Brett Humble, Project Officer, US Dept of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Bill Gabler, ARRA Project Manager, Joanne Morin, Director of the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, Dr. Scott Kalicki, President of LRCC., Phil Coupe, co-founder, ReVision Energy, Scott Osgood, Director of Capital Planning at Community College System of New Hampshire gathered to a cut a power cord at LRCC’s new dual-axis tracking solar array.

Sun greeted a crowd of 10-20 attendees at Lake Region Community College‘s (LRCC) ribbon cutting ceremony for their new 3.7kw dual-axis tracker installed by ReVision Energy using equipment from Vermont-based AllEarth Renewables.

The event was MC’ed by LRCC President Dr. Scott Kalicki, and featured words from ReVision Energy co-founder Phil Coupe and Joanne Morin, Director of the New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning.

The tracker moved right on cue as Phil took stage! His brief speech touched on the importance of solar in the transition to a renewable energy economy, energy independence, and the growth of green jobs:

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After the ceremony, attending guests asked questions to ReVision Staff and were taken on a tour by ReVision’s Fred Greenhalgh to see the 12.4kw rooftop solar photovoltaic array as well as the 43″ data monitoring display in the college lobby.

Thanks again to LRCC for hosting the event, and for great support from Bill Gabler, ARRA Project Manager, and Laura Richardson, ARRA Coordinator for SEP.

More Photos from Our Solar Events Gallery:

We’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon when customers start generating their own solar electricity – they start looking at electricity in a whole new way! As soon as you have a means of understanding how much electricity you produce, you naturally want to understand how much you consume, and if possible adjust your behavior so that you consume less without losing too many creature comforts so your PV system foots a larger part of your bill.

It’s in this context that we were interviewed on a story of the promise of smart meters for Maine and New Hampshire. The Green Alliance reports, via Foster’s Daily Democrat:

Michael Gray lives in Hampstead, NH and uses both a solar electric array and solar water heating system. Gray installed a device called The Energy Detective (TED), to add more monitoring options to his solar energy systems, which were installed by Exeter-based ReVision Energy. While nearly all solar electric systems installed today come with monitoring on the solar side, they don’t show homeowners the other side of the coin: how much power their home consumes.

“TED has a little LCD display about the size of an alarm clock. We keep it on the counter,” says Gray. “It can display in watts or money per hour. It was really transformative to actually see in real time what you’re using.

“That had an effect on our family. It makes us think, ‘Is that something we want to spend our money on?’ You can actually turn lights off and see the price per hour go down. Being aware has helped us.”

Read more at Foster’s website. And if you want more info, we’d be happy to talk with you more about the TED!

Join scientists and naturalists to see how many species we can identify in one day during our 9th annual BioBlitz!

This is an extreme scavenger hunt where families in the community come together to collect data on all plant and animal species in the 135-acres of Odiorne Point State Park. It is a great opportunity for budding scientists of all ages. Last year, there were over 250 participants and over 40 volunteers who identified 716 species (83 were new species)

This is a great opportunity for the local community to explore the seven distinct habitats in the Park and discover how all facets of nature are interconnected. This event is not only an amazing way to learning about hundreds of plants and animals on the seacoast, but it is strongly aligned with the Seacoast Science Center’s mission to create connections to nature through personal experience. Identification sessions including birding, insects, freshwater pond, sal marsh, mammals, plants, tide pooling, and more!

ReVision Energy is a sponsor of this year’s BioBlitz.

In this edition of the Solar Road Tour we head to Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) located on a sun-drenched peninsula of Casco Bay, where from the front of the new SEA Center you can see alternative energy technology on display, juxtaposed with a view of oil tankers coming into Portland Harbor in the distance.

We talk to John Brautigam, program director, about SMCC’s dedication to training students how to install the renewable energy technologies of the present and future. A diversion then takes us to Scratch Baking Company where we have the ultimate delight: the solar cupcake.

Join ReVision Energy at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. Managed by the Maine Organic Farmer and Gardner’s Association (MOFGA) the Common Ground Fair is Maine’s premiere showcase of local, organic foods and sustainable living.

The Fair consists of hundreds of vendors, exhibitors and demonstrators, more than 1,000 volunteers, and tens of thousands of fairgoers who gather to: share knowledge about sustainable living; eat delicious, organic, Maine-grown food; buy and sell beautiful Maine crafts and useful agricultural products; compete in various activities; dance; sing and have a great time. Be sure to stop by our booth to talk about solar, and see Bill Behrens and John Luft present on solar energy topics. A special treat this year – see a new 11kw grid-tied solar electric system installed on MOFGA’s “red barn” by ReVision Energy!

A full schedule of events is available on the fair’s website.

The fair runs September 23 – 25, gates open at 9:00 am each day and open until 6:00 on Friday and Saturday, 5:00 on Sunday. Tickets are free for MOFGA members, $10 for other adults, $8 for elders and free for children. Buy tickets at the gate or at these local vendors.

See you in Unity!

Join ReVision Energy, AllEarth Renewables, College Staff, and policy makers of NH in inaugurating the 11kw grid-tied solar electric array installed at Lakes Region Community College.

The ribbon cutting will be at 12pm, following remarks by ReVision Energy co-founder Phil Coupe and LRCC Interim President Dr. Scott Kalicki.

After the ceremony ReVision Energy NABCEP-certified solar engineer Geoff Sparrow will guide a tour of the system and discuss the operation of both the roof-mounted photovoltaic array and tracking array. Visitors can also see LRCC’s large-format display monitor which shows system performance in real-time.

In today’s investment environment the choice seems mainly between the uncertainty of the stock market or the unimpressive returns of safer investments such as savings accounts, CDs, and annuities. We make an alternate suggestion: consider an investment in solar.

We had occasion to compare the relative returns of investing in an annuity product vs. a solar electric system. While the two don’t seem much alike on the surface, they both have in common a significant capital outlay in exchange for a monthly dividend.

An annuity works by offering you a monthly payment for a fixed period of time based on a pre-determined interest rate, about 3.8% right now. A solar electric system also requires an up-front investment (unless you opt for financing), and offers a monthly “payment,” so to speak, in the form of reduced utility bills for the life of the system.

Like an annuity, the benefits of a solar electric system are realized over time; for economic models we usually use 25 years, the warranteed life of the panels (though the system is expected to remain operational 40-50 years). However, solar has the benefit that the “dividend” – your utility bill savings – actually increases over time as electric prices rise, unlike an annuity payment which is fixed.

Consider a married couple who are both 60 and in reasonable health and live in Maine. With $15,000 they can:

• Install a 5kW PV system which will provide roughly a $85 monthly benefit each month, which increases as electricity prices rise.
• Buy a joint lifetime annuity which will pay the couple $75 a month, which stays the same forever, not rising with inflation.

Given the choice, a lower electric bill looks like a much better investment for the next 25 years!

The Case in New Hampshire

In NH, even without the $2,000 state rebate, a solar investment still beats the annuity. In this case it’s more fair to compare a $17,000 solar investment to a $17,000 annuity. At that rate, the annuity will earn $85/month, which is pretty close to the solar in year 1. However, over the 25 years the solar becomes more valuable as the cost of electricity increases (averaging 4% a year right now) whereas the annuity stays the same. And, of course, you’re generating clean electricity the whole time rather than investing in a financial instrument.

The solar earns more, helps the environment, and takes strain off the grid. Who can’t feel good about growing with that?

Mainebiz also provided coverage of our partnership with Downeast Energy:

The partnership allows Brunswick-based Downeast Energy and Portland-based ReVision Energy to offer each other’s energy options. Downeast provides oil, propane and biofuel to customers generally within the midcoast Maine market while ReVision installs solar energy systems in roughly the same area, according to the Bangor Daily News. ReVision has been training Downeast employees on its solar energy systems for the past three weeks.

Mike McCormack, Downeast vice president of sales, said the partnership allows both companies to operate independently, yet address customers’ requests for expanded energy options. The company chose to partner with an existing solar provider rather than develop in-house expertise, the paper reported.

Visit the full article on Mainebiz website.