The Kentucky Solar Partnership and Appalachia – Science in the Public Interest, with the support of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), Johnson Controls, Inc., the Franklin County Cooperative Extension Service, and Kentucky State University, present a series of introductory and advanced training classes on solar photovoltaic system design and installation practices.
 
Full workshop descriptions and registration information can be found at www.kysolar.org. Financial support with low-interest loans covering up to 100% of registration fees plus grants for travel expenses is available to residents of eastern Kentucky, thanks to the support from MACED.
 
Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics
May 8-9, 2012           
8:30 am – 5:00 pm            
Fee:   $275
Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor
      NABCEP Certified PV Installer
Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office
101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601
 
Solar Site Assessments and PV System Design       
May 10, 2012
8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Fee:   $140
Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor
      NABCEP Certified PV Installer
Prerequisite: Introduction to Photovoltaics or equivalent prior training or experience
Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office
101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601
 
Solar Photovoltaics & the National Electric Code
May 11, 2012
8:00 am – 4:00 pm            
Fee:   $140
Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor
      NABCEP Certified PV Installer
Prerequisite: Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics or equivalent prior training or experience
(Code officials require no prerequisites)
For Installers, Code Officials, Inspectors, and Building Professionals
Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office
101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601

Introduction to Solar Water Heaing
June 5-6, 2012
8:30 am – 5:00 pm each day      
Fee:   $275
Instructor: Bill Guiney, Director of Solar Heating & Cooling, Johnson Controls, Inc.
Prerequisite: none
Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office
101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601 

Solar Industry Trends & New Technologies
June 7, 2012
8:30 am – 12:00 pm            
Fee:   $100
Instructor: Bill Guiney, Director of Solar Heating & Cooling, Johnson Controls, Inc.
Prerequisite: none
Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office
101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601

Advanced Solar Photovoltaics Hands-On Installation Training
July 10-12, 2012               
8:30am – 5:00 pm each day          
Fee:   $415
Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor
      NABCEP Certified PV Installer
Prerequisites: Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics or equivalent prior training or experience.
Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office
101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601

To learn more, contact the Kentucky Solar Partnership at 502-227-4562 or solar@kysolar.org.

NABCEP Training Hours: Participants will earn training hours to use towards the eligibility requirements for the NABCEP Solar PV Installer certification exam.

CEU’s available for Kentucky licensed Master Electricians and Electrical Electricians for Introduction to Solar PV; Solar Site Assessments and PV System Design; and Solar PV and the National Electric Code.

More than 50,000 commercial and residential electricity users in Cincinnati hired a new electricity company this week - one that aims to power the city on 100% clean energy.

Cincinnati is the first city in Ohio and the first of its size to move to 100% clean energy. The city's manager expects the average eligible household's bill to decrease by $133 as a result.

The customers will leave Duke Energy, which relies heavily on coal-burning power, and go to First Energy Solutions. A portion of the city's power will now come from local renewable sources, such as rooftop solar and solar power from the Cincinnati Zoo Solar Canopy project and the rest will come from renewable energy credits. Ohio has local renewable energy projects to provide electricity in part because of its state Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard - a policy similar to the one Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (of which KFTC is a founding member) supports passing in Kentucky.

Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) are generated when renewable energy comes online in the grid somewhere else and First Energy Solutions will purchase them in the amount needed to offset the remainder of the city's electricity use. RECs are a market mechanism that supports the growth of renewable energy projects.

When given a choice on the ballot last year, Cincinnati residents overwhelmingly voted to allow the city to bargain for electricity on behalf of its residents. This enabled the city to drop its contract with Duke and to find a new provider. Ohio's utility market, unlike Kentucky's, is largely deregulated, allowing such a ballot effort to go forward.

Read more here.

KFTC Members and Allies Are Moving the Clean Energy Conversation Forward!

• Number of Kentuckians participating in lobby trainings on the Clean Energy Opportunity Act: 200+
• Number of attendees at the February 13th clean energy reception: 75
• Number of legislators in attendance: 16
• Number of legislators who attended last year’s clean energy event: 2
• Number of Kentuckians who lobbied during the 2012 clean energy lobby day: 60
• Number of Kentuckians who lobbied during the 2011 clean energy lobby day: 40
• Number of meetings with legislators about the Clean Energy Opportunity Act during the 2012 lobby day: 50
• Number of meetings with legislators about the Clean Energy Opportunity Act during the 2011 lobby day: 20
• Number of clean energy bills supported by KFTC that were heard during the 2012 session: 3
• Number of clean energy bills that were heard during the 2011 session: 1
• Number of clean energy bills that passed this year: 0

To change that last number, there's much to do. We're building New Power at KFTC.  Want to get involved? Contact nancy@kftc.org.

Mary Love and Rick Hornby (author of Synapse study about the economic impact of HB 167)

Legislators heard testimony today about the benefits of the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 167) during a hearing before the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee. KFTC members and our allies in the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance have made HB 167 a high priority, and many were on hand in the packed committee room to show support. Although no vote was taken, the hearing was an important opportunity to inform legislators and build support for the future.

Bill sponsor Rep. Mary Lou Marzian introduced the bill, noting, "Thank you for allowing us to bring this important issue for discussion. This is a piece of legislation about job creation in Kentucky. Twenty-nine other states have passed this kind of policy that is called a renewable and efficiency portfolio standard. These policies have been shown to stabilize rates and create jobs. And those would be jobs that could stay in Kentucky."

Rick Hornby of Synapse Energy Economics presented a summary of a report his firm recently did about the potential economic impact of HB 167 on jobs and electricity rates in Kentucky over the next 10 years. "Kentucky is facing an electricity challenge. A number of utilities are looking at retrofitting some coal-fired plants. Some are planning to retire coal plants. Some of those retirements will be replaced with new generation, largely natural gas. Our study projects that Kentucky is looking at increases in average electricity supply costs on the order of 50%. Adding renewable energy and energy efficiency to your mix will help Kentucky turn this challenge into an opportunity. As I say, it will help. There is no silver bullet."

Hornby touched on several highlights of the Synapse report, including:

• The energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements contained in HB 167 could generate 28,000 net new jobs over the next 10 years.
• Under any scenario – whether this bill passes or it doesn't – utility rates in Kentucky are going to go up significantly.
• Average electric bills in Kentucky are projected to be 8-10% lower at the end of 10 years as a result of HB 167 than they would be under a business-as-usual scenario.

Chris Woolery, who works with the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), also testified in support of the measure. "I'm one of those contractors that could definitely have benefited from legislation like this. As a former Energy Star home-builder, I learned about the importance of energy efficiency. Then when the market crashed I went into energy retrofit work."

Woolery described his job doing home energy audits and retrofits in eastern Kentucky. "I'm now working with How$mart Kentucky. We work with four rural electric co-operatives in eastern Kentucky to do on-bill financing for energy improvements. With these co-ops we do whole house audits and energy upgrades, and we create a savings that the customer uses to pay for the improvements."

Woolery described some of the results of the How$mart program in the past year:

• reached customers in 23 counties.
  
• retrofitted 57 houses.
  
• saving people 25-37% on their bills.
• savings of $550 per year on average per family.

David Brown Kinloch and Josh Bills

Over 40% of the families the program has worked with are low to moderate income.

David Brown Kinloch, a renewable energy developer in Kentucky, also spoke before the committee. He emphasized the importance of a portion of the bill – called a feed-in tariff – that is designed to spur  investment in renewable energy projects. "A feed-in tariff will allow companies like mine to finance projects and sell power into the grid here in Kentucky. There is tremendous opportunity in Kentucky, and this bill just allows that opportunity to be harvested."

The testimony generated a number of comments and questions from members of the Tourism Development and Energy Committee. Chairwoman Leslie Combs from Pike County voiced concern about the troubling projections that utility rates are projected to rise steeply under any scenario.

"Consumers are consistently concerned about the fact that their rates are going up, today," she stated. "They don't want their rates to go up any more, and if anything they would like them to come down. But according to this chart, under any scenario, the rates go up. Period. I realize that's kind of the way things are, but at the same time it's hard to explain to the consumers who are saying, 'stop raising our rates.'

Hornby acknowledged that difficult reality. "I very much understand. It would be nice to be able to come in and say that. But the numbers are the numbers. Kentucky has a big challenge. Over the next several years, no matter what, your rates are going to go up by some amount. What efficiency and renewables can do is give your ratepayers some ability to respond to those increases. If you use less, your bill won't go up as much even as rates rise, and we are going to help you use less."

Rep. Keith Hall from Pike County concluded the testimony on HB 167 with a note of praise. "I want to commend Rep. Marzian for bringing this measure before the committee. And to the gentleman who spoke about energy efficiency, that's a very good program. This has been a very worthwhile conversation, and I want to commend the Madam Chairperson for having it."

Video from the hearing

The House Committee on Tourism Development and Energy is expected to consider two clean energy bills when it meets on Thursday, March 22 at 10 a.m. in Room 131 of the Capitol Annex in Frankfort.

The committee will take testimony on HB 167, The Clean Energy Opportunity Act, a bill that would gradually increase the share of electricity in Kentucky that comes from energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Testimony will also be heard on HB 187, a bill that would encourage investment in renewable energy by allowing commercial-scale renewable systems to connect to the grid through an arrangement called net-metering.

While no vote will be held, this hearing is an important opportunity to inform lawmakers about the benefits of clean energy solutions and build support for policies that can lower energy costs for families and businesses and boost economic development in Kentucky.

This is an important week to raise the visibility of these bills and demonstrate broad public support. You can help by taking the following actions:

1) Call the legislative message line and leave a message of support for the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 167) and Expanded Net-Metering Bill (HB 187) with your Representative, Senator, and all members of the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee. The number is 1-800-372-7181.

2) Write a letter to the editor of local and statewide papers expressing support for Clean Energy policies.  Email lauren@kysea.org if you'd like some suggested talking points.

3) Come to Frankfort on Thursday morning to help us make a visible show of support for these bills in the committee room. Again, that meeting will take place on Thursday, March 22 at 10 a.m. in Room 131 of the Capitol Annex.

More than 60 citizen lobbyists came to Frankfort on Tuesday to talk to legislators about the promise of clean energy.

The Clean Energy Lobby Day was hosted by the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA), a coalition of 52 organizations working to pass clean energy policy that would stem rising energy rates and create thousands of new jobs. In addition to grassroots organizations like KFTC, a founding member, KySEA includes small businesses, faith communities, housing groups, and even individuals.

Meeting with more than 50 different legislators, participants discussed House Bill 167, the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. Sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, the bill would establish benchmarks for increasing the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Kentucky over the next ten years. It would also establish payment rates for renewable energy to encourage renewable energy industries to locate in Kentucky and create new jobs.

Many surrounding states have already passed such measures, and new jobs in clean energy are going to Ohio and North Carolina instead of Kentucky.

EKU students John Bowers and Emily Justus lobbied for the first time. Justus, a native of Pike County, said she came to Frankfort to “show our support and learn about the whole process.”

Bowers of Berea said, “I’m very much for clean energy. I think that’s the wave of the future and the direction we need to go.”

The Clean Energy Opportunity Act is assigned to the House Tourism, Development and Energy Committee. One strategy of the lobby day was to press for the bill to get a hearing, and we learned today that our efforts were successful. The bill will get a hearing in committee in the next few weeks!

An important new study released today strengthens the case for passing the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 167) in Kentucky.

Under legislation offered by Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, electric utilities in Kentucky would gradually increase the share of their electricity that comes from energy efficiency programs and renewable energy over the next ten years. The bill requires utilities to get 12.5 percent of their electricity from renewable energy and achieve 10.25 percent cumulative savings from energy efficiency efforts by 2022.

Today's study by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. estimates that those requirements could create 28,000 net new jobs and reduce average electric bills by 8-10% over the next ten years, compared to a "do-nothing" scenario.

The study was released by the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED). Below are some key quotes from MACED's press release:

“This study confirms that legislation to diversify our electricity portfolio would be economically beneficial to Kentucky,” said Justin Maxson, President of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development. “The bill would allow the state to hedge against increasing rates by making homes and businesses more energy efficient. And it would spur the creation of clean energy jobs installing renewable energy projects and making energy efficiency upgrades.

“Efficiency and renewables are already the emerging trend in construction in the Commonwealth,” said Kentucky solar entrepreneur Matt Partymiller of Solar Energy Solutions in Lexington. “This report by Synapse captures what Kentucky engineers and contractors already know and what other states have already seen. Legislation like the Clean Energy Opportunity Act will provide the tools necessary for Kentucky builders to create jobs while ensuring Kentucky energy costs stay low.”

The report predicts that electricity rates in KY will rise and the percentage of our electricity that comes from burning coal will decline under either a do-nothing scenario or passage of the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. Natural gas is expected to displace some of the electricity that is now produced by coal under either scenario.

Synapse carried out the study for the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, a Berea based economic development organization, and the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, a coalition of over 50 businesses, affordable housing advocates, non-profit organizations and faith based groups.

Document

Fifteen KFTC members from across Kentucky, from Bowling Green to Whitesburg and Louisa to Louisville, gathered in Lexington to begin providing leadership for KFTC’s New Energy and Transition work, which includes our rural electric co-op reform, sustainable energy policy and organizing and Appalachian Transition campaigns.

KFTC’s Steering Committee decided earlier this year to more closely align these three projects, which have similar goals of promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, passing clean energy legislation, transitioning away from our dependence on coal, creating new jobs, and saving money for low-income families.

Most of the folks in the room had been involved with one of the three campaigns. Participants got an overview of all three and will have the chance to choose a workteam that focuses on one of the three.

“It was exciting to see these different areas of KFTC work for a better, more sustainable future brought together so that we could learn from each other and understand how so much of our efforts are interrelated,” said Mimi Pickering, a long-time KFTC member from Whitesburg. “I think this is going to be a great way to organize and build momentum for a transition away from coal mining and burning to renewable energy and a just and sustainable economy in eastern Kentucky.”

Members discussed trends, opportunities and challenges to achieving a clean energy vision. Among the trends was the growing acceptance of energy efficiency, even among utilities and politicians who support the coal industry. Renewable energy, on the other hand, won’t gain a foothold unless it’s connected with economic development, members said.

Among the opportunities discussed was the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, which does connect renewable energy with economic development by proposing a Renewable and Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) and a feed-in tariff that would create clean energy jobs and industries by requiring the state to meet benchmarks by a certain time. (Introduced in the Kentucky legislature in 2010 and 2011 by the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance, of which KFTC is a founding member, the bill has not passed but did get a favorable hearing in committee this year and will be re-introduced in 2012 with the hope of getting a vote).

A lack of public understanding of energy issues was listed as a challenge, as were Kentucky’s legislature and congressional delegation, which are reluctant to support anything they perceive might threaten the coal industry. Kentucky is behind surrounding states in passing legislation that encourages clean energy development and the jobs it would bring.

Members worked hard but also had fun getting to know each other and playing a game that focused on the “alphabet soup” of acronyms in the world of energy – such as "EE" for "energy efficiency" and "RE" for "renewable energy."

Adam Strobel Barr (pictured left, with wife Rae) first had the idea of putting solar panels on his farm when he learned that he would need to supply power to his farm’s pond to pump out irrigation to his crops.

“The first motivation for me getting this system is that it broke my heart to think about another power line running across the farm.”

And, electric costs are rising. The farm is served by Meade County Rural Electric Cooperative, which just saw a 30% increase in rates this year. With the help of grants from both the state and the county, Adam, his father and uncle installed a solar-powered irrigation pump on their family farm – Barr Farms - earlier this fall.

While these are the first solar panels they have installed on the farm, Adam and his wife, Rae Strobel Barr are no strangers to sustainable practices. They work hard to build healthy soil and reduce the farm’s carbon footprint by using small machinery and draft horses when possible. And, they use these practices as a marketing advantage when selling farm products, which include beef, chicken, eggs and vegetables, to a largely urban, environmentally-sensitive consumer base.

Adam was excited to show off the solar pump (pictured above) to his neighbors at the house party he hosted on November 13th, to benefit Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and Community Farm Alliance.

“I know that the sun is the greatest source of energy we have available to us,” he told 20 guests as they peeked inside the pump to see how it works. “Growing plants is the most efficient way to harness the sun’s energy and we just don’t yet know how to harness it well for other uses, but we’re getting there and I wanted to try this out – to know, does it work? Will it last?”

The pump should last for 20-30 years with minimum repairs and pump 3000 gallons per day even with some cloudy days mixed in, Strobel Barr said. It cost $7000, $1700 of which was supplied from money available for on-farm clean energy projects through the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy and $2500 of which came from the Meade County Agriculture Investment Program.

“When I was in Finland travelling, I noticed that everyone had solar panels – they were everywhere, powering part of all the electricity use you could see,” said Brandenburg resident Beverly Furnival.  She wondered why we don’t have more of these in Kentucky.

Guests also learned about how the geo-thermal heating and cooling system works at Adam’s father’s house, which is located on the farm.

The system’s installer – Chuck Dever of Dever Enterprises in Elizabethtown, KY (pictured right) – told guests that geo-thermal systems are both efficient and have a quick payback. When replacing propane or heating oil the payback time is as little as 4-5 years.

Dever installs the systems in homes of all kinds, including homes as small as 1000 square feet, noting that the average system costs about 1 to 1.5 cents per square foot. He said that through word of mouth Kentuckians are starting to catch on about what an economic bargain it is to heat and cool through geo-thermal.

“I put in the first geothermal system in Hardin County. That was more than 22 years ago. And now, business is booming. It had been increasing and then the federal tax credit really helped it to grow.”
At the end of the party, Adam and Rae asked guests to join KFTC and CFA and then facilitated a discussion about what issues people care about locally. Folks mentioned interest in garnering support for the Meade County farmer’s market and getting more farm-fresh food in area schools.

The group also discussed how advocating for state energy policies that support the growth of renewable energy, such as the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, could make the clean energy systems on Barr Farms more widespread. This bill is supported by both KFTC and CFA through their partnership in the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance.

“But what’s the grand vision? What can we do to change the world, to change our situation?” asked guest Roger Furnival.

“We want to use this conversation as a starting point for talking about sustainable energy in rural Kentucky…I believe everyone changes through a conversation, just like the one we are having tonight. It’s about citizen politics – regular people using their voices,” Adam replied.

Rae highlighted why she and Adam wanted to host a friend-raiser for KFTC and CFA.  She noted that they are interested both in building community in Meade County and connecting these local issues to the larger movements effected by KFTC and CFA’s work.

“Both organizations have been transformative for us because through them, we can have a voice in changing things we care about.”

If you live in Meade or Breckenridge counties and are interested in joining this local conversation, contact nancy@kftc.org.