Solar World by RPS

Developing Solar Commercial Projects in California- Be Ahead of AB32

rpssolarworld — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 16:32:13 +0000

Assembly Bill 32 Includes a Number of Specific Requirements:
• ARB shall prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from sources or categories of sources of greenhouse gases by 2020 (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §38561). The scoping plan, approved by the ARB Board December 12, 2008, provides the outline for actions to reduce greenhouse gases in California. The approved scoping plan indicates how these emission reductions will be achieved from significant greenhouse gas sources via regulations, market mechanisms and other actions.
• Identify the statewide level of greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 to serve as the emissions limit to be achieved by 2020 (HSC §38550). In December 2007, the Board approved the 2020 emission limit of 427 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E) of greenhouse gases.
• Adopt a regulation requiring the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions (HSC §38530). In December 2007, the Board adopted a regulation requiring the largest industrial sources to report and verify their greenhouse gas emissions. The reporting regulation serves as a solid foundation to determine greenhouse gas emissions and track future changes in emission levels.

• Identify and adopt regulations for discrete early actions that could be enforceable on or before January 1, 2010 (HSC §38560.5). The Board identified nine discrete early action measures including regulations affecting landfills, motor vehicle fuels, refrigerants in cars, tire pressure, port operations and other sources in 2007 that included ship electrification at ports and reduction of high GWP gases in consumer products. Regulatory development for the remaining measures is ongoing.
• Ensure early voluntary reductions receive appropriate credit in the implementation of AB 32 (HSC §38562(b)(3)). In February 2008, the Board approved a policy statement encouraging voluntary early actions and establishing a procedure for project proponents to submit quantification methods to be evaluated by ARB. ARB, along with California’s local air districts and the California Climate Action Registry, is working to implement this program.
• Convene an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC) to advise the Board in developing the Scoping Plan and any other pertinent matter in implementing AB 32 (HSC §38591). The EJAC has met 12 times since early 2007, providing comments on the proposed early action measures and the development of the scoping plan, and submitted its comments and recommendations on the scoping plan in October 2008. ARB will continue to work with the EJAC as AB 32 is implemented.
• Appoint an Economic and Technology Advancement Advisory Committee (ETAAC) to provide recommendations for technologies, research and greenhouse gas emission reduction measures (HSC §38591). After a year-long public process, The ETAAC submitted a report of their recommendations to the Board in February 2008. The ETAAC also reviewed and provided comments on the scoping plan.
AB 32 Timeline
• By Jan 1, 2009 – ARB adopts plan indicating how emission reductions will be achieved from significant sources of GHGs via regulations, market mechanisms and other actions.
• During 2009 – ARB staff drafts rule language to implement its plan and holds a series of public workshop on each measure (including market mechanisms).
• By Jan 1, 2010 – Early action measures take effect.
• During 2010 – ARB conducts series of rulemakings, after workshops and public hearings, to adopt GHG regulations including rules governing market mechanisms.
• By Jan 1, 2011 – ARB completes major rulemakings for reducing GHGs including market mechanisms. ARB may revise the rules and adopt new ones after 1/1/2011 in furtherance of the 2020 cap.
• By Jan 1, 2012 – GHG rules and market mechanisms adopted by ARB take effect and are legally enforceable.
• December 31, 2020 – Deadline for achieving 2020 GHG emissions cap.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

rpssolarworld — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:45:37 +0000

As the solar industry continues to grow consumers find it harder to choose who to do business with.
Today I feel we need to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of the solar industry.
The good: It’s been almost 13 years since we founded Power Solutions now Renewable Power Solutions Inc. We must admit that in the last 13 years we have taken leaps and bounds with regards to knowledge and technology. As a 13 year veteran in an industry still developing I have seen a lot of companies come and go and many more doing work that is less than professional. However, we rely on consumers to do the proper due diligence before choosing a solar contractor. In today’s business environment it is more important than ever to make sure the company you choose is not only capable of performing the work they delineate on the scope of work, but also have the resources and expertise to be around for the warranty.
Also more great news is that in today’s market you don’t need any money to install solar on your home. With solar leases taking a precedent over the solar purchases in California, we found that a residential system can actually get positive cash flow in one month after the install. How it works is simple. The investor or leasing company pays 100% of the price of the system and leases it to the end user. The payments are less than the bill from the power company; the owner gets a 20 year warranty on the entire system, plus maintenance for 20 years at no extra charge. Furthermore, the escalations are usually less than 50% of what you will get from your power company.
The bad: In part the bad is a direct result of the stage in which the industry is in, what I call the infancy stage. We have been able to gain sufficient experience to manufacture good quality solar panels in the USA and outside the USA. We have more than plenty of experienced and reputable companies/contractors to do the design and the installation of the systems. But, we also continue to see companies trying to make a quick buck which gives the industry a bad reputation. Here are a couple of examples without naming any one in particular, we call it the brown bag effect: I sell brown bags and I do solar, I paint houses and I do solar, I do kitchen cabinets and I do solar, I do windows and solar. The sad part is the consumer apparently knows no better until they dig deep into a company to realize that they are signing a contract with a company that has very little experience and sometimes the wrong contractor’s license.
These consumers are paying a lot more for the system and contractors don’t have the longevity to stand behind their warranties. Also we are seeing a tremendous amount of so called referral companies that claim to do all the due diligence on behalf of the client. The reality is that those companies go to solar companies and try to sell your name and information at a rate ranging from $300.00 to $500.00 per name. Who do you think is going to pay for that? And not only do they try to sell your name to us, they try to sell it to 3, 4, 5 or more companies at the same time. Beware of referral companies; they are driving your cost up.
The ugly: We have seen our fair share of bad installations, bad designs, and too many so called referral companies popping out to get a piece of the pie. We encourage consumers not to use these so called referral services; they really don’t do anything for you other than increase the price of the installation. You can avoid the ugly part of the industry by only allowing solar companies with a reputable record to do the design and installation of your solar power system.
In today’s market any homeowner with good credit can go solar. Solar leases are one vehicle Renewable Power Solutions Inc is using to increase the production of solar power benefitting homeowners across California.
I hope you find value on this blog and hopefully we all can learn from each other. The solar journey continues; you too can be part of the solar revolution.

Renewable Power Solutions Inc. Made the cover of Photon Magazine

rpssolarworld — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:17:10 +0000

15 KW system

Renewable Power Solutions’ solar installation was chosen to be featured on the cover of Photon Magazine a worldwide publication for the renewable energy industry.
This is a great complement to Renewable Power Solutions, being a small/medium sized installer in the Bay Area. Photon Magazine could have chosen any other company currently doing business including some of the larger competitors. Nevertheless, they chose us.

The selection process took approximately two months to complete, we were asked to respond to several inquires and submit a portfolio of installations. Upon being selected, a professional photographer was sent over to capture three different installations from our portfolio we submitted. We were under the impression that one of the installations was going to be part of an article in the magazine, to our surprise our installation was chosen for the cover of the magazine. We appreciate the recognition of our work and are grateful for the opportunity to showcase our installations.
Thank you for your continues support

More and More People Join the Solar Revolution

rpssolarworld — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:06:11 +0000

The Martinez in Gilroy
The Chai in Fremont
The Solano’s in San Jose

It is evident that things are changing very rapidly in the world. With Japan catastrophe we are going to be affected. The price of gas will continue to increase it is projected that the gallon of gas will reach $6.00 by December this year. This will trigger an increase on everything we use and consume from food to electricity we are in for the ride of our lives. We are also expecting an increase on the price of solar and wind power, as the material cost increase the cost cannot be assimilated by the manufacturers or by the installer. There is no question that energy independence is where we need to be. We at Renewable Power Solutions Inc. are encouraging more of you to join the solar revolution by becoming energy independence.

We are seeing more requests for battery backup system and off grid system for shelter build in addition to the main house. What is important is to be prepared for any events that may require you to be isolated from the rest of the population. We live in earthquake country and as such we should always be prepare for any natural event that may place us on a survival mode. Always keep sufficient essential to sustain you and your family for at least a week, can food, dry food, water, medicines, batteries, etc.
For more news and to keep as all informed join our face book at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Renewable-Power-Solutions-Inc/147361323129#!/pages/Renewable-Power-Solutions-Inc/147361323129?sk=info

Thank you and be safe
Jose Radzinsky

Battery Back up Power

Battery Backup Inverter and charge controllers

Join the Revolution

rpssolarworld — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:17:30 +0000

Join the Revolution – The Solar Revolutions
Yes we must start this revolution and not give up.
Now more than ever the solar revolution needs to continue. The instability in the Middle East forces us to see the fragility of our economic infrastructure. With prices of oil reaching the $100 barrel market everything that has to do with power and supply will go up and as we all know it will not be proportional;.
Solar power is our road to energy independence, it is our road to sustainability and we must not negotiated with terrorist, weather the terrorist are arm with guns or with oil barrels. Our future, our independence our freedom is tie to our ability to see and understand that the future of oil is DARK, DENCE and it cannot be part of our life’s.

Join Renewable Power Solutions Inc. in the path of the REVOLUTION- THE SOLAR REVOLUTION.
Energy Independence, Freedom from foreign oil, freedom from gas pumps, electrical companies and our ability to live and share this planet with all living things in this planet.
Spread the world
Join the solar revolutions for energy independence

The Truth About Natural Gas- GAS LAND- A Disturbing Documentary by Josh Fox

rpssolarworld — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:21:29 +0000

Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch this disturbing documentary, Disturbing is actually an understatement, this documentary talks about the natural gas wells drilled and being drill in the USA and the consequences our citizens are facing as the direct result of drilling the wells, the chemicals been injected on the wells and the mass contamination of the potable water in 100% of the locations were this wells are been drilled and operated. All in all under the protection of the USA government, people and animals are dying and the governmental official don’t care.

Why do we need to kill everything and everybody?

When are we going to realize the damage we are inflicting on the planet?

Do we really need to do this to our self’s?

What are you going to do about it?
If you feel it does not affect you think again, tt does affect you, if you eat anything, if you need air to live it affects you.

I would like to hear from you on this topic

Thank you

Jose Radzinsky

President and CEO
About the film:
“The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a “Saudia Arabia of natural gas” just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND
Hydraulic Fracturing FAQs
How does hydraulic fracturing work?
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a means of natural gas extraction employed in deep natural gas well drilling. Once a well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and proprietary chemicals are injected, under high pressure, into a well. The pressure fractures the shale and props open fissures that enable natural gas to flow more freely out of the well.
What is horizontal hydraulic fracturing?
Horizontal hydrofracking is a means of tapping shale deposits containing natural gas that were previously inaccessible by conventional drilling. Vertical hydrofracking is used to extend the life of an existing well once its productivity starts to run out, sort of a last resort. Horizontal fracking differs in that it uses a mixture of 596 chemicals, many of them proprietary, and millions of gallons of water per frack. This water then becomes contaminated and must be cleaned and disposed of.
What is the Halliburton Loophole?
In 2005, the Bush/ Cheney Energy Bill exempted natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. It exempts companies from disclosing the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. Essentially, the provision took the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) off the job. It is now commonly referred to as the Halliburton Loophole.
What is the Safe Drinking Water Act?
In 1974, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was passed by Congress to ensure clean drinking water free from both natural and man-made contaminates.
What is the FRAC Act?
The FRAC Act (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness to Chemical Act) is a House bill intended to repeal the Halliburton Loophole and to require the natural gas industry to disclose the chemicals they use.
How deep do natural gas wells go?
The average well is up to 8,000 feet deep. The depth of drinking water aquifers is about 1,000 feet. The problems typically stem from poor cement well casings that leak natural gas as well as fracking fluid into water wells.
How much water is used during the fracking process?
Generally 1-8 million gallons of water may be used to frack a well. A well may be fracked up to 18 times.
What fluids are used in the fracking process?
For each frack, 80-300 tons of chemicals may be used. Presently, the natural gas industry does not have to disclose the chemicals used, but scientists have identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene.
In what form does the natural gas come out of the well?
The gas comes up wet in produced water and has to be separated from the wastewater on the surface. Only 30-50% of the water is typically recovered from a well. This wastewater can be highly toxic.
What is done with the wastewater?
Evaporators evaporate off VOCs and condensate tanks steam off VOCs, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The wastewater is then trucked to water treatment facilities.
What is a well’s potential to cause air pollution?
As the VOCs are evaporated and come into contact with diesel exhaust from trucks and generators at the well site, ground level ozone is produced. Ozone plumes can travel up to 250 miles.

For further information please go to http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/about-the-film

The True Story of Natural Gas

Great New product Comming Up Q4 2011

rpssolarworld — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:10:57 +0000

The three-phase inverter for easy system design

The Sunny Tripower is packed full of innovation. Thanks to the new SMA Optiflex technology, which features two MPP inputs and a very broad input voltage range, the three-phase Sunny Tripower is suited to almost any module configuration. This flexibility simplifies plant design and is perfect for systems up to the megawatt range. The Sunny Tripower also assists grid managers. It meets all the requirements for reactive power supply, utility interaction management and grid support. The Optiprotect safety concept, with its self-learning string failure detection, electronic string fuse and available DC overvoltage protector (Type II), ensures maximum uptime.
These inverters will be available Q4 2011, once again SMA is proving to be a leader in the industry by developing products that the industry needs. The Sunny Tripower will be available in 10KW, 12KW, 15KW and 17KW. With efficiency picking at 98.1%
Efficient
• Maximum efficiency of 98.1%
• OptiTrac Global Peak for best tracking efficiency
• Bluetooth® communication

Safe
• Electronic string fuse and failure detection
• Optional DC overvoltage protector (Type II)
• String current monitoring

Flexible
• DC input voltage up to 1000 V
• Integrated grid management functions
• Custom plant design with Optiflex

Simple
• Three-phase feed-in
• Cable connection without tools
• SUNCLIX® DC plug system
• Easily accessible connection area
Can’t wait

sunny-tripower Commercial Inverters by SMA

Is Your State One of the Solar Power Top 5?

rpssolarworld — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:06:23 +0000

Jan 12, 2011
Already leaders in the solar game, there are five states pushing to incorporate more renewable energy sources into their infrastructure: Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York. Here’s how their state and local governments made it possible, and what to expect from these power states in 2011 . Arizona Arizona has built huge solar manufacturing plants for some of the biggest names in the industry ( First Solar, Inc . and Suntech Power , to name a few). Governor Jan Brewer hopes to continue the expansion into 2011 through tax incentives that have already proven wildly successful. In addition, the tireless work of solar superstar Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, as we wrote about here , helped propel Arizona into the clean economy spotlight. California When Governor Jerry Brown was elected to an office he already held from 1975-1983, he wanted to take Arnold Schwarzenegger’s clean energy plans to the next level. He has since set a goal that would provide California an additional 20,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2020. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s plans for increasing Colorado’s solar energy industry is centered on creating more revenue and jobs for the state. ..

Solar Ground Mount System CA

Solar just got better for business in the USA

rpssolarworld — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:37:31 +0000

In December 2010 the provision for bonus depreciation was amended and extended yet again by The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4853). Under these amendments, eligible property placed in service after September 8, 2010 and before January 1, 2012 qualifies for 100% first-year bonus depreciation. For 2012, bonus depreciation is still available, but the allowable deduction reverts from 100% to 50% of the eligible basis.

You can find additional information at : http://rps-solar.com/commercial-rebates.html

PG&E service territory has been exhausted

rpssolarworld — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:54:40 +0000

December 23, 2010, the California Solar Initiative (CSI) Non-Residential budget in the PG&E service territory has been exhausted (with paid, confirmed, and under review projects and the assumptions made to the incentive budget). PG&E cannot ensure that non-residential applications received today and after will receive funding. However, PG&E continues to encourage customers to apply for CSI incentives as projects may still have the opportunity to be incentivized if funds do become available at a later date.

Solar Array