Eileen M. Smith, M.Arch. - Founder and CEO of SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE is available for PRESS CONFERENCE to answer questions related to demand-site consumer services from distribution utilities, the BI-PV industry, the Million Solar-Rooftops By 2010 Program, restructuring of the energy industry, our new BI-PV PEP USA Program and the Solar Development Cooperative.
CONTACT US TO CALL A PRESS CONFERENCE IN YOUR AREA
NEWS INDEX FOR FEBRUARY 1998:
FULLERTON OBSERVER---Thank you to Ralph A. Kennedy for his excellent photojournalism complete with three photographs of Cara Dykes - our poster contest winner holding the poster with Eileen M. Smith, M.Arch. our Founder & CEO. The article includes information about the BI-PV industry with photos of the Georgetown University Inter-cultural Center's solar rooftop installed in Washington, DC in 1984 and the Carlisle House designed by Stephen Strong, Founder and President of Solar Design Associates of Massachusetts. It was published in the Fullerton Observer the week of February 15th. We are quite impressed to be sharing the front page of the Observer with President Clinton who is shaking hands with Rusty Kennedy of Fullerton, Executive Director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission at a recent visit to the White House for the President's Conference on Hate Crimes.
WE HAVE A POSTER CONTEST WINNER: Cara A. Dykes, Senior at Fullerton High School is our light for 1997 shining into a clean sustainable and healthy future! Her poster won the 1997 Solar Winter Gala Poster Contest with her answer to the question "What Does The Million Solar Rooftops In USA 1997-2010 Program Mean To Me?":
ENERGY FOR LIFE
One Million Solar Rooftops In USA 1997-2010 Program
THAT IS 20,000 PROJECTS IN EVERY STATE
83,333 Total Projects A Year
1,667 Projects A Year In Each State
Cara was the only person who entered a poster in this year’s competition. Her effort is our opportunity to emphasize the tremendous effects of good even one person can have. To thank Cara for her effort to make an excellent poster, we have a dinner for two at the Rain Forest Café! Her poster theme ENERGY FOR LIFE will be part of our announcements for next year’s competition. Thank you, Cara!
We plan to hold a Orange County Solar Winter Gala every year of the Million Solar Rooftops In USA 1997-2010 Program - and invite Orange County to grow this important silicon sustainable energy industry with us.
THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE IS IN THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZING AN INTERNATIONAL BI-PV DESIGN COMPETITION
A DOMESDAY BOOK FOR THE NEW MILLENIUM ENTITLED THE HEADRICK SOLAR-VOLTAIC DOME(R) POWER STATION - A PATTERN BOOK FOR ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS WILL BE PUBLISHED WITH THE TEN WINNING DESIGNS
THIS MONTH THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE PREPARED TWO PAPERS FOR PRESENTATION AT THE 60th AMERICAN POWER CONFERENCE TO BE HELD APRIL 14-16, 1998
IN ADDITION TO THE TWO PAPERS WE WILL CONDUCT A WORKSHOP ENTITLED BI-PV FOR PRIMARY ENERGY PRODUCERS IN USA (BI-PV PEP USA)
---THREE DAY SEARCH FOR BI-PV GRID CONNECT SERVICE AND NET METERING CONTRACTS AT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON INVOLVED TALKING TO OVER THIRTY PEOPLE AND HOURS EDUCATING OF THEIR STAFF
IN RESEARCHING UTILITY SUPPORT SERVICES IN ORANGE COUNTY FOR DEMAND-SITE CONSUMER CLIENTS - THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE'S FOUNDER DISCOVERED NO TRAINING OF ANY SCE EMPLOYEES AT THE EDISON CALL CENTERS AND EVEN THOSE IN THE CEOs OFFICE ADMIT THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BUILDING-INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS OR NET METERING EVEN THOUGH BY LAW THEY MUST PROVIDE GRID HOOK-UP AND THE NET METERING CONTRACTS
EVERY CALL CENTER EMPLOYEE WE CALLED AROUND THE NATION SAID THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT NET METERING OR BUILDING-INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS ARE OR WHERE TO REFER CONSUMERS WHO NEED GRID-CONNECTION - WEBSITES OF UTILTIES RESPONSIBLE FOR DISTRIBUTION & TRANSMISSION AND RELATED GOVERNMENT CONSULTING PAGES DON'T MENTION DEMAND-SITE CONSUMERS WHEREAS GOVERNMENT HAS NUMEROUS PAGES TALKING ABOUT BI-PV AND NET METERING SEPARATELY
FURTHER RESEARCH REVEALED PROBLEM IS CONSISTENT AROUND THE NATION EVEN IN STATES LIKE CALIFORNIA WHERE NET METERING HAS BEEN A LEGAL RIGHT OF CONSUMERS FOR OVER TWO YEARS
OUR EFFORTS PRODUCED AN OFFER BY OFFICIALS AT EDISON TO COOPERATE IN DEVELOPING A TRAINING PROGRAM THAT WILL PROVIDE FULL SERVICE TO DEMAND-SITE CONSUMERS WITH 1-800# SERVICE BY MAY 1ST 1998 FOR GRID-CONNECT AND NET METERING - LIZ MCDANIELS IS DEVELOPING THIS PROGRAM FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON TOM DOSSEY INDICATED IN OUR CONFERENCE CALL ON WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25, 1998
THESE REPRESENTATIVES AT EDISON ASSURED US GRID-CONNECT FOR BI-PV AND NET METERING WILL BE AS EASY AS HOOKING UP REGULAR ELECTRICITY AND ONLY TAKE A WEEK TO COMPLETE FOR MOST SYSTEMS - AS IT SHOULD
MR. DOSSEY AT 626-302-8242 AND MS. MCDANIELS AT 626-302-1038 INDICATED SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON WILL HOOK UP CONSUMER BI-PV SYSTEMS AT THIS TIME IF CONSUMERS CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY WHILE THE CALL CENTER TRAINING IS IN PROGRESS
THEY CLAIM DELAY IN FULL-SERVICE SUPPORT FOR GRID-CONNECT IS DUE TO 2-YEAR NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
RECENT LAWSUIT IN MAINE UPHELD THE RIGHT OF CONSUMERS TO CONTRACT WITH UTILTIES FOR NETMETERING - HOWEVER PAYMENT FOR ENERGY OVER THEIR ENERGY NEEDS IS NOT BEING ADVOCATED
INVESTORS IN THE PLANNED OPENING OF OUR FIRST BI-PV DESIGN STUDIO(R) W/PRODUCT SHOWROOMS SPRING 1998 AND POTENTIAL LIMITED STOCK OFFERING FOR THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE RELY HEAVILY ON LOCAL DISTRIBUTION UTILTITY SERVICES FOR BI-PV GRID-CONNECT AND NET METERING
WHEN WE BEGAN OUR CONSUMER RESEARCH INQUIRY WE WERE QUITE SURPRISED THE SERVICE WAS NOT IN PLACE AT ANY LEVEL DUE TO GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND THE CALIFORNIA ENERGY COMMISSION INDICATING CALIFORNIA CONSUMERS HAVE NET METERING AND GRID-CONNECTED BUILDING-INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS (BI-PV) HAS STRONG COMMERCIAL MARKETS IN THE UNITED STATES
OBVIOUSLY, BI-PV MARKETS CANNOT READILY EXIST WITHOUT PROTECTING DEMAND-SITE CONSUMER RIGHTS TO GRID-CONNECTION
EDISON'S OFFER TO DOCUMENT THEIR PLAN TO HAVE FULL SERVICE FOR BI-PV GRID-CONNECT BY MAY 1ST CLEARLY PROVIDES THE EXPECTED AND NEEDED SECURITY FOR CONSUMERS, INVESTORS AND RELATED INDUSTRY GROWTH FOR BOTH SMALL BUSINESS AND LARGE ENERGY CARTELS
ACCORDING TO MR. DOSSEY, DEMAND-SITE CONSUMERS HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN REQUIRED TO SIGN A WAIVER OF LIABILITY WITH EDISON AS PART OF THE NET METERING AGREEMENT FOR BI-PV SYSTEMS
COMMERCIAL BI-PV PROJECTS MUST PAY A 4 1/2 CENT CTC FEE TO THE UTILITIES TO GAIN A NET METERING CONTRACT - THIS FEE PAYS THE EXISTING ENERGY PRODUCERS TO ALLOW LARGE-SCALE BI-PV ENERGY GENERATION OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS OR TO A CERTAIN AMOUNT WHICHEVER COMES FIRST
A VIEW OF THE EDISON NET METERING CONTRACT WILL BE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE IN THE MARCH BI-PV NEWSLETTER
THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE HAS PROPOSED TO EDISON AND OTHER ENTITIES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WEEK-LONG SPECIAL ON THE SIX-O'CLOCK NEWS IN ORANGE COUNTY TO DISCUSS ENERGY RESTRUCTURING AND CLARIFY THE MANY FACETS OF LARGE COMPANIES LIKE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON AND ENRON INTERNATIONAL THAT HAVE MANY SUBSIDARIES THAT COVER A VARIETY OF ENERGY INDUSTRY ACTIVITIES FROM DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT TO GENERATION AND ELECTRICITY SALES INCLUDING REMOTE-SITE GREEN ENERGY AS WELL AS BUILDING-INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS MANUFACTURING AND SALES LIKE ENRON'S PRESENT CONTROL OF SOLAREX AND HOW MAINSTREAM MARKETING OF THEIR BI-PV PRODUCTS ARE BEING SUPPRESSED IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD AS WE COMPARE THEM WITH COMPANIES LIKE THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIVE WHOSE PRIMARY BUSINESS IS MAINSTREAM DEPLOYMENT OF BI-PV SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES AND GLOBALLY
