WASHINGTON, DC:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. completed installation of a fully automatic solar water heating system at Park Tower, an apartment building located in the historic Adams Morgan neighborhood.

The building is home to 125 apartment units throughout its five floors.  SES was contracted by Skyline Innovations, a third party solar developer, to install and commission the solar thermal system.  It consists of 48 solar thermal panels and three 1000 gallon thermal storage tanks.  The system is slated to offset a huge portion of the building’s conventional water heating system.

WASHINGTON, DC:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. began work today on the installation of a solar water heating system at Webster House, a condominium complex in downtown Washington, DC.

The building houses 175 units on its 9 floors, and contracted with Skyline Innovations, a third party solar developer, to offset its large heating load with solar.  The building will be outfitted with 44 solar thermal collectors and a 3,111 gallon thermal storage tank.  The system promises to offset a huge portion of the building’s conventional water heating system.

WASHINGTON, DC:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. of Millersville, MD has been contracted by Skyline Innovations, Inc., a Washington, DC third-party solar developer, to install two solar water heating systems at the George Washington University campus in downtown DC.

The systems include a ballasted 30-panel evacuated tube system on the flat rooftop of one dormitory and a similar 60-panel system on the flat rooftop of another dormitory. The 30-panel system design will utilize an existing 2,500 gallon storage tank in the penthouse for solar storage, while the 60-panel system design utilizes an existing 2,500 gallon tank in the basement mechanical room.

Click HERE for post-installation pics

WASHINGTON, DC: In partnership with Skyline Innovations, a third-party solar developer, Solar Energy Services, Inc. completed installation on a homeless shelter in downtown Washington, DC.

S.O.M.E. (So Others May Eat) is an interfaith community-based organization in the Nation’s Capital. The extensive renovations to their 53-person dwellings at the Chabraja House included a solar system expected to substantially reduce utility costs by offsetting their conventional water heating system.

Ten solar thermal collectors facing south on the building’s rooftop are closed-loop plumbed to 4, 120 gallon solar storage tanks inside the building.

Click HERE for pics and info

BOWIE, MD:  Millersville, MD-based Solar Energy Services, Inc. just completed the installation of a Solar Photovoltaic (electric) system on the City of Bowie’s TV & Radio Museum on Mitchellville Road in Bowie, MD.

The 8.820kW system includes 36 245 watt Solar Panels mounted to the roof of the buildling, along with 36 microinverters that convert the incoming AC energy to usable DC energy.  The grid-tied system will offset a significant portion of the building’s conventional electric supply.

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“Energy touches every aspect of our lives, from the cost of heating our homes to sustaining our resources for future generations.” O’Malley said. “We’re all here today because we understand that we are in a fight for our children’s future. Maryland is leading the nation’s efforts in clean energy and sustainability, and our state’s growing ‘green’ sector is vital to our ability to create jobs and compete globally in the new economy.”

The governor’s appearance, coupled with a growing vendor and visitor base, was seen by Lopez as a good sign.

“It’s good to see the governor is paying attention to these issues,” Lopez said. “The face that we have more than 500 people here shows the public is starting to take notice, as well. Now we just have to take the things we’ve learned and apply them. We need to make these things mainstream.”

One of the vendors was Millersville-based Solar Energy Services. Founded by Roger Perry in 2006, the company analyzes homes and installs solar panels for electricity, hot water and pool heaters, among other uses.

To heat enough water for an average family of four, Solar Energy Services installs two 4-foot by 8-foot solar panels at a cost of approximately $10,000, Perry said. But residents will receive Solar Renewable Energy Credits, along with other state and federal incentives, that will allow the panels to “pay for themselves” in just over two years, Perry said.

Both Perry and Solar Energy Services President Rick Peters say business has been exploding recently.

“We’re growing 80 percent a year, ” Peters said. “We’re growing and we just hired mroe people, so we’re also creating jobs.”

Another Millersville company, Kenergy Solar, also was at the expo. Though the company is only 2 years old, it already has installed solar panels throughout Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties, Coordinator Julia Sullivan said.

Sullivan praised O’Malley and the state’s legislators who are pushing for new, innovative renewable energy policies.

“They’re helping us create a sustainable industry,” Sullivan said.

Lopez is putting putting on another expo in Pennsylvania next month and hopes to eventually expand to Ohio, New York and beyond. He also hopes to add more to the expo in Timonium to a point where the parking lot is full of vendors and visitors alike, he said.

“We haven’t even scratched teh surface of what we can do.” Lopez said.

Maryland Energy Administration Director Malcolm Woolf shared similar sentiments.

“Maryland ahs emerged as a national leader in energy innovation, thanks to the smart choices we’ve made over the last five years,” Woolf said. “Today’s energy summit futher underscores Maryland’s commitment to accelerating our transition to a clean energy future.”

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Your recent editorial (The Capital, April 18) suggested Gov. O’Malley should put more emphasis on the distributed approach to renewable energy, where solar and wind power are generated by smaller systems throughout the state. In fact, the governor intends to sign legislation next month to do just that. Delegate Sally Jameson and state Senator Robert Garagiola sponsored what is essentially budget-neutral legislation (HB/933/SB717) to open up the state’s solar goals to include solar water heating, a very mature and efficient technology, first patented in Baltimore in 1891.

This family friendly technology currently saves a typical family of four about $500 per year on electric bills by obtaining 75 percent of their annual water heating energy from solar. The new law will allow system owners to sell green credits to help utilities comply with the state’s solar goals. Consequently, homeowners will now see simple paybacks on these affordable systems shortened from five to eight years to a very manageable two to four years, on a 25-year lifespan.

Aside from advancing our solar goals, and allowing modest-income homeowners to participate in the benefits of solar, there are significant economic benefits too. Solar water heating is a labor intensive installation, which keeps dollars recirculating in the community. It requires trades people to install it, a group much in need of work.

The components are low tech, but heavy and bulky , so there is strong incentives to manufacture domestically, if not locally. A typical residential system only requires 40 to 80 square feet of sunny roof, drastically increasing the potential pool of participants.

As a daily consumer of solar-heated water himself, O’Malley is well aware of the opportunity for Maryland. I commend him and our legislators for their leadership on this issue.

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WASHINGTON, DC:  Solar Energy Services, Inc. recently completed the installation of a dual solar water heating system at a twin apartment complex in downtown Washington, DC.

Each of the two apartment buildings located on S Street were equipped with 20, 4′ x 10′ solar thermal collectors plumbed into a water storage tank.  The labor and material costs of the solar water heating systems have been absorbed by a third-party solar developer, Skyline Innovations, who will assume the role of a utility company for the solar portion of the building’s hot water load.

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MARYLAND GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL TO INCLUDE SOLAR WATER HEATING IN ITS RENEWABLE ENERGY DIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS

Annapolis, MD – May 20, 2011. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law yesterday a bill that makes solar water heating systems eligible to produce Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs), making the proven technology more affordable to homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies.

Under the new provision, owners of solar water heating (SWH) systems will now be able to sell the SRECs or “green attributes” of the energy they produce, just like solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. The new law will reduce system owners’ utility bills, improve the environment by reducing pollution from power plants, diversify our energy supply, and create additional green jobs in Maryland. Several other states and the District of Columbia already include solar water heating as a means to meet their renewable energy requirements.

“The passage and signing of the solar hot water bill brings great opportunity to the solar industry and to the residents of Maryland, ” said Delegate Sally Jameson, D-Charles County, who sponsored the bill. “Jobs will be created while helping to meet our energy needs and Maryland’s solar requirements under the Renewable Portfolio Standard. It’s a good thing for families and it’s a good thing for Maryland!”

Maryland utilities are required to buy an increasing amount of SRECs to meet their requirements under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. Businesses and homeowners with solar PV and solar water heaters generate SRECs that are sold to utilities, ultimately making solar technology more affordable. Maryland taxpayers do not fund SRECs, but utilities pay for these through very small surcharges in electric rates. The new law will substantially boost markets for solar water heating while creating much-needed jobs across the state.

The first patent for a device using solar energy to heat water was issued to a Baltimore inventor in 1891, and solar water heating is used extensively across Europe and China.

“By including solar water heating in the RPS, Maryland will increase access to this proven technology,” remarked Maryland Senator Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery Co., another bill sponsor. “This law will help homeowners, small businesses, non-profits and government agencies alike finance solar water heating systems and in turn allow many more Marylanders to participate in the benefits of solar energy.”

Mike Healy, partner at Skyline Innovations and the head of MDV-SEIA’s solar thermal division commented: “This is an exciting time for the solar water heating industry. The Maryland legislation is already creating new solar installation jobs among firms in our membership. We are very grateful to Maryland legislators for acting on this enormous opportunity.”

Gov. O’Malley signed another solar energy bill into law, making changes to the state’s “net metering” rules allowing owners of photovoltaic systems to sell electricity back to their electric utility.

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O’Malley backs Md.’s solar-power water heating market

The legislation would boost a type of renewable energy generation that hasn’t received the same cachet as photovoltaic solar panels but can be significantly cheaper. Solar panels have long been supported by the solar credits, which help add extra pay-back to the technology aside from reduced utility bills. Now the same benefit will be afforded to owners of solar water heating systems, and it could spark new jobs for solar companies.

“It’s fantastic, ” Dimitris Spiliadis, co-owner of the Black Olive Restaurant and the soon-to-open Inn at the Black Olive hotel, said of the legislation.

Spiliadis recently completed construction of a solar water heating system on the roof the Fells Point hotel, and he said the technology’s efficiency and energy savings rivals that of solar panels. “Recognizing that in Maryland would be something that would put Maryland on the forefront of renewable energy promotion, ” Spiliadis said.

While the details of the legislation haven’t been revealed, the idea behind solar credits is that the owner of a solar system accuries one credit for each megawatt hour of solar power generated. The credits can be sold in a marketplace to utilities or other energy companies that are looking to buy credits if they haven’t generated enough solar power on their own. Prices vary but can reach $300 a piece.

Solar hot water heaters do not use solar panel technology; instead, a system of tubes through a copper plate heat water. There is also an electric-powered backup system for use as needed at night and during winter.

O’Malley said Jan. 12 a bill making solar water heating systems eligible for generating solar renewable energy credits would be part of his legislative agenda. His spokesman Shaun Adamec would not provide any further details but said the bill would likely be unveiled Jan. 24.

A smiliar bill nearly became law in 2010 but fell short in the House of Delegates despite a fervent lobbying effort from members of the industry such as Mike Healy, owner of Skyline Innovations in Washington, D.C., and Rick Peters, president of Solar Energy Services in Millersville. The governor’s backing and the extra time lawmakers have had to study the issue boost the bill’s chances in 2011.

That could mean Maryland will soon a similar flurry of jobs that companies like Skyline have seen in Washington, D.C., where solar water heating projects are already eligible for the credits. The added cash flow from sale of the credits provides an extra incentive and also makes it easier to finance the projects.

Healy said his company has done about 10 jobs in Washington since November 2009 and has another 1- under contract, compared to one completed job in Maryland. A typical job has a crew of four to six and costs anywhere from $8000 to $10,000 for a residential system to 10 times as much for a large apartment building or hotel, Peters said.

Adding the ability to sell credits could expand that audience of customers. For the typical home a solar panel system can cost three to four times more than a solar water heating system.

“We expect it will allow many more folks to participate in renewable energy further down on the income spectrum, ” Peters said.

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