INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY ... - PHOTON Info

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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 innovation« section in your magazine to focus on individuals and small businesses 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 incentive and if that knowledge is current. 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, online, 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 interest 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 increase in the amount of power we »sell« to them. However, at the end of each cal- endar year, if we’ve generated more power 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
Some topics I would like to see covered: US inverter tests; Month- ly update on PV installations (divided in on/off-grid) in the US and in Canada, and a forecast; Updates on incentives and feed-in tariffs (states and federal); Case studies of PV installations in the US. Peter J. Zisterer Manager New Business Development NAFTA, Photovoltaics, Diehl Controls North America Congratulations on the start of your new magazine. I have been involved in the solar energy industry for almost 25 years, and in that time I have rarely seen any clear and concise literature about the US market. Knowing the work of PHOTON International, I am sure you and your magazine will prove to be a great asset to photovoltaics. Jeff Szczepanski Applied Photovoltaics, LLC Since I haven’t seen the first edition yet, the following may be moot, but my primary concern is that the US edition maintain the very high quality of research, testing, and articles found in the German edition. I fear (based on the price), that you will go the way of so many other European magazines and dumb it down for the US audience. Paul Wolf Consultant We have noticed the following business dynamics in the solar (PV) industry: Danger of outright killing solar industry by cap- ping installations in California (like in Spain), instead of increas- ing levels; Influx of German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese companies competing for medium, large scale projects – sometimes with US Government funding! Danger of deluge of unqualified, unskilled, unlicensed, unin- sured, unbonded, unregulated bands of roving »solar installers«, i.e., every two people with a truck and a magnetic sign booking residential solar jobs, Publicly subsidized companies like Solyn- dra and privately funded ones like Enphase, who have innovative technologies but won’t make them available to qualified, experi- enced installers with established businesses. There is such tremendous potential for solar to remake the econ- omy, our state, our country, and the world, but it is being strangled in the cradle by greed, ignorance, stupidity, and outright criminal behavior in many areas. Big Electric is worse than Big Oil. Tom Taylor VP, Sales & Marketing, Pacific Sun Technologies, Inc. PHOTON‘s editorial team welcomes any letters from its readers. Please send your letters to: PHOTON USA Corp. Editorial Department 514 Bryant St. San Francisco, California, 94107 Or send an email to: readersletters@photon-magazine.us Please provide your complete name and address. We reserve the right to shorten letters. The content expressed in the letters does not necessarily reflect the opinion of PHOTON. November 2009 13
Page 1: A LONG, STRANGE TRIP SOUTHERN EXPOS
Page 4 and 5: 4 Under the Sun National Renewable
Page 6 and 7: 6 Photo of the month The garden of
Page 8 and 9: May we introduce ourselves? The PHO
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November 19-20, 2009 Alternative En
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Education & Training Producer-indep
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Internships New internships in the
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Industry Registry Here is informati
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