I started going to the Energy Fair twenty years ago. My educational background was in wind and solar technology. My Colorado State University engineering curriculum in the ‘80s included classes on their state-of-the-art solar research campus. Therefore, with those credentials on my transcript, I had more than a tacit interest in the Energy Fair goings [...]
My work in renewable energy involves a lot of technical language and expertise: from engineering plans, to product specifications, to component sizing, and a whole host of calculations. My job is to make sure a system operates at peak performance for a very long time. No mistakes, no excuses.
CT: Essentially the utility buys the solar (or wind) generated power at a premium rate over the power that the client buys from the utility. Regarding the River Falls program, the utility buys the solar generated power at $0.30/kWh (kilowatt hour) while the individual customer purchases the power at $0.09/ kWh.
Net metering refers to a law, The Energy Policy Act of 2005, which requires all public utilities to provide customers with the ability to both buy and sell electricity, and measure the “net” outcome of those transactions through their electric meter.
What is “dirty wind”?
There are a lot of answers, but let’s focus on an energy context — and its specific connotation in regards to wind turbines.
Most renewable energy professionals are quick to point out that customers can get three times higher return by improving their building’s efficiency over installing a wind or solar system. And, of course, that makes total sense: why install a state of the art renewable energy system if it is simply going to blow energy out the top of the house or through leaky windows.
