What to do? [RE-wrenches]

[Travis Creswell, Ozark Solar]

Hi Chuck,

Sounds like he just wants to use "solar" and doesn't care how much it
produces (or doesn't produce, might be a better way to look at it).  But
that's OK.  Maybe you should think of it as "green power" that some
utilities offer their customers for a premium.  People pay more to feel good
about what they are doing.  Stick with the consulting recommendation.  It's
hard to save the world when you are homeless.  If it was me I wouldn't even
do any sizing calculations until it was all said and done.  Just stick with
real generic estimates that it will produce/offset xx% of your power.
Sounds like that is really all the guy wants anyway.  Why not just do 1 kW
of ugly solar?  5kW isn't even going to make a dent (20 kW probably won't
either) on what this house uses so don't loose a chance to help this guy
feel good about himself because you can't find a place to hide all those
modules.

Travis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Heath, SunPower" <sunpwr at jps.net>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2001 12:14 PM
Subject: What to do? [RE-wrenches]


> Hello fellow Wrenches - Seriously, what do you tell an eccentric 60-year
> old multi-millionaire who wants a grid tied system but doesn't want the
> solar modules to "interfere" with the undetermined general landscaping
> plan? He and his wife are building their retirement home here in N.
> California.
>
> Advice from his friendly general contractor of many years: tell him you
> are a specialist, and will work as a consultant, with a written contract
> at at least $85/hr. and a $1,000 retainer.
> The Gen'l Contractor suggests he'll spend hours with me discussing before
> deciding anything.
>
> This potential clients' biggest concern is that solar modules are "ugly",
> so he wants to hide them as much as possible. He's thinking of having us
> put them _flat_ on a 150 ft. curved wall running roughly N-S, rather than
> any conventional top of pole or A-frame mounts ("they're ugly too"). He
> wants a graphic drawing of how it might look first.
>
> He wants us to coordinate with his Landscape Architect on the final
> design for this grid tie system using the California Buydown program. He
> could care less about efficiency. He's already paid big $$ for 3/4 mile
> of _underground_ PG&E primary (12 KV), and seems to want 5 kW of PV as
> "window dressing" so he can brag about being a "a great steward of the
> land" while reducing his PG&E bill.
>
> Finding out what he likes and is acceptable will take many hours, let
> alone developing a specific proposal.
>
> This is a rare opportunity for us, and we don't want to lose it. How
> would you handle it?
>
> Cordially, Chuck (what a dilemma!)
>
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