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The first solar energy food truck in Collier County delivers food all around Southwest Florida
COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — A Collier County food truck combines dishes from around the world while looking after our planet.
Chef Global is the first solar energy food truck in Collier County. Ricardo Lory said a dream sparked the idea.
“I just had a dream one day and in that dream. It was about the globe and all I saw was a forest of greenness and it told me to go green,” he said.
Lory added panels to his food truck not only to help the environment but to save a few bucks.
“You are burning all this gas, but when we have the solar you know you are saving so much money,” Lory said.
The food truck previously ran off of gas, but Lory ran into issues with the ice cream machine. He wasn’t able to use it without turning off other appliances. He wanted a solution that could help and the solar panels did just that.
He also uses solar panels to market his company.
The TV monitor on the outside of the food truck runs off of solar power.
But Lory’s main goal is to bring international cuisine to Southwest Florida.
He knows just how much food brings people together.
If you can bring this one national staple from that county, they are like oh okay I have had this before you know. They feel at home. It also educated other people. I have never been to this country, but this tastes really good. Now, I want to explore more into that county,” he said.
Lory also offers individualized meal prep services. You can find him riding around Naples and Fort Myers serving up fusion cuisine.
Off the Grid Solar power
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF)- Solar energy was on display this weekend in Chattanooga and is gearing up for a solar-powered weekend.
Get off the grid showed the power of solar energy by powering the riverfront nights concerts and vendors.
Multiple solar panels and recycled materials were used and on display to show the benefits of reusable energy.
Bill Fleming said as solar energy continues to advance it is saving more money and creating a healthier planet.
“And the prices on the panels, the controllers, the battery storage, everything you need for solar power is going down down down. As opposed to when has the power bells from the monopolies ever gone down,” said Fleming.
Get off the grid fest will be a three-day solar panel festival at Camp Jordan from August 20th through the 22nd.
Local ‘Solarize’ campaign boosts Garfield County solar energy investment
Provided
The recent Solarize Garfield County campaign generated $2.8 million in rooftop solar and battery investment, added nearly a megawatt of renewable energy to the grid and helped county residents bank $270,000 in rebates, according to recent figures released by Carbondale-based Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER).
The program, which the intergovernmental organization Garfield Clean Energy (GCE) spearheaded from March to June, exceeded all expectations, Carbondale Trustee Ben Bohmfalk said. Bohmfalk represents the town on the GCE board.
“We thought the Solarize strategy could help boost solar energy development in the county, and as it turned out it tapped into even more demand than we imagined,” Bohmfalk said. “We’re really pleased with the results.”
A total of 110 households and businesses purchased solar systems through the program, adding 855 kW (kilowatts) of solar capacity, according to Maisa Metcalf, buildings program director at CLEER.
CLEER organized and ran the Solarize program and manages the programs of GCE, which is a collaborative of six municipalities, the county, Colorado Mountain College and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority.
In a sign of the changes that are rapidly sweeping the clean energy sector, Metcalf noted that program participants also purchased 372 kW of backup battery storage, accounting for $310,000 of the total amount invested.
“Based on the successful results of the program, we would love to do it again next year with a special focus on battery storage and additional incentives for low- to medium-income households,” Metcalf said.
She added that CLEER and GCE are already discussing ways to improve the program based on the first year’s experience and feedback from participants.
“We are thrilled that Solarize Garfield County has been so successful in encouraging our members to install solar panels paired with storage systems,” said Lisa Reed, manager of energy programs at Holy Cross Energy. The solar-plus-storage combination is particularly powerful because it generates renewable energy during the day while capturing surplus energy to be used at night, she noted.
GCE prioritized the Solarize program as a way to help meet its goal of boosting local solar energy, Metcalf explained. The state of Colorado and the electric utilities that serve the county have set ambitious goals for solar, she noted, and doing our part locally will ensure that the county gets its share of the economic and other benefits of the development.
Solarize programs, which have been successfully implemented in Summit, Mesa and other counties, harness the power of group buying to drive down prices and build community excitement around going solar. GCE engaged Eagle-Vail-based Active Energies Solar as the exclusive solar installer for Solarize Garfield County, which in return offered volume discounts based on the number of systems sold.
In addition to the installer discounts, customers of Holy Cross Energy and Glenwood Springs Electric were able to claim rebates typically amounting to thousands of dollars on a solar system. For Xcel Energy customers who didn’t qualify for rebates through their utility, Garfield Clean Energy offered special $1,500 rebates to level the playing field. GCE distributed the entire $67,500 it allocated for its rebate program, which was made possible through Department of Energy funding.
The Solarize program brought together many of the elements that underlie GCEs approach, according to board member and New Castle Councilor Bruce Leland.
Harnessing market forces to ramp up solar energy increases economic activity and employment, attracts more investment to the region, and helps speed Garfield County’s transition to a clean energy economy, he said.
On top of that, noted Leland, investing in solar saves residents substantial money over time. Much of the money not spent on energy will be recirculated locally, further diversifying the economy.
“This is really a shining example of what GCE does and the value it contributes to our county,” Leland said. “All of us involved with Garfield Clean Energy agree that ramping up solar is a powerful economic development strategy, and it’s an important part of the mix for us here in Garfield County. We have such great solar access, and it’s a win-win in terms of reducing people’s energy costs and increasing our energy independence.”
Bohmfalk added that the Solarize program provides needed local action on climate: “As we experience the impacts of climate change like record temperatures, record drought, and record wildfires first-hand right here in Garfield County, people are looking for ways to be part of the solution. Solarize has offered residents a clear and easy step they can take to reduce their carbon footprint by putting solar panels on their roofs.”
GCE conducted Solarize Garfield County in conjunction with Solar Energy International’s Solar Forward Program, which assists rural communities throughout Colorado in growing their solar markets. It also received grant support from the Aspen Skiing Company’s Environment Fund.
Torrent Power firming up electricity play
New Delhi: As part of its strategy, Torrent Power Ltd is ramping up its energy play across fuel sources and the electricity distribution space. A recent case in point being Torrent Power signing a pact with Lightsource Renewable Energy for buying a 50 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Maharashtra for ₹317 crore.
This comes in the backdrop of Torrent Power placing the highest bid for power discoms of the Union territories for Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. Also, it is among firms that have bid to acquire the Chandigarh discom.
“Torrent Power Ltd has entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Lightsource India Ltd and Lightsource Renewable Energy (India) Ltd for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital and all securities of LREHL Renewables India SPV 1 Pvt. Ltd (SPV),” Torrent Power said in a statement on 30 July.
“The SPV operates a 50MW solar power plant, commissioned in April 2018, situated in Maharashtra. It has a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd for full capacity for a period of 25 years. Enterprise value estimated for this acquisition is around ₹317 crore including the VGF receivable,” the statement added.
Torrent Power has an installed power generation capacity of 3.87 gigawatt (GW) and is one of India’ largest integrated power utility with presence across generation, transmission and distribution space. It supplies electricity to 3.65 million customers in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Dahej special economic zone, Dholera special investment region, Bhiwandi, Shil, Mumbra, Kalwa and Agra.
The growing private sector interest in India’ electricity distribution space comes in the backdrop of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, with proposed amendments, such as measures to “de-licence” the power distribution business and make the sector more competitive. The Union cabinet may shortly consider the Bill and post the cabinet’s approval, the draft law is expected to be introduced in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
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Supervisors reevaluate solar power amid tension over Sacramento energy policies | News
The Kern County Board of Supervisors is reevaluating its approach to permitting new solar projects partly in response to state energy policies members say disproportionately hurt Kern County.
On Tuesday, the board delayed a vote on a 1,250-acre solar power generation site near Rosamond to further discuss the environmental impacts of the project as well as the greater context of state solar policies.
The move comes as tensions between county leaders and policymakers in Sacramento have increased.
A state tax incentive that temporarily prevents the collection of property tax on solar power properties costs the county an estimated $19.9 million per year. Meanwhile, supervisors see recent changes to oil policies as threatening one of the county’s staple industries.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered the end of all California oil production by 2045, and the state recently denied 21 fracking applications from Aera Energy, a potential signal of things to come.
State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, has urged the supervisors to impose a universal moratorium on new large-scale solar projects in response to the permit denial.
Despite Grove’s letter, no mention of a moratorium was made Tuesday. Still, some board members said the county’s role in solar power production needs to be evaluated moving forward.
“When the governor comes out and just arbitrarily denies 21 permits for local businesses with no science and no reasoning behind it, that really forces the board to say, ‘OK we have to do something to protect our residents and local businesses,’” board Chairman Phillip Peters said in a phone interview.
According to a December study by the Kern County Department of Planning and Natural Resources, 36 large-scale solar facilities, encompassing 36,000 acres, exist in the unincorporated areas of the county. Another 27,000 acres worth of projects, which could generate 4,600 megawatts of electricity and 6,500 megawatt hours of battery storage, were scheduled to be considered in the future as of December.
“We are committing large amounts of land to this one type of land use, and we need a full understanding of the fiscal contributions, consequences and how to address this issue,” Supervisor Zack Scrivner wrote in an email to The Californian. “This needs to be addressed locally on each project as it is our authority to approve or deny these projects, not the state.”
The first project to be impacted by this new approach to solar permitting appears to be the Raceway 2.0 Solar Project.
Rosamond residents have brought up concerns over the project’s proximity to their community. However, Raceway seems to have gotten caught up in the broader conversation of oil versus solar when it came before the board for approval.
On Tuesday, Scrivner brought up the solar property tax exclusion, the state’s plan to phase out oil production, and a state law that limits development on farmland when discussing the project.
“I feel I need more time to evaluate this project and the renewable energy land use situation in general,” he said. “Frankly I’m still undecided given the state policies that we are encountering. Our property tax and sales tax revenue is being hit by the state on all fronts.”
Proposed by the Virginia-based AES Corp., the project would produce 271 megawatts of renewable electricity and offset an estimated 500,000 tons of carbon emissions.
Raceway 2.0 is scheduled to return before the board on Aug. 24.
Most solar power produced in Kern County benefits cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, a sticking point of critics of the state’s energy policies. Local officials believe the state’s green energy goals would not be possible without the county’s cooperation.
Conversely, industry representatives have said solar projects would not be financially feasible without the property tax exclusion, an impasse that leaves little room for change.
“I’m sure the board will have a broader discussion just based on the policy with the solar industry moving forward,” Peters said of the Aug. 24 discussion. “We hope that the governor penalizing the oil industry for these purely political reasons will come to an end, and will agree to work with the county instead of keeping it in the crosshairs like he has been.”
You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.
Las Cruces Utilities aids city’s goal for sustainable clean energy solutions
Las Cruces Utilities provides utilities like clean water, removes waste and wastewater, and ensures customers have access to natural gas energy. LCU is also working to achieve the goals set by Las Cruces City Council to provide locations to grow the needed infrastructure for clean energy, including solar. One of those locations for a nearly finished photovoltaic array is at the West Mesa Industrial Park Wastewater Treatment Facility.
“It’s not a place that most residents can get out to see, but the facility does serve the correctional facility and anticipated growth of the Las Cruces Innovation & Industrial Park,” said John Mrozek, deputy director Wastewater. “It had the space needed to build the array, plus we had the infrastructure to support it being in a protected location.”
With Resolution 18-117, the City of Las Cruces adopted a commitment to clean energy. It set the goal of generating 25 percent of Las Cruces municipal electricity from solar power by the end of 2022. The resolution was amended in 2019 to include the work done before 2017.
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Beyond 2022, City Council wants to have the City receive 50 percent of its electricity from wind and solar power by 2030 and 100% of its energy from wind and solar power by 2050. Between 2011 and 2017, the City installed more than 1.1 megawatts of solar energy, which replaces 6% of the City’s electricity usage; however, the clean energy target is 20 megawatts of renewable energy.
In December 2019, City Council signed a Power Purchase Agreement between the City and Ameresco, Inc., a Phoenix-based renewable energy company. Over the 25-year lifespan of the contract, the City’s sustainability office estimates the City will save $5.8 million in energy costs.
Sarah L. Volcko, City Public Works construction management project specialist, anticipates a fall 2021 completion date for the Ameresco project at the WMIPWWTF. “When it’s finished, the City will be at 89 percent of the 2022 goal,” she said.
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“Plenty of LCU-managed land has the opportunity to assist in ways outside the direct mission of the Utility, just like the space that we had available to build this solar array,” said Delilah Walsh, LCU director. “Just like we all need to come together to work to build a sustainable future, at LCU, we believe that we can achieve more if we stretch our resources efficiently.”
LCU Customer Central can be reached at 575-541-2111 from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. LCU provides services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.
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Lorde chows down on spicy wings like a pro on ‘Hot Ones’
Lorde is a real hottie.
The two-time Grammy-winner sat down with “Hot Ones” to dish all the dirt on her upcoming album “Solar Power” and feast on some spicy wings.
“I am hungry and the wings look pretty good,” the singer-songwriter told Sean Evans, host of the “First We Feast” YouTube series. “I feel like I’m inside the Internet. It’s a weird sensation to be here. It’s a little surreal, but I am ready.”
And ready she was. Lorde, 24, barely broke a sweat while chomping down on a variety of hot chicken wings ranging from a Scoville Level (which measures the potency of peppers) of 1,800 to 649,000. Near the end of the 24-minute episode, she even added extra sauce to increase the flavor and intensity of the late-night snack.
“That’s nice,” she said after biting down on an especially hot wing called “The Scorpion Disco.” “I Love that name. Funkin’ Hot. It’s so nice to eat a wing. In the pop star life, I feel like you’re not smashing wings that often, you know?”
Fans were very impressed by the performance of the New Zealand pop star’s ability to keep her composure while past guests such as Idris Elba, Gordon Ramsey, Halle Berry, Shaquille O’Neal, Justin Timberlake, Hannibal Burress and Billie Eilish have coughed, cried and shed tears.
When Lorde wasn’t putting previous guests to shame, the 24-year-old chatted in between bites about her third album. “I basically thought of the album as a sun worship album,” she said. “I’m not religious in any way, but my experiences in nature the last couple of years were as close to what I had experienced as religion, so it was like a sort of devotional record for me.”
Besides having a fondness for chicken wings, the singer also talked about what makes a perfect onion ring. “I want an onion that has been cut thickly,” she said. “I want a pretty toothsome, vertical bite. I want a pretty crisp yet thick crust. You know, I want it to have some substance. I guess I’d be more into a batter than a crumbed [covering] if forced to make a choice. So that’s maybe the way my bias skews.”
Ironically Lorde’s new album also has a strange connection to Jennifer Lopez. “This album features a lot of cicadas singing. The sound of cicadas to me is so emblematic of New Zealand summer,” she explained. “This year has brood IX, which is this big kind of boom of cicadas once you reached 17 years. The last time it happened was in 2004 when I guess JLo and Ben Affleck were together and now they’re back together, so people are like, brood IX is in the air, so I guess I am right on trend with my cicada moment.”
“Solar Power” debuts on August 20.
Increase in rooftop solar power generation across city: PMC report
Contributing towards curbing global warming by reducing carbon emission, Pune has made a significant progress with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) generating 1.25 megawatt of power from rooftop solar projects besides doubling electricity production through similar plans on private buildings.
The PMC administration on Friday tabled its Environment Status Report (ESR) for 2020-21 in a meeting. Along with the positive impact of lockdown due to the pandemic on the city’s environment, the ESR revealed the increase in solar energy generation within the city limits.
As per the report, the PMC set up rooftop solar power generation plants on 39 buildings of the civic body with a total capacity to generate 1.25 MW of power. “The power generated from the solar projects would be primarily used in civic offices and the excess power as well as those generated during holidays will be provided to the power grid of power utility Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL),” it said.
The report added that the number of people opting for rooftop solar power generation on their properties is also increasing. “As per MSEDCL, 1.53 crore units of power was generated by 2,667 customers through rooftop solar power plants in 2019-20 in the city, while total 3.02 crore units of power was generated from rooftop solar power panels by 3,211 customers in 2020-21,” it said.
The PMC initiative to encourage people to use solar energy by giving discounts on property tax has been yielding good results. In 2020-21, total 1.82 crore units of power was saved due to the use of 49,577 solar water heaters installed by people across the city.
As per the ESR, vehicles cause the maximum air pollution in the city. There was 39 per cent reduction in registration of new vehicles in Pune in 2020 as against that in 2019.
A total of 31,53,453 vehicles are now registered with the regional transport office in Pune till June 2021. The registration of new vehicles was the lowest during the initial lockdown period of April and May last year. “The increase in use of electric vehicles in future would have a good impact on the air quality of the city,” it said.
The report showed that levels of particulate matter, PM 10 and PM 2.5, most harmful air pollutants, dropped significantly in the city during the lockdown period. “The PM 10 reduced to 63.94 in 2020 compared to 79.30 in 2017. It was below the standard mark of 60 microgram per cubic metre in all parts of the city during the five months of the year from May to September last year.”
Similarly, the PM 2.5 has reduced to 39.92 in 2020 from 53.70 in 2017. It was below the standard mark of 40 microgram per cubic metre in all parts of the city from April to September last year. The nitrogen oxide was below the standard mark of 40 microgram per cubic metre for eight months from March to October last year.
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