Taiwain (the island at right), Taiwan Strait (Public Domain)
First Solar Powered Stadium in the World: Dragon-shaped Solar Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (credit:http://imgur.com/a/duB8w )
Dragon-shaped Solar Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (credit: Peellden)
The First Solar Powered Stadium in the World: Dragon-shaped Solar Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (credit: Peellden)
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
Positioned with People’s Republic of China to the West, Japan to the Northeast, and the Philippines to the South, Taiwan is the most populus non-UN state and the largest economy outside of the UN.
This beautiful island of what used to be called Formosa, is progressive in many ways. In May of 2016, Taiwan has elected its first female president, Tsai Ing-Wen, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Soon after the election, the new government formed by the DPP announced its ambitious plans to install 20GW of solar, while phasing out nuclear. Installing 20 GW of solar would mean using land on the island or in a country where land is an expensive commodity. The new government is tackling this issue by releasing 10,000 hectares of government controlled agricultural land for utility scale PV installations and dual use systems. Its policies also enable water-based solar installations.
Early in October of this year, Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy issued its plan for Feed-in-Tariffs (FIT) in 2017.Within this plan:
the residential rooftops (1 kW to below 20 kW) would receive a FIT of NT$6.103/kWh (US$0.193/kWh)
the ground-mounted PV power plant would receive a FIT of US$0.144/kWh
the floating solar power plants would receive a FIT of US$0.156/kWh
As some of the solar companies in USA such as First Solar and Sun Power, many Taiwanese formerly dedicated solar cell producers are shifting their attentions or businesses to also include manufacturing modules and PV project developers. One can imagine that such a shift will pick up its speed as the new FIT system becomes implemented in 2017.
To better understand such a group/country of wonderfully resilient people, I will share some videos about this beautiful island, Formosa or Taiwan, below, with you:
April 9, 2014, by Craig Morris: Even when the foreign press reports on the correct numbers, a lot of the terms can still be slightly misleading. Today, we focus on a report at Reuters to help the international audience understand the issues.
April 4, 2014, by Linda Archibald: The man who initiated the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) concept says Malaysia should increase the quota for renewable energy (RE) for its own FiT programme to create enough mass to face potential roadblocks ahead.
April 4, 2014,The Strategy makes clear DECC want this market to grow over the next few years, so it will be key to change the feed-in tariff reduction triggers and the upper tariff band to enable this. We can fix the barriers, but the policy framework must allow the growth we all want to see.
April 4, 2014,The use of the fixed feed‐in systems that have so far been successful in minimizing financing costs is prohibited from January 2015 for all but small installations. This shift to a “market premium” is likely to increase financing costs and might have negative effects on the efficiency of short‐term markets and effectiveness of forward markets.
April 3, 2014, by Craig Morris: While the German government does not specifically plan to change the design of feed-in tariffs for PV this year, the application of the renewables surcharge to solar power directly consumed does change things considerably.
April 3, 2014, by John Parnel: End-market demand was said to have been driven by Japan and the UK, which combined accounted for more than one-third of demand globally as well as setting new quarterly records for PV deployed.
March 28, 2014, by Paul Gipe: In a potentially far-reaching decision, the European Commission has decided that the French system of feed-in tariffs for wind energy on land is not excluded under prohibitions against “state aid,” and is therefore permitted under European Union (EU) regulations. [more]
March 28, 2014,Three German federal states have reached a deal with German Economics and Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) whereby only part of the feed-in tariff surcharge will be applied to new solar photovoltaic systems which supply electricity for the system owner’s use.
March 28, 2014, by Craig Morris: Yesterday, Brussels approved French feed-in tariffs for wind but said it would investigate industry exemptions. In related news, a draft of the latest energy policy proposals leaked earlier this month probably provides so many backdoors for feed-in tariffs as to make the policy viable going forward.
April 7, 2014, by Andrew Dewitt: Japan’s energy policy regime appears dangerously adrift in the context of accelerating climate change. The core problem is agency. On the one hand, Japanese PM Abe Shinzo and the nuclear village appear obsessed with nuclear power restarts and 20th century paradigms of the power economy.
March 31, 2014, by Craig Morris: On Friday, German power provider Eon confirmed that it will shut down a nuclear plant ahead of schedule. The premature discontinuation of lignite excavation also announced that day, however, is a governmental decision, albeit one the firm may have been about to make itself.
March 27, 2014, by Glen Estill: Natural gas in storage in the US continued its decline in the most recent update from the US Energy Information Agency. (Why doesn’t Canada publish this type of data?) The ongoing cold winter reduced the gas in storage to 896 Bcf. This compares with the 5 year average of 1822 Bcf, a reduction of 51%. Gas in storage dropped in the week ended Mar 21 by 57 Bcf. Last year in the same week gas in storage was pretty much the same as the week before.
March 26, 2014, by Bernard Chabot: But as his Figure 1 and, in particular, Figure 3 show, the boom in nuclear mainly took place in the 1970s. Growth continued in the 80s, but began stagnating at the end of the 90s, and has taken a dive since Fukushima.
March 24, 2014, by Glen Estill: Areas with periodic droughts, like California, Australia, and even the US and Canadian west (remember the dust bowl) need to preserve their rivers and aquifers, or face severe economic consequences. In Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan are especially vulnerable to drought. And these two province rely primarily on thermal electricity generation.
March 23, 2014, by Dave Toke: The Hinkley C nuclear power plant deal that gives the nuclear developers a £92.50 per MWh premium price for 35 years will give nuclear power a clear competitive advantage over solar pv in what will be a growing electricity for motor vehicles market.
March 20, 2014, by Chisaki Watanabe: Japan added 7,044 megawatts of clean energy capacity since it began an incentive program in July 2012 through the end of last year.
March 19, 2014, by Craig Morris: In any normal situation, such hard facts would simply be reported – it’s not like there’s no way to say “carbon emissions are slightly down year-over-year” in German.
March 18, 2014,A majority of respondents continue to oppose bringing idle nuclear reactors back online, despite moves by the Abe administration to allow restarts as soon as this summer, according to an Asahi Shimbun poll.
March 17, 2014, by Glen Estill: Some have forecast that the fracking boom may be close to running it’s course. The depletion rates for fracked gas are very high – that is, the well stops producing very quickly. We may not have the surpluses we think we do. But we can make huge surpluses without fracking if we choose to.
April 3, 2014, by David Suzuki: I think windmills are beautiful. They harness the wind’s power to supply us with heat and light. They provide local jobs. They help clean air and reduce climate change.
March 30, 2014, by Karl-Friedrich LenzDaniel Wetzel at WELT reports on a new nationwide anti-wind organization recently founded in Germany. The name of the new lobby group is “Vernunftkraft” (reason power). I am not linking to them, but I think that’s an interesting name.
March 24, 2014, by Ketan Joshi: Recently, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) released a comprehensive position statement on the curiously invulnerable issue of ‘wind turbine syndrome’. One phrase from the statement caught my eye, because it goes slightly further than other institutions (like the Victorian Department of Health, the National Health and Medical Research Council, or New South Wales Health), in that it mentions the impact of misinformation:
March 19, 2014, by Sarah Taylor: A proposed wind turbine installation near Camp Perry in Northwestern Ohio has recently been halted (see article) by environmental groups that turn out to have connections to the oil, gas and tourism industries.
March 17, 2014,The available Australian and international evidence does not support the view that the infrasound or low frequency sound generated by wind farms, as they are currently regulated in Australia, causes adverse health effects on populations residing in their vicinity. The infrasound and low frequency sound generated by modern wind farms in Australia is well below the level where known health effects occur, and there is no accepted physiological mechanism where sub-audible infrasound could cause heal
March 31, 2014, by Jonathan Migneault: Bob Jeffery, vice-president of the SUN Co-operative board, said the group has made an application with the Ontario Power Authority’s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program, which offers small green-power generators a chance to sell power to the provincial grid at a guaranteed rate.
March 24, 2014, by Mark Pengilly: SB 1520, which passed the Oregon House and Senate with bipartisan support, has been signed into law by Governor Kitzhaber. The bill allows renewable energy cooperative corporations to be created and capitalized without the requirement of securities registration.
March 19, 2014, by Craig Morris: The switch from state-run water services to the private sector made the public aware of the difference between the two options, but the possibility of energy democracy is poorly understood outside Germany even among proponents of renewables. Do citizens have the right to make their own energy? Should such a right be made law explicitly?
April 7, 2014, by Mike Barnard: Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) continue to get attention, press and R&D funding. Antagonists of mainstream wind generation continually point at them as if they were a superior technology. People perpetually re-invent them and believe that they have found something new and exciting. However, they are undeserving of any significant attention, are an inferior technology and definitely aren’t new. Outside of a couple of niches, they are more of a distraction from deployment of effective utility-scale, horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) than anything else.
March 24, 2014,The world market for small wind has continued to grow: As of the end of 2012, a cumulative total of at least 806’000 small wind turbines were installed all over the world. This is an increase of 10 % compared with the previous year, when 730’000 units were registered.
This feed-in tariff news update is made in cooperation with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The views expressed are those of Paul Gipe and not necessarily of ILSR
Dear Friends, Visitors/Viewers/Readers, (Please click on red links below)
Source: N.C. Solar Center at N.C. State University, Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (accessed July 2012). (Correction: Amended source corrects the source listed in original publication of February 3, 2012.) Note: The map includes West Virginia as a State with a Renewable Portfolio Standard, although the Interstate Renewable Energy Council categorizes it as a goal State rather than an RPS State.
I came across a video with Ralph Nader‘s commenting on Feed-In-Tariff, uploaded by Paul Kangas at paul8kangas, below:
In the video, Ralph Nader (the famous consumer advocate) referred to FIT(Feed-In-Tariff) as price based whereas RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) as quota based.
This led to a discussion between myself and another Renewable advocate on whether RPS will limit renewables. Folks, here is my response, below:
I don’t think RPS will limit renewables. It does, however, set the minimum mandatory goal for renewables. For example, a student who wants to at least pass all of his/her courses may end up getting a straight A. But a student who doesn’t even have a goal or desire to pass any or all of the courses is far more likely to fail one or all of his/her classes. Without any goal/RPS, that is why state of Florida is not leading in solar deployment. I’d much rather that FL has RPS than nothing. I’d much rather that FL has both RPS and FIT. But as the cost of solar continues to drop and improvement in storage technology increases, there will be more solar deployments even without any RPS or FIT.
I think before asking anything, we seriously need to find out what the true Value of Solar and/or the true Value of Wind is in order to decide what FIT rate needs to be asked. I don’t think we would want to set the FIT rate below the true Value of Solar or Wind (because then we’ll have clean energy subsidizing the dirty energy). I think Karl R. Rabago has been working on Value of Solar for quite some time and gives a very good presentation in this interview: www.sunisthefuture.net/2014/01/01 and the synopsis of the Value of Solar is in www.sunisthefuture.net/2014/01/04. I wonder if the true Value of Wind has been figured out at this point. At this point in time, there may be sufficient data and technology to enable the algorithm for Value of Wind or Value of Biofuel or Value of Geothermal to be worked out for different regions.
Finally, I am optimistic that the planet earth, as a whole, is heading in the right direction-transitioning into the Renewable Energy Age. As long as Northern Hemisphere manages to stay away from any serious global military confrontation, the planet earth will reach Renewable Energy Age, slowly but surely. Of course, I would have liked to see Florida to be at least in the top 3 or 5 of the solar deployment states within USA, given that we are number 3 in terms of population and we do have the name of Sunshine State. This is much more likely to occur if Florida implements both FIT and RPS, I believe. What do you think? This keeps me motivated in learning and posting about solar/renewable energy.
~have a bright and sunny day~
sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Written, gathered and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments/suggestions/questions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
I’ve received so much comments/questions about the Solar City post of Dec. 9, 2013, that I’ve decided to have a series of 3 posts on Solar City (today’s post will be the second of this series). To help answer some of your questions, I found another video that further clarifies what Solar City is offering, below:
As Lindon Rive, Founder & CEO of Solar City, has asked, “If you had the choice between paying more for dirty power, or paying less for clean power, what would you do?” Of course, the answer should be quite obvious to all of us.
For people who are hesitant in installing solar due to the upfront cost, Solar City has come up with a disruptive solution: installing solar equipment for free and just sell the electricity (such that solar generated electricity costs less than the electricity generated from the utility). So, Solar City has to deal with the challenge of building a massive delivery mechanism for installing and deploying solar at a scale that has never been seen before in this country. Through this mechanism, solar energy consumers acquire that sense of independence and autonomy that was not available in the past. This exciting transformation will ultimately lead to rooftop solar being seen everywhere. Solar City is showing us a path toward having economically viable sustainable energy. Yes, solar is finally ready to become a mainstream power source! Yes, Solar City will install for their customers’ solar systems for free. Solar City’s customers pay for solar power by the month, as they’d have with their utility bill. The only difference is that their solar bill would be lower than their previous utility bill. Solar City makes it very easy and simple for the customers, taking care of everything from designing and permitting, to installing, monitoring and maintaining the system. I believe so strongly in Solar City’s business model that I’ve decided to purchase stocks in the company after I complete this post.
However, for those of us who have no intention of moving within 20+ years and who are willing to put in the upfront cost, it is still better to put in the initial cost ourselves because once the solar panels had completely paid for itself (within less than 10 years), the solar electricity received will be completely free. Just in case you don’t already know, some of those solar panels may last as long as 50+ years (even though the warranty may only be for 20 years)!
Going Solar makes both environmental sense and economic sense. It’s a No Brainer! As long as you’ve got a rooftop, it’s time to Go Solar!
Some of you Floridians pointed out the fact that Solar City did not seem to be available in FL (based on our Dec. 9, 2013 post). The reason that Florida is not on the top of the Solar City priority list is because there are not as much incentives in the state of Florida for renewable energy. So, if you would like to see that changed, please feel free to go to the top of this post to participate in our petition drive for Renewable-FIT For Sunshine State! Let’s speed up the transition toward solar and renewable energy in Sunshine State or any state!
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
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We have some news updating of Feed-In-Tariff from our friend of the Wind persuasion, Paul Gipe, below:
September 3, 2013, by John Farrell, ILSRWhile the utility’s options were being debated, Ed had an opportunity to travel to Germany with the Solar Electric Power Association and learn about their feed-in tariff program. To his surprise, when he presented his findings to the local energy commission, their reply was, “why can’t we do that here?”
Below, is an interview with Ed Regan and Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan of Gainesville, FL, on FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) on July 12, 2013, previously seen in an earlier July 26, 2013 post:
September 3, 2013,China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has announced three regional pricing variations for the nation’s feed-in tariff for solar photovoltaic (PV) generation, which it says are based on available solar resources and construction costs.
September 3, 2013, by Paul GipeUpdated tables on Feed-in Tariffs including China’s 2013 Solar PV Tariffs Differentiated by Resource Intensity; Ontario Small FIT 2013, Kerala (India) Wind and Hydro FITs, and Proposed Tidal Feed-in Tariffs for Nova Scotia
September 2, 2013, by Craig MorrisJosep Puig: In the past five or six years, Spanish power firms have built some 26,000 MW of combined-cycle power plants. These firms apparently did not see all of this renewable capacity coming, and I believe the average number of operating hours for these plants was around 2,000 last year, which puts their capacity factor at below 25%.
August 30, 2013, by Jodi PerrasDuke Energy also agreed to pursue either a new feed-in tariff program to purchase at least 30 megawatts of solar power from its Hoosier customers or to purchase or install at least 15 megawatts of wind or solar generating capacity from new facilities built in Indiana.
August 29, 2013, by Duane ShimogawaHawaii regulators are re-examining a program that’s designed to encourage the addition of more renewable energy projects in Hawaii called the feed-in-tariff, or FIT, program.
August 26, 2013, by Mary Stonaker, Chad Laurent, and Neil Veilleux, Meister Consultants GroupA huge opportunity exists for landowners, especially farm owners, to band together and not only offset their own energy usage (to generate savings) but also to earn additional revenue in the long-run from the adoption of solar PV. There is enormous potential for farmers to harvest solar and other renewables to generate local, clean, renewable energy.
August 21, 2013,Under this Program, applicants will be eligible to receive at least one FIT rate for single base or single moored in-stream tidal energy device projects and another FIT rate for projects consisting of multiple bases or moorings.
August 20, 2013,3,300 MW of renewable energy has been installed since the FIT program was launched and another 22,000 MW of FIT projects are under contract in the Japanese program.[more]
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)
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Wow, terrific! In less than 24 hours after our Sep. 2, 2013 post was up, the Swedish migration authorities have ruled that all Syrian asylum seekers who are going to Sweden will be granted permanent residency in light of the worsening conflict in Syria. On Tuesday, Sweden became the first European Union country to announce that it will give asylum to all Syrian refugees who apply.
“All Syrian asylum seekers who apply for asylum will get it,” Annie Hoernblad, the spokeswoman for Sweden’s migration agency, said, “The agency made this decision now because it believes the violence in Syria will not end in the near future.”
For any one who wants to be able to do something to help relieve the pressure of 2 millions Syrian refugees, please visit The UN Refugee Agency web site: http://www.unhcr.org
Let’s resume our focus on solar topics! I just came across a solar site that you might be interested in, http://www.generaytor.com/ , an online solar community, with members in 20 countries (and counting…).
Sunshines through cloud (credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
It helps people to go solar, using real-time solar performance data. Its worldwide membership includes people considering solar, solar homeowners, installers, and manufacturers. Its technology is designed to accommodate small commercial rooftop systems or ground-mounted systems. Generaytor‘s most popular feature is Virtual Solar, as a “try before you buy” experience for solar, providing simple, personalized forecast. Installers may invite their existing customer to join Generaytor to create a live portfolio demonstrating actual production in real time. Generaytor also helps to reduce soft costs by setting the stage for expanded word of mouth, increasing awareness, and connecting roof owners and installers. Their latest addition is a feature in financials, such that users will have a complete financial breakdown, including system cost, annual and lifetime forecasts, payback period, and return on investment.
So, check out this site, for it is free for all users! In just a few mouse clicks, solar homeowners can connect their monitoring data to Generaytor. People who are considering solar may create a Virtual Solar system by identifying their roof on a map and outlining the area for solar panels. The website at Generaytor then crunches the numbers from nearby connected solar systems in the community, personalized for the size of the array and the roof’s azimuth, tilt, shading, etc. Site’s co-founder Amit Rosner indicated that Generaytor hopes to be a source of knowledge and inspiration that leads to positive change in producing clean energy.
~aiming to bring more bright and sunny days to as many people on earth as possible~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)
Wow, have you heard about the exciting idea Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla Motors & SpaceX) has been floating recently (in the initial “Alpha” design released on Aug. 12, 2013)? It’s a solar-powered, high speed, inter-city elevated transit system, Hyperloop, that could take passengers and cars from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30-35 minutes?! Elon Musk has the vision of Hyperloop transporting people (and cars) via aluminum pods/capsules enclosed inside of steel tubes. This is what he envisioned as the ‘fifth mode’ of transportation: an alternative to boats, aircraft, automobiles, and trains.
Hyperloop pod carriage's major components (designed by Elon Musk)
Musk described the design looking like a shotgun with the tubes running side by side for most of the journey and closing the loop at either end. The tube is partially evacuated to reduce friction. The capsule or pod carriage rides on a cushion of air forced through multiple openings at the capsule’s bottom, further reducing friction. The capsules would be propelled by linear induction motors placed at intervals along the route.
Hyperloop tube (look at the solar panel on top of the tube!)
These tubes would be mounted on columns 50 to 100 yards apart and the pods or capsules inside would travel up to 760 mph.
Musk thinks the Hyperloop can avoid many of the land issues because the tube will be elevated and paralleling I-5 corridor (the direct freeway between L.A. and San Francisco) for most of its length. Farmers would access their land between the columns instead of having swaths of their land blocked by train tracks. The “Alpha” proposal estimates the Hyperloop could be built for $6 billion with pods/capsules for passenger only version or $7.5 billion for larger pods holding both people and cars. It is designed to link cities less than 1,000 miles apart (if above 1,000 miles, the cost would be prohibitive) with high inter-city traffic, such as LA to San Francisco, NY to D.C., NY to Boston. Let’s take a look at this fifth mode of transportation, in the video below:
Some of the positive features of Hyperloop:
speed: four times as fast as California’s proposed train
lower cost: at one tenth the cost of CA’s proposed train and lower cost than a plane ride
safety: safe distance between the pods would be about 5 miles, fitting 70 pods between LA and San Francisco, leaving every 30 seconds…as getting a ride on Space Mountain at Disneyland
comfort: less lateral acceleration than a subway ride, without turbulence or sudden movements of an airplane, therefore supersmooth
But is Musk revealing his dream too soon? Apparently Elon Musk is too busy building Tesla and SpaceX to be able to get to Hyperloop. So, the design of Hyperloop will become available to the world, Open Source! The model will open up universal access, offering the opportunity for world collaboration and redistribution of the design and improvements to the design.
I cannot wait to see the realization of this design, compositing the shotgun-air hockey table-concorde into this fifth mode of transportation. The future is full of realizations of the impossible! Here We Come!
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)
Below, you will find the recent press release from SEIA (in italics):
Sun Shines Through (photographed by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
America’s Solar Industry Looks to Play Key Role in Grid Modernization
Washington, D.C. – Reacting to a new report issued today by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the White House Council of Economic Advisors, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says its members are well-positioned to assist efforts to modernize the U.S. electric grid and to make it more resilient in the future when pounded by severe weather.
SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch released the following statement after the report’s release:
“Ten years after the largest blackout in U.S. history, which blanketed eight states in the Northeast in the summer of 2003 and left 50 million Americans in the dark, solar is more important than ever to our nation’s energy security and grid reliability. We look forward to working with the White House, DOE and Congress to leverage ways that solar can add to the grid’s resiliency and overall long-term effectiveness.
“As more and more nuclear and coal plants are mothballed, America’s solar energy industry is doing its part to make up for some of that lost generating capacity. Today, more than 30 utility-scale, clean energy solar projects are under construction, putting thousands of electricians, steelworkers and laborers to work and helping to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. These facilities, along with rooftop solar on homes, businesses and schools, will generate electricity for generations to come. In fact, by the end of next year, distributed generation from residences alone is expected to top 3,000 megawatts (MW) for the first time ever.
“All totaled, there is now more than 8,500 MW of cumulative solar electric capacity installed in the U.S. – enough to power more than 1.3 million American homes. What’s more, in the first quarter of 2013, more than 48 percent all new electricity added to the grid was solar. In addition, innovative solar heating and cooling systems are offering American consumers cost-efficient, effective options for meeting their energy needs.
“Today, solar employs nearly 120,000 Americans at more than 5,600 companies, most of which are small businesses spread across the United States, making solar one of the fastest growing industries in America. Part of this amazing growth is attributed to the fact that the cost of a solar system has dropped by nearly 40 percent over the past two years, making solar more affordable than ever.
“Simply put, solar is critically important to our nation’s energy security and national security – and we’re doing our part to fight climate change, too. By anyone’s standards, that’s a win-win for America.”
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About SEIA: Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association® is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry. Through advocacy and education, SEIA® is building a strong solar industry to power America. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org.
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)
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In this post, I’d like to introduce you to the couple, Margy and Wayne Lutz, who chose to live off-the-grid with comforts of nature, camping in Coastal British Columbia in their dream home: the floating cabin of Powell Lake. This is not a houseboat, but “float cabin”, that is, it is permanently anchored to shore.
Float cabins were originally built on Powell Lake as inexpensive and portable homes for loggers and fishermen. In recent years, they’ve become regulated and the 200 float cabin owners now lease their water lots from the BC government for $500 per year.
The Lutz’s bought their retirement home in 2001 for 35,000 Canadian dollars (about $25,000 USD, at the time), what they considered worth the risk if their experiment in off-grid living didn’t work out. After the Lutzs retired from their Los Angeles school district jobs, they started to move into their floating home (420 square feet, plus a 200 square feet sleeping loft). Back then, there was no indoor plumbing, so they hiked 4 flights of stairs up the granite cliff to an outhouse. But they’ve since installed a composting toilet indoors.
Today, the Lutzs live completely off-the-grid. There is no water heater and no plumbing. They’d hand-pump water from the lake. For washing dishes, they remove most food first and use only biodegradable soap and the water is returned to the lake. There is no trash pickup, so they compost nearly everything. For their energy uses, the Lutzs rely on solar, wind, and thermoelectric power. For heat, they rely on a wood stove fueled mostly with driftwood. The wood stove has been rigged with an experimental thermoelectric system generating a trickle charge to their batteries. This buoyant home doesn’t make gardening easy, but Margy has found a way to provide much of the summertime produce by creating a hillside potato garden and a floating vegetable garden. Take a look at this float cabin of the Lutzs, below, in the video:
I am not saying we should all go out and move into a float cabin immediately, but I can definitely see the merit in Lutzs’ ingenuity in being able to live in a comfortable manner with nature, without much carbon footprint. Let us all simply try to make a greater effort in making all of our daily decisions more consciously. Let’s all simply take one more step toward the renewable on a daily basis…in turning off the light when not in use…in changing our light bulbs to compact flourescent bulbs…in installing an attic fan or more insulation in our attics…in contemplating starting a community solar garden in the community…in planning on getting solar hot water heater…. in participating in petitioning for Renewable FIT For Sunshine State or any other state or country (that does not have FIT yet)…there is always more we can do. Just look at the Lutzs!
After much deliberation, Sun Is The Future is now launching the Renewable-FIT For Sunshine State petition. With this wider-based perspective, we’re hoping to gain greater support and momentum from various sectors of Renewables (Solar-Wind-Wave-Biomass-Geothermal) of the Sunshine State of Florida. The motivation is to ultimately living up to the name of “Sunshine State”, utilizing as much of the renewable resources of our state as possible to transition away from the fossil fuels smoothly and quickly. Join us by clicking on and sign the Renewable-FIT For Sunshine State petition!
Solar and Wind Power (credit: Clipper Windpower)
Wave Energy (credit: Ocean Energy Limited, marine hydrokinetics)
Geothermal Heatpump Energy (credit: NREL)
Biomass Energy (credit Warren Gretz)
Wind Energy (credit: Todd Spink)
Solar Energy (credit: Dennis Schroeder)
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)
