Is the Sun Setting on Solar in New Jersey...

...or maybe even the whole world.

Internationally and here at home, Solar is going through a growth crisis.  As with many rushes Solar had a boom and now the honeymoon seems to be over.  Is the industry going to collapse leaving thousands unemployed?  No.

Gold, oil, the industrial revolution, the rush for internet and computerization all had periods of rapid growth and slowdowns as the resources dwindled and the strongest survived to dominate.  Then if you were in the middle or at the bottom and were lucky the trickle down effect kicked in creating capital balance and supporting continued commerce.

We are all finding our place in the new economics and if we choose to persist and follow that rainbow there is a pot of gold.  I have said it before, renewables are a part of a 100 year wave for energy and clean energy is the maturing of that trend.

So that was all good and philosophical.  How do we make it real.  For starters we need to know what the market is doing and we need to figure out where we fit in.  Are we are going to follow failing trends, make our own way or wait and see, so that we can jump on the next feeding frenzy.

Not everyone can be a nationwide integrator or an international utility scale developer or get a 500 million dollar loan guarantee and succeed.  It may be advantageous to fold into a larger company or to sell goods to the market.  It's also important not to be confined to one source of renewable energy development.  Lastly I think it's important to remember the real value of what we're doing.  Is it just to make a dollar or are we really trying to make a difference?  I think the latter grows a stronger economic tree in the long run.

by
Rene Reyes, COO Alquimi Solar and President of Alquimi Innovations

Power, Power Everywhere

and not a drop to Drink.

It would seem that with all of the abundant power around us that we would be in a haven of cheap renewable energy.  Thoughts of Nuclear or continued burning of fossil fuels would be a thing of the past but as I spoke about in my last blog, economics plays a strong role in Power and you have to satisfy the Capitalistic Beast before you can bask in the golden light.

So how do we please the beast and change the world.  Can we chant and pray our way to Nirvana and give our children a brighter future?  That may have Karmic value but it lacks immediacy.

No our solution for the immediate implementation of Renewable Bliss is to buy and make the Capitalistic Beast hunger for our Magic Dollar's new direction.  You see the scent of money is strong enough to make the mighty beast cause global effects and make the Corporate Giants follow suit.

Try to buy what you can afford that says "Green and Renewable" whether it's a light bulb or a Solar Panel for your home to power that light bulb.  If you have a business with space to put up a hundred solar panels do it; it will pay for itself.  The new geothermal systems coming out can provide you with heat, air-conditioning and electricity.  And anything that you can do with Hydrogen (you know that molecule that is the first part of water; the most abundant fuel on Earth); do it.

Rene Reyes

Rene Reyes is the owner of Alquimi Innovations and the co-owner of Alquimi Solar in New Jersey.

www.alquimisolar.com

914.523.5910

Let’s Talk Energy, Power and Money

Let’s Talk Energy, Power and Money

March 12, 2012

Energy is quite literally, Power.  Because of the broader implications of that statement it is necessary to look at Energy with that understanding.  Money is also Power and the relationship between these three is very important when discussing the deployment and utilization of Energy whether we’re talking fossil fuels or renewable energy. 

While Renewable Energy promises and “Unending Resource”, building an infrastructure to harness Renewable energy does cost Money.   The United States Federal 1603 and subsequent ITC 30% tax credit programs under President Obama has been a real boon to renewable energy but in order for there to be real Return on Investment the States need to augment the federal program with local programs such as the SREC programs in NJ and Massachusetts and the new ZREC program in Connecticut and the Feed in Program in California. Keeping these programs stabilized is something we’ll talk about in a later blog.

To give you an idea of the economics, the Money, you first need to understand ROI or Return on Investment.  It’s the basis for any business transaction.  If I pay 1 dollar for a widget and want to sell it for $2, I need to know how much it cost me in time and expense to get my 2 dollars and how much it’s worth by the time I get it.  The uncertainty of knowing whether or not a profit is going to be realized is the real threat to renewable energy being deployed as quickly as we’d like and hope.  But in either case it’s this return that is the real Power behind the successful growth of renewable energy.  It’s this Power we need to look at to continue to power the growth of renewable energy.

From a much broader view the other important thing to understand is that the “Green” initiative in this country and the world is not a fad or an independent wave, its part of the 100 year old energy wave that includes oil, coal and natural gas.  It’s a part of the growth and expansion of mankind on this planet and our insatiable need for Energy. 

Gadgets are golden, and light is something we take for granted and are hard pressed to live without. 

Yes renewable energy is here to stay and will grow even when the ROIs seem dim and States don’t have a great program.

Rene Reyes

Rene Reyes is the owner of Alquimi Innovations and the co-owner of Alquimi Solar in New Jersey.

www.alquimisolar.com

914.523.5910