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October 11, 2010. Los Angeles, CA – The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) today awarded five Innovation Awards and six Special Recognition Awards at its 2010 Annual Meeting.
“This year’s Innovation Awards targeted initiatives aimed at supporting clean energy workforce development, community renewables, financial incentives, clean energy ARRA projects, and efforts to grow the small wind market,” said Ken Jurman, IREC chair. “Each of this year’s winning submissions demonstrate initiatives and best practices that are helping move clean energy technologies closer to becoming the norm rather than the exception.”
Selected through a competitive process, the 2010 Innovation Awardees include: Lakota Solar Enterprises for its Solar Energy for Great Plains Tribal Communities (clean energy ARRA project); Mountain View Solar’s The JOBS Project (community renewables); We Energies’ Solar for Humanity (clean energy workforce development); The Morris County Improvement Authority’s MORRIS Model (clean energy financial program); and iCast’s rural agricultural applications for small wind in rural Eastern Colorado (small wind).
“Efforts like these are why I feel confident that the children of today will grow up to a world where solar and other clean energy technologies are as common place to them as their cell phones, iPods and the Internet,” said Jurman.
Clean Energy ARRA Project Category:
Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE) for its Solar Energy for Great Plains Tribal Communities
Lakota Solar Enterprises (LSE), a Native American-owned and operated renewable energy business on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, is harnessing the power of nature to improve the quality of life in tribal communities.
With non-profit partner, Trees, Water & People (TWP), LSE developed the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center (RCREC), a unique educational facility where tribes from around the nation can receive hands-on training in renewable energy applications from Native American trainers. Thirty-eight members of the Rosebud Sioux, Spirit Lake, and Cheyenne River tribes attended 10-day ARRA-funded training sessions at RCREC, earning their Solar Technician I certification. With their new knowledge and skills, participants returned to their reservations and installed ARRA-funded solar air heating systems for tribal families in their communities. ARRA also funded renovations to RCREC, including a concrete floor with radiant heating, and a gravel road to increase accessibility for delivery trucks and trainees. Visit http://www.treeswaterpeople.org/tribal/tribal_intro.htm
Community Renewables Category:
The JOBS Project: Creating Job Opportunities in Renewable Energy for the People in Central Appalachia
The JOBS Project Team has been working on developing community-owned approaches to renewable energy in the heart of the Central Appalachian coalfields.
Its first project will be three solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on businesses in downtown Williamson, West Virginia. One of these businesses is the JOBS Project’s office, which is located next to Williamson’s famous coal house (made out of coal), which also serves as the city’s Chamber of Commerce office. One of the project’s partners, Mountain View Solar, will conduct a three-day workshop with local electricians during the installation. One of these electricians, a former employee of Massey Energy, will be opening a PV installation company shortly following these workshops. Please follow this link for more information: Visit: http://jobs-project.org
Clean Energy Workforce Development Category:
We Energies: Solar for Humanity
Solar for Humanity, focused on workforce development and community partnerships, uses Habitat for Humanity homes as real training roofs for solar PV and solar thermal installers.
By the end of 2010, more than 90 solar PV and solar thermal systems will be installed on homes throughout the We Energies service territory, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity chapters in Wisconsin, Midwest Renewable Energy Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and non-union contractors. The partnerships were developed to help develop jobs and to create a more robust North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) solar installer base within the service territory, educate the general public about solar technologies and energy efficiency, and bring solar power to lower income households. All parties plan to grow and continue this effort making it the largest renewable energy training partnership in the Midwest. Visit We Energies website.
Financial Incentive Program Category:
Morris County Improvement Authority: The MORRIS Model
Developed in 2009, the Morris Model is a unique method for financing municipal renewable energy projects through low-interest bonds, traditional Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and federal tax incentives.
The result of a public-private partnership between Morris County, NJ and solar project developers Tioga Energy and SunDurance Energy, the Morris Model pilot program will result in 19 solar installations at municipal and educational facilities totaling 3.2 MW of clean energy. The Morris Model combines PPAs, provided by Tioga Energy, and $22.3 million in low-interest bonds issued by the Morris County Improvement Authority.
In addition to the low cost of the bonds, the savings collected from federal tax incentives available to Tioga Energy as a private developer are passed down to the county. As a result, the county receives inexpensive solar electricity (at a lower rate then the local electric utility), saving more than $2 million in electricity costs. Additionally, the creation of this innovative financing model can be easily replicated by other New Jersey municipalities interested in moving to solar. Visit http://www.co.morris.nj.us/improvement
Small Wind Category:
iCast: Pilot Program for Small Wind Turbine Installations in Agricultural Applications for Rural Eastern Colorado
This program evaluated and promoted the use of farm-scale wind turbines across rural communities and family farms in eastern Colorado and has helped to stimulate growth of the small wind industry.
The project developed the feasibility, oversaw the installation and showcased wind turbines ranging in size from 1.8kW to 50kW for feed yards, elevators, irrigation systems, stock wells, homesteads and other agricultural applications at multiple locations across eastern Colorado.
Turbine installations were evaluated and an outreach program was created to promote small wind as a means to offset producers’ retail cost of energy. An estimated total savings of $623,815 will occur over the life of one 50kW system. Visit http://www.icastusa.org
For a complete description of these projects, please visit www.irecusa.org.
