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After a Long Hiatus, Rhode Island Jump Starts Renewables Program

January 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Member Post!

Have you heard the great news about renewable energy funding in Rhode Island? Gov. Lincoln Chafee and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) have approved $1.5M in 2013 Renewable Energy Funds for residential projects!

Under the recently approved rules, the grant funds can cover 25% of system cost for homeowners – up to $10,000 or 10KW – in addition to the 30% Federal income tax credit. In order for a project to be eligible for the funds, a home energy audit must have been conducted prior to the application being submitted.

According to the RIEDC, residential grant applications must be submitted in groups of at least three solar projects. To help Rhode Island homeowners access the funding, local community groups and local solar installers are expected to pool projects and submit group applications.

There will be 3 application rounds for the small-scale solar program:

  • February 15, 2013
  • April 30, 2013
  • July 26, 2013

The first application deadline is less than a month away, and grant awards are based on funding availability so it is imperative that interested homeowners act fast!

Filed Under: energy policy, Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy Tax Credits, Solar Tagged With: , , ,

EnergySage.com – Choosing Renewables Now Wicked Simple

November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I was excited to learn that our newest business-level member, Boston-area Distributed Energy Research & Solutions, Inc (DERS) has concurrently released EnergySage.com , the latest, greatest tool for researching renewable energy solutions.

EnergySage, in brief, is a web platform designed “to make the case for clean energy” by helping everyone from home owners to facilities managers determine the costs and savings associated with renewable energy solutions.

This is an absolutely vital (and arguably long-overdue) tool. As we’ve covered in previous posts, renewable retrofits, upgrades, etc often involve several contractors or installers and a half-dozen different funding sources, making the whole process seem like an insurmountable task. EnergySage aims to smooth this process, and while it is only a day old, it already delivers.

I took EnergySage for a spin, and let me say, it’s wicked easy. Visitors have the choice of learning about clean energy, why to invest in clean energy upgrades for their properties, and options to get advice from professionals or from the EnergySage.com community. I tried out the wizard, and was greatly impressed by the options and level of detail it offered.  Be sure to have your utility bills on hand (or a rough estimate, if you’re just test driving it) so the site can help you determine what services are best for you based upon your needs and energy usage. You answer questions based upon your interest (saving money, etc), property type, and energy needs. And you’re not just limited to one type of renewable energy. EnergySage covers solar PV, solar thermal, wind, geothermal, biomass and biofuel. When you’ve answered all questions, the site reveals the options that are best for you, initial cost of investment, return on investment, and local financing and installation options. You are required to login for advanced options, but you can use your Facebook or Twitter login, further simplifying the process.

In short, EnergySage.com is a powerful, informative and visually appealing way to simplify your clean energy installation and financing decisions, and it’s truly great to be able to count them as a NESEA member. If you’ve been considering a renewable solution for your property, you need to check them out.

And once you’ve used EnergySage to find what renewables are best for you, go see them in action through NESEA’s Green Buildings Open House tour.

Let us know what you think about EnergySage in the comments below.

 

 

Filed Under: Communications, Industry, NESEA Members, Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy Tax Credits, Solar, Sustainable Building, Transition Initiatives Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Local Green – Real Pickles Goes Solar, gets other upgrades with USDA, MA DOER, WMECO boost

October 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Well, this was certainly inspiring.

Friday’s Greenfield Recorder had a great article on a great local business, Real Pickles (they’re delicious) and their steps to cut their business’s carbon foot print.  What’s even better? They used a local company to do it. Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics was contracted to install a 17kw array for real pickles, and it will satisfy the power requirements for the 6,500 square foot facility, which is expected to save $300-400 in bills, and of course, plenty of carbon.

The whole cost of this process was reported around $100,000 – a good chunk of change for a small business. How did they afford it? According to several press sources they received a 30% grant from the US Treasury and Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources solar/renewable credits to offset the costs, as well as loans and accelerated depreciation benefits to fund this endeavor.

Other upgrades to the Real Pickles facility include new lighting, furnaces, hot water heater, and passive cooling (vents that cut refrigeration costs in the winter by admitting cold air into the coolers .) The Western Massachusetts Electric Company helped out with these upgrades through their rebate program for light fixtures and a grant that paid for roughly 50% of the walk in coolers.

It is truly great to see a local company with scrumptious products making such steps towards sustainability, and equally exciting to see just how many financing and tax incentives there are to make these improvements possible.

Have you made upgrades to your home or business? Let us know!

Read the original Greenfield Recorder article here.

Filed Under: Green Building, Industry, Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy Tax Credits, Solar, Sustainable Building, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stimulating Renewable Energy

February 10, 2009 By 11 Comments

Buried in the massive “stimulus bill” working its way through Congress this week are details that could significantly alter the markets for solar and wind energy. And the details matter.

After a decade of remarkable growth, both the solar and wind industries have been significantly impacted by the recession and credit crash in financial markets. So 2009 is starting out as a more challenging year for renewable energy industries. There are fewer parties with appropriate tax appetite to invest equity in large projects under current tax laws. And renewable projects have not been immune to the problems in credit markets.

Whatever your views may be on the stimulus bill, it passed. Energy sections in the bill will have important implications for renewables. The Senate and House versions are very different though.

Probably of most significance, the House version has provisions to monetize the value of renewable energy tax credits through DOE grants in lieu of the current tax advantages. That provision is not included in the Senate version that still relies exclusively on manipulations of the tax code.

It’s past time to have transparency in the way governments intervene in energy markets. Incumbent energy sources benefit from decades of huge and continuing complex subsidies that skew markets in their favor. But the vast majority of citizens favor renewables. So lets encourage renewable energy development in a direct and sensible way as proposed by the House. Reliance on crazy manipulations of the tax code ends up providing hidden subsidies to financial institutions while complicating the development of clean energy projects. If the government is going to intervene in energy markets as much as it does, let’s make those interventions transparent and effective.

This week, the Conference Committee is going to hash out the details of the massive “stimulus package”. For anyone who cares about renewable energy, there has rarely been a better time to call your Senators and Congressional Representatives. Encourage them to support the House provision for a simple direct solution for reviving the remarkable growth and job creation of renewable energy industries. Its clearly better than the Senate alternative.

More information can be found in these announcements from the Solar Energy Industries Association and the American Wind Energy Association.

Filed Under: Renewable Energy Tax Credits, US Legislation Tagged With: ,