wind issues & hot air [RE-wrenches]

[Matt Lafferty]

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Hey, Ya'll!

Been watching this thread with a high degree of interest... You've all been
whacking the nail square on the head from where I sit.  I sure wish at least
one of our two Bretheren-Industries would get it right here in the States!
This conversation would never have started in the first place if there
wasn't some form of "Subsidy" tied to the "Equipment"... There wouldn't be a
"CEC Eligible Equipment List" if there weren't "Public $$$" &
"Grid-Connections" involved... "It's all about the price of the beans and
'they' are the ones counting them.  If our beans are too expensive, they
will get different beans from somebody else!"  Double-edged sword!
Heartburn & Opportunity... Deadlines & Commitments... Beans & Beancounters!
The stakes are high and lives do depend on our effectiveness... I hope we
all know and understand that.

Ian W and a couple of others in different words, have said it like it is...
"It's about Energy Delivered".... If it is Utility Connected, that is AC
ENERGY AT THE POINT OF INTERCONNECTION.  If it is not connected to an
outside utility, then it means the Energy Available for Use by the Owner
which could be AC or DC depending on the application.  Bottom line.  Period.
End of conversation.  "What went in is interesting, but it's what comes out
that we need to know..."  kWH!

"Peak this" and "STC that" are not gonna cut it.  Yeah, they are nice
numbers to look at, but it comes down to much more.  Useable, verifiable,
over-time Energy Deliverability Rates are the only vehicle I see to
effectively "mainstreaming" what it is we all do.  AC Energy for AC Systems.
On a completed system basis... As installed.... Where installed...

Those numbers, like it or not, are going to have to be tabulated through
production metering and reliable System & Site Specific Weather & Production
data that is acceptable to all parties who will ultimately have a say in
things here... The real reason "Big Wind" had to come to the table on this
is because they blew it in the 80's, right?  Did I make a funny there?  "Big
Wind"... "Blew"... Well, if you think it's funny that's OK, but in my
opinion, it's really a serious lesson that we all should care about...
Blowing it back then cost 20 years of sustained deployment in the wind
industry... The dollar ratios are very different between Big Wind and Small
Wind, but the principle remains...

The PV relative to that:  Isn't there a tighter Manufacturing Spec tolerance
for PV in Japan now because of manufacturer abuse in this area?  Something
about a Solar Ark being built as a monument to out of spec glass that was
sold into the market and had to be bought back by the manufacturer, replaced
with "good glass" at their own cost, then fined on top of that and made to
establish an ongoing Environmental Fund... Then the "Big Boss" resigned in
shame... Then they had to figure out what to do with all this glass, so they
came up with this "Solar Ark to the Future" concept... Then they had to
downgrade the published power output rating of the whole thing... Ya'll
remember that one?  They don't tell you all that on the front page!

Nice pretty picture:  http://www.solar-ark.com/english2/ark/index.html

Try this page:
http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4-eng/0112news-e/1220-e.html

Think about all that Private Labelled "Non-Sharp Sharp" glass that landed on
American Shores a little over two years ago... Remember how excited we all
were?  Raise your hand if you know why!  Plain and simple:  They couldn't
sell it as "1st Quality Glass" and wouldn't label it as their own on their
soil... Yanks accept lower standards.... Put it in a different box then put
it on a boat and sail East!  

That's not their fault.  It is OUR FAULT for continuing to allow this
standard as acceptable!  We have failed to demand tougher standards from
ourselves and our industry.  By doing so, we have kept our collective heads
in the sand longer.  As we pull our heads from the sand due to somebody
pulling our tailfeathers to tell us "You can't use that one", we find out
that time is running short and somebody else just grabbed all "our" glass
and we don't have the measures in place to build forward!  One of the
primary reasons behind this is because ESTABLISHED STANDARDS FOR EQUIPMENT
AND PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT & SUBSIDIES were built in other places while we
ran down a short, bumpy road of excitement waving our arms in the air
proclaiming victory.  I'm hoping that some of the "newcomer" states to this
world don't end up repeating "The California Experience"...

Since this is the "Energy" Business, a financial / political mouthful in
itself, and we are "Weather Dependent" by nature, comprehensive, reliable,
trustworthy, PLAIN ENGLISH information will have to be acquired over time
before it can be distributed as "Standard Specs".  So far we've talked about
the "Energy" side of it and I've only seen one comment about "No BS
Reliability" data... In my opinion, Reliability is a big part of the
picture... "My wind turbine puts out this much energy when the wind is
blowing this fast, but it keeps falling apart every six months.... Sorry
your kid got knocked silly when the blade came off and whacked him upside
his head..." or "My inverter has this peak 'efficiency' rating.  It only
lasts 9 months but I can sell you a slightly used box full of smoke... It
used to be white, but it's now a nice 'smoky-gray' color..."

This discussion thread so far has identified a recognized need for
Independent Equipment Verification and a valid concern over "how long it
takes to get it done"... The message of "Not Another Bureaucracy!" is loud
and clear here.  Amen!  Then Who?  Where?  How Much?  Do we need to
re-invent something that is already being done effectively elsewhere?  Geez,
I hope not!  Perhaps a partnership or "piggy-back" relationship with an
established organization that could be "satellite located" here?  What
happened to the Systems & Equipment Certification effort that some trusted
friends of ours were working on a couple of years ago?  Is there anything we
can use from that exercise?

We are all so pushed, pulled, shoved, torn, stopped, stalled, re-started,
funded, unfunded, refunded and defunded in a big spin-cycle on such a
continuous basis in trying to just stay alive and hopefully do something
good and productive along the way that getting something accomplished in a
reasonable period of time is very near the impossible.  I call them all
"Distractions"... When there is a dependency on others pulling our dollar
strings from somewhere in Houston, Texas... Trust me when I say that "The
collective Puppet Masters are laughing right now!"  Rubbing their hands
together with glee thinking, "See, we buried them again!  It'll only be a
couple more months..."

If we collectively vote / believe that "we don't need no stinkin' meters,
interconnections, and subsidies", then so be it.  A big part of me is pulled
in that direction these days from a "Socio / Political" perspective... The
reality is that, as long as we want to take advantage of the $$$ that are
offered in the form of rebates and play on the Grid, there are parties that
need to be satisfied other than just ourselves.

Part of that includes, "Talking their language".  It is our duty to
responsibly and pro-actively prove our case and viability "in their
language" if we are going to be the beneficiaries of these token subsidies.
Yes, I agree... The playing field isn't level.  It is nevertheless the
playing field we have to play on.  I ask you, "Do you really think that
'they' will ever quit using our historical 'air numbers' against us if we
continue to rely on and provide them?"  Our "high-profile" players need to
stop saying "Each kW of PV is equal to the energy used by an average home"
in their press releases for instance.  

"They" have a lot more lawyers, accountants, engineers, armies,
tanker-ships, pipelines, and lobbyists on their side than "we" do... I don't
believe that we can afford to think we can hide behind "air numbers" and
expect anything less than the reception we've gotten... The stakes are high.
Think about the word "Policy", from the Latin root "politia"... Doesn't it
look a lot like "Police" and "Politics"?  Guess what?  They are all related.
Definite course of action, Contract of insurance, Make clean & put in order,
Public order & safety, Enforcement, Influencing policy, Control... Our rush
to embrace well-meaning but short-sighted Policies without effective
Self-Policing safeguards in place means "they" end up Policing us by
default... Politics is a big player... Nuff said. 

As Wrenches, we need to scream, holler, fight, scratch, and dig at our
Manufacturers & Policy-Makers (Legislators and Industry Policy-Makers!!!) to
"help us get where we really need to get".... We must offer a Contract of
Insurance that we can and will work together to Police ourselves
effectively.  We are all going to have to ante up 

We need to support those Manufacturers and Integrators / Wrenches who act
honorably and responsibly... Those who truly understand that they are NOT
the only ones in all this... Those who honestly work to build a sustainable
industry instead of sucking up all the $$$ they can as fast as possible and
stalling any sustained deployment by others... Those whose paychecks don't
come via hunting trips with the VP and loopholes and hidden subsidies...
Hey, how come I don't get invited to go out hunting with you, Dick?  Our
grace period is drawing to a close, nationally... "Fix this or I get
somebody else" needs to be a consistent message they hear from those of us
in the trenches.  "We aren't in Kansas anymore Toto... As much as we might
wish we were"... No slam to K-State, Darryl T... 

We need to have flexible and accessible grounding options for our glass...
We need to have reliable "System AC Performance" info for our Turbines &
PV... We need quiet, reliable turbines.  We need Inverters that last and
work efficiently across a wide temperature range... We need PV systems that
are truly and effectively integrated with conventional building products,
methods, and the existing construction industry workforce.  We need to look
beyond our "small family" being the "only ones qualified to do this" if we
can ever hope to be "mainstream"... We need Rack Manufacturers to work with
Glass Manufacturers and get their clips Listed as Equipment Grounding
Devices so we can hit a rack with a Ground Wire, bolt the Glass down and get
off the roof!  We need Glass Manufacturers to bring their stuff to market
here with the same PV Wire on it that they already use in other countries...
Why would they want to make, stock, distribute, etc. two versions anyway?
Those costs must outweigh the cost difference of the cable!  We need to have
a broader range of affordable & flexible DC rated Overcurrent & Disconnect
options.  We need to get to a point where a regular Electrical Contractor
can walk into their local Wholesaler, pick up a catalog, flip to the RE
section and order the PV, Wind & BOS components they need over the counter.
We need affordable, standardized, flexible monitoring & communications
options that easily & seamlessly interface with established communications
industry protocols & standards.  I don't think we're really ready for Home
Depot and Wal-Mart until we have this stuff in place.    

None of this is rocket science... The only reason these things haven't
already been done "across the board" is because we haven't DEMANDED that it
happen!  Well, it's getting real close to "Put up or get the heck out of our
way" time!  The real question is: Who are the ones saying it to whom?  We
still have a chance to be the ones saying it!  Continuing to be "reactive"
instead of "proactive" is not an option...

These principles apply whether it's wind, solar, hydro, or whatever other RE
comes down the road that we might not even know about yet.  

I'll leave it there for now... Thanks to all who have contributed here... At
least from the Wind side... Wish the PV side picked up the significance and
relativity and hope they're at least paying attention!

Two Cents and a Palm Tree!

Matt Lafferty
Universal Energies Institute
mlafferty at universalenergies.com
(916) 422-9772
(916) 914-2247 Fax
www.universalenergies.com

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