Category Archives: News

6/12 – Pennsylvania DEP Announces $20 Million for CNG Vehicle Conversion

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Tuesday, June 12th 2012

From State Impact Pennsylvania

“Penn­syl­va­nia is hand­ing out money for nat­ural gas-fueled vehi­cle devel­op­ment, and the Depart­ment of Envi­ron­men­tal Pro­tec­tion wants you to know about it.

The new impact fee law, Act 13, pro­vides $20 mil­lion in grants for pur­chas­ing nat­ural gas-fueled vehi­cles, or con­vert­ing cars and trucks so they run on com­pressed nat­ural gas, or CNG. The money will only go to local gov­ern­ments, non­profit groups, or state-related or owned uni­ver­si­ties — you can’t apply for a grant to pur­chase a new fam­ily car.

 DEP has set up a web­site with infor­ma­tion about the grant pro­gram. The por­tal says the agency will hold forums on nat­ural gas-fueled vehi­cles over the com­ing months.”

Read more…

6/6 – Smart Energy Initiative Thanks Volunteers for 2011-2012 Project Year

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Wednesday, June 6th 2012 

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Smart Energy Initiative joined the other four Chester County-based Industry Partnerships, the Hire One Initiative and the ideas x innovation network (i2n) in thanking it’s volunteers from the Board, Working Groups, Committees, and youth events on June 6th at Penn State Great Valley.

Thanks to our volunteers!

AFC First ICF International
All4 Inc. Infinite Solar
ARB Geowell KC Green Energy
Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. Keare’s Electrical Contracting
Ben Franklin Technologies MacDonald Electric
BL Myers Bros. Main Line Lighting
Blue Star Energy Services The Mark Group
BMS Consultants, Inc. Mercury Solar
Brandywine Valley Heating & Air Conditioning Mountain Home Services
Bucks County CareerLink Orange Energy Solutions
Bucks County Workforce Investment Board PA CareerLink
Chester County DCD PECO Energy
Chester County Intermediate Unit Penn State Abbington
Carpenter’s Joint Apprentice Committee Philadelphia WIB
DES Global, LLC Phoenixlink Solar
DiBiase Heating & Cooling PJM
Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Council Practical Energy
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Practical Energy Solutions
Dynamic Solar Rushforth Solar
Energy Coordinating Agency The Reinvestment Fund
Ecocentric Energy Solutions Schramm, Inc.
Edward Powell Pump & Well Drilling Sensible Technical Solutions
Elderedge Geothermal Sinton AC & Heating Inc.
U.S. Department of Commerce Siemens
Energy Efficient Homes Team Solar Soleil
Energy Smarts NJ Solar Terrain
EOS Solar Southeast Pennsylvania WIBs
Forte Associates, Inc. Standard Solar
Fresconi Builders Sun to Sun
Gamesa SunPower Builders
Garry’s Plumbing Sustainable Development Fund
Global Emissions Exchange This Leaky House
Green and Save Touchstone Construction
Green Energy Technology Corp. U.S. Department of Commerce
GreenPointe Energy Viridity
Harmony Property Management Weston Solutions
Hometown Green Worley & Obetz, Inc.

5/25 – Ever Wonder What Energy Costs Right Now?

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Friday, May 25th 2012

Ever wonder what the cost of energy is at this very moment? Valley Forge-based PJM (whose grid covers much of Southeastern Pennsylvania) has a new tool allowing consumers to monitor real time energy pricing, thereby encouraging the shifting of energy-intensive activities to less expensive times of the day and leveling demand and electricity prices.

Bookmark the Electricity Price Ticker now and check back at different times of the day and as the weather warms this weekend. To convert $/MWh to cents/kWh simply divide the number by 10. Remember this is only the generation portion of your total electricity price.

Click to see real-time energy pricing from PJM

5/21 – BP Breaks Ground on Pennsylvania’s 2nd Largest Wind Farm

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Monday, May 21st 2012

BP has officially begun construction of the 141MW Mehoopany wind project in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, west of Scranton. When commissioned (probably early 2013) the project will consist of 88 1.6MW turbines, producing enough clean energy to power 40,000 homes. The project will create 250 jobs during the construction and commissioning phases.

The costs are around $2.00 per megawatt, making the energy produced cost-competitive despite a record low natural gas prices.

For more information click here (via citizensvoice.com)

 

5/4 – Advanced PV Design & Installation Training Scheduled in June

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Friday, May 4th 2012

Infinite Solar (Philadelphia) is hosting Advanced PV: Techniques and Certification Exam Preparation from June 25th to June 29th. From their website:

“This 5-day course will cover the subject matter that most frequently appears on the Full NABCEP Installers Certification Exam. The Exam will take place on September 22nd and this course will act as both a refresher and provide you with valuable study resources to ensure you earn this valuable certification before the education requirements to sit for the test are increased.

This class will be taught by IREC Master Trainer Ken Thames. Ken is a veteran of the industry with a PV instructional experience spanning 7 years and a solar electric business going back even further. He is one of the nation’s foremost experts in solar PV battery backup systems and will soon publish a solar PV textbook that is expected to become an indispensible resource for students across the country.”

It is strongly recommended that attendees complete the entry-level, 40 hour NABCEP course before enrolling in the Advanced course.

Click here for more info. If you are interested in attending please contact us regarding grant funding to help offset the costs.

4/26 – SEI’s 2nd Annual Smart Energy Tour a Success

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Thursday, April 26th 2012

The Smart Energy Initiative hosted the second annual Smart Energy Tour (SET)  on Saturday, April 21st at the Downingtown STEM Academy. 21 students and about a dozen parents attended the career-oriented sessions on the efficiency, geothermal, solar and biofuels industries. All presenters are members of our industry-respective Working Groups.

Special thanks to presenters from This Leaky House (efficiency), Sinton Air Conditioning & Heating Inc. (geothermal), Waste Oil Recyclers (biofuels), and Alternative Energy, Inc. (solar).

4/19 – John Hanger presents on Marcellus Shale at the CCEDC

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Thursday, April 19th 2012

John Hanger, former PUC Chairman and Secretary of Pennsylvania DEP, presented on Thursday morning to a group of 80+ at the Chester County Economic Development Council. John’s presentation covered national energy trends including booms in renewable energy and natural gas development, and weighed economic benefits with the environmental impacts of further development of the Marcellus Shale region.

The event was covered in the Daily Local News.

Click here to download John’s presentation: John Hanger – Smart Energy Initiative – April 19, 2012

We’d like to thank Mr. Hanger for presenting at the Smart Energy Initiative. If you we’re unable to attend this morning, we hope to have John return in 2013.

Special thanks to our event sponsors Gawthrop Greenwood and Alternative Energy Inc.

4/10 – Neighboring New Jersey Now Boasting World’s Largest Rooftop PV System

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Tuesday, April 21st 2012

Taking advantage of progressive subsidies, the Cloucester Marine Terminal’s new 9 MW rooftop solar PV array has 27,526 panels and it’s own name: Riverside Renewable Energy, LLC.

“The Riverside project is an outstanding example of how we can create jobs that move us towards cleaner, more efficient and cost-saving energy that doesn’t come from overseas,” said Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ).  “By partnering with the federal government, private industry is able to make strides that are good for job creation and the economy right now, and also for a cleaner, healthier and more energy efficient future here in South Jersey and the country.”

Source: Clean Technica