Project Descriptions & Project Status

AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION

Updated: October 9, 2003

• Project started in December 2002.


• On February 4, 2003 a draft outline for the Small Wind Turbine Siting Handbook was circulated to team members.


• On February 6th a team kick-off teleconference meeting was held to discuss the draft outline and to develop an outreach plan.


• On February 18th a white paper was developed to present to participants at events for permitting officials.


• On February 25th a targeted list of county officials and their contact information was developed.


• On March 6 a preliminary list of targeted counties for the outreach program was developed.


• An outreach plan was delivered on March 17, 2003, which outlines a plan for mailing a copy of the handbook to select county officials and for presenting the handbook at numerous events throughout California.


• On March 19, 2003 a survey was disseminated to permitting officials to better understand the barriers to permitting small wind turbines.


• Sections of the Handbook were developed by various team members. Graphic design staff began developing design and layout ideas and collecting graphics for the Handbook.


• The Handbook outline was re-designed on April 11, 2003.


• A draft Handbook was distributed to team members and the review committee on April 16, and members were requested to provide feedback by April 30, 2003.


• Six case studies were distributed to the review committee on May 9. These will be incorporated into the Handbook at a later date.


• AWEA will premier a draft of the Handbook to attendees at Windpower 2003, an annual wind energy conference and exhibition held in Austin, Texas on May 18-21. AWEA will accept pre-publication requests for the Handbook.


• The AWEA staff gave a presentation on AB 1207 and promoting its upcoming handbook to a workshop sponsored by the Local Government Commission on May 15 in Santa Monica and to a meeting of county planners on May 16 in Monterey.


• AWEA submitted its first quarterly report to the Energy Commission on May 21.


• The handbook, titled Permitting Small Wind Turbines: A Handbook. Learning from the California Experience, was finalized and printed in September 2003. The handbook can be found online at www.awea.org and hardcopies can be obtained by calling the Energy Commission's call center toll free at (800) 555-7794.

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ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Updated: July 21, 2003

• Project started on September 24, 2002.


• Energy Solutions, together with their subcontractor The Rahus Institute, made a presentation at the Buildex Expo at the Bill Graham Civic Center in San Francisco in November 2002 about the RE-New Construction program. The presentation was aimed at nonresidential developers and designers. The workshop addressed the benefits of designing an energy efficient commercial building in new construction and renovation including a topic on photovoltaic systems.


• An Implementation Plan was developed for the program which includes an overview of the project process and a description of how the RE-New program interfaces with Oakland's Energy Efficiency Design Assistance (EEDA) and the Berkeley's Best Builder (BBB) program.


• The Marketing Plan was delivered in December 2002 and included outreach strategies for bringing participants into the RE-New program and for publicizing the program's products.


• A Quarterly Report was submitted which included tasks and products completed through December 2002.


• During the first quarter of 2003, Energy Solutions enrolled five design projects, one in Berkeley, and the remainders in Oakland. All projects are new construction, which includes (4) multifamily and (1) education facilities. Four preliminary feasibility studies were provided and direct design assistance was conducted to four design projects. A fifth project team requested an analysis of pre-engineered photovoltaic kits for PV product comparison and evaluation of impacts of different roof orientation.


• A marketing brochure was developed and printed. The design included about a dozen photos illustrating ways that PV systems can be incorporated into building design. It was distributed in January and February 2003 and was placed in Oakland's permit center and Oakland and Berkeley's Green Resource Center. It was mailed to 25 new construction projects of Oakland's City Planning. Oakland's EEDA program announced the RE-New Construction program in their new brochure and used direct mail to send it to 2200+ developers, property managers, architects and other local design team members.


• In March 2003, a conference call meeting was conducted with Energy Commission and Energy Solutions' project manager and web design team and discussed the proposed development of a web-based RE-New Construction Tool Kit. The kit will be a collection of effective design tools to help designers, builders, developers, and contractors in incorporating renewable electricity systems into a construction design. This kit will be available from the Energy Commission website.


• Energy Solutions continue to recruit strategic partners for their outreach list, which includes Green Clips and Green Affordable Housing. Partners will be asked to distribute brochures and install website links to the Tool Kit's web location.


• A Quarterly Report was submitted which included program highlights, outreach efforts, and products and services completed for the period January to March 2003.


• In April 2003, the RE-New Construction program developed a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a design-build PV system for a 90-unit housing development in Oakland. This proposal will provide PV systems for the 20-40 units that have the best solar access. The proposal's major features include individually metered systems, roof-mounted on south and west facing roofs, and preference for pre-engineered systems. This RFP will be a major feature of the RE-New Construction Tool Kit.


• Another program participant has committed to and fund-raised for a 10kW solar system. This participant used the results of a RE-New Construction evaluation to instigate a successful $50,000 fundraising effort to incorporate PV in a new campus for an independent school in Berkeley. The program team developed a design-build RFP and the school received three bids. The RE-New Construction team will provide review and assistance during the project's selection process. This will also appear as part of the RE-New Construction Tool kit on the Energy Commission website.


• The sixth program participant was enrolled in April 2003. It's a 100,000 sq. ft. Commercial + possible housing project in Oakland. The RE-New Construction team gave a brief presentation on site and provided design assistance and tool kit.


• Two case studies have been identified out of the 6 program participants enrolled. They are the 90-unit housing development in Oakland and the elementary/middle school in Berkeley. Both projects have agreed to be the subject of the case studies for the RE-New Construction program. The case studies will be posted on the Energy Commission website as part of the Tool Kit. The focus of the case studies will be on what their decision-making process was like and what tools they used. The projects will describe a broad range of issues on decision-making about PV in new construction setting.


• The following table is the status of each of the program's participants:




	Project Description	Status
1	30-unit multifamily project with minor retail	Zoning permit approved with possible PV included. Project on hold; change in ownership negotiations underway
2	Elementary and middle school campus	$50K fundraising was completed for PV. Design build solicitation developed and sent out
3	90-unit Live+Work townhouses	Project schedule delayed while other issues resolved; Design build contractors hired; PV RFP under review
4	100-unit multifamily condominium project; seven buildings	Project contact has left developer company; unable to establish new contact to determine project status or attitude toward PV study
5	87-unit multifamily lofts project; seven buildings	Same project contact and developer as above
6	100,000 sq. ft. commercial + possible housing	Project is delayed; future status is uncertain




• During the second quarter of 2003, the program's problem has been adjusting to the uncertainties of the current new construction market. Most projects enrolled have been slowed, delayed, or have drifted into uncertain status. Commercial sector has been particularly hard hit due to historic commercial real estate vacancy rates in some Bay Area locations. Although these changes will not impact the program's ability to develop key project deliverables, the project team expects to stay in touch with the slowed down but still active projects.

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REAL GOODS SOLAR LIVING INSTITUTE

Updated: September 18, 2003

• Project started on October 1, 2002


• In December 2002, a list of instructors and 22 class locations were identified and confirmed for the solar installation classes. A draft copy of the curriculum and marketing materials were also submitted for review and comment.


• A Quarterly Report for the months of October through December 2002 was submitted in January 2003.


• In February 2003, the Institute's workshop catalog was mailed to approximately 54,000 people in the residential and businesses sectors including at least 20,000 names on the California Electrical Contractor's mailing list. The catalog was the primary marketing vehicle for the solar installation classes, which will be held all over California from March through August 2003. Other marketing materials include PSA announcements for print and radio media, and flyer templates advertising classes in specific areas. Information about the class was also available on the Institute's website. A press release was written and will be more widely circulated in the second quarter of 2003. An advertisement was created for Home Power Magazine and will run two times in the April/May and June/July 2003 issues. The goal of this program was to educate at least 330 contractors.


• During the first quarter of 2003, approximately 225 students have registered for the Solar Installer training classes. 42 are affiliated with affordable housing. Demonstration equipment was designed and constructed for use in all classes. The equipment is comprised of materials and tools commonly used by installers for a PV installation; to further illustrate the course material and concepts covered in a class.


• In March 2003, a total of 103 students attended the one-day training classes that took place in Hopland (34 students), San Jose (40 students), Lodi (12 students) and Sacramento (17 students). Excellent feedback was received on the instructor's level of knowledge and presentation style, as well as the course curriculum. Course evaluation forms were provided to each student at each class to assess the results of the program. Evaluations for the classes held in the first quarter of 2003 indicated that students were pleased with the course manual, the Solar Living Institute Sourcebook and other materials that students took home. Students were also pleased that the demonstration equipment was available as a visual learning tool.


• A Quarterly Report for the months of January through March 2003 was submitted in April 2003.


• In April 2003, four one-day classes were held in Anaheim, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Oxnard.


• In May 2003, three classes were conducted in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and Hopland.


• In June 2003, three classes were scheduled in San Francisco, San Bernardino and San Diego.


• During the second quarter of 2003, about 149 have registered for the classes. Of those, 23 were affiliated with affordable housing.


• A second catalog featuring the workshop classes which will be held from July through November 2003 was mailed out to approximately 50,000 people in June. Other ongoing PR efforts have included distribution of press releases and flyers, contact with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) chapters throughout the state and outreach to building officials. Classes are featured on their website and newsletter and many energy-related websites and magazines.


• Home Power Magazine will run an ad in its June/July 2003 issue about the classes. This was chosen as an especially appropriate marketing vehicle for these classes because of its primary focus on renewable energy topics and its "hands-on" clientele.


• A Quarterly Report for the months of April through June 2003 was submitted in July 2003.


• From July through August 2003, a total of eighty-nine students attended the class held in San Jose, Sacramento, Santa Monica, and Hopland.


• Project is now complete and final. A total of 19 classes were held in the following cities: Hopland, San Francisco, San Jose, Lodi, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Oxnard, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Diego, with several locations hosting more than one class. Classes ran from March through August. A total of 413 students registered for one of the 19 classes held in various locations throughout California. More than half of all class attendees were either licensed contractors or electrical installers. Various groups collaborated with Real Goods Solar Living Institute including Bay Area Solar Consortium, Anaheim Public Utility, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, City of Lodi Electric Utility, Alameda County Waste Management Authority, Los Angeles Eco Village, City of Santa Monica Energy & Green Building Program, San Diego Regional Energy Office, Pacific Energy Center, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Due to the success and positive response of this project, the class has been added to the roster of classes held through the Institute's ongoing year-round Workshop Program.


• A final report was submitted in September 2003. Project term ends October 1, 2003.

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TWIN PINES COOPERATIVE FOUNDATION

Updated: February 17, 2004