Sunday, May 30, 2010

Blast from the past.

Posted by Andrew M.D. Streit on November 23, 2006 04:38

GET SOLAR
Moving the world to sustainable energy production because you love your children


"Let there be light".

Genesis

I was lost, but now I am found. This is my first blog, my first foray into solar and my first step into the rest of my life.
I am a builder living in South Carolina. I have been working in construction for 12yrs with a 5yr stint as a business analyst/network engineer in the late 1990's. Most of my adult life I have been searching for a meaning or cause I could get behind, get involved in. It wasn't until I married, settled down and had children that I became stable enough to try and find out what that cause was to be.
Several months ago I fired a painter who had been working with me for more than a year. He was a great guy, Leon was 55, a decorated Vietnam vet, father of two and a raging alchoholic. We had just finished a week long job out of town and Leon asked for a half pint so he could nap on the way home. I had never seen him drunk so I acquiesced. The ride home was horrible, Leon was out of his mind, so the next day I said no more booze around me, ever! Part of my conversation with him was you've been a soldier/father, you've been a professional drunk, whats the third act going to be Leon, What is the third act?
Well Leon drank the next day at work, and so I fired him and told him not to come back until he had a token from AA because I did not want to watch him kill himself. My conversation with Leon Stuck with me, "the third Act" swirled around in my head until I realized maybe I wasn't just talking to Leon.
I read a lot, I have a BA from the university of Georgia, I am a dedicated husband and father and I am reasonbly good at what I do. It's not enough. Even before 9/11 I was distressed by the direction of American pop culture, the Lewinsky episode, bad TV, education slipping behind Asian and European countries, etc. When we got a cowboy president with oil on his boots I was downcast. The raw destruction of the twin towers shook me, my brother lives in NY and I had spent some happy times in the city.
Things went from bad to worse, no to the Kyoto treaty, which contrary to what the president said would create jobs and improve the environment, yes to dividend tax cuts and a reduction in income tax to the richest 1%. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett the richest and second richest men in america both said the tax cut was uncessary and to them and irresponsible for long term growth of the economy. No to education spending, yes to $87billion a year in killing Iraqis and not providing protection to our troops who are an average age of 22yrs old. No to prisoners rights, Iran held candle light vigils for the fallen on 9/11 but Bush and his cabinet have so sullied the moral imperative of the USA we have never been so disliked by the world. Yes to looting, after securing the oil fields we allowed the desecration of the artifacts of one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. $1 billion to renewable energy initiatives was stated in the 2004 state of the Union. $15 billion to oil company subsidies when they record more profit in a single month than ever before in human history!!!
"Let there be light". I read "Business 2.0", "Fortune", "This old House", and the "NY times". For more than a year I have been seeing articles on Solar, Solar towers in Australia, Solar water heat in Florida, Solar power in Bangledesh by Grameen bank, Solar power at WalMart, Microsoft and Intel. Thin film monocrystaline silicon for buiding exteriors, Solar concentrators for +20% effeciency the list was long and intriguing. I started doing research and Solar is no longer your sandeled Californian cousins' back yard disaster it is a maturing industry with alot of VC money to springboard it to the future. So with no business plan, seed money or experience other than my building and electrical knowledge I have decided to start my own Solar business and this blog is the beginning, the genesis if you will. All are welcome, advice is sought, conversation mandatory, tips optional.
Posted by Andrew M.D. Streit on November 23, 2006 04:38

Monday, May 24, 2010

Changing the mindset of an Industry


If you drive on I77 South at night you will see the brightest area in all of Columbia. No matter the time of night there is a huge commercial complex of buildings lit up like Las Vegas on the fourth of July. These newly designed buildings are the new headquarters of South Carolina Electric and Gas and it is beautiful.

I have to say that I work with SCE&G, know a lot more about power production than I did 4yrs ago and I am an advocate for Solar power. Lighting the night is our way of proving our capabilities to conquer nature. Darkness is the unknown and potentially dangerous; this is why we all appreciate the tremendous job the power companies do.

In less than 150yrs man has completed his conquest over nature by:-
Using fossil fuel to ignore 10,000yrs of home building knowledge and build any building, anywhere we wanted;
Burn away the night and move to a 24hr day;
Disregard the local climate and burn fuel to meet our temperature needs.

Fossil fuel has powered the industrial revolution; the post industrial revolution and likely the 21st century economy. Living in South Carolina I have to say I love what it has done. I can comfortably live in 100% humidity and temperatures in excess of 90’, 8 months of the year without breaking a sweat, thanks to the power companies.

Now I have to ask them to change! Stop using energy without thought to our long-term well-being. No longer can these complex and large companies burn the ‘midnight oil’. I am asking every power company in America to stop being ‘Purveyors of Power’ and become something new, something better and more grand; ‘Engines of Efficiency’.

Turn off the lights; we know how innovative and ingenious you are. I have personally visited two power plants and they were awe-inspiring Tim Allen x1000). Now do something immensely more complex, challenging and difficult. Build motion sensors in every room and have the lights turn off automatically, utilize renewable energy, move to all electric vehicles, move to a tiered rate structure, build out a smart grid. Bring us the same 99.7% reliability and do it with zero waste! The laws of physics say it can’t be done, I think you can do it.

The state, the country and all humankind ask you to lead, will you lead us? In a state with regulated energy you have the capacity and support. We all know you have mandated profits and rate controls but within this construct you can also think beyond 20yr energy portfolios and do something we haven’t seen recently, long term planning. What do I mean by this? Let me explain,

I recently read about an english home that was built 400yrs ago, at the time huge oak timbers supported the great hall. The owner planted new trees with the instructions to never cut them down. Through multiple generations time passed and the trees grew. The house changed hands and families but eventually the old timbers dried and cracked. Can we plan tomorrow's energy trees for our children?

So what will it be; ‘purveyors of power’ in total disregard for the costs it could be exerting on the planet, our health and economic common sense or ‘Engines of efficiency’ leading the way for generations of new Americans and a world where everything changes but power availability stays the same.

Friday, May 21, 2010

TOMORROW, SOLAR SEMINAR




CAN I INVEST IN SOLAR?

Get the answers at our Sunpower Seminar.



Learn more about solar and how you can make a positive impact on the

Environment. Better yet, find out how to take advantage of our

community pricing. So grab your neighbors and join us.

If you want to save money on solar energy come to the



Community Solar Event





Hosted by: Andrew Streit

Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010

Time: 1.30pm to 3 P.M.

Location: 630 Skylark Drive #Q,630

West Ashley, Charleston



RSVP: 803.665.6688



AndrewS@SunstoreSolar.com



In Quadrangle Shopping Center at WeightWatchers.



Or just give Andrew Streit a call for more information!





Win a bottle of Veuve Cliquot Champagne just for attending.







Andrew M Streit

Sales Manager,



www.Solarbusinessalliance.com

www.Scsolarguy.blogspot.com

www.Getsolar.net

www.Charlestonscsolar.com

www.Sunstoresolar.com







Andrew M Streit

Sales Manager,



435 Creek Side Lane

Lexington, SC

Cell 803 665 6688

Ofc 864 297 6776

Pres. Solar Business Alliance

Sunday, May 16, 2010

INDIAN SOLAR, moves to 21st century




New Delhi, India: Azure Power and SunEdison Partner on 15 MW PV System

Azure Power, the developer and owner of India's first privately operated, utility scale, solar power plant today announced its partnership with SunEdison.

Azure will jointly develop and construct with SunEdison a 15 Megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar power plant in Gujarat. As part of the arrangement, SunEdison will supply monitoring technologies at cost to Azure for projects up to 25 MW.

Speaking about the agreement Mr. Inderpreet Wadhwa, CEO, Azure Power said, "We are excited to work with SunEdison for our Indian projects. With this collaboration the Azure solar power plant in Gujarat would become a live case study for world class design, engineering, project management, operations and maintenance. From SunEdison we will derive the benefit of technology expertise and international execution experience of large scale solar PV projects."

SunEdison is an internationally reputed PV Project developer with proven experience in developing large scale solar power projects in many countries. SunEdison was the first company to introduce the Solar Power Purchasing Agreement and currently manages more than 350 utility scale and commercial solar photovoltaic power plants globally. They are currently executing a 70+ MW project in Italy, which is the largest PV project in the world.

"India is an ideal market for solar power production and we are committed to aiding the country's economic development by providing consumers clean, renewable energy solutions," said Pashupathy Gopalan, CEO of SunEdison India. "The Gujarat project is the latest example of SunEdison's focus on enabling the growth of global solar markets through strong capabilities in project financing, engineering, low-cost procurement and operations, and maintenance services. We are very happy to be partnering with Azure Power, a pioneer in this segment in India and we look forward to associating with other developers in the future for additional India-based solar power projects."

Norcross, GA, USA: Suniva® Solar Cells Power 3 MW Solar Project in India

Suniva®, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced the commissioning of its largest solar power installation with Titan Energy Systems Ltd., located in Karnataka, India. The 3MW, ground-mounted system is the largest grid-connected solar field in India, covering more than 12 acres.

The system was designed and deployed by Titan and is owned and operated by Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. , one of India’s largest power providers. Karnataka Power will distribute power generated by the system to local farmers for irrigation purposes. Founded in the year 1800, Karnataka Power is one of the most established power providers in India. In addition to this solar project, Karnataka Power owns a number of renewable power plants, including the country’s first hydroelectric power station (opened in 1902) and one of India’s first wind power projects. Titan designed the 3MW solar project incorporating Suniva’s high-efficiency ARTisun® series solar cells while providing engineering, procurement and construction services.

“This project exemplifies Titan’s ability to execute large scale solar projects quickly and cost-effectively, which are key measures of success in rapidly growing solar markets like India,” said John Baumstark, CEO of Suniva. “As we continue to increase solar cell and module efficiency and reduce costs, our customers will benefit from higher performance in large-scale applications.”

May 3, 2010
Hyderabad, India: Photon Energy Systems Commissions 3 Megawatt PV System
Photon Energy Systems has successfully installed and commissioned India's largest photovoltaic plant of 3 megawatt capacity in the country.


The plant has been set-up for Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. as demonstration plant in the tail-end of the grid to enhance and strengthen the rural power supply to the areas of Itnal & Chikodi towns situated in the district of Belgaum. With the erection of the power plant, all the agricultural pump-sets in the area have access to reliable and affordable energy.

The 3 megawatt photovoltaic plant was set-up in just 6 months constructed to world standards in an area of 17 acres using 13,000 modules and the best components from all over the world. This plant has already generated and fed 1.76 million units of solar power into the grid since commissioning.

Photon Energy Systems is one of India's oldest and leading solar company in India since 15 years, with extensive technical knowledge base and experience, actively participating in projects and marketing their products all over Europe, Africa, USA and other countries.

One of the few Indian solar companies to have products in all the major segments of solar energy, Photon is uniquely placed to tap the opportunities in both the solar power and solar water segments of the National Solar mission.