Renewable Energy

When Wayne Mackey heard that rate caps were going to expire for Pennsylvania's electricity industry on Jan. 1, 2010, he got worried. It was WGAL's Brian Roche — the keynote speaker for an energy workshop Saturday at Wilson College — who reported the deregulation of the electricity industry in 2007 that energized Mackey.  "My wife and I looked at each other and said, 'Did you hear what he just said we're going to be on a fixed income by that time, and our rates are going to go up as much as 40 percent,'" said Mackey, a Chambersburg resident.

Installing a solar-energy system can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but there are ways to offset the costs. Consumers who purchase such systems can receive a 30 percent tax credit from the Internal Revenue Service, according to Barry D. Martin, owner of Copyquik Printing & Graphics LLC, who installed a solar-energy system at his business. The credit translates to the federal government paying for about 30 percent of the system's cost, Martin said. Solar-system owners also can generate thousands of dollars a year in revenue through the sale of renewable energy certificates, Martin said.

The Sharrett Auto Stores business along Dual Highway is among a growing number of local companies that have turned to solar systems. Construction on the 429-module, 100-kilowatt hour system started on the roof of the car dealership's Volkswagen, Mazda and Subaru showroom and service center around February, according to Will Perryman, president of the company. The showroom and service center building at the Dual Highway and Interstate 70 interchange is 30,000 square feet, and the panels cover nearly the entire roof, Perryman said.

ANNAPOLIS - State Secretary of Agriculture Lewis R. Riley and Marlene B. Elliott, director of the USDA Rural Development Office for Delaware and Maryland, are hosting seminars on the availability of funding for value-added producer grants and renewable energy grants. The seminars, targeted to agricultural producers and related ag business ventures, will be held in Frederick, Md., and three places farther east. Admission is free. The area meeting will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, in the Monocacy Room at the Frederick County Office of Economic Development, 5340 Spectrum Drive, Frederick.

wandaw@herald-mail.com U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., held a workshop Monday to encourage Western Maryland farmers and small-business owners to apply for millions of dollars in grants available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "We're on a mission to reach rural folk who can't obtain credit," said James E. Waters, USDA business programs director for Maryland and Delaware. Waters was among a panel of experts and a few potential applicants who gathered Monday morning in Maugansville to discuss a variety of grants.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Mountain View Solar & Wind is hosting its Second Annual Solar Open House on Oct. 3 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m and Oct. 4 from noon until 4 p.m. We invite you to join us on a tour of a middle-class, average-sized home that is fitted with energy efficient equipment and renewable energy systems that can be used by mainstream America. The systems installed include grid-tied & net metered solar photovoltaic (PV), Velux solar hot water system, Skystream 3.7 wind generator, SIPs walls, high efficiency heat pump, radiant floor heat and all the electronics that make it operate virtually maintenance free.

laurae@herald-mail.com ANNAPOLIS - Environmentalists were split Tuesday on legislation to encourage the use of wind power and other renewable energy sources in Maryland. While some praised the value of harnessing wind power to reduce dependence on foreign oil, others said the 400-foot wind turbines would be a blight on the landscape and would kill birds and bats that would unwittingly crash into them. Manufacturing industry representatives also opposed the bill at a hearing Tuesday, arguing they essentially would be subsidizing wind power companies at the cost of jobs at their plants.

HAGERSTOWN -- Offshore oil drilling is not a long-term solution to high fuel prices, but is necessary to show people that Congress is serious about bringing down energy costs, U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett said Wednesday at a press conference in Hagerstown. Standing in front of a Liberty gas station on West Washington Street, Bartlett urged Congress to pass a bill that he said would allow oil drilling off the coast of the U.S. and use royalties and other revenue from that drilling to promote energy conservation.

The town of Hancock can access a $100,000 state grant for a renewable energy project, but it might have to act fast in order to get a solar power generating facility operating by the deadline of April 1, 2011. The Town Council on Wednesday heard a presentation from Nate Greenberg, a business development manager with Washington Gas Energy Systems, and Brent Eskay of Standard Solar for a ground-mounted, 150-kilowatt solar facility at the wastewater treatment plant. "With the grant money, time is certainly of the essence," Greenberg told the council.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- "Green" builders Mike and Pete McKechnie of Mountain View Builders have opened a separate company for the solar and wind portion of their business, and have hired a local builder and green energy consultant as its director of operations.  Mike McKechnie said solar and wind have been part of the business for the last three years, but in order to give them the right amount of attention, someone needed to direct their operations. They choose Colin Williams.

Wilson College will host the 5th annual “Energy and You” - a day-long workshop for home and business owners who want to learn how to reduce energy consumption and costs - on Saturday, Feb. 9. This year's theme is “Invest in the Future: Your Energy Options.” The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Brooks Science Complex, with walk-in registration starting at 8 a.m.  John Hanger, who served as Pennsylvania Secretary of...

Editor's note: This is one in an occasional series of profiles about candidates running for election in the 6th Congressional District. State Sen. Robert J. Garagiola said he'll gladly compare his record to anyone else's in the 6th Congressional District race. The Montgomery County Democrat said he's particularly proud of working to expand Maryland's renewable energy, leading to an “explosion” of jobs in that industry. “I've done a number of bills, that I've authored, that I've done the heavy lifting on, I've rolled my sleeves up on, and moved the state forward on - on solar, on wind, on geothermal, on solar thermal ... on energy efficiency, on reducing energy consumption,” Garagiola said.

Maryland lawmakers are preparing to resume debate on one of Gov. Martin O'Malley's major green initiatives, an offshore wind energy bill that stalled during the last legislative session amid concerns about the cost to utility companies and their customers. The bill would have subsidized the construction of between 80 and 200 wind turbines 12 miles off the coast of Ocean City by obligating the state's four investor-owned utilities - Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., Allegheny Power, Delmarva Power and Pepco - to buy offshore wind energy for 25 years.

The sizable solar project near the Maryland state prisons south of Hagerstown all but seems to be a forgone conclusion at this point. If ever skids have been greased, this would appear to be the situation of late. The 100,000-panel, 250-acre project is passing review after review as it strives to be operational in 2012. On one hand, it might be a good lesson for government that "it can be done. " How many private projects have become hopelessly mired in red tape and indifference, as government treats business with all the urgency of estate planning for a teenager?

The Sharrett Auto Stores business along Dual Highway is among a growing number of local companies that have turned to solar systems. Construction on the 429-module, 100-kilowatt hour system started on the roof of the car dealership's Volkswagen, Mazda and Subaru showroom and service center around February, according to Will Perryman, president of the company. The showroom and service center building at the Dual Highway and Interstate 70 interchange is 30,000 square feet, and the panels cover nearly the entire roof, Perryman said.

Hagerstown Community College announces that Zebulon Hull of Hancock is the first student in HCC's Alternative Energy Technology (AET) program to intern at a renewable energy company. Although he had taken classes previously at the college, Hull, 27, decided to enroll full time in fall 2010 once he learned of HCC's new AET program. Hull said he became interested in alternative energy sources after high school when he learned more about the rising costs of energy and the negative impact that fossil fuels have on the environment.

Hagerstown Community College announced that Zebulon Hull of Hancock is the first student in HCC's Alternative Energy Technology (AET) program to intern at a renewable- energy company. Although he previously took classes at the college, Hull, 27, decided to enroll full time in fall 2010 once he learned about HCC's AET program, which was launched the same year. According to Hull, he became interested in alternative-energy sources after high school as he learned more about the rising costs of energy and the negative effect that fossil fuels have on the environment.

Going green is a hot topic; everything from compact fluorescent light bulbs to wind turbines to solar panels. Everyone is encouraged to get on board, agriculture included. Agriculture does utilize a bit of electricity, and many farms throughout the county and valley have participated in energy audits. Several farmers have switched their light bulbs, installed more energy-efficient fans and a few are investigating solar panels. You might have also seen the solar panels on Hopewell Road and have read about the proposed project at the prison complex south of Hagerstown.

Maryland Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot voted last week against a solar farm lease in Washington County, questioning why the state didn't seek a share of federal money the project could receive. Gov. Martin O'Malley and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, the other two members of the state's all-Democrat Board of Public Works, voted in favor of the 20-year lease for Maryland Solar LLC. Franchot voted no. After the July 27 meeting, Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman for O'Malley, wrote in an email that, under the terms of the federal energy project program, a state can't receive any of the money.

When Wayne Mackey heard that rate caps were going to expire for Pennsylvania's electricity industry on Jan. 1, 2010, he got worried. It was WGAL's Brian Roche — the keynote speaker for an energy workshop Saturday at Wilson College — who reported the deregulation of the electricity industry in 2007 that energized Mackey.  "My wife and I looked at each other and said, 'Did you hear what he just said we're going to be on a fixed income by that time, and our rates are going to go up as much as 40 percent,'" said Mackey, a Chambersburg resident.