SEEDS

SEEDS Area Third in State in PV Installations

Now, for some number crunching – which usually just makes us numb-er but this time is really exciting!

Martin Young went to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory site (http://openpv.nrel.gov) and worked out that our little corner of North East Pennsylvania is 3rd in the whole Commonwealth in number of solar photo voltaic installations. [read more]

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“350 Project” Tops Installation Goal

“We have exceeded our goal of 350 kilowatts of solar and wind electric systems installed within a year in Northeast Pennsylvania,” says Katharine Dodge, a spokesperson for SEEDS, the local non-profit renewable energy group that has been sponsoring a year-long campaign called “The 350 Project.” SEEDS has recorded 47 systems put into operation by nine installers in northeast Pennsylvania, mostly Wayne & Pike Counties.all within the last year. Thirty-six of the installs were solar electric and nine were small-scale wind systems for a total of 356.68 kilowatts. Just one kilowatt of solar panels (approximately a ten by ten foot square) can generate about 1,200 kilowatts (kW) of clean electricity annually, saving nearly a ton of CO2 from spewing into the air each year. So, the solar installs alone will save about 298.6 tons of CO2 from going into the atmosphere every year.

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The 350kWhr Saved! project, launched by SEEDS in March of 2010 is on its way toward its goal of helping local families save at least 350 kilowatt hours over last year’s usage on their electric bills. 180 families have signed up, with three months to go.  The project has been supported by PPL Electric Utilities.

“So far, fifteen families have saved 39,208 kilowatt hours,” says Dodge. “That translates into nearly 30 tons of CO2 saved from going into our atmosphere. Our goal is to see savings of 122,500 kWh by the end of March 2011.”

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Saving electricity wasn’t a hardship for the Manoy family of Honesdale, “just hard to get used to,” says Kim Manoy. Kim and her family – husband James, Cora (18), Ripley (17), Sofia (8), and James (4) – were the first to achieve the goal of saving 350 kWh on their electric bill in the “350 kWh Saved!” program sponsored by SEEDS (Sustainable Energy Education Development Support of NEPA).

In fact the Manoys saved 423 kWh between March 2009 and March 2010, cutting their previous usage by more than a third.

“So, while most Northeast Pennsylvanians had higher electric bills this year, this family had a lower one and helped the environment at the same time,” said Katharine Dodge, assistant chair of SEEDS and coordinator of the project. “For their efforts, they also received a discount card to use at 13 local businesses, and are eligible for our grand prize of a Solar Hot Water System.”

Kim’s saving secret? “I pulled the plug on everything–except the fridge, washer, dryer, and stove.”

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SEEDS, in association with Workforce Wayne and PPL Electric Utilites, has developed a pilot program, Wayne Businesses Conserve! (WBC), to encourage local businesses to be recognized as they find ways to conserve energy and save on their bottom line. So far 8 varied organizations ranging from The Dime Bank to Nature’s Grace have signed up to participate.