saw this Thursday NOVA on PBS maryland station
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3406_solar.html

Whole Foods market is in Ridgewood, New Jersey. At first glance it’s pretty much like any other Whole Foods: neat and bright, with lots of great looking food at premium prices.
CASHIER (Whole Foods): Hi, would you like paper or plastic?

NARRATOR: But there is one thing different about this particular store. The roof is covered with solar panels. They look expensive, but Whole Foods didn’t pay a cent for them. They’re owned by a solar energy power company called SunEdison. Its founder and CEO is Jigar Shah.

JIGAR SHAH (SunEdison): We help companies like Whole Foods move to solar power. SunEdison and its investors pay all of the upfront costs for these solar systems, and Whole Foods promises to buy the power over a long-term contract.

NARRATOR: Jennifer McDonnell is a Green Mission specialist for Whole Foods.

JENNIFER McDONNELL (Whole Foods, Green Mission Specialist): And we use a lot of energies. And solar power powers everything in this store, from lighting to the steamers, slicers, the coolers, freezers, anything that requires electricity, even the registers.

So it’s important for us to look at ways to make that energy clean and be aware of the amount of energy that we use.

NARRATOR: Solar panels on this store complement, do not replace energy from the grid.

JIGAR SHAH: The solar power only produces 15 percent of the store’s use all year around. But it produces between 50 and 100 percent of its energy needs during the daytime. And that’s the time when the power from the utility company is the most expensive.

NARRATOR: This is especially true in the summer.

LARRY KAZMERSKI: During the summer months, when you have all this air conditioning demand during the day—you know, it’s 95 degrees with 98 percent humidity outside—you’re not paying seven cents a kilowatt-hour. You’re paying up to 30 cents a kilowatt-hour during the summer.

JIGAR SHAH: Whole Foods’ air conditioning bills are the highest when the sun is beating down on their roof. That’s when these solar panels are producing the most power.

NARRATOR: So at these peak hours, solar power is cheaper than grid power. And there’s more potential energy savings for the store.

Electricity rates fluctuate with the price of fossil fuels. And since most experts expect fuel prices to rise, the SunEdison deal has an added benefit for Whole Foods.

JIGAR SHAH: We are guaranteeing Whole Foods a fixed price, for 20 years, from these solar panels. That’s something that their traditional utility company can’t promise them.

NARRATOR: How much Whole Foods saves over the next 20 years will depend on the cost of their conventional energy, but SunEdison knows precisely how much it will make from the Whole Foods deal.

JIGAR SHAH: I know exactly how much sun is going to hit these panels every year. I know exactly how long these panels are going to last, which is about 40 years. And because of that, just based on interest rates and based on my cost of installation, I can figure out exactly whether these systems will be profitable or unprofitable from day one.

VIJAY VAITHEESWARAN: If you look at companies, like SunEdison, who are helping retailers put up solar panels on their roofs, you’re suddenly seeing a linkage of the capital markets—which have traditionally been very reluctant to get into solar energy—with the retail sector. That’s how you do things in America. You link the technology to the capital, and that’s where the rubber hits the road.

NARRATOR: Or where the sun hits the panel.

But in the end, can green stores like Whole Foods and innovative companies like SunEdison really make a difference?

JENNIFER McDONNELL: Businesses can make a difference in the energy mix in our country. And I think they have to, because capitalism is what America is built on. And we expect businesses and entrepreneurs to step up to the plate and bring solutions to the challenges that we face as a country. And solar is—or any renewable energy—to me, is the right thing for business to get involved in.

NARRATOR: And supermarkets aren’t the only candidates for large solar installations.

JIGAR SHAH: With all of the municipal buildings, all of the distribution centers, all of the schools, all of the other big, large, flat roofs that every typical city has, you can meet between 20 and 40 percent of the peak power needs of an average American city.

NARRATOR: There are other large-roof technologies that could create more solar power for the grid. One of the most promising is flexible solar sheeting that can cover very large areas and potentially supply more power than conventional panels.

Still, rooftop solar arrays are not very efficient. Even now the very best panels and coverings convert only 15 percent to 20 percent of the sun’s rays into electricity, about half the conversion efficiency of a coal plant.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
So basically Whole Foods , did not pay any up front costs for the solar installation
Maybe Mom’s can do a similar thing

Jim Lowenstern
703 820 0168

saw this Thursday NOVA on PBS maryland station
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3406_solar.html

Whole Foods market is in Ridgewood, New Jersey. At first glance it’s pretty much like any other Whole Foods: neat and bright, with lots of great looking food at premium prices.
CASHIER (Whole Foods): Hi, would you like paper or plastic?

NARRATOR: But there is one thing different about this particular store. The roof is covered with solar panels. They look expensive, but Whole Foods didn’t pay a cent for them. They’re owned by a solar energy power company called SunEdison. Its founder and CEO is Jigar Shah.

JIGAR SHAH (SunEdison): We help companies like Whole Foods move to solar power. SunEdison and its investors pay all of the upfront costs for these solar systems, and Whole Foods promises to buy the power over a long-term contract.

NARRATOR: Jennifer McDonnell is a Green Mission specialist for Whole Foods.

JENNIFER McDONNELL (Whole Foods, Green Mission Specialist): And we use a lot of energies. And solar power powers everything in this store, from lighting to the steamers, slicers, the coolers, freezers, anything that requires electricity, even the registers.

So it’s important for us to look at ways to make that energy clean and be aware of the amount of energy that we use.

NARRATOR: Solar panels on this store complement, do not replace energy from the grid.

JIGAR SHAH: The solar power only produces 15 percent of the store’s use all year around. But it produces between 50 and 100 percent of its energy needs during the daytime. And that’s the time when the power from the utility company is the most expensive.

NARRATOR: This is especially true in the summer.

LARRY KAZMERSKI: During the summer months, when you have all this air conditioning demand during the day—you know, it’s 95 degrees with 98 percent humidity outside—you’re not paying seven cents a kilowatt-hour. You’re paying up to 30 cents a kilowatt-hour during the summer.

JIGAR SHAH: Whole Foods’ air conditioning bills are the highest when the sun is beating down on their roof. That’s when these solar panels are producing the most power.

NARRATOR: So at these peak hours, solar power is cheaper than grid power. And there’s more potential energy savings for the store.

Electricity rates fluctuate with the price of fossil fuels. And since most experts expect fuel prices to rise, the SunEdison deal has an added benefit for Whole Foods.

JIGAR SHAH: We are guaranteeing Whole Foods a fixed price, for 20 years, from these solar panels. That’s something that their traditional utility company can’t promise them.

NARRATOR: How much Whole Foods saves over the next 20 years will depend on the cost of their conventional energy, but SunEdison knows precisely how much it will make from the Whole Foods deal.

JIGAR SHAH: I know exactly how much sun is going to hit these panels every year. I know exactly how long these panels are going to last, which is about 40 years. And because of that, just based on interest rates and based on my cost of installation, I can figure out exactly whether these systems will be profitable or unprofitable from day one.

VIJAY VAITHEESWARAN: If you look at companies, like SunEdison, who are helping retailers put up solar panels on their roofs, you’re suddenly seeing a linkage of the capital markets—which have traditionally been very reluctant to get into solar energy—with the retail sector. That’s how you do things in America. You link the technology to the capital, and that’s where the rubber hits the road.

NARRATOR: Or where the sun hits the panel.

But in the end, can green stores like Whole Foods and innovative companies like SunEdison really make a difference?

JENNIFER McDONNELL: Businesses can make a difference in the energy mix in our country. And I think they have to, because capitalism is what America is built on. And we expect businesses and entrepreneurs to step up to the plate and bring solutions to the challenges that we face as a country. And solar is—or any renewable energy—to me, is the right thing for business to get involved in.

NARRATOR: And supermarkets aren’t the only candidates for large solar installations.

JIGAR SHAH: With all of the municipal buildings, all of the distribution centers, all of the schools, all of the other big, large, flat roofs that every typical city has, you can meet between 20 and 40 percent of the peak power needs of an average American city.

NARRATOR: There are other large-roof technologies that could create more solar power for the grid. One of the most promising is flexible solar sheeting that can cover very large areas and potentially supply more power than conventional panels.

Still, rooftop solar arrays are not very efficient. Even now the very best panels and coverings convert only 15 percent to 20 percent of the sun’s rays into electricity, about half the conversion efficiency of a coal plant.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
So basically Whole Foods , did not pay any up front costs for the solar installation
Maybe Mom’s can do a similar thing

Jim Lowenstern
703 820 0168

leonsisted@aol.com

Please don’t be rude if you do decide to write. Just lay the facts out, and say how you can help.