Mr Sustainable

Mr Sustainable, Dante DiPirro of Hopewell NJ, will speak on Earth Day, April 22, 2015 at 7:30 pm about his off-grid, solar home and how to live sustainably using solar power and sustainable building materials. He will show pictures and discuss passive solar design, solar energy, and the need to think and live sustainably.  He’ll also discuss how he charges his electric car — with free, non-polluting electricity– by plugging it into his solar house!

The event will take place at Flemington DIY, A Community Art Space at 90 Main St., Flemington, New Jersey. Flemington DIY (Do It Yourself) is an organization whose mission is to inspire social change by fostering and cultivating projects that connect the local community with musicians and artists.  Flemington DIY hosts civic-minded and community events throughout the year.

Dante DiPirro will be a panelist on a discussion of solar energy at Rutgers University on December 3, 2014.  The discussion will include the current status of solar energy, the marketplace in New Jersey, and the future of solar energy in New Jersey and the United States.  Other panelists include: Jeanne Fox, former President of the NJ Board of Public Utilities; Pam Frank, of Gabel Associates; and Robert Kropp, a blogger on sustainablity.  The roundtable will kick off at 6 pm at the Student Activities Center, 613 George Street, New Brunswick NJ 08903.  The event is open to students, government officials, and members of the public.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release a draft proposal to cut carbon pollution from the nation’s power plants 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Expect the coal industry and fossil fuel lobby to vigorously attack the plan and file lawsuits to prevent or delay the pollution reductions.

Energy companies should give up their out-of-dare reliance on dirty fuels and join the inevitable transition to renewable energy by revising their business plans and adding more renewables to their portfolio.

On April 24, 2014, the New York State Public Service Commission staff released a report and proposal that calls for a shift away from the traditional utility model of centralized generation, toward more distributed electricity generation.

Distributed generation serves as an alternative to or an enhancement of the traditional electric power system.

Distributed generation is a method of generating electricity from systems — like solar systems– located close to where the electricity is being used, in contrast to the traditional model in the U.S. where electricity is generated at large power plants and then transmitted long distances to individual electricity users.

Distributed generation using renewable energy systems has many advantages: it promotes the generation of clean nonpolluting electricity; it saves utility companies and their ratepayers from the cost of having to build new power plants; and he can prevent the loss of power when the electric grid is down during a natural disaster or other emergency.

See staff report at: http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/96f0fec0b45a3c6485257688006a701a/26be8a93967e604785257cc40066b91a/$FILE/ATTK0J3L.pdf/Reforming%20The%20Energy%20Vision%20(REV)%20REPORT%204.25.%2014.pdf

For other analysis, see:
http://www.troutmansandersenergyreport.com/2014/05/nypsc-staff-releases-proposal-to-overhaul-utility-regulation/

If storage can be paid for by grid stabilization services, demand charge reduction, etc., then we can have emergency power at supermarkets, restaurants, food distribution centers, gas stations, police stations, hotels, YMCAs, etc. in every town… for little or no additional cost.

Great thing!

Members of NJFREE met with other stakeholders to emphatically make the point that we need a renewable energy transition in New Jersey.  Key elements include:

a requirement of 80% of electricity generation by 2050 from renewable, non-polluting sources like solar and wind;

specific and measurable milestone requirements that will get us to the final requirement;

keeping the definition of renewable energy, non-polluting definition to sources that are truly renewable and non-polluting (not just less dirty fossil fuels for example).

In a hybrid PV/battery storage project in Denville/Hackettstown, NJ, state‐of‐the‐art lithium ion batteries work with a commercial PV system, simultaneously generating PV power, providing frequency regulation for PJM, and providing emergency power capability.

No government involvement, no grants…the revenue from the frequency regulation services not only paid for the additional cost of the batteries, but paid for the inverter, too, actually reducing the cost of the system.

On April 29, 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the U.S. EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, a clean air standard that requires 28 states in the East, Midwest, and South to cut emissions of pollutants from coal-fired power plants that cross state lines and degrade air quality in downwind states.

The American Lung Association said: “Millions of Americans will breathe easier, thanks to the decision today by the U.S. Supreme Court that will finally curtail second-hand smog – ozone smog and particle pollution blown across state borders far from their sources, threatening lives and health.”

The Environmental Defense Fund said: “The Supreme Court’s decision means that our nation can take the necessary steps to ensure healthier and longer lives for the 240 million Americans at risk from power plant smokestack pollution near and far.” 

Isn’t it time that we begin restructuring how we generate our electric power, and start transitioning to a renewable energy future?

New business models and grid management models can pay for the emergency power capacity –today.

This will only get easier and cheaper as technology progresses.

During SuperStorm Sandy, we learned that we need distributed emergency power for both traditional and new needs:  

• Traditional: water pumping, sewage treatment, communications infrastructure, emergency shelters, fire & police, etc.
• New: Supermarkets, restaurants, food distribution centers, gas stations, etc — highly distributed.

The Perry Ohio nuclear power plant is leaking tritium, a radioactive form of water. The radioactive water has been found in groundwater at concentrations more than twice the federal drinking water limit outside of a building where the leak was discovered Monday. 

Thinking about dirty fuels made me recall a bumper sticker that said something like, “When there’s too much solar it’s just called a sunny day.”  Isn’t it time for a renewable energy transition?