Page 6 - North American Clean Energy March April 2016

On-Grid Output to Electrical Panel
A Port: 240V, 60Hz
Off-Grid Output
H Port: 100-240V, 60Hz
Grid AC
Hot Water Grid
Solar
Cold Water Easy installation
cyboenergy.com 916.631.6313
On/Off-Grid CyboInverters for Water Heating
4 DC Input channels with MPPT for each solar panel to maximize solar harvest. Multiple CyboInverters can daisy-chain making installation truly “plug-and-play.”
On-grid or Off-grid mode No batteries needed
Hot water on demand
The On/Off-Grid A/H model (1.2KW) and its Twin Pack (2.4KW pictured) can power single or dual element water heaters in off-grid mode or send power to the grid in on-grid mode. CyboInverters are UL1741 certified, NEMA6 (IP67) rated & made in the USA.
Dual Element Electric Water Heater
editor's note
news bites
SOMETIMES IT SEEMS WE TAKE TWO STEPS FORWARD
and one step back. After the promising end to 2015, culminating with the Paris Agreement, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay, e ectively halting the implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan pending the Court hearing arguments challenging the EPA’s legal authority to impose the CPP under the Clean Air Act.
Meanwhile, on page 6A of the February 15th issue of USA Today there was a funny little comic drawn by Steve Sack. In it, the artist showed two wind farm technicians looking up at a hamster wheel attached to the blades of a wind turbine. Inside the hamster wheel was a car driving fast, turning the blades
and powering the wind turbine. e caption read
“*@#!!&! Cheap Gas!!”.
Oil prices are at a 12-year low, nearly 70% down from their 2014 peaks, and the major oil powers of
the world show little to no signs of reducing production. Recent talks between Saudi Arabia and Russia
to freeze production at these record levels were spurred on by Venezuela whose economy is crumbling under current low oil prices. Following the talks, Saudi’s oil minister Ali Al-Naimi stated they don’t want a reduction in oil supply and any cut to oil production by Saudi Arabia will only decrease their market share. Additionally, low oil prices have started an uptick in defaults in the U.S. oil and gas industry as drilling companies are unable to make a pro t. Some analysts don’t expect oil prices to increase until 2018 and some have even claimed their recent decline may be the end to the clean energy movement.
I beg to di er. Although clean energy expansion may slow in countries who utilize oil for electricity production, it only equates to 5% of the world’s electricity demand. We should see little to no changes in our clean energy programs here in North America as the majority of our electricity production still comes from coal and natural gas, which, as we all know, are targets of the clean energy industries. e only threat our industry may face us a decline in the sales of electric vehicles, but I would argue this is often a social choice for consumers rather than an economical one.
Last month I had the pleasure of visiting Somerset County in South Western Pennsylvania. Somerset County is one of the nation’s prime locations for wind farms and driving along the PA Turnpike as it runs through the Appalachian Mountains from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, the Twin Ridges Wind Farm is distinctly visible. is wind farm is one of the eight in Somerset County alone. With over 190 turbines, they produce over 340MW of electricity to power almost one hundred thousand homes.
Businesses all around the country are making changes in the way they use power. Even the Somerset County ski resort, Seven Springs, which relies on snow making machinery, replaced its diesel compressors with energy e cient, low-emission electric ones, which reduces their fuel consumption by 100,000 gallons each ski season.
Conscious, sustainable choices made by individuals, business owners, and governing bodies will ensure clean energy is here to stay and no matter how aggressively foreign states manipulate the oil market, I don’t think we will ever look up to see automobiles powering our precious wind farms.
Jill Walters
The best15kminCanada
e new Massey Bridge wins B15K designation for removing the nal obstacle to creating a green super-pathway between Vancouver, BC and the U.S. border. is shared green transportation backbone
will serve the movement of people and ideas within the Metro Vancouver region creating a viable year-round transportation grid for carbon-free commuting and new collaborative economic activities between cities north and south of the Fraser River. is super-pathway will share a direct level- grade path from downtown Vancouver to the U.S. border.
www.b15k.ca
Delta Hotels and Resorts guests
make the goal
In less than one year, WEARTH has helped Delta Hotels and Resorts guests to virtually plant more than 30,000 trees in conserved lands across Alberta, Canada through the hotels' GreenSTAY program. e program was launched in February and gives guests the option to virtually plant one tree for each night they have opted out of housekeeping. WEARTH plants the actual trees on behalf
of every applicable GreenSTAY guest night, and guests must opt out of housekeeping at least three nights to participate in the program. e 30,000 trees that have been planted by WEARTH are native species and have restored 175,000 square meters of forest, which is the equivalent of more than 110 National Hockey League hockey rinks. e GreenSTAY program provides
a branded virtual forest for every Delta hotel location, and guests have the ability to leave a message in each hotel's virtual forest, where each real tree planted is represented by a matching one online.
e leading tree planting location, Delta Edmonton Centre has planted almost 4,000 trees thus far. In this way, GreenSTAY has meant environmental action, not only on the ground, but also through engagement and education for everyone involved and connected via social media.
Delta Hotels and Resorts | www.marriott.com WEARTH | www.wearth.farm
6 MARCH/APRIL 2016
nacleanenergy.com