By 2030, utility-scale solar installations could cover almost 2 million acres of land in the United States. Traditional solar development would monopolize this land for just one use: energy production. Low-impact solar development, on the other hand, might also improve soil health, retain water, nurture native species, produce food, and provide even lower-cost energy to local communities. On a humid, overcast day in central Minnesota, a dozen researchers crouch in the grass between rows of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Only their bright yellow hard hats are clearly visible above the tall, nearly overgrown prairie grasses—which are growing exactly as expected. Bent over white, square frames, some of the researchers catalog…
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Our Own Backyards
EDITOR’S PAGE Long before we began publishing the Green Living Journal, we bought a home that happened to be well insulated and heated and cooled with an efficient electric heat pump. It was the year 2000, and little did we know then that we had set the stage for our future personal journey to reduce our environmental impact. Our 3/4 acre property was nothing more than an empty field with blackberries and a few oaks, cherry, and hawthorn trees on the edges. So, over the next several years, we established our veggie garden, planted five kinds of berries, and kiwis, and added several different species of trees and shrubs. Of…
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Buy Victory Panels
In the past ten years, we’ve installed solar panels on my house three times. This year we’ll do it again. We save for a while, buy panels, earn our money back on sunshine, electrify more systems in our house and then repeat. Through all the industry changes, the reduction in panel costs, and fluctuating incentives, I’m often asked, when is the best time to buy? My answer: every time. Every single time we spent money on solar panels it ended up being one of the best purchases of our lives. Why? Because financials are only part of the story. While solar panels can, and should, make some economic sense, I…
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8 Days, 2 Kids, 2700 Miles, 1 Tesla
Lessons Learned From A Cross Country EV Road Trip If there is one Achilles heel of the electric automobile (EV), it’s the road trip. Even if the road trip is something we only very occasionally ask of our personal vehicles, it’s still a crucial aspect of the American car owner experience I’ve been singing the praises of electric transport for four years, so it was only fitting that I put my money where my mouth is and attempt not just a local EV road trip, but the most sacred and grueling of American long drives — the Cross Country Road Trip. My family of four (with kids ages 5 and…
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Induction Stoves
Say Bye Bye to Gas in the Kitchen Induction stoves allow consumers to happily leave behind fossil fuels in the kitchen. Plus, they cook food faster than other types of stoves, adjust heat instantaneously, offer precise temperature control, and are incredibly safe (they only work when a magnetic pan is placed on top of them, so no more accidentally leaving the burner on). Best of all, they are powered by clean electricity. Like so many technologies in the electrified home of the future, induction stoves are exciting newcomers on the scene because they change the rules of the game. They eliminate one more gas industry argument for why we need…
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“Barn Raising” Community Cuts the Cost of Solar
Since 2016, Give Solar has organized crowdfunding campaigns and five solar barn raisings which have added 291.4 kilowatts to the local grid. Taking a page from the Amish and Mennonites’ playbook, a Harrisonburg, Virginia non-profit adapted the community barn-raising tradition to the solar energy arena. On November 5, 2016, a group of volunteer members of the community came together to support the non-profit Vine and Fig by installing solar panels (63 kW) on the roof of the Gift & Thrift store. The store benefits the worldwide relief and development efforts of the Mennonite Central Committee. The success of this first solar barn-raising made it clear that this idea has wings.…
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Cordless Electric Yard Tools
About 6 years ago, we ran an article on switching your gasoline-powered lawn and garden tools to all battery-electric versions, and since then, there have been a lot of changes—time for an update. The first change is in the number of makes and models available today. A Google search for electric yard tools will bring up more than 30 brands, and each brand can have multiple types of tools (lawnmowers, edgers, leaf blowers, etc.), as well as a selection of models for many of the different tools. For instance, walk-behind lawn mowers are available in 14-inch cut to 25-inch cut and as either push or self-propelled. This range of choices…
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Oregon Solar +Storage Conference
Portland Crowne Plaza 1441 NE 2nd Ave, Portland, ORNovember 2 – 4, 2021 Earn NABCEP CEUs, visit engaging exhibits, hear from industry leaders about solar policy, storage, business development, land use, large-scale development, and more. Join OSSIA for one of the most comprehensive solar + storage conferences in the nation! Solar Career Expo at OSSC will be a featured part of the Energy Trust of Oregon Contractor Day at the Oregon Solar + Storage Conference. The event will commence with a Keynote Delivery (TBA) and be followed by various breakout sessions that include resources for job seekers and providers. Our Speed-networking sessions can assist you as you expand opportunities for…
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Signing Up for Community Solar
My Experience Community solar just had its first birthday in Oregon. While the program was years long in the rulemaking, it has been slow to roll out, and COVID then threw a wrench in the works. The first PV projects are now steadily moving forward and will go into the ground and catch solar photons next year. Oregon is one of a handful of states which currently have policies that support community solar. Some states (in green below) have programs in the works or about to launch, while others (in blue) have live, active community solar programs you can sign up for now. Advocates see community solar as an important…
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The Electrify Everything Climate Solution
Scientists agree we need to cut our heat-trapping emissions to zero by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of climate change – and we need to make big progress in the next decade. Waste reduction and energy efficiency measures alone can not get us all the way to net zero. Nearly All Emissions Come from Fossil Fuels Extracting and burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, transport goods, and people, and heat our homes, offices, and buildings – creates the vast majority of carbon emissions. In the U.S. and other industrialized nations, this accounts for over 75% of annual emissions. It will not be possible to prevent a climate crisis until…
