Happy New Year!

A happy New Year's eve to everyone, and a special welcome to Lee's Dad who is a fellow retired military pilot and reportedly lurking about. Please feel free to post a comment! I called Jeremy today to discuss the generator options, and he was very supportive of my choice of a Generac 8kW standby generator. I ordered it and it should arrive by the time Jeremy is ready to do the electrical install, thus simplifying and streamlining the whole setup. We intend to have the generator available to power just the essential household circuits in the event of a power failure. It will produce over 60 amps (8000 watts divided by 120 volts...Ohm's law) and that should be more than sufficient since heating is propane and cooling is seldom required.

Permit process begun

Picked up the site plan that Pat and Lee produced for me and went back to the county this morning. $198 later, the plans are in for review, and we can expect a permit within 7 working days. Shared the good news with Pat and he advised to try calling on Monday, so I'll do that. Meanwhile, more snow is on the way. Speaking of snow, there was a short article in the ABQ Journal today about the lack of trouble calls solar installers were experiencing in the northeast during the big storms of late. Seems that even several feet of snow does not prevent the pv panels from starting up, and normally melting the snow off. Good to know, living where I do.

Not so Fast

The barn is to the northwest of the main house

Original plat

So, today I went to see Pat with the updated drawings and then on to the county building inspectors. I was psyched; this would be a breeze. Hah! Coyote is still at work. I didn't even get past the first tier. Turns out I need a site plan. How do I do that, I asked. It was decided that a modified plat would be good enough. Drove back home and dug through all the papers I could find. I found closing docs on houses we had from the 80s and 90s, but nothing for our current house. Finally got ahold of Michelle who directed me to THE ONE BOX I HAD NOT FOUND (of course). Got the plat and faxed it to Pat. He and Lee are going to make me a nice site plan by combining the plat with Google Earth imagery, even though it's not their problem. Such nice people! I'll try again on Wednesday...

Other solar powered stuff

Charger for... 

...these lights along the path to the dog run.

A little light on the deck.

A light on the stairs down to the basement.

Solar powered weather station.

Solar powered atomic watches.

Solar Calculator

Today, I removed the remnants of the tent that collapsed behind the barn to allow easier access to the building. I also went around and took pictures of all the ways I use solar power already. Not pictured is the small trickle charger I use in Memphis to keep my domicile car battery charged since it sits for long periods without use.

Merry Christmas!

Hooray, the plans arrived yesterday while I was in Colorado Springs. All nicely stamped for New Mexico and certified for 90 mph and 25# snow load. Merry Christmas. I'll have work to do on Monday now.

Don Dillier

Pat emailed this morning to say no news yet on the package from the engineer. While we wait for Fedex to deliver, I'd like to pay homage to Michelle's uncle Don Dillier who is a contractor in Granite Bay, CA. When we last visited a few years ago, he showed me his solar panels and his meter running backwards. I decided right then that I wanted a similar system. Thanks uncle Don!

54 Megawatts in SE NM

At least someone is approved to build their solar array! Here's a story in today's Journal about a series of plants going in in southeastern NM producing 54 Megawatts. 201,000 panels in all. Nice contract!
http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/component/content/article/65-business-daily/25889-Partnership-Breaks-Ground-on-Series-of-5-Power-Systems.html

Oh well, I was going to take down the tent anyway.

Pat sent an email this morning that the engineer is sending the docs today. They should arrive on Monday, so we will have to go with plan B, and have Michelle go see the inspector, since I'll be out of town. I really appreciate Pat's continuing efforts which have finally paid off. However, digging a trench will be messy work next week.

Snow load proof

...and so, I present empirical proof of the barn's snow bearing capability.

Engineer engaged

The Houston engineer has finally asked for some additional detail on the layout of the solar panels, so he is officially "on it" now. We might get something I can take down to the county before the week is out. meanwhile, winter has arrived in the East Mountains with a nasty cold front and snow likely tomorrow. Instead of producing power, we'll be using more now, since the Christmas lights are up and temps are down.

Important Notice

We received an "IMPORTANT NOTICE" from CNMEC dated 12/09/2010 threatening to disconnect our service if we did not pay a delinquent amount of $50.75 by 12/27. When we finally got to the bottom of this, it turned out to be an accounting error which resulted from Pat and Jeremy getting approval for our service upgrade (a $50 fee). Michelle and I believe that the Coyote, who is the trickster in some Native American lore, has been playing with us ever since we moved to New Mexico 6 1/2 years ago. He is definitely at work with this project, as he has been on several past projects. The gas fireplace we had put in was the first example of Coyote's power to cause chaos, but that's another story.

Pat checked in again as he does daily with a report of no news on the engineer-plans-permit front. Tick tock, tick tock, the year is almost over, and I was hoping to get the solar system up and running before year's end in order to recoup the 30% Federal and 10% state tax credit. We've had amazing weather the last few weeks, and I keep thinking about all those photons going to waste, bouncing pointlessly off the roof of my barn. --sigh--

Electrical quote in

The effort to get the plans stamped is ongoing. Meanwhile, Jeremy's quote for the electrical installation is in.

Houston engineer

Gary reports that he uses an engineer in Houston who is licensed in New Mexico to certify and stamp the plans to the required specs. The cost will be $450 for this service. We're hoping to get the plans back by Friday so I can take them ("with hat in hand," as Pat says) down to the county inspector and hopefully get a building permit for the 6 year old building.

CNMEC approval/County permit problems

First the good news: CNMEC came through with their approval for the service upgrade today.

The bad news is that the lack of a building permit on the barn is going to be a problem after all. Pat stopped by the county inspector's office and was informed that we'd have to get a permit. Also, the plans I gave Pat only show an 80 mph windload whereas the county requires 90 mph. I gave Pat the contact information for Gary Thomas, who's company Ameristall (http://www.ameristall.net/index.asp) manufactured the barn I built.

Jeremy visits

The check from my 401k arrived and so did Pat and Jeremy. We talked about the electrical side of the installation at length. My concerns about the voltage drop for a run of over 100' to the house were addressed and look to be a non-problem, since we're running DC over that length rather than AC. My main electrical service panel will need to be upgraded from 125 amp to 200 amp, something I had been wanting to do anyway. We also want a provision for a (installed later) propane standby generator to be part of the package. Michelle and I had originally thought about putting in a hybrid solar system with a battery bank capable of powering a few key circuits during our frequent blackouts in the East Mountains. Pat advised against this b/c it degrades the efficiency of the solar array and adds the complexity of batteries to an otherwise pretty much maintenance-free installation. Since we already have a propane tank on the property for our furnace, oven/range and water heater, propane makes the most sense. Jeremy also checked out the wiring I did for the barn and pronounced it ok. I gave Pat the first installment on the project and signed the papers. Jeremy will get back to us on his estimate for trenching and electrical hookup. Away we go....

Meeting at Better World Solar

Michelle and I went to meet with Pat and Lee in Albuquerque today. They had tea for us (we're avid tea drinkers, and so is Pat) as well as a proposal, which addressed the size of the system, type of components, and expected payback time. It was a very impressive package that clearly addressed all of the known issues to that point. Pat is very conservative in his estimates for the system's output. He used 77.5% of nominal output, reducing the 18 locally produced Schott panels rated at 235 watts each from a nominal 4.23 kw to 3.68 kw for purposes of real-world expectations. This should provide about 83% of our electric energy needs. This is the largest array we can fit on the roof, which is the only location Michelle will approve! On the expense side of the equation, Pat even factors in maintenance costs of 0.10% per year, even though this expense is very unlikely. The system includes a Kaco 5002 5 kw grid-tied inverter, which includes an internet-based monitoring program, and Unirac SolarMount racking.

We gave the ok to proceed, and set up a time for Pat to bring their electrician Jeremy out to look at the site. I went home and gave myself a loan to pay for the project from my retirement 401k.

Pat and Lee visit

Pat and Lee came to look over the proposed installation site today. I want the array placed on the roof of my metal barn/garage instead of the main house because the barn has a metal roof vs shingles on the house. The barn roof has an ideal southern facing, although the slope is only about 15 degrees. According to Pat, the ideal slope is equal to the latitude, which would be about 35 degrees. He was not overly concerned about this, however, because it only accounts for a few % loss in efficiency. Lee had already spec'd out the probable run for the electrical cables from the barn to the main house using Google Earth. There appeared to be no showstoppers with the location I wanted. The minor concerns included a county requirement to have 3 feet of access around every side of the array. This would severely limit the total space available on the roof which is about 12.5' x 36'. Pat thought he could get the county to relax this requirement since every side is accessible by ladder. I also mentioned that the barn was not permitted during construction (I built it myself) but that I did have plans, which I sent with Pat and Lee.

Actual electric bill sent

I faxed a copy of my Electric bill to Lee. This actual bill, as opposed to the summary I sent last week, has the charge per kilowatt hour and any additional fees, better refining the actual cost I pay for power. Noticed that my rate is much higher than PNM's per kilowatt hour.

CNMEC visit

Today I visited the Moriarty office of the Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative. The woman I met with was quite friendly and helpful. I needed to get a summary of my electric bills for the last few years so that Pat could do an analysis of my energy needs. I faxed the listing to Lee at Better World Solar.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog describing the process of installing a solar photovoltaic array in the Sandia Mountains East of Albuquerque. Although it officially started today with a seminar at Better World Solar (http://www.betterworldsolar.com/), I have been interested in renewable energy for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Florida in the 60s and 70s, my Dad had one of the first prototype solar heaters for our pool. The company was Fafco (http://www.fafcosolar.com/), based in California. The system worked by circulating pool water through plastic capillaries on the roof. In the early days, chlorine in the pool water would attack the plastic and we would come home quite often to roof geysers from the leaks. They kept at it, though, eventually coming up with a formula that was resistant to chlorine. I understand the company is doing very well nearly 40 years later.

More recently, my wife Michelle's graduate class on environmental rhetoric at UNM (http://unmenvirorhetoric.blogspot.com/) hosted noted author Doug Fine (http://www.dougfine.com/) on November 10th, and his wholehearted endorsement of solar power (he lives off the grid) finally convinced Michelle that we should make the leap of faith and go solar. I have been campaigning for this addition to our home ever since we moved to New Mexico 6 years ago, but it took Doug's persuasive rhetoric to tip the scale with my wife.

The seminar that started it all (that's me in the yellow cap)

Just a week later, I was doing some internet research into solar power installers in Albuquerque when I happened upon an announcement of a seminar the very next day. I signed up and attended the meeting. I met Pat and Lee, owner and manager of Better World Solar, and listened for two hours as Pat described every aspect of the process of putting in a solar array. He fielded questions from the attendees and gave the impression that he was passionate about renewable energy and the promise it holds for the future. I was hooked and we set up a visit to my property to evaluate what I wanted to do.