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Some Solar Rebates Ending in San Diego

Posted on February 28, 2014 | Leave a comment

Solar rebates are coming to an end in San Diego for home rooftop energy systems and some solar water heating systems for single-family residences, the administrator of the programs confirmed Tuesday. An array of other solar rebates remain available.

Since their introduction in 2006, rebates for single-family households that generate their own solar energy under the California Solar Initiative have been gradually reduced as costs decline and the solar marketplace gains momentum. The initiative is paid for by the majority of California utility customers served by the state’s large investor-owned utilities, including San Diego Gas & Electric.

About $54 million in household rooftop solar rebates have been paid out in the San Diego region on more than 17,900 solar arrays, according to the California Center for Sustainable Energy, administrator of the initiative for San Diego and southern Orange counties.

Those rebates ran out once before in January 2013, and were extended by a $5 million transfer. Remaining funds of roughly $200,000 are accounted for by reservations and a waiting list, said Ben Airth, residential program manager for initiative at the energy center.

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SDG&E – Setting the Stage on Changing Peak Electricty Pricing

Posted on February 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

Proposed peak pricing would last from 2 to 9 p.m. on workdays during summer and warmer months, and from 5 to 9 p.m. in the winter.

Current peak price time: 11am to 6pm.

When exactly you use electricity will play an increasing role in how much you pay, as California utilities, including San Diego Gas & Electric, lay the groundwork to apply time-based pricing to a broad population of customers.

In a crucial early step, SDG&E wants to shift peak electricity prices to include the early evening hours, when demands for electricity are high and the sun has already set on a growing fleet of solar power plants and rooftop solar arrays.

The time shift, the first in decades, would go into effect at the start of 2015 and initially apply to industrial, commercial and public-agency customers, many already accustomed to dynamic rates.

By then, SDG&E also wants to open the option to households, which account for the majority of electricity demands in San Diego and southern Orange counties, before making it the default billing system by 2018, according to public filings by SDG&E and state utility regulators.

Rooftop solar hit

How residential rooftop customers would eventually fare is unclear.

As state utility regulators take up time-of-use issues, they also are preparing to rewrite the rules for net metering. The solar payoff has been sweetened by California’s steeply tiered rate structure for residential customers — also set for revisions that could reduce solar benefits as soon as July 1, and again next year.

SDG&E asserts that grid-connected solar customers are paying less than the appropriate share of infrastructure costs.

read more entire article at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/20/time-based-electricity-prices/

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Plans for Vertical Farms On Apartments

Posted on February 21, 2014 | Leave a comment

Move over vertical gardens – urban cows and apple orchards could be the next big thing, as architects consider setting up “vertical farms” on top of apartment blocks.

When Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut put forward an “urban farm” concept for a twin-tower development in New York, called Dragonfly, in 2009, he was laughed at.

But industry experts in Sydney say the idea may catch on.

With growing concerns over the plight of the planet, overpopulation and climate change, Mr Callebaut’s ideas have gained traction and the design has been exhibited at an international fair in China.

So far there have been no buyers for the concept, but there is rising interest. The farm would produce meat, dairy products and eggs and would feature orchards, meadows and rice fields.

“They made fun of me,” Mr Callebaut said of his detractors.

“A lot of buildings in Sydney and Melbourne have expansive rooftop gardens, the next step is to make them usable.”

One of the buildings in the first stage of development at Barangaroo, Alexander, was covered in bougainvillea and Mr Brown said many buildings already had some of the technology needed to sustain small farms.

“Vertical gardens are definitely a trend, which I think will expand to farms over years to come,” he said.

“I think most developers and also council are leaning towards new projects being as self-sufficient as possible.

“Utilising the building’s common areas for solar panels and grey water reticulation will help in maintaining the vertical farms.”

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Some Solar Rebates Ending in San Diego

SDG&E – Setting the Stage on Changing Peak Electricty Pricing

Rooftop solar hit

Plans for Vertical Farms On Apartments

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