Sustainable Practices Committee met April 5 at the courthouse.  Present were Hilary Emmer, Maeve Lambert, Tom Herring, Julia & Steve Lakey, Dan Schuler, Bill & Susan Rowling and Barbara Roberts, Kathy Fulton & Meg Gluckman..  Bill Rowling gave a Power Point presentation about solar designs.  The message is first conserve, second build for passive use of the sun, third use water to store sunheat (aka batch
heating) and fourth  consider  an array of photovoltaic technologies.  

My take:  probably the expenses of photovoltaic technologies are slower to amortize in the PNW and Vashon for two reasons.  First, our electricity is partly hydropower which, last I heard, is federally subsidized.  (Our power costs less than most places in the country.)  Second, clouds, trees and snow reduce reception of sunlight.  On the other hand, our cooler climate is gentler on PV materials which overheating can break down.  A PV cell prefers cooler sunlight to hot sun.

Two years ago Washington state created an incentive
(rebate) for solar equipment made in Washington.  Its purpose was to encourage manufacturers to manufacture in the state.  So far, no such business has begun. 
Meg Gluckman explained some of the variables that the businesses need to consider. 

Randy York on Vashon has a passive solar home and PV panels on a pole.  Her array cost about $16,000.  She gave us the costs of the parts and explained the incentives she is receiving.  For a copy, ask me or write the committee at vmiccsp@yahoo.com.

Andrew Heming at PSE sent us a list of websites.
These are really good resources for learning about technologies, calculating capacities, etc.:
http://www.nrel.gov/
http://www.findsolar.com/
http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/codes_algs/PVWATTS/version1/
http://www.solarwashington.org/
http://www.ourwind.org/windcoop/
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/hydro_basics.html
Here is the site for incentives:
http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/map2.cfm?CurrentPageID=1&State=
WA&RE=1&EE=0
Here is PSE's net metering tariff:
http://www.pse.com/InsidePSE/ratesDocs/elec_sch_150.pdf
And our Renewable Energy Production Incentive tariff:
http://www.pse.com/InsidePSE/ratesDocs/elec_sch_151.pdf
Here are the RCW's, governing how interconnection and net metering are to be administered:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=80.60
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=480-108

Bill’s presentations are available by email.  ( I’m not sure a computer without Power Point can open it, but Sometimes PP presentations come with the software.) I burned the presentations to discs which are free to borrow.  
FIRST  Conserve.  Make sure you have fluorescent lights before you think about photovoltaics.  Use solar technology to Save the Planet as your budget allows.