Join SES at Thousand Oaks Arbor Day Saturday, April 30, 2011!!

Solar Electrical Systems will be at Thousand Oaks Arbor Day Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Conejo Creek Park North. The event is from 11:00am to 4:00pm.

This exciting community event will bring together more than 100 vendors and exhibitors, animal shows, children’s hands-on activities, mobile marine lab, entertainment, eco-friendly vehicles (Solar Prius, and from Honda, Audi, BMW and Fiat), tree and plant giveaways, and so much more!

New this year:
Glenn Garvin Memorial Bike Rodeo.  This fun and educational event will include activities for the whole family! There will be a “mock city” for young riders to navigate and practice safety techniques, and ramps for mountain bike riders to practice safe jumping. There is even a rock wall for the more adventurous. Every child that participates will receive a free bike helmet!   And then they can go over to the PAUSE4kids Art-a-thon and make cool bike decorations out of recycled materials.

The Annual Arbor Earth Day is a free community event presented by the City of Thousand Oaks and Conejo Recreation and Park District. The purpose of the event if to promote a healthy, prosperous and sustainable environment by highlighting planet-friendly activities, services and products. Learn to “Go Green” in a fun, family atmosphere. There is something for everyone!

 

Southern California Edison to Purchase Power from SCE Retail Customers Through “CREST Program”

 

Under California’s Assembly Bill (AB) 1969 and Senate Bill (SB) 380, as implemented by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Southern California Edison Company (SCE) will purchase power from SCE retail customers who own and operate an eligible renewable generator with a total effective generation capacity of not more than 1.5 megawatts (MW). The CPUC envisions “a simple and streamlined mechanism for certain generators to sell electricity to the utility without complex negotiations and delays”.

 

Once a qualifying customer and SCE execute a power purchase agreement (PPA) and the customer interconnects to SCE’s grid, SCE will pay for either the total or the excess energy the customer generates (customer’s choice). Two agreements are available: CREST Full Buy/Sell, and CREST Excess.

 

For a customer who chooses the full buy/sell agreement, SCE buys all of the generation (net of station use) from the renewable generator, and sells the customer all the electricity used at the site under its existing tariff. For a customer who chooses the excess agreement, the customer uses the generated electricity first to meet its on-site electrical load, and SCE purchases any power that is exported to the grid (“excess”).

 

Service under this Schedule is on a first-come-first-served basis and will be closed to new customers once the total rated generating capacity of Eligible Renewable Generating Facilities within SCE’s service territory reaches 247.690 MW, which is SCE’s allocated share of the 500 MW statewide cap.

 

For the SCE Crest Program FAQ’s click here.

 

 

Designs for Healthy Living Showcase! Saturday, March 12, 2011

Designs for Healthy Living

Solar Electrical Systems is participating in the Designs for Healthy Living Showcase Saturday, March 12, 2011 at California Lutheran University. The event is from 10:00am to 3:00pm.
This exciting community event will bring together local businesses, schools, organizations and families to celebrate the principles of healthy living.

The Designs for Healthy Living Showcase and Gala is a one-day event that will feature healthy living choices, environmental awareness, balanced lifestyle and entertaining ideas. Local speakers will bring to light new topics inspiring healthy eating and lifestyle habits, and will provide mini workshops and demonstrations. The mission is to educate our community on healthy eating, wellness, and environmental habits which will lead to lasting change, and they are committed to improving the health and well being of children and future generation. A percentage of the proceeds will directly benefit Casa Pacifica. As part of our Showcase and Gala, there will be a Healthy Living School Challenge, which will allow local schools to compete for an education grant. Let’s celebrate our healthy learning together as a community!

For tickets and more information click here.

Learn More About Solar and How it Works

PV Education is a collection of resources for the photovoltaic educator.

As solar cell manufacturing continues to grow at a record-setting pace, increasing demands are placed on universities to educate students on both the practical and theoretical aspects of photovoltaics. As a truly interdisciplinary field, young professionals must be fluent with the science, engineering, policy, and market dimensions of this technology, in the context of a growing renewable energy economy.

This site was developed as a result of a photovoltaic education workshop held at Boston in June 2008. It provides resources for educating the next generation of photovoltaic professionals.

This site allows you learn about solar cell operation, properties of sunlight, module structure and materials, interconnection and so much more. Check out PV Education today!!

Federal agencies to hold public meeting on solar development

The Department of Energy and Bureau of Land Management have announced a public meeting on renewable energy development in eastern Riverside County at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, 44-600 Indian Wells Lane, Indian Wells.

The meeting will begin with an open house at 6 p.m.

It is one of 14 public forums set for February and March in Washington, D.C. and six western states, including California, for a review of the federal government’s Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on solar development on federal lands.

The purpose of the environmental review is to set standards for solar development on federal land, with the goal of streamlining the approval process for projects.

The meeting will include an overview of the impact statement and an opportunity for the public to ask questions and comment on the report.

The environmental review includes a study of of the potential impacts of solar development in the Riverside East solar zone between Joshua Tree National Park and Blythe.

At more than 202,000 acres, Riverside East is the largest of all the potential solar development zones in the western states. Three industrial-scale solar projects have already been approved for the zone, with another moving toward final approval and several more possibly in the pipeline.

Members of the public who wish to speak at the Feb. 8 event can register online at www.solareis.anl.gov.

Information: (760) 833-7100

A copy of the article is available here.

Villaraigosa celebrates Los Angeles DWP milestone: 20% of power from renewable sources

http://opinion.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c7de353ef01310fa96d0c970c-250wiLos Angeles, Ca - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa celebrated an environmental milestone on Thursday, confirming what had been predicted for much of last year: the Department of Water and Power managed to secure 20% of its power from renewable sources, including wind and solar power, in 2010.

Villaraigosa promised to reach that goal during the 2005 election campaign. Sustaining it may be another matter, according to a draft report issued two months ago by the DWP, the nation’s largest municipally owned utility.

In that report, DWP officials warned that its renewable-energy portfolio would steadily slip backward over the next five years, to 13% in 2015, unless the utility received a major infusion of cash. In that same report, DWP officials recommended that the utility scale back the ambitious renewable-energy promise that Villaraigosa made in his 2009 inaugural — getting 40% of the DWP’s power from renewable sources by 2020.

The mayor said Thursday that he was now pushing for a 33% renewable goal by 2020. DWP officials warned last month that even that more conservative goal — when combined with other long-term expenses at the DWP — could result in electricity-rate hikes of 5% to 8% in each of the next five years.

Villaraigosa said he did not believe the renewable-energy portfolio would fall to 13%. But he declined to commit to any specific rate-hike proposal, saying he was trying to keep the focus Thursday on the utility’s environmental achievements.“As long as I’m mayor, I think you’re going to see a steady march” toward more renewable energy, he said.

First Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner said he was trying to find ways to reduce the size of potential rate increases and argued that Southern California Edison — serving customers outside Los Angeles — was pursuing hikes that were similar or even larger in size. Still, he also warned that cleaner energy would come at a cost.

“I think everybody understands there’s no free lunch,” said Beutner, who is serving as the DWP’s interim general manager.

A copy of the article is available here.

San Clemente Times - A Bright Future

An areal view of the now solar powered assisted living facility. Courtesy photo

San Clemente’s Villas by the Sea co-owner, Paul Brazeau and his wife, Aileen, pulled a lever on Tuesday, December 28 that sent solar-cell-generated electrical power surging into the assisted living care facility, located at 660 Camino Los Mares. His decision to go solar will not only make the Villas San Clemente’s business with the largest electricity-generating solar array in town—but they will also boast the largest PV system on an assisted living facility in the entire United States. Not to mention, going green will save Brazeau $38,500 per year on electric and heating bills—with, of course, the moral benefits that accompany an environmentally conscious, renewable energy source. Westlake Village based Solar Electrical Systems, who provides and installs both residential and commercial solar power systems throughout Southern California, physically completed installment in October of 2010 — but they were first approached by Brazeau in the summer of 2009, when the conversations between he and the solar energy company owner, Greg Johanson, began rolling.

 

The Villas, situated on a complicated hillside, posed a few challenges. “We were in full engineering design during the beginning of ’10,” said Solar Electrical Systems Contract Manager, Cheri Stevens. “And the designs underwent many divisions. It was interesting. But all of our design issues worked out.” And despite the backlash from the community with concerns about the aesthetics of possible solar panels at the La Pata/Vista Hermosa Sports Park, Brazeau’s system seems to have officially commenced without a hitch. The project, which finally entailed the installment of three solar electrical systems—one on the rooftop, one on a solar carport and one on the hillside—had officially passed building code inspections and such by December 10. “Everything went really smoothly,” said Stevens. And to make things equally as smooth for Brazeau, when Solar Electrical Systems mapped out the Villas’ cost-effective package for him, they employed web-based monitoring that automatically emails them if any problems occur. The software also records the daily, monthly and total energy generated so business and homeowners can keep track of exactly what they are paying for—and saving.

The 288 kW solar array will provide Brazeau with a total return on his investment in just four years. Plus, under the new California Solar Initiative, solar power rebates and tax incentives will be available to him and he will save $16,444,000 over the next 30 years.

The solar panel installation is visible from Interstate 5, off the Estrella exit, and with the many aesthetic concerns residents voiced against the solar panels that would heat and power the La Pata/Vista Hermosa Sports Park.

A copy of the Article is available here.

Senate Version of Tax Act Contains One-Year Extension of Section 1603 Grant Program

Late yesterday evening, Senator Baucus unveiled a version of the “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Jobs Creation Act of 2010″ (the “Bill”). Section 707 of the Bill contains a one-year extension of the Section 1603 Treasury Grant program enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Accordingly, the Bill, if enacted, would extend the Treasury Grant for renewable energy projects placed in service in 2011, or projects placed in service after 2011 (but before the applicable credit termination date) if construction of the project began during 2009, 2010 or 2011.In addition, Section 401 of the Bill would provide a two-year extension of 50 percent bonus depreciation and would provide 100 percent expensing for qualified property acquired by a taxpayer after September 8, 2010 and before January 1, 2012 that is placed in service prior to January 1, 2012.

The Bill also contains extensions of various other energy tax credit provisions, including a two-year extension of the placed-in-service deadline for refined coal facilities under Section 45 of the Code. Accordingly, refined coal facilities placed in service prior to January 1, 2012 would qualify for refined coal production tax credits. The Senate is expected to vote on the Bill on Monday. However, the situation is still very fluid. Although the House Democratic Caucus voted yesterday not to bring the President’s compromise bill to the floor, some members anticipate that the broad tax bill will be considered next week.

A copy of the Bill is available here.

 

 

 

Field Engineering & System Design

FIELD ENGINEER

 

Solar Electrical Systems, an award-winning, solar industry leader for over 25 years has an exciting opportunity for a qualified Field Engineer.  The solar industry is this decade’s growing business, now is the time to further your career and ensure your success with a growing green business.  Let the Solar Electrical Systems team make your skills shine, and join us in building the Southern California road map for going green. 

Responsibilities

·      Develop the ideal layout and design of the solar electrical system

  • Take detailed measurements of proposed solar system sites
  • Technical project handling of the solar electrical system installation
  • Prepare permit packages and work directly with the City in obtaining any required permits
  •  Prepare SolMetric Shade Studies on each project
  • Work with general contractors, as needed, to manage site design  

Job Requirements

·         At least 3 years relevant work experience in the construction or solar industry

·         Familiarity and knowledge of MS Office and AutoCAD 2010

·         Strong background in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering

·         Must have a proven track record in coordination of multiple projects

·         Ability to analyze and solve complex problems and detecting realistic solutions

·         Must be able to read & understand electrical, roofing, and structural plans

·         Willingness to travel on a daily basis

·         Key Skills: Solar PV, General Construction, Electrical Engineering

·         High consideration to applicants that have successfully completed college degree in civil or construction engineering

 

Benefits include Medical, Dental, 401K, and Profit Sharing.  Salary based on experience and education level. 

Send your resume via Fax (805) 497-6199 or E-mail hr@solarelectricalsystems.com

Installation Crew Chief

INSTALLATION CREW CHIEF

 

Solar Electrical Systems, an award-winning, solar industry leader for over 25 years has an exciting opportunity for a qualified Installation Crew Chief to lead our installation crews.  The solar industry is this decade’s growing business, now is the time to further your career and ensure your success with a growing green business.  Let the Solar Electrical Systems team make your skills shine, and join us in building the Southern California road map for going green. 

The Installation Crew Chief supervises and leads crews or teams within the installation site. As Crew Chief, you and your team may handle projects such as solar installs, repairs, and replacements. To qualify for this position, you should possess a high school diploma or equivalent with demonstrated experience in a variety of areas including electrical, roofing, and general construction.

Responsibilities

·         Construction site supervision at Residential and Commercial installations

·         Direct 2 to 4 installation crews, consisting of 4-5 people

·         Provide knowledgeable input on installation and perform all phases of AC and DC electrical installation, as needed

·         Communicate with general contractors, as needed, to manage site design

·         Liaise with various divisions and teams to prioritize and establish sequence of installs

·         Ensure completion deadlines are met

 

Job Requirements

·         Key Skills: Solar PV, Solar Construction Management

·         At least 3 years relevant work experience in the construction industry

·         Valid Electrical License and/or NABCEP certification preferred

·         Strong background in Electrical, Mechanical, Roofing, and/or Construction

·         Must have a proven track record in management and coordination of multiple solar projects

·         Must be able to read & understand electrical, roofing, and structural plans

 

Benefits include Medical, Dental, 401K, and Profit Sharing.  Attractive salary based on experience and education level. 

Send your resume via Fax (805) 497-6199 or E-mail hr@solarelectricalsystems.com