The U.S. Spacewalk Outside The International Space Station Was Postponed Due to A Medical Issue with Astronaut Vande Hei.

The U.S. spacewalk outside the International Space Station originally planned for Tuesday, Aug. 24 with NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide has been postponed due to a minor medical issue involving Vande Hei. This issue is not a medical emergency.

The spacewalk is not time-sensitive and crew members are continuing to move forward with other station work and activities.

Teams are assessing the next available opportunity to conduct the spacewalk following the SpaceX CRS-23 cargo resupply launch planned for Aug. 28 and upcoming Russian spacewalks.

The preview briefing on Aug. 23 is also being rescheduled and will be announced at a later date.

Source: Space Coast Daily

Image Credit: NASA

***LATE BREAKING NEWS***

Due to the unforeseen illness of one of the Astronauts, the scheduled Space Walk has been postponed. We at Smart Energy will keep our readers updated as events unfold. Stay bookmarked to our blog.  

 

Two astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station Tuesday, Aug. 24th, for a spacewalk to install a support bracket in preparation for future installation of the orbiting laboratory’s third new solar array. 

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will install a support bracket, called a modification kit, on the inward port side of the station’s backbone truss structure in a position known as P4, which is closest to the station’s pressurized living space.

The kit prepares the site for future installation and deployment of the third of six new “International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays“ (iROSA) to upgrade one of the station’s eight power channels known as 4A, which provides partial power to the U.S. Laboratory, the Harmony module, and the Columbus module.

The modification kit will be attached to the mast canister at the base of the original solar arrays.

The crew will also replace a device that measures the electrical charging potential of the arrays and associated surfaces in its vicinity, called a floating-point measurement unit, on a separate truss.

Live coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 7 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 24, with the crew members scheduled to exit the station’s Quest airlock around 8:30 a.m. The spacewalk will last approximately 6 hours and 50 minutes. 

Hoshide will serve as extravehicular crew member one (EV1), with red stripes on his spacesuit, while Vande Hei will be extravehicular crew member two (EV2), with an unmarked suit. 

This will be the fourth spacewalk for Hoshide, the fifth spacewalk for Vande Hei, and the station’s 242nd in support of assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

The spacewalk follows three other recent ones to install the first pair of new iROSA arrays.

On June 16, Kimbrough and Pesquet moved the first to a mounting bracket on the 2B power channel on the port 6 truss, where it was secured in its folded configuration.

On June 20, the duo returned to the 2B power channel to complete installation and deployment. The astronauts completed the installation and deployment of the second of the six new arrays in a spacewalk on June 25.

The station’s original solar arrays are functioning well, but have begun to show signs of degradation, which was expected, as they were designed for about a 15-year service life (space, is harder on their lifespans). 

The first pair of original solar arrays were deployed in December 2000 and have been powering the station for more than 20 years, exceeding expectations.

They are now augmented with the first pair of iROSAs positioned in front of them. When all six of the new arrays are in place, the station’s total available power will increase from 160 kilowatts to a maximum of 215.

The same roll-out solar array design will be used to power elements of Gateway, a new lunar-orbiting outpost in development by NASA’s commercial and international partners.

In November 2020, the International Space Station surpassed its 20-year milestone of continuous human presence, providing opportunities for unique research and technology demonstrations that help prepare for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars and also improve life on Earth. 

Over that time, 244 people from 19 countries have visited the orbiting laboratory that has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas. 

Source: NASA, spacecoastdaily.com

Image credit: NASA

By MICHAEL COHEN

It is time for electric utilities to reinvent themselves with a new business model, owning rooftop solar rather than solar farms.

Telephone companies reinvented themselves in the last couple of decades when mobile phones wiped out the pay phone and most residential landline business. The electric industry must adapt, in the same way. Distributing power in the form of rooftop and community solar, coupled with batteries, should provide a considerable portion of our energy needs.

Homes, apartments, condominiums, schools, churches, warehouses, and retail stores could have solar on their roofs and batteries on the wall. Parking lots could be covered with solar to provide power, shade cars, and charge electric vehicles; lakes and retention ponds could have floating areas of community solar for those that can’t have rooftop solar.

Utilities understand that they must move to renewable energy, because of climate change and economics. Solar is more affordable than fossil fuel in the long term. This is a giant leap, but utilities are still wed to the industrial concept of the last century. Their model is to have centralized power production controlled by utilities with large transmission lines moving the power to cities and distribution lines crisscrossing the network of end users.

We should applaud the Orlando Utilities Commission for planning to go “Net Zero” by 2050 in their adopted Electric Integrated Resource Plan (EIRP).

The plan developed by Siemens estimates that providing enough power would “require 50,000 acres of land or, for scale and context, approximately 69% of the land area of the City of Orlando,” If Orlando is a model for the rest of Florida, almost all rural land in Florida will be solar farms.

This would also mean that many thousands of miles of new electric transmission lines will crisscross Florida on new rights-of-way. These are the huge metal structures that nobody wants near their home and are potential hazards during hurricanes. Do you remember Joni Mitchell’s 1970s song “Big Yellow Taxi”, in which the first line was, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”? Well, change the parking lot to a solar farm.

Florida utilities recognized that they need huge areas of land and got the Legislature to pass and the governor signs a Renewable Energy bill that requires solar facilities to be a permitted use in all agricultural land use categories in a local government’s comprehensive plan and all agricultural zoning districts within an unincorporated area. The law means that citizens or local government cannot prohibit solar farms in rural or agricultural areas.

Solar United Neighbors of Florida, a nonprofit, facilitated 2,000 homeowners who collectively added 20 megawatts of solar power in five years via 70 co-ops. Through the co-ops, homeowners and businesses pay for solar and batteries to be installed on their property. Federal tax credits encourage people to add solar and batteries; nonprofits should have access to rebates similar to the tax credits. This, however, will still be a small fraction of the potential for rooftop solar in Florida.

Rooftop solar will not put electric utilities out of business.  

Because the supply of electricity will be close to the consumer there will be less need for big transmission lines and huge solar farms. Having solar and batteries distributed throughout the service territory will limit outages from hurricanes. Intermittent clouds that are a problem for large solar farms will be mitigated by the disbursement of roof-top solar.

Yes, there will be some need for large solar farms to power cities. High-rise buildings, tree-shaded properties, manufactured houses and other atypical properties won’t be able to produce substantial power with solar, but they can still house batteries.

The cheapest kilowatt hour is the one not needed. In the next couple of years, there will be a lot of money flowing from the federal government for energy efficiency. The utilities should set up energy-efficiency businesses to use this money and help homeowners, renters, commercial property owners, and managers end the waste of electricity and decrease the need for solar farms.

If the only tool available is a hammer, every problem will look like a nail. If the only tool electric utilities seem to have is centralized power production sent via high-voltage transmission lines, then rural Florida will look like glass skyscrapers laying down in a field. Go solar — but use a rooftop model first.

Source: Michael Cohen,(co-founder of Solar United Neighbors of Florida), orlandosentinel.com

Image credit: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/TNS

A new report explores who is behind efforts to curb distributed energy and solar deployment. In this part, we look at policy and regulatory recommendations highlighted by the authors as a playbook to fight against anti-solar efforts, and how parties can curb campaigns before they begin. 

Across the country, on a national, state, and even local level, utilities and corporations have used their political power, deep pockets and other avenues of influence to support legislation and institute policies intended on striking down the efficacy of distributed generation, according to a report released by Environment America, the Frontier Group, and the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.

And while many of these efforts have been successful to some degree, opponents of solar are not nearly batting 1.000. Previous entries in this series have included studies of specific campaigns that have failed to weaken rooftop solar, specifically Florida’s Amendment 1 in 2016. In our final examination of this report, pv magazine looks at the policy and regulatory actions that the authors believe can be effective tools to stop anti-solar efforts.

Being proactive
The first recommendation is to be iron-willed. Basically, net metering and other pro-distributed generation policies can’t come under attack if those attacks are discouraged from the start.

The report calls on decision makers to reject caps, restrictions on or elimination of net metering; rollbacks or elimination of state renewable energy standards; unfair or discriminatory charges or tariffs on solar power system owners; utility rate structures that penalize or discourage solar installation; and broader, unneeded regulatory burdens on solar energy.

These recommendations assume that the decision makers themselves support residential solar.

Strong leadership is needed
Outside of blocking attempts to discourage the resource, those in positions of power should further leverage their influence to promote policies that support the growth of rooftop solar, according to the authors.

Lawmakers must consider the full set of benefits distributed solar energy brings to the grid, ratepayers, and to society when making policy decisions. Additional policy recommendations include but aren’t limited to:

• Implementing strong net metering and interconnection standards, which enable many customers to meet their own electricity needs with solar power
• Supporting community solar projects and virtual net metering, which can expand public access to solar power
• Enacting or expanding solar carve-outs and renewable electricity standards
• Enabling financing mechanisms to allow for greater solar access for businesses and residents
• Allowing companies that are not utilities to sell or lease solar to residents and businesses
• Investing wisely in making the electric grid more intelligent, which will facilitate a greater role for distributed sources of energy such as solar power

For the energy transition to be a successful one, distributed generation will have a major role to play, and the authors of the report said that people holding positions of power are duty-bound to drive solar-friendly policies and advocacy.

While this is where the report ends, battles still rage daily against anti-solar policies and groups that look to undermine the resource. Moreover, there have been countless fights that this report was unable to cover, as there certainly will be in the future. If you are involved in or would like to bring attention to an ongoing or upcoming attack on distributed generation, reach out, and your testimony can help to continue this series.

Source: Tim Sylvia , pv-magazine-usa.com

Image credit: Colorado Energy Office

Residents of a Florida continuing care retirement community saw their drive for sustainable energy become a reality with the recent installation of solar panels on the community’s roof.

Oak Hammock at the University of Florida in Gainesville is funding the $603,000 project, which will install 682 solar panels at the community. The CCRC is thought to be the only one in the state to invest in solar panel energy. The panels are expected to generate $50,000 in annual savings on the community’s $1 million electric bill.

Planning began four years ago when a group of residents led by the late Lee Bidgood, a former chemical engineer, created a committee to research the feasibility of solar power at the community. Committee members analyzed 12 months of billing data and collected information from the Florida Department of Energy and the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa. They presented their proposal to the Oak Hammock Board of Directors Finance Committee in October 2019.

“When I pitched the project to the Oak Hammock board, I started by saying that this was a good investment, it’s the right time to do this, it’s a powerful marketing tool and, finally, it’s the right thing to do,” said Bill Rossi, one of the residents who led the project.  

Nelson Logan, another resident and former engineer on the project, was so passionate about it that he offered to put up his own money and solicit donations. 

“In today’s society, where everyone is talking about how we have to have sustainable energy, we really have to face up to the fact that the weather on this planet is changing,” Rossi said. “We are doing something about it. We can do our part.”

The board approved the solar project in February 2020. Oak Hammock Chief Financial Officer Andrew Davey and then-CEO Jeff Hagan selected Gainesville-based Solar Impact to install the panels. 

After a new roof was installed on the community’s Building 2 in May, Solar Impact took roof measurements to lay out the solar array, which holds the panels in place. Two weeks later, more than 300 footings were placed on top of the roof, followed by the rails where the solar panels sit. July 1, 13 pallets of panels were lifted onto the roof. Solar Impact then completed the wire management installation.

Solar panels will be installed on the communities two largest buildings —  Buildings 1 and 2. The first solar array, which houses 24 of the 682 solar panels, was installed on Building 2 during a ceremony on July 20. Installation should be completed this month, according to Oak Hammock.

“Our solar panel design will generate about 5% of our electrical consumption,” said resident John Paul, a UF engineering alumnus. “That doesn’t sound like much, except our electric bill is about $1 million a year, and with the tariffs continuing to go up, so will our bill. That’s a savings of about $50,000 a year, and that will escalate over time.”

With the life of a solar panel at between 25 and 30 years, Paul said, the solar panels will pay for themselves and reduce Oak Hammock’s electrical bill “all while doing the right thing.”

“It was the residents who explored sustainable energy at Oak Hammock, and that speaks to the community we have,” Paul said. “To us, Oak Hammock is a community.”

Source:  Kimberly Bonvissuto, mcknightsseniorliving.com

Image credit: Courtesy Oak Hammock

The Sunshine State, ‘late to the game,’ but ‘coming on strong’!

As distributed solar adoption slowed across the Southeast due to the coronavirus pandemic, utility-scale solar made significant gains, moving the state of Florida into the leading state for installed solar capacity in the region.

During a virtual event Wednesday, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), a regional nonprofit focused on the transition to clean energy, shared details on its fourth annual “Solar in the Southeast” report. Lead author and SACE’s Solar Program Director Bryan Jacob announced that the Sunshine State had surpassed North Carolina to become the region’s “solar leader.”

“Florida is a bigger state, bigger population, bigger utilities,” Jacob said. “They were kind of late to the game, let’s admit that, but they’ve really been coming on strong lately, once the economics shifted to where solar was among the least-cost resources they could be bringing on now.”

This happened as the region grappled with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Distributed solar (solar energy produced at or near the point where it’s used, like rooftop solar) adoption certainly took a hit, according to Jacob. But, he said, utility-scale solar actually had a record year and both sectors continued to grow, despite the pandemic.

“Clearly, this past year has been a very unusual and unprecedented, and in many ways a tragic year for a lot, with a lot of challenges with the pandemic. But,” SACE Executive Director Stephen Smith said, “generally, this technology has continued to move very rapidly forward.”

Of all the states, Jacob said Florida was best able to “weather the storm,” which helped it overcome North Carolina as the region’s solar leader. In fact, a significant portion of the distributed solar that was added across the region in 2020 was built in the Sunshine State.

“There was a lot of additional momentum in the system in Florida,” Jacob said.

SACE anticipates seeing utility-scale solar capacity grow exponentially at many of Florida’s utilities over the next few years, including at JEA, Jacksonville’s city-owned utility.

According to the report, JEA currently generates 124 solar watts per customer — roughly one-third of the solar average for Florida utilities. JEA is expected to remain far behind the state’s other major utilities in terms of both utility-scale and distributed solar capacity.

Utility-scale and distributed solar adoption among Florida utilities.

With distributed growing at a crawl relative to utility-scale solar, SACE is emphasizing the importance of adopting every form of clean, renewable energy that’s available.

According to Jacob, both utility-scale and distributed solar are necessary if utilities want to reach 100% clean energy. “It’s not an either or proposition, it’s really a both and,” he said.

Source: Brendan Rivers, .news4jax.com

Image credit: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

 

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.95″ background_image=”https://floridasmartenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Go_green.jpg”][et_pb_fullwidth_image _builder_version=”3.0.95″ custom_css_main_element=”height: 150px;”][/et_pb_fullwidth_image][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.95″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.95″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.95″]Although the COVID-19 pandemic is the immediate crisis unfolding at the moment, mitigating climate change is also an urgent issue. Solar PV installation is one way to help reduce greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. Solar Power World has recognized the efforts of solar contractors across the United States in its 2020 Top Solar Contractors list, where SMART ENERGY achieved a rank of 341 out of 407 companies.

The Top Solar Contractors list is developed each year by Solar Power World to honor the work of solar installers big and small. Solar firms in the utility, commercial and residential markets are ranked by number of kilowatts installed in the previous year. Companies are grouped and listed by specific service (developers, electrical subcontractors, EPCs, installation subcontractors, rooftop installers), markets and states.

Solar Power World is the leading online and print resource for news and information regarding solar installation, development, and technology.

“The Solar Power World team is so pleased to highlight more than 400 companies on the 2020 Top Solar Contractors list, especially during this unprecedented time,” said Kelsey Misbrener, senior editor of Solar Power World. ” All contractors featured on the 2020 list reported strong 2019 installation numbers and are continuing to stand tall this year.” This year’s collection of over 400 Top Solar Contractors is facing obstacles that this industry has never seen before. The first quarter of 2020 was the country’s biggest ever, with 3.6 GW of new solar capacity added. But COVID-19 impacts showed their force in Q2, and Wood Mackenzie is forecasting residential and non-residential markets will see 25% and 38% decreases in year-over-year installation volumes this year.

SMART ENERGY employs 15 workers who installed 756.3 KW solar power in 2019. Since its founding, the company has installed 2,800.0 KW of solar power. We have a unique approach that evaluates the energy efficiency of your whole location to determine the best systems to use and where to install them.
WE PROVIDE AMERICAN-MADE QUALITY, RELIABILITY AND DURABILITY – ONE OF THE BEST SOLAR PANELS MADE BY SOLAR WORLD, RIGHT HERE IN THE USA.

We believe in the future of renewable energy, and solar is our passion!

Our approach analyzes not only your solar capacity but basic factors that affect your homes efficiency. Our experts will use proven technology working together to give you a comfortable and efficient future.

TRUST IN QUALITY. TRUST IN EXPERIENCE. TRUST IN THE FUTURE.

Get a free estimate today and experience the Smart Energy difference.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

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Researchers at the Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) at the University of California at Davis recently developed an aerosol sealant to seal leaks in building walls, floors, and ceilings. The process can be more effective and convenient than conventional methods for sealing envelopes because it requires less time and effort, and it seals the leakage area more quickly.

Multifamily buildings have many of the same leakage paths as houses, as well as additional paths hidden in walls or other cavities that are difficult to seal with conventional methods.

At the start of this project, the aerosol envelope-sealing technology was in precommercial development. The project team performed aerosol envelope-sealing demonstrations on six multifamily buildings. Three of these buildings were new construction and three were existing construction. While the work was performed on Minnesota multifamily buildings, the air leakage reduction results are generally applicable to all multifamily buildings.

Air Sealing Demonstration

 

How the Technology Works

The aerosol envelope-sealing technology that was used in this project was developed by WCEC. It uses an automated approach to produce extremely tight envelopes. Air is blown into a unit while an aerosol sealant fog is released in the interior. As air escapes the building through leaks in the envelope, the sealant particles are carried to the leaks, stick to the edges of the leaks, and eventually seal them (see Figure 1). standard house or duct air leakage test fan is used to pressurize the building and provide real-time feedback and a permanent record of the sealing. The technology is thus capable of simultaneously measuring, locating, and sealing leaks in a building.

Energy Program and Code Envelope Airtightness Requirements

There is a growing recognition of the need for tight multifamily building envelopes. The 2012 and 2015 versions of the International Energy Conservation Code require that one- to three-story multifamily buildings meet the residential energy code envelope tightness requirement of 3 ACH 50 . In addition, the EPA Energy Star Multifamily High Rise Requirements include a requirement for a maximum air leakage rate of 0.3 CFM 50 /ft 2 of enclosure (EPA 2013). LEED v4 also has a prerequisite of 3 ACH50 for one- to three-story multifamily buildings with air infiltration credits for tighter envelopes. There is a prerequisite of 0.3 CFM50/ft 2 or air-sealing checklist for midrise (four- to eight-story) buildings and annual energy use points for tighter envelopes. Effective air sealing technologies are necessary to meet these requirements.

 

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The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed life as we know it. Markets are currently being defined by loss and uncertainty. Growth outlooks for many economic sectors have been slashed. The petroleum, chemical, and gas industry are one of those who have seen losses and negative outlooks.

In an effort to stop or slow the spread of disease, the world has been asked to practice social distancing—deliberately increasing the physical space between people to avoid spreading illness. But, while everyone needs to practice social distancing in these times of uncertainty caused by the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, it does not mean that sales are stopping or even slowing down at all.

The pandemic may certainly be responsible for the increase of stock values, but it is only one part of the picture. Companies within the industry are providing a greater audio and visual experience.

Effective Sales Calls with Video Conferencing

Video conferencing has become a part of our salespersons’ job. Just like in-person meetings, through video conferencing we can see each other, develop a professional relationship, discuss, and explain the benefit of a solar installation on your site.

Through screen share we are able to share presentations, photos, videos and any product education that you might be interested in. Video conferencing provides a more interactive experience.

The practice of video conferencing may have been imposed due to the pandemic, but during this short period it has proven to be a very useful one, providing some new opportunities which will become an everyday practice in the future.

Just because things might be tough now, it does not mean they will stay this way forever. One thing we all hear about during hard times is how much people miss having a sense of normalcy in their lives. So, we encourage you to carry on with your plans, just with some minor modifications.

Using video conference calls, we can still go through the quoting and planning phase together, but we can leave the install date open for whenever you feel comfortable. We’ve come to an unexpected and challenging point, so we have to support each other during this time.

Contact us, so we can schedule a video conference call – https://floridasmartenergy.com/contact-us/

FREE WEBINARS:

Solar – Certainty for Uncertain Times

Also, during these times, we are organizing some FREE webinars for all Single-Family Homeowners.

You will get a chance to get free knowledge on how to eliminate your electricity bill, learn about the benefits of ongoing solar incentives, and learn how to make your home energy efficient. Solar energy is one of the most certain sources of energy, since it depends only on the Sun.

✍️ SIGN UP for our next webinar following this link: https://floridasmartenergy.com/webinar/