Creative Energies Blog

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.

We have solar panels on our barn. When the sun is out the panels make electricity - kilowatt-hours (kWh). Our home either uses the kWhs or puts them into the electricity grid, banking them for later. Over the course of a year the sun meets about 70% of our electricity needs. The 25-year warranty on the panels plus a continuing effort at energy conservation (more efficient appliances, lighting, and computers/electronics, etc.) means our energy usage could still decrease over the next 30+ years!

When my wife and I moved into our current home we averaged about 1,100 kWhs/month for the first year, right in line with the Idaho residential average of 1,078 kWhs/month. (Check here for a wealth of energy statistics:  http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/index.cfm. We then focused on conservation measures. We changed light bulbs, replaced an ageing refrigerator, spray-foam insulated the crawl space, plugged holes, and went down the list of normal energy efficiency improvements. We were also more conscious about turning off lights, using our wood stove and keeping our baseboard electric heat turned off. All of the little measures led to a 40% energy use reduction! We used 660 kWhs/month that year. (Which is below the Wyoming average of 871 kWhs/month, and less than half of the Jackson average of 1,500 kWhs/month!)

Our next step was to install a 2kW solar electric system. It makes just less than 300 kWhs/month, which leaves our current energy purchase at around 400 kWhs/month. (Note: we actually have two houses on the property, both on the same meter - I figure the smaller rental home uses around 250 of those kWhs a month at least.)

So in the end, we took 60% off our energy use from the time we moved into the home. First we did normal improvements, and then we installed a solar electric system. If we keep working at it, we should be able to reduce even more. The rental home needs some energy efficient improvements – which is our next target.

We have fixed most of our electricity costs for the long term, become less dependent on others, and reduced our impact on the world (0.8 lbs of CO2 per local kWh = 100 tons of CO2 saved!).   We have also saved money. Using 8,400 kWhs less per year for the next 30 years is $18,000 at current electricity prices! That’s $600 a year! If the cost of electricity goes up in the future, we save even more.

Green = Green. 

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

by Jake MacArthur

After multiple weeks of high pressure and sunny skies, the snow has melted from the South side of the roofs and PV production has been great!  Although more snow is on its way, Creative Energies employees AJ Linnell and Jake MacArthur took the opportunity to ski in Grand Teton National Park.  They attempted to climb to and ski from the summit of the Middle Teton.  Despite being turned around just below the top, they enjoyed excellent skiing for 6,000 vertical feet.