Creative Energies Blog

For Immediate Release

Date: 2.18.2010

Contact: Scott Kane, Creative Energies

Creative Energies hired for Largest Solar Project in Wyoming

Town of Jackson contracts with Creative Energies for 810 panels

Lander-based Creative Energies has been contracted to design and install several of the biggest solar power systems in the state and region. The Town of Jackson, WY has hired Creative Energies, to install an additional 810 solar panels on Town facilities, creating the largest solar installation in the state.  When the project is completed this summer, the town of Jackson will have four solar projects with a total capacity of 225kW. The largest of these projects will be at the town’s wastewater treatment facility, where a total of 842 panels will produce roughly 200kW. Of the three other systems, two are already in place — on the stair tower of the parking garage and at the Deloney street public restroom – and the third system will assist a town water project in Karns meadow.

  27kW solar array installed at the Jackson Waste Water Treatment plant in 2008 by Creative Energies. The 2010 installation will be six times as large!

“Our goal with these projects” said Mayor Mark Barron “is to continue to move the ball forward with our commitment to becoming energy sustainable. We have good baseline data about usage and have made significant strides in setting out energy efficiency retrofit strategies. Renewable energy is also a critical piece of our overall sustainability goals, and we are thrilled to partner with Creative Energies and leverage stimulus dollars to save energy, create jobs, and work towards national goals of energy security.”

In addition to the Town of Jackson project, Creative Energies have also been selected to design and build several other major projects. The company won a highly competitive bidding process to secure and a a contract with the US National Park Service to design and build a 76 kilowatt  solar power system for at Mesa Verde National Park in Southwest Colorado. They are also currently under construction on a 50 kilowatt solar installation for the Wyoming Department of Tourism and Travel and WDOT’s  North East Wyoming Welcome Center near Sundance, Wyoming.

The Town of Jackson solar farm will be the largest solar array in  Wyoming and several of the surrounding states, and the Town of Jackson will be the largest grid tied solar customer in the region. “Two hundred and twenty five kilowatts of solar is a very large system for this area” says Creative Energies owner Andy Tyson. “The Town is really making a sound investment in this technology. By targeting stimulus funding on a technology that will yield steady energy generation with minimal operating cost for decades to come, the Town has made a shrewd long-term investment.” The solar panels will create as much electricity as is used by 33 Wyoming homes.

Creative Energies has been designing and installing renewable energy systems in the Rocky Mountain west for nine years. They have completed solar energy systems, wind power systems and geothermal heating and cooling systems for residences, ranches, businesses, schools and state and federal agencies.

Creative Energies

P.O. Box 1777, Lander,  WY 82520
Lander, WY office  307.332.3410
Victor, ID office  208.354.3001
Fax  888.456.6625
scott@creativeenergies.biz    

www.creativeenergies.biz

PO Box 1777 · Lander, WY 82520 · 307.332.3410 · www.CreativeEnergies.biz

Above and following are photos from my recent visit to the Solar Decathlon event in Washington DC. Teams of students from 20 universities design and build small homes that need to meet specific performance and comfort goals. The event is held every two years, when the homes are “built” on the Mall in Downtown Washington DC. Tours are given to the public and the houses are tested and judged. The application of quality building materials and the innovation in small footprints (800 sqft is the maximum) is really interesting to see and experience. There was plenty of variety in the solutions to the meet the engineering challenges of the event, but one thing remained the same as the last Solar Decathlon – Germany won. I had a couple favorites – Ontario and California, with many bits and pieces from other homes. Check out the Solar Decathlon website for virtual tours, product lists and links to competing teams websites. http://www.solardecathlon.org/

As my internship winds down, I am able to reflect on my experiences with Creative Energies and realize how much work I did this summer.  It has been an amazing experience for me here in Lander.  I have worked on 14 jobs as well as several office projects that I completed while not in the field.  One job that stood out for me was working on the PV install at the Pioneer Senior Center in Marbleton, Wyoming. This was the largest project I was involved in which involved installing 112 modules between 2 arrays. It was a great learning opportunity for me because I was able to see how these systems were installed at a larger scale and the different techniques that are used when dealing with larger systems like these.

I wanted to work for a renewable energy company this summer for several reasons. The most important reason being that I wanted to gain experience in the field that I plan on getting into after I graduate this May. Networking is another reason why I wanted to work for a renewable energy company. It is an important to get your name out there when finding any job because the more people that know who you are the more likely you are to have a job opportunity arise. I also realized the need to gain experience in this field because although studying this is college is important getting real work experience is even more important. Overall this has been an amazing opportunity, which I have taken full advantage of, and not only have I gained experience but I have made friends that I will stay in contact with in the future. 

Creative Enegies Co-owner, Andy Tyson, has accepted an appointment as the Chairman of the solar task force of the Idaho Strategic Energy Alliance (ISEA). Governor Otter established the ISEA to help develop effective and long-lasting responses to the impact of higher energy prices and other energy challenges. The Governor believes that developing options and solutions for our energy future should be a joint effort between local, tribal, state, and federal governments, as well as the profit and non-profit private sectors, fostering coordinated approaches to energy development.

The Alliance is Idaho’s primary mechanism to engage in seeking options for and enabling advanced energy production, energy efficiency, and energy business in the State of Idaho. The purpose of the Alliance is to enable the development of a sound energy portfolio for Idaho that:

1. includes diverse energy resources and production methods,
2. provides the highest value to the citizens of Idaho,
3. ensures quality stewardship of environmental resources, and
4. functions as an effective, secure, and stable system.

The Alliance consists of about a dozen volunteer task forces working in areas such as wind, biofuels, geothermal and hydropower, and energy conservation and efficiency. Andy will assume the leadership of the Solar Task Force.

Andy has worked in the solar industry for nearly ten years in three Western states and internationally. He has advised the Wyoming Governors Office directly regarding renewable energy, and worked with the Wyoming Legislature regarding renewables. Recently he has been working closely with the town of Jackson, Wyoming, on a number of innovative PV projects. He has also worked closely with several utility companies in Idaho and Wyoming to help them establish fair and effective solar net metering procedures.

On March 21, in celebration of the Spring Equinox, Creative Energies staff members AJ Linnel and Scott Kane raced as a two-person team in the 12 hour Equinox Ski Challenge in West Yellowstone, MT. The object of the race is forteams to ski as far as they can in the allotted time. AJ and Scott tookturns through the day and long into the night and finished with a tally of 184 kilometers.  - Scott Kane 

by Tracy Tollett

Recently I was involved in the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race.  Since before Thanksgiving, I have been spending 2 days a week at the kennel of Stacy and Frank Teasley who run Jackson Hole Iditarod Sled Dog Tours at Granite Hot Springs just south of Jackson, Wyoming.  Frank is the Director of the IPSSSDR and his wife Stacy runs their race team.  I joined in to help them for the dog racing season.  Leading up to the big race, we trained 10 dog teams to run increasingly long distances of up to 60 miles and we raced in two local races (both of which we won!).  The Stage Stop was a  bunch of fun this year with competitors from Scotland, Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and Alaska.  This year the weather was unseasonably warm (perhaps this global warming thing?) and the dogs had a hard time in the above freezing temperatures.  The heat gave them cramps and the only thing that we could do was stretch and massage them.  One day I gave 4 dogs 30 minute massages each.  I wish I could have received the same treatment because by the end of the race I was super tired and sore.

Photo 1: Blue (the MVP of our team) and I
Photo 2: Mel racing to the finish (she won this year’s race)
Photo 3: One of our competitors
Photo 4: At every stage there were tons of school kids who came on a field trip to see the race
Photo 5: Stacy Teasley who I worked with, we came in 7th