INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY ... - PHOTON Info

12
Readers‘ letters
So why are so few homes outfitted
with solar generation capability? For a
long time the answer has been: cost.
The key to cost reduction is innovation.
Most often innovation comes from
smaller organizations with a close-knit
and dedicated employee base that share
a more common goal/philosophy than
a large organization. Red-tape has put
an end to brilliant innovation more
times in history then I’d care to count.
I suggest you include a »spotlight on in-
novation« section in your magazine to
focus on individuals and small busi-
nesses that are innovating, rather than
the products of huge corporate research
budgets and projects. This personalizes
the industry in a way that will get the
target audience (those end-customers
in the US interested in building a PV
system) excited about the technology.
This will help people understand that
solar power is NOT a large corporate
gimmick designed to take their money,
or a political ploy catering to recent
global climate change realizations.
There are multitudes of regular, grass-
roots enthusiasts pursuing innovation
and who believe in the future of this
technology’s benefit to mankind.
Dustin Charamut
Mechanical Design / Systems R&D, Aerospec Inc.
I hope you are planning to track solar
stocks as an index and individual securi-
ties, as has been the case in PHOTON
International.
Jeff Shaddock
Project Manager, MA Properties
I think something that might be
valuable is to have a map of the states
outlining some key stats about the
current incentives within a state – like
a cheat sheet, if you will. Then, when
something changes in that state, it
will be highlighted, so that people no-
tice. I think one of the biggest areas of
confusion (especially for people com-
ing from other countries that have a
unified solar incentive program) is re-
membering which state has what in-
centive and if that knowledge is cur-
rent. Maybe you can even make a
something that people can tear out of
the magazine each month and post on
their bulletin board.
Lee Johnson
Vice President, Stellaris Corporation
If you can combine PV-specific news
with up-to-date hands-on installation
and regulatory information as well as
national and global political PV news,
you will have a hit.
Mark McCain
Austin, TX
Case studies always garner interest
from readers. I think people want to
know about actual installations, from
the folks who went through the struggle
themselves. Especially in a relatively
new and exploding marketplace, it’s
critical for people to be able to read about
the challenges they may encounter, and
innovative ways that others have over-
come them.
Joanne Lowy
Director of Marketing, AlsoEnergy
If I was going to create a magazine
about solar I would really like to see a
strong emphasis on solar from start to
finish. Whether it’s a story related to the
first silicon crystal forming in a factory,
a piece of legislation in congress, or a
story about the last bolt being put in
place on a solar system. My description
F1 Online digitale Bildagentur GmbH
is fairly vague, but I think you probably
understand what I’m getting at.
I would also like to see »PHOTON«
add open editorials, along with a power-
fully matched internet based networking
site. The web site would be a great source
for documenting advances. It could be a
great forum for scientists, government ad-
vocates, contractors and many others to
voice their opinions and ideas. I also think
it would be great, if some of the better fo-
rums and their highlights could be posted
in the magazine. That would bring further
attention to these topics and cause others
to voice their thoughts, in editorials, on-
line, or publicly. I think it would be really
neat, if both (magazine and web content)
could inform people about social meet-
ings in the real world. Whether this meet-
ing is at a local bar, or with their congress-
man. All of these different ideas for how
PHOTON could connect people would be
a great way to promote solar and raise in-
terest in the topic, rather than just being a
magazine they read once to pass the time.
I hope these ideas have been useful.
Chase Drum
Competitive Solar
This year we installed a 3.7 kW rooftop
solar array – everything’s working per-
fectly. It’s fun watching the meter run
backwards. The problem we’d like to see
your magazine address is called »TRue-
Up,« a phenomenon in which PG&E takes
the excess electricity we generate and feed
into the gird, and then keeps a record for
each month that shows a progressive in-
crease in the amount of power we »sell«
to them. However, at the end of each cal-
endar year, if we’ve generated more pow-
er than we’ve used, rather than send us a
check for the excess power, or giving us a
credit for our natural gas usage, PG&E just
starts the meter at zero, effectively steal-
ing any extra electricity we’ve generated
beyond consumption. If we use MORE
power than we generate, PG&E would bill
us for the extra power. We don’t think
this is fair, and apparently it’s not the
same in all areas of the US.
Jack Reineck
reineckandreineck.com
November 2009