Presenting at the 2019 Appalachian State Energy Summit

In all of its glory, the poster.

AT A GLANCE

Proud and exhausted all at once.

In July 2019, I got professional and presented some energy resilience insights at the Appalachian State University Energy Conference. My presentation, "A Tale of Two Storms," discussed the huge difference between recovery in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria versus recovery in Cuba after Hurricane Irma. Through visits to both of these islands with Vittoria Energy Expedition, I learned how distributed energy helped Cuba respond MUCH quicker than Puerto Rico where centralized energy caused the worst blackout in U.S. history, lasting for almost a YEAR in some places. An important insight into the future of the planet and renewable energy!

I even got to moderate the Campus Initiatives in Sustainability working group. The discussions were enriching and challenging!

MORE BACKGROUND

Islands are excellent case studies for disaster mitigation. Around storms, they are isolated from larger supply lines of fuel, food, and water. In the fall of 2017, the Caribbean saw two massive back-to-back storms. Hurricanes Irma and Maria were both Category 5 and affected densely populated areas. But there were stark contrasts in preparedness and response, especially with electricity. Because Puerto Rico fell short on both fronts, Hurricane Maria took a toll of around $100 billion and 3,000 lives--magnitudes more than what Irma was for Cuba.  

I'm in a grey suit. Source.

Two classmates and I explored the two storms through maps. We looked at storm paths, precipitation, wind speeds, and Doppler radar images. What shocked us was how similar the storm maps were. One of the most compelling maps we produced used before-and-after night time satellite imagery. We learned how to use Google Earth Engine to show how steady the lights were in the capital cities (Havana and San Juan). Those findings are on slide 8 of this older post.

Presenting to fellow participants and the general public.

With such similar storms, how could the costs be so different? Why was Puerto Rico’s power restoration timeline so much longer than Cuba’s? We found that it came down to distributed energy. After a devastating storm a decade earlier, Cuba decided to transition from centralized electricity to decentralized (or distributed). The government quickly installed diesel-electric generators all across the island. Even if transmission lines were severed, power losses would be localized and limited. 

Puerto Rico’s electricity was maintained by the utility, PREPA. The central grid was destroyed during the storm and electricity was out for many months. Transmission lines were cut and power generation facilities rendered inoperable. The slow restoration of electricity proved to be more deadly than the storm’s primary hit.

With a team at Vittoria Energy Expedition (an educational non-profit), I traveled to both Puerto Rico and Cuba to learn more about the different electricity systems. I interviewed power providers, communities, and government officials. I documented and mapped out what I learned.

Chatting with Amory Lovins of
the Rocky Mountain Institute.

On both islands, I learned how the people came to make do with limited equipment and use any resources at their disposal. But it was this ingenuity matched with effective government programs that made Cuba weathering Irma a success story. Neighboring islands and coastal communities can learn a lot from the King of the Caribbean in preparedness, resilience, and sustainability. 

Tale of Two Storms

Here's a project I did with some peers at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Asheville. It tells the story of how Cuba and Puerto Rico weathered two category 5 hurricanes--the contrast is stark. It was inspired by a November 2017 visit to Puerto Rico with Vittoria Energy Expedition.
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Turkey is Huge on Solar

Before the US and Turkey mutually cut off tourist visas, I got to spend 4 weeks in Turkey touring around with some amazing people. For 10 of those days, we were in the village of Ortahisar, home to an amazing rock castle. As you can see in the below video, I did a bunch of hiking in the nearby valley. It was a lovely time.

What I did not expect was to see SO MUCH SOLAR! I'm not talking about photovoltaics or PV, the panels that turn the sun's energy directly into electricity. These were solar hot water panels. They're generally larger than PV panels and don't have the metal conductor strips running through creating that classic grid look. In the image below, the solar hot water panel is on the left.

Source: Solarize Your World

In Ortahisar, we were perched up on a hill overlooking neighboring rooftops. A vast majority of them had these panels. In fact, every town I went to during my 4 week stay in Turkey had these panels sprinkled all across the skyline. In the video above, you'll see some amazing shots from a cable car in Alanya to give you an idea of how ubiquitous solar hot water is.

So I did some research and found that Turkey is a big leader the solar thermal market According to REN21, it is second only to China. Compared to the US, they have double the installed capacity (1.45 GW-thermal VS 0.6 GW). Go Turkey!

My hosts told me about how people put this solar energy to use. Most of their neighbors heat their water in the summer. When there is less sun in the winter, they go back to relying on more traditional--and expensive--methods like gas or electricity.

I reached out to a number of other innovative companies including Baymak, Solimpeks, and Ezinc. I wasn't able to arrange a visit but I can save that for next time, after this US-Turkey tourist visa fiasco is over.

Another Interesting Form of Energy--Poop!

This blog has largely centered around my exploration of different solar projects. Things as small as a miniature solar-powered row boat to an electric field in Maryland that stretches as far as the eye can see.

However, I'd like to take this opportunity to focus on another form of renewable and dare I say, clean energy. It's poop.

With my colleagues at Vittoria Energy Expedition, I went to visit the Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant in Miami, FL. I've actually wanted to visit one of these plants for a long time. During my 5 years in DC, I longed to go to Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant.  But alas, my full-time job and their STUPID schedule was visit-prohibitive and I left DC wondering...

But a couple of weeks ago, my dream came true.

I've got a much more flexible schedule now, Vittoria's got solid connections, and the good people working for Miami-Dade County were willing to organize a great tour of an enormous poop factory. Here are my big take-aways:

 - Don't through wipes down the toilet! All of our tour guides agreed that those things are a huge cause of blockage in the sewer systems (grease from restaurants is also really bad).
  - 33% of the electricity this poo-poo plant uses comes from the waste it processes! The plant requires electricity for lighting, temperature controls, pumping, etc. and it uses a lot.
 - Wastewater management is a huge deal, especially in Miami. The city will see an increase of both people and flooding in the next few decades.
- The plant is building up. We visited some of the super-important electronic controls and gases in the plant. All of these are being placed on foundations that are at least ten feet higher than the original systems built in the '50s. Miami is seeing a lot more storm surges and they can't afford to have one take out Central District Wastewater.

Check out more of the videos from our Florida Expedition on this sweet playlist!

Videos--The Way I Aim to Do Them

I recently filmed a kayaking trip with my brother and sister-in-law. It was to test out the Campark 4K Action Camera I purchased. However, I was really pleased with the flow of the video.

In fact, I liked it so much that I wish I had filmed all of my solar site visits like this. I wish all of my blog posts were like this.

I like the narration mixed in with the action/scenic shots. I think it does a much better job of telling the story than my videos where I either filmed a field of solar panels without any spoken commentary or recorded an interview with no supporting visuals or breaks in the back-and-forth.

I'm finally seeing the importance of having an attention grabbing format. When you look at a vlogger like Casey Neistat, he's working to grab your attention by changing the shot every 3-5 seconds, being super animated in his narration, choosing flashy music, and introducing concepts that make you feel like you're learning something new. If I could be anything like that--the clean energy version--I think I'd be doing the world a great service.

The funny thing is, I learned this 'format' lesson in way back in 2010 while teaching English in France. My first few days were painful for everyone. The 6-11 year olds that I was teaching got extremely tired of my listen and repeat method. The teachers nudged me to switch up the activities every 15 minutes or so.

By the end of the year, I was bouncing around from Simon Says to singing "We are the world" to mini conversations. I think I'm in that transition moment now with my online content generation.

One final point on format, you need good equipment. Everything I've been doing up until now has been on a cell phone. It's amazing what cell phones can do but when you compare the shots taken by a sports action camera or the sound quality of a Rode Videomic Pro, it's night and day. And I've watched enough videos to know how irritating it is to watch a grainy video where you can barely hear anyone. If you're cranking out videos, the only excuses you have for poor quality are as follows:

1. You (like me) are either too cheap or too poor to invest in good equipment. Not a good excuse.
2. The video you are shooting is a dramatic moment where you only had time to pull out a cell phone. For example, an earthquake, violence, street protest, or phenomena in the animal kingdom.

From this point on, the videos and writing you see from me will take this into account. In the meantime, here's a throwback to one of my favorite WheresTheSolar videos.

Hard Rock Punta Cana: Resorts and Clean Energy?

Hello, this is Andrew Polich and I'm down at the Hard Rock Resort in Punta Cana. It's got some amazing guitars, cars, and jewelry and I've never been to a resort this big. This place is huge! It sprawls about a half mile down the beach. And if you check it out on Google Maps, you'll see it's got more buildings and pools than you could shake a stick at.  It's an ant colony human vacation activity.

So why am I so interested in the size of Hard Rock Punta Cana? Well, as an energy blogger and proud team member of Vittoria Energy Expedition, I'm always wondering what people are using their energy for and where they're getting it from.

I've been chatting with the staff and they say they're about 3,000 employees strong. With guests, the total population can balloon to upwards of 7,000 people.

I'm staying in an enormous hotel building--I mean, check out the size of this place --and it's one of twelve. In this June heat, each building is constantly cranking out air conditioning and each restaurant and bar have cold drinks ready to go--and the Hard Rock boasts 9 restaurants.

Hard Rock is also using electricity for all the lights and noise.  This hotel's even got a fleet of electric golf carts running around the campus at all times for lazy tourists like me.

In terms of where Hard Rock is getting their energy, I don't know for sure but I'm betting it's fossil fuels. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Dominican Republic's electricity breakdown is 85% fossil fuel, 13% hydroelectric, and about 2% other renewables.

Resorts like Hard Rock are mini cities--remember, it can have 7,000 people running around during the busy season. If a place like this installed solar panels on its enormous building roofs, it could profoundly change energy demand in this region. And if other hotels and resorts that line the Dominican's beaches improved their energy production and consumption, they could change the country's energy profile.

In about a month, I'm going to be exploring energy projects in Cuba with my team at Vittoria Energy Expedition. Over the next decade or two, I imagine Cuba will be trending in the direction of the Dominican Republic and building out its tourist economy and resorts. Team Vittoria and I will be waiting to see if those resorts embrace the future.

The Paris Climate Agreement and What CNN and FOX Can Do to Save Humanity

I've been inundated with opinions on President Trump not signing onto the Paris Climate Agreement. It's in newspaper articles, late night talk shows, press releases, and Facebook rants.

This hoopla seems like the perfect opportunity for someone like me to chime in: I blog about renewable energy, can hear both sides in a political debate, like the city of Paris, and have spent my adult life working on big policy questions. 

Through all of the recent noise, I've pinpointed six important items. 

CHAPITRE UN--What Happened
President Trump traveled for a few weeks to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Vatican City, Brussels, and Sicily before returning to the US on May 27. During that time, he met with world leaders and promised a decision on the Paris Agreement--a non-binding agreement signed by the US in April 2016 and the vast majority of nearly 200 countries. On June 1, from the White House Rose Garden, he made this statement:

• ...in order to fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens, the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord...but begin negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or a really entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its taxpayers. So we’re getting out. But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great. And if we can’t, that’s fine. 

But it's not President Trump's announcement that deserves investigation. You can try to read between the lines but I think it's pretty straight forward. Also, this is in line with what he's been saying since the beginning of the campaign and it's no where near as colorful or forceful as some of the statements he's made on Islam, the wall, and healthcare. 

The response, on the other hand, has been somewhat of a circus to follow. And now, everyone's arguing at a deafening pitch. 

CHAPITRE DEUX--No Matter What, Cities are a Huge Deal Here
Cities around the globe are the innovators for the environment--new technology is being tested. If you want to talk about addressing climate change, these are the laboratories for new approaches to water way clean ups, slicker city planning, better energy consumption, and effective waste management. Cities house the big populations that put pressure on the environment but they're also the location of the universities, companies, and workers that can help reduce the burden.

Here's one way to think of how important cities are in this debate. As humans, we're concerned about our immediate environment. The future of the global climate is complex with many mechanisms and interrupting factors that make predictions difficult if not impossible. It's hard for many Americans to individually relate to global climate patterns and moreover, think of how we might manage them.

At a city level, however, we feel the impacts and feel more agency. In big cities like LA, we can clearly see how human activity is affecting water quality, air quality, forestation, and even the climate. Asphalt and windows heat up the cities' temperatures. Chicken crap and sewage make many of our streams unswimmable and undrinkable. The exhaust that our cars and trucks and trucks fart out lowers the air quality and gives a lot of city dwellers breathing problems. You'll find more people agreeing on these realities--and doing something about it--than on "global climate change".

Many cities outdate the nations in which they find themselves. Baltimore, my current stomping grounds, was founded in July of 1729. For you history majors out there, you know that's older than our great nation. In fact, our first president wasn't born until three years later, in 1732. Since 1729, Baltimoreons have been working their butts off to maintain an inhabitable environment: shoveling horse deuce from the streets, establishing parks for people to enjoy, replacing gas lamps with electric ones, and sifting trash out of the Inner Harbor. Americans could learn a lot from the 288 years of experience Baltimore has amassed.

From a politician's perspective, debating human effects on the environment are also much easier at the city level. If you're the Democratic mayor of South Bend, IN, using city funds to pay for a industrial site clean up or riverfront revitalization will have an immediate effect. Taxpayers can see their money at work and some might even enjoy it and re-elect you.

A Republican politician at the federal level from Florida or the Mississippi Delta region is similarly concerned about their cities. If water levels are off by even a thin margin, that poses a big problem to their way of life. And they'd sign onto federal legislation guaranteeing protection and funding for water projects in their backyards. However, why on earth would they support legislation that funds projects in South Bend that in no clear way benefits their voters? Present-day environmental legislation ends up being too sweeping or not immediately relevant to many federal legislators and their constituents.

Clearly, environmental politics at the city level are much more practical and relatable than the national or international levels. It's no surprise an agreement like the one in Paris might encounter a hold-up, such as the US pulling out.

CHAPITRE TROIS--This is a Great PR Opportunity for the Business World
Across the US, companies are making their voice heard on the Paris Agreement. 

Many Fortune 500 companies are signaling that they do not support President Trump's decision to back out. It's become the popular thing to do--Silicon Valley's biggest companies reacted immediately via press releases and tweets. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk and Disney's Bob Iger even left Trump's advisory council. 

But this should come as no surprise. By supporting Paris, these companies are branding themselves to masses that buy into the futuristic culture of renewable energy, green campuses, and environmentally 'friendly' products. Also remember that many of these companies have offices in Europe and across countries that firmly support the agreement. They're messaging to those bases as well. 

Furthermore, take the examples of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and even Amazon's Jeff Bezos. Like Zuckerberg, many Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs are Millennials--they grew up with a strong sense of environmentalism reinforced by school clean up programs, Captain Planet, An Inconvenient Truth, and politicians on TV debating the Kyoto Protocol. Bezos, born in '64 is a Gen Xer and was a young witness the founding of the EPA in 1970, the oil crisis of the mid '70s, and many large water clean ups like Lake Erie and the spontaneously combusting Cuyahoga River. For these guys, the Paris Agreement is right in line with the messaging their generations grew up with.

But this isn't every company profile. Many companies don't have offices in Europe or compete in the progressive Silicon Valley arena or believe that an environmentalist agreement will benefit their bottom line. To them, Trump's backing out represents protecting American jobs and maintaining America's independence from an overly bureaucratic international system. It's not surprising that such an agreement would seem menacing to US extractive, transport, and manufacturing industries. And to those that support the Agreement, these companies are scratching their heads wondering why so many people are opinionated about a document they haven't even read. These are far from radical positions in the American business community. Though Musk and Iger left, there are still 45 remaining C-suite members of Trump's advisory council. 

CHAPITRE QUATRE--Future of the Agreement
What happens next with the Paris Agreement? The US hasn't officially exited and even if we do, it won't happen until the next US Presidential Election and the Agreement can be re-drafted. Heck, look at Trump's wording above. 

And then there's Congress. Although they may give their opinions on the Agreement, it is not a treaty. As such, it does not require Senate ratification--it isn't in their jurisdiction. But if you are interestedin seeing what Congress is getting done, check out the hearings and legislation coming from the committees on Senate Environment and Public Works, House Natural Resources, or House Science, Space, and Technology. To those C-SPAN loyalists, I salute you.

In the interim, important global companies and governments (city, state, and national) will keep innovating and raising their environmental standards. Without a doubt, countries will reach an agreement on managing their environmental impacts. However, once we've achieved that, the next world-ending hot-button issue will rear its ugly head and humans will do their fire drill.

Which brings me to my favorite observation...

CHAPITRE CINQ--Future of the Climate Change Debate in America
We will continue to argue on everything from the most trivial to most consequential policies. And every time, it manages to feel like the end of the world. Fortunately, I don't see the world ending any time soon so let's exhale and consider the following.

In America, no side wants to concede on the climate change debate. It would be a political defeat. We're gonna be arguing about "Is climate change real?" long after the cows come home. The phrasing and goals of this debate need to change or else we're going to continue to gridlock. 

Here's an analogy. Let's say you're managing an employee and didn't properly onboard him. He had great potential so you gave him the tall order of "fixing the company". Every time he wanted guidance and specifics, you kept it vague and overwhelming. So, he's become somewhat of a turd in your back pocket. Now, he aggressively hits on all of his female colleagues, doesn't finish his work on time, and has threatened to burn the office to the ground. He's become a polarizing figure in the workplace. Either way, he's a menace to the future of the company. This employee's name is "Harold ClimateChangeDebate". It's time to get rid of Harold and hire someone new. 

So you've decided to hire "Sabrina LetsJustGetShitDone". During her onboarding process, you're specific with Ms. LetsGetShitDone about what needs to be done. You tell her you're not looking to fix the whole company, instead, you want to use her skills to make targeted changes here and there. When you present her to her colleagues, they find her a lot more approachable.

Sabrina lives up to her family name and is able to achieve targeted goals. In the end, these goals add up to an overhaul of the company and everyone lives happily ever after with pay raises and a better work space.
   
That's my analogy. If it wasn't clear enough, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should spend less energy debating climate change and more energy getting shit done. I don't care what you call it. In fact, instead of climate change we should either adopt another name (like the "Viable Human Habitat" debate or "The Earth Enhancement" debate) or debate individual components separately (transport, industry, agriculture, oceans, rivers, forests, etc.). 

The problem is, I know it's fun for news agencies to go around surveying people about their stance on climate change. I also know it's fun to judge people instantly if they say they're either for or against something. Sure makes my life easier. But perhaps we could retire such bad habits from this debate and transplant them onto something new that we also like to argue about, like dogs vs. cats or powerboats vs. sailboats. What a wonderful world this would be if we could get FOX and CNN to dedicate their unending news cycles to interviewing incoherent pet or boat owners and extrapolating on how those divisions are leading to America's demise.  

CHAPITRE SIX--Future of Humanity
The Paris Agreement is a consequential agreement and has the power to positively change our lives and planet. But even if we became perfect environmentalists tomorrow, humanity would see changes in weather patterns and climate. It's going to happen and you can quote me on that. It will affect things like our air, water, crops, and general livability of our cities. Because Earth is a dynamic environment, we have to find solutions to address these issues. Again, it's often easier to do that on the local level.

With regard to Earth's climate, we must understand that there is a narrow niche that we can live in (not 150F or -50F, not hurricane force winds and limited fresh water). So let's pray that Earth doesn't change too drastically. If it does, we've got a few options. Here are some of the cooler ones I could think of: 

1. Move populations somewhere inhabitable like geodesic biospheres or other planets once we've worked out the kinks of bending the fabric of space time. Or perhaps, that might just mean moving billions of people to Canada;
2. Embrace climate-altering geo-engineering like the people at Intellectual Ventures. We have the power to stop hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico by changing water temperatures with buoys or cool Earth's temperatures by mirroring the suns rays. Obviously, these come with enormous consequences and might be best accomplished by a rogue group but they appeal to our epic side; 
3. And alter human genetics to make us more resilient to harsh climates. Even if we don't do well with extreme change, other species on Earth do. Perhaps we can mimic some of them and develop super humans--half rat genetics, half cockroach, and all ugly. 

Of course, there are things that can alter the Earth's climate like asteroids and calderas that are out of our control. But for what we can control, why not make our presence leaner and more efficient. 

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In conclusion, the Paris Climate Agreement has shown me that we're at the teenage stage in our relationship with Mother Earth. We've grown up fast--in the last couple hundred of years, we've built populations, skyscrapers, and weapons bigger and better than ever before. With this growth, we've also become extremely volatile and hormonal. If we don't pay some respect, she's still our mother and can smack us down with harsher living situations.

But we're reaching the stage of young adulthood. As a species, we're learning through our powers of observation that we can't just run around yelling and punching things. We need to present a better face if we want to keep our job at the restaurant. We're also more coordinated than our lanky, teenage self. All the different parts--from Asia to the Americas--are in better and more constant communication. 

The noise following Paris actually gives me hope that we'll be smarter, more humble, and less at odds with Mother Earth.  

Solar Golf Cart in Puerto Rico

I want to tell you about a lovely vacation I had with my mom in Puerto Rico. I decided I needed some time to decompress between finishing up 5 years at the US Institute of Peace and starting a new job at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development. Puerto Rico was an easy-access and affordable solution.

During our Oct. 22 to Oct. 27 visit, we stayed in Old San Juan and toured a number of coastal towns, the Bacardi Factory, the Arecibo Observatory, El Yunque National Forest, and El Morro Fort. Each of these visits had a clean energy component. Below are some of the more notable ones.

My mom posing in front of the 1960s conceptual bat pavilion with one
of the wind turbines looming in the background

The Bacardi Factory had two wind turbines owned and maintained by Aspenall Energies (Powertechnology.com). You can see easily see the wind turbines from Old San Juan. However, the tour was a bit expensive and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're able to trick other visitors out of their drink tokens. The drinks weren't bad. I had a Bacardi Sunrise and my mom had the Daiquiri.

Smaller buildings might follow the solar trend of larger building in
Old San Juan. The orange star is our hotel, El Convento.

From the roof of our hotel, El Convento, we could see a number of solar hot water heaters, much like the first photo in my recent Dominican Republic post. What I wasn't able to see from the hotel roof were some of the installations on larger buildings. Check out the solar on the Ballajá Barracks (top left) and the Departamento de Hacienda (bottom right). Let's see if these big buildings are trend setters for the smaller ones and I'll check back in on Google Maps in another year or so.

Solar panel on top with the
480 year-old Fort behind

My biggest solar interaction was at El Morro Fort. It was also the best tour. The Fort is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS)--the best tour guides on planet earth--and as we were walking up for our tour, an NPS golf cart with a solar panel drove by. I ran up to it and the park ranger was kind enough to give me some information. He showed me the 8 Powertron batteries under the front seat and the electric motor in the back. I didn't get a good look at the panel on the golf cart but I imagine it was around 300 watts.

NPS collaborates a lot with the Energy Department and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). These solar golf carts fall in line with number of other clean energy NPS initiatives including solar panels on Alcatraz, energy-efficient buildings in Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks, and Hybrid vehicles in the Tetons (NREL.gov). Puerto Rico, like the 50 states, visibly benefits from these US Government services. As much and as right as we are to complain about government waste and inefficiencies, we should not be blind to the positive impact these can have on our parks, cities, and overall population.

One thing that struck me most during this vacation was the contrast between Puerto Rico, a US territory and the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic. Although the islands are merely 70 miles apart and majority Spanish-speaking, here are some of the problems I noticed in the DR and didn't see in Puerto Rico: piles of litter and trash in the streets, a pronounced gap between the rich and the poor that manifested itself in constant and aggressive begging, and frequent power outages. I believe these issues point not just to a difference in culture, but a difference in governance.

I'm excited to have a third Caribbean territory to add to my cultural and clean energy considerations--Cuba. My Vittoria Energy Expedition teammates and I are in the final stages of planning Expedition Cuba. We built the boat over the course of the summer and fall, provided dozens of groups with tours of our clean energy vessel, built @vittoriaenergy up a social media, and mapped out our route. Although Cuba is in the same Caribbean neighborhood and I've studied its energy situation extensively, I believe my expedition there will be the most eye-opening and educational.

Solar Visit to San Francisco: West Coast is the Best Coast

Solar homes just north of Berkeley 

My friend Valerie got married in Walnut Creek, just northeast of San Francisco on September 24, 2016. I was out there first and foremost for the wedding and to collect some Kuli Kuli merchandise. However, I never let a solar opportunity pass me up and there were plenty in California.

Above is the solar-powered MLK Student Union

As I was driving up from the San Jose Airport to downtown San Francisco, I almost stopped five times on Highway 101 to photo-document some of the amazing solar installations. However, it was a rental car and I needed to get accustomed to California drivers.

Solar cells integrated into the glass roof 
of  CA's Academy of Sciences 
provided some much needed shade

Once I made it to San Francisco, I got to go visit the Mission district, chill in Dolores Park, and go to Valerie's rehearsal dinner in Alameda. No solar but a lot of fun.

The next day, I went with my friend, Jaime, to Berkeley's campus. When we ascended the Safer Tower to get a view of the university, I realized just how much solar there was around Berkeley. From nearly every direction you looked out from the tower, there were residential and commercial solar installations. Jaime was interested in the overall view but once I began pointing the panels out, we were competing to spot the next installation.

The morning after the wedding, we decided to go to Golden Gate Park. There, we walked along the greens, visited the botanical gardens, and stopped by the California Academy of Sciences. Although I loved everything, the Academy of Sciences stood out because of its green roof and solar panels. These were integrated solar cells--a lot like what I saw at the National Academy of Sciences over a year and a half ago.

Click on this to see the cluster of homes

My final moments in San Francisco were spent at Golden Gate Heights Park overlooking the Sunset District. I saw a lot of solar homes but was elated to see 24,000 solar panels under the setting sun. This is the Sunset Reservoir Solar Project, an enormous project 5 Megawatts big--that's enough to power 820 American homes according to SEIA's calculations. Check out the photos below.

The amazing Sunset Reservoir Solar Project

In conclusion, Valerie's wedding was great and I saw a lot of solar. My humble opinion is that I should get paid to visit solar installations. I don't know how I'm going to go about finding the funders, but a boy can dream.

Opportunities and Challenges for Solar in the Dominican Republic

My only solar photo is of a rusty solar water 
heater. Brilliant.

I was in the Dominican Republic for a lovely, September 4 wedding. Of course, my main focus was the wedding but I was also able to incorporate solar. I had a number of questions in mind: Where is the existing solar? Where could solar be plugged in that it's not? Where is electricity lacking? Where is the demand! I'm glad to report that I found some answers.

Solar
I visited a bunch of the island including the cities of Puerto Plata, Sosua, Santo Domingo, La Romana, Punta Cana, and Bavaro. The most solar I saw was in Santiago. There were a number of covered parking areas and commercial spaces covered with solar panels. I didn't get any photos of the photo-voltaic systems so you're going to have to trust me on their existence. To the right, there's a photo of one of the solar water heaters. 

My trip across the DR--plenty of opportunity for solar spotting. A special 
thanks to Marien Perez, who drove me from Punta Cana to Santiago

I traveled back and forth from Santiago to Punta Cana and back to Sosua (left). To give you an idea, it was 250 miles from Punta Cana to Sosua alone. In the rural areas between cities, I noticed a lot of single solar panel installations (probably powering the lights in homes). However, I was disappointed that I didn't see any large-scale solar farms along the highway. My friends tell me that there is a big solar installation in Monte Plata--the biggest in the Caribbean. Next time.

I imagine in the years to come, the Dominican Republic will be going a lot more solar. They've got a lot of space and a shortage of energy as I will discuss below.

Energy Efficiency
It seemed that every building I entered was equipped with Compact Fluorescent Light-bulbs (CFLs). One example was the Alta Gracia Free Trade Zone I visited. They make tee-shirts and sweatshirts for American universities. In addition to good salaries, employees enjoy a work environment illuminated by CFLs. Although it costs more up front, a CFL can last 5 to 10 times your average incandescent light-bulb and it uses about 75 percent less energy than a traditional light bulb (EarthFriends). That's pretty good motivation for Dominicans looking to save money on electricity.

CFLs illuminate the Alta Gracia Free Trade Zone

In addition to CFLs, most of the places I stayed relied on ceiling fans instead of air conditioning. It's not as comfortable as AC, especially if you're in 90 degree heat, but it's very doable. Fans can moderate room temperatures for a fraction of the cost of AC. In fact, a ceiling fan isn't much more in cost than a 60 watt incandescent light-bulb. To give you a sense of the commitment to fans, as I was leaving the country, the main hall of the Puerto Plata Airport was ventilated by a 14 foot diameter Big Ass Fan. 

Energy efficiency is a big deal in the Dominican Republic because energy isn't cheap and isn't always available. During my stay, I learned that in many areas, electricity is cut regularly during the days. The fancier buildings can afford diesel generators to fill the electricity gaps--but these are noisy, smelly, and expensive.

A rural house in Constanza, DR with corrugated tin roof. Photo credit: 
my Airbnb  host in Santiago, Ryan Bowen

My Recommendations

If you're looking to install solar in the Dominican Republic, I'd recommend a few things. 

First, make sure your panels can be installed on corrugated tin roofs. Many of the rural residences are made of this material. Be sure about how much weight it can bare and what it will take to secure the panels from blowing away in a strong wind. 

Second, consider approaching the many resorts. The Dominican Republic has an enormous tourism industry. Each one of these resorts draws a huge amount of energy and if you play it right, you could be a big energy provider. One way in particular would be golf cart charging stations. Golf carts are by far the most popular way to get around and a covered charging station could provide shade, reliable electricity, and eco-tourism.

Third, if you can produce a solar-powered water purification unit that is affordable and easy to use, you could dominate the market. No one--not even the locals--drinks the tap water. Think of how much that adds up to in bottled water...people would be willing to pay good money for an alternative. One group I would recommend collaborating with is Litro de Luz. My Airbnb host in Santiago works with them and I'd be happy to put you in touch. 

Fourth, empty lots. There were a lot of empty lots in the cities if you could figure out a deal with the cities and utility company to use this land for a commercial solar farm, you could sell electricity back to the grid or to neighboring businesses and residences. Of the four options, this would probably be the most bureaucratic.

In conclusion, the Dominican was an eye-opening experience and I got to see a lot of different sides to the society. I'm excited to plug in this experience to my upcoming voyage to Cuba with Vittoria Energy Expedition.

Coffee Conversation about Asheville Solar

On August 12, I was down in Asheville, NC visiting my brother and sister-in-law. While they were finishing up their Fridays at work, I met with one of their guitar-playing, Ultimate Frisbee friends. He works for a solar company that installs panels for homes and businesses around North Carolina.

We spoke for an hour in the Green Sage Cafe (downtown Asheville). We covered everything from the company's history to Power Purchase Agreements to how North and South Carolina compare on solar.

My coffee date was extremely knowledgeable--he's been with his company for 5 years--and taught me a lot about the ins and outs of the solar industry in North Carolina.

We focused particularly on how business ebbs and flows with legislation. A couple years ago, I read that North Carolina was third in the country for solar installations. He told me all about how this came and went because of State Tax Credits--incentives that North Carolina put in place for solar a few years ago but that recently expired. Selling solar in North Carolina was hot and now it's not. In fact, he told me he went from selling to 1 out of every 7 potential customers to 1 out of every 25.

Eventually, I'm looking to support a solar company but I would prefer to handle communications or policy. This is an option in larger companies but Small and Medium-sized Enterprises like ones in North Carolina hire people that can sell or install panels. It's a growing industry but difficult route I've chosen. This is what conversations with salesmen like this remind me of.

How to Solarize Your Sailboat

On August 7, I saw this sleek looking sailboat with solar

strips by St. Mary's College of Maryland

For the last few months, I've been spending my nights and weekends thinking of ways to incorporate solar panels on a sailboat and it's not as easy as you might think. 

The solar has to blend into all of the moving parts. The sails and ropes are constantly moving back and forth across the deck. Anything that gets in the way of their powerful movements will be ripped off and damage the boat.

The elements also want to destroy your expensive panels. Think of tropical storm category waves and wind--they could easily tear off a panel. 

In addition to the equipment and the elements, you have to consider the movement of the crew. Panels could cause serious injury. If a panel is poorly placed, a sailor could easily fall onto its sharp corner and go overboard. 

This boat with 3 solar panels and wind turbine

is moored in the Gangplank Marina in SW DC

I took the picture above right after the 2016 St. Mary's Governor's Cup of a boat that has found a way to integrate solar strips on top of the cabin and keep them out of the way of the sails and sailors. Though these strips are space-efficient, they don't produce that much electricity. I generously estimate that these six 3-foot long strips could produce a maximum of 240 watts at any given time. Remember that one incandescent light bulb is 60 watts.

To get a better idea of how little usable room there is for solar on a sailboat, look right. This picture is of a 35' sailboat. That's a boat that could easily sleep 6 people and it probably weighs 11,000 pounds. For all intents and purposes, it's a yacht. However, you will see that it's only able to accommodate three small panels. They could power some on-board equipment such as lights and a small fan but nothing like navigation equipment or an electric motor. This boat relies on its diesel engine to produce the power it needs.

At Vittoria Energy Expedition, we're working on safely powering a boat to sail to Cuba in the Fall of 2016. We have mounted two 260 watt panels on a super-structure on the stern (back) of the boat. This structure was constructed from aluminum tubing that we welded to fit our boat. It's positioned far enough back that it doesn't interfere with our team's movement, ropes, cables, or sails.

In addition to the two big panels on the back, we have two more angled off the sides of the cabin. These will see a lot less sun but are easy to remove in case of a storm or damage.


Finally, we will be adding a 450 watt wind turbine off of the stern (port side).

All of this energy is stored in a bank of batteries in the hull of the boat. The bank weighs over 500 pounds and requires monitoring and charge controlling--we have to make sure that the electricity the panels create and that our equipment draws interacts with the batteries at the same voltage. Otherwise, the batteries damage and we're left on the high seas with a lot of extra weight and zero power.

In terms of meeting our boat's energy demand, at their best, these panels can generate 1 kilowatt of energy per hour. During the Caribbean Fall, there will be just under 12 hours of sunlight--enough to power the lights, fans, cell phones, navigation equipment, and electric motor on the boat.

Me and Vittoria teammate Chad Johnson after completing our
support structure and solar install (not pictured, Nate Sermonis)

Our boat has more clean energy than most. This extravagant solar array is for demonstration as much as it is for energy needs. Our mission as a 501(c)3 is to educate the American public about clean energy. What better way than a sailboat--a floating classroom that already harnesses the power of the wind. With the right conditions, Vittoria could operate indefinitely, an infinity machine.

To learn more about our project, check out www.vittoriaenergy.org or email me at andrew@vittoriaenergy.org.

Five Easy Steps To Going Solar

In late April, I was contacted by an employee at Modernize.com. He told me that they've recently written on clean energy for The Huffington Post, About.com, and even Time Magazine. He wanted to provide some basic and awesome content for my readers as well. He told me that if I posted it on my site, he would send it around to Modernize.com followers (they have over 5,000 on Twitter)! Here's the post and I hope you enjoy my accompanying sketches.

Installing residential solar panels used to be far too expensive for the average homeowner to consider. However, since 2006 and the implementation of the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), the price of solar equipment and installations has fallen by more than 73 percent, allowing nearly  800,000 businesses and homes to convert to solar power. If you want to set up a solar system on your home, you have a lot of important decisions to make—here are 5 easy steps from Modernize to help you make the transition.

1. Home Energy Audit

Energy efficiency and solar power go hand in hand, and the less energy efficient your home, the more solar panels will have to be installed in order to meet your power demands. Ensure that you keep costs down and don’t purchase a larger system than you actually need by opting to have a professional home energy assessor audit your home for energy deficiencies. For roughly $300 to $500, an auditor can identify hidden leaks in your home, saving you up to 30 percent on your heating and cooling alone. Considering that space heating makes up 42 percent of the average home energy use, that translates into hundreds of dollars saved each year!

      The auditor will also assess how energy efficient your major appliances are and offer suggestions on ways they can be improved. Replacing these older appliances with ones that have an excellent rating from Energy Star will be another worthy step to take before talking to a solar professional. Better yet, opt for appliances that are solely powered by the sun, like solar water heaters or solar refrigerators, to completely remove their pull from your main solar panel network.

2. Solar Energy Design Specialist Evaluation

Once your home is as energy efficient as possible, it is a good idea to have solar professional come and evaluate how compatible your home will be for a photovoltaic system. These design specialists will analyze your home’s orientation to the sun, the pitch of your roof, and how easily they can perform the installation due to your roofing material. You will need to have looked over your energy bill history before this appointment so that can tell them what your current kilowatt usage is. A general rule to keep in mind is that since most homes use roughly 2,000 to 6,000 watts, you should expect to need roughly 200 to 600 square feet of roof space to adequately generate enough energy. If your solar professional suggests a solar power system that is drastically divergent from these figures, then you should get a second opinion. When the analysis has been completed, you’ll have a good estimate for just how much this renovation will cost.

3. Call Your Power Company and Realtor

Depending on where you live, some utility companies are willing to buy any excess energy that you generate with your home’s solar panels through net metering. When you talk to them, find out what their current rates are and what steps you will need to take in order to participate in this program.

      It is also advisable to contact a local realtor who can evaluate how adding solar power to your home will impact your property value. Some homeowners have seen their property value increase enough to recover almost 97 percent of their renovation expense!

4. State and Federal Incentives

The ITC provides homeowners with a 30 percent return on their solar investment in the form of a tax credit until the end of 2019. That means that if your total renovation is projected to cost $25,000, you will receive an additional $7,500 on your next tax return. This money can certainly help make your initial investment a far more attainable expense.

      Most local and state governments also have some form of incentivization depending on the system you install. To find out what is available for your area, visit the database of state incentives.

5. Purchase or Lease

Now that you have all the important information for how adding solar power will impact your home expenses, it is time to determine your cumulative return on investment (ROI). If you determine your ROI to be worth the renovation expense, then contact your solar professional and have them finalize your designs. But if your ROI bottom line is too great, does this mean that you have to completely give up on solar power? Not necessarily. Many solar companies have a lease option available for homeowners which might be a viable option for you.

      At the end of the day, it will take a lot of research and effort to make your dreams of having a solar powered home come true, but the reward of having a home that takes care of its own power needs will be well worth it

What People are Saying about Solar in DC

My Vittoria colleague, Chad Johnson, and I walked around the Shaw neighborhood in DC. We're super passionate about solar and know a thing or two but we want to see what others think. Some of these responses to our interview questions are priceless!

And here's a little bit more about Vittoria Energy Expedition. It's a mission to educate American people and businesses about clean energy projects in frontier markets. Here is our Indiegogo fundraising page  and some of our videos. 

I will be sailing with a crew of 5 to our first of many destinations, Cuba. During this early-August expedition, we will visit 15 different clean energy generation facilities--wind, solar, biomass, and dams--and interview locals about their energy challenges. Cuba presents a fascinating energy case study because of its grid isolation as an island, warming relationship with the US, role as the "King of the Caribbean", and reliance on volatile Venezuelan crude.

We had a launch party with 300 people in attendance on May 21 and right now, we're in the fundraising stage of our campaign. Money we raise will go to clean energy classes we will be offering in Washington DC-area, film production of our visits to the energy sites--ultimately resulting in a documentary, content development for distance learners, and detailed online mapping and analysis.

We will directly educate hundreds of people in this initial voyage and in-person courses. In addition, our online materials will be pushed out to thousands over social media. We're hoping it goes viral!