example of sustainable design and green architecture including: efficient windows and proper orientation to provide passive solar, solar hot water systems, and even a straw-bale building allow campers to understand that “going green” is not only good for the environment, it can be comfortable, economical, and attractive. The facility was recognized as one of the Top 10 Green Projects of 2002 by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment.

For all green architecture aficionados out there, be sure to check out the Siegel & Strain Architects Camp Arroyo overview- http://www.siegelstrain.com/inst-arroyo.html.

In small naturalist-led Adventure Groups, students explore topics including: geology, watersheds, natural history, local Native American history, and a climbing wall. Topics are carefully designed to engage students, while at the same time correlating with state curriculum standards.

Students also study renewable energy sources. As one of the first round winners of the PG&E Solar Schools Installations in 2004, many activities revolve around solar energy. First, small solar panels are explored. Series and parallel circuits, solar panel orientation and shading are investigated. Next, solar is taken to a more concrete level. Larger panels are used to demonstrate power to a fountain and everyday electrical devices. There are two photovoltaic installations at Camp Arroyo - one next to the organic garden (powering a fountain), and the 1kW pole mount located down the hill (grid-tied). This continues the theme of becoming responsible citizens - keeping our impacts on the earth to a minimum.

If Camp Arroyo has you ready to pack like me, you can get more information at their website: http://www.ymcaeastbay.org/camparroyo/ Or, contact James directly at: jchoe@ymcaEastBay.org.

Last month the 2006-2007 Health and Bioscience/Plant Ecology Club of Mount Diablo High School prepared for graduation, and celebrated one of their final accomplishments with their school and community…the PG&E Solar Schools Program team was there to have a Solar Celebration with them. Lead by teacher Sandy Johnson-Shaw, the students dedicated their new organic garden to Carolyn Hebert and Perry Carlston - “For the seeds you helped plant, and for those that have yet to grow in all of those you’ve touched.” These wonderful teachers (Mrs. Hebert, Mrs. Johnson-Shaw and Mr. Carlston) had been planting seeds for years…but in October of 2006 they began realizing another dream- to create an outdoor learning lab connecting healthy food to renewable energy within an organic garden, and that’s where the PG&E Solar Schools Program team stepped in to help with the energy elements of the garden.

In October, there was some dirt, sand, and a dream. By March, there was some new soil donated and delivered by American Soil Products on behalf of the PG&E Solar Schools Program.

By April, the first crops were being harvested, and a 700 pound steel sunflower was growing form the earth with a team from SolarCity .

One of my favorite quotes is, “You See Things; and Say “Why”? But I Dream things that Never Were; And I say “Why Not” … most people know this as a quote of John F. Kennedy, but in fact it’s from a Nobel Prize winning author. The MDHS Organic Garden is the culmination of a several dreams, and we can’t wait to see where the next class of dreamers leads us.

The first person who writes to us with the name of the true author of the “dream things that never were” quote, and writes with another famous quote attributed to him/her will get a special EnergySeeds prize…

A recent report by SustainLane Government concluded that Oakland is #1 when it comes to renewables!

You may be surprised to see the other cities the top the list here:

Leading the nation with 17 percent of its electricity produced by sources such as solar, wind and geothermal, most renewable energy generation in the city comes from commercial and residential photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Sue Morgan, a teacher at Glenview Elementary has her students follow energy production at her school as compared to others around California, and they see Oakland consistently producing! She, and Deitra Atkins, the principal of Glenview Elementary, recently hosted a film crew at their school, and provided this behind the scenes glimpse into what went down. With all those renewables, we think Oakland may reclaim the A’s for an A in renewable energy, and become known from here on out as the solar raiders!

Here’s a story from Mrs. Morgan…

Monday March 19th was a warm and sunny day, a perfect day for solar in the Bay Area. Glenview Elementary was going to be hosting some film folks from EcoMedia in New York City who were working with PG&E, the sponsor of our Solar Schools Program. I am usually not at Glenview on Mondays, but for this day, my incredibly supportive principal arranged for me to switch my Monday for another day with the school where I am usually the garden teacher Mondays.

In any event, I found myself at Glenview on a sunny Monday in March with a film crew, including a director, sound man, camera man and a few still photographers about to descend on our small 330 student campus in Oakland, California.

I had spoken to Michael, the director, on Monday morning before leaving my house and was aware he wanted us to be doing a hands-on activity. Specifically he requested that we work on the solar ovens we had made and used in the fall at our Solar Celebration. We would be taking them apart this morning and then putting them back together again during the filming later in the afternoon. There were 16 students who had managed to get their film release forms back on Monday AM… that’s 16 out of the 90 or so that I gave out Friday with the caveat that they must come back Monday morning or they would not be able to be part of the film shoot. Most really wanted to be part of it…but 16 was a good number since it was a number that would work well in the classroom, and it meant I would not have to choose students from a larger pool.

The film crew arrived close to 1 PM as students were just finishing lunch recess, so we were able to get ourselves into the classroom fairly quickly. Michael, the director, came in to see the room and do some checks on lighting with the camera and sound people. We talked about doing the solar ovens and he wanted them taken apart even further…he verbalized what he wanted to see me doing….what he wanted students doing…and how we would go outside and see the PV Array, which seems to now be known as a PV on a stick.

He was laying out the entire shoot before hand which made it easier to know how I and the students were to approach it. We finally began the actual filming close to 45 minutes later. There were more non-students in the room than students…we talked a little about their nervousness (and mine) and decided, it was really nothing…we could pretend they (the camera person, the director, the sound person, the PG&E reps etc)…were not there…which is what we did…pretty hard sometimes when the sound person has an 8 foot boom balanced on his head as he reaches out to catch a students comment, but the students were amazingly into the ‘oh so structured classroom set up’.

They asked and answered questions, they worked on making their solar ovens, they explained all they knew about the PV on a stick and why solar electricity was important to them and their futures. When we went outside to the PV on a Stick, it was now pretty hot and our PV is not on grass but tarmac, so it seemed even hotter. The director wanted us to walk naturally out to the PV and then talk about the Array and how it all worked as they filmed us up close and also from far away. We had to do the walking out about 3 times to get it to look natural as everyone became just too aware of the camera.

We also had to watch for a surprise that was to come onto the school yard and then we were to run over to it. The students did not know what this surprise was, and as school was just getting out a number of them had to leave–dropping our numbers to around 8 or 10…but then the surprise drove up…. A PG&E plug in Prius!
   
There are only 40 on them in the world, they get 100 miles to the gallon.. since the first 10 miles is totally electric. so it uses NO GASOLINE in the first 10 miles…and the theory is that most folks commute less than 10 miles one way to work which would mean if your commute was that short, you would NEVER need gas to get to and from work. At night you plug it into any wall socket. And you could still use the vehicle like a regular car (hybrid) for longer trips. It was cool to see and one of my students whose Mom has a Prius, really wanted to know how to get this for her car. All in all a very heady first real filming day for the kids.

Here is a story from one of our schools in Illinois - Roselle Middle School has a roof mounted 1kW PV system, and is part of the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation solar schools program.

Roselle Middle School District - story submitted by Joel Simburger, 7th grade science teacher.

The introduction of the solar panels to RMS will not only help save money and reduce our carbon footprint, but also open students’ eyes to the alternative energy possibilities available to them. Roselle Middle School students begin their study of energy resources and their impact in 6th grade by viewing the website and calculating how much the school is saving.

The 7th grade science curriculum includes a study of energy resources and their costs, both financially and environmentally. Within this study, students weigh the pros and cons of different energy resources, including solar energy. The classes learn about solar energy using mini-solar panel laboratory kits and by observing data from the solar panel monitoring website.

8th grade students create graphs of the amount of energy the solar panels generate daily. They also create weather logs in science in order to see how weather affects how much energy the solar panels generate.