June 2009

HelioEMS, Energy Management Solutions, will join representatives from leading energy related firms at the upcoming West Coast Energy Management Congress (EMC).  EMC is the largest energy conference and technology expo held on the U.S. West Coast specifically for business, industrial and institutional energy users.  The event will be held in the Long Beach Convention Center, June 10-11, 2009. 

TR Bietsch, Managing Director and Michael Murray, Director/LEED AP, will be on hand in the HelioEMS booth #446.  Operating from the principal "you can’t save what you don’t measure," HelioEMS provides intelligent monitoring technology.  The company's advanced, real-time energy use analytics and alerting service empowers clients to optimize energy/load reduction and cost savings.

WC EMC brings together the top experts in all areas of the energy field to help attendees set a clear, optimum path to both energy cost control and energy supply security. EMC offers opportunities to explore promising new technologies, compare energy supply and alternative energy options, and learn about innovative project implementation strategies.

West Coast EMC's California Green showcase, co-presented by the U.S. EPA's ENERGY STAR®, will also be a prominent part of the event for 2009. The latest green / sustainable / environmentally friendly energy technologies will be on display for both new design and retrofit projects.

For more information, click here.

Friday the 26th annual Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival kicks off.  The crowd is expected to number 40,000 people for the award winning three-day festival at the Lake Skinner Recreation Area. If so this figure will match attendance in the past.  Along with balloon rides, wine tasting and music concerts this year will see a first, the "Go Green" section.  Event organizers are putting environmentally related vendors near the entrance of the festival.  City waste management and other entities will focus on recycling.  Solar providers including HelioPower will be there as well.

"Our solar energy consultants can help visitors determine whether their roof and electric usage is appropriate for solar power," said Scott Gordon, director of sales for HelioPower.  Scott is heading up a team of six HelioPower solar energy consultants to staff the booth. "Bring a Google Map printout of your home or building, which will show your roof top and copies of your electric bills to our booth," continued Scott.   "We'll talk with you on the spot to help you determine if you can do solar.  We're excited about this event and happy to be back."   HelioPower, founded in 2001 in Fallbrook, has participated in the event previously. 

For the official event website, click here.

Recent Press Enterprise article, click here.

LA Times Daily Travel & Deal blog article, click here.

From The San Diego Union Tribune, May 31, 2009, staff writer Onell R. Soto:  "Power to the people. One Block Off the Grid uses community activism to build networks of solar energy systems so homeowners can get volume discounts. "

Excerpts, for full article click here.

The renovation, the insulation and the new kitchen all helped, but Meg Goldfeather couldn't get her 1926 University Heights bungalow to save enough power.

She can't stand looking at her three-digit utility bills, knowing she could generate her own electricity using solar panels on her roof.

But cost has been an obstacle. So when Goldfeather's electrician suggested she look at something called One Block Off the Grid, she was interested.

“The minute I read it, I thought, this is absolutely it,” Goldfeather said. “Community effort, lower price.”

One Block Off the Grid, or 1bog.org, is a campaign that groups together people interested in buying solar power so they can get volume discounts. It is run by Virgance, a San Francisco company that uses activism campaigns to bring about social change while also making money.

After requesting proposals from local solar installers (in San Diego), Virgance enlisted groSolar and HelioPower, two companies whose prices – $6.09 a watt – impress longtime advocates of the technology.

“I might have to sign up,” said Bill Powers, an electrical engineer who is looking to expand his own solar energy system. He said many of the region's power problems, such as reliability and prices, would be alleviated if more people put the systems on their roofs.

Per watt, these installations would be less expensive than the massive systems installed on warehouse roofs just two years ago, in part because solar panel prices are dropping, Powers said.
The campaign now under way comes as a worldwide economic slump pushes solar panel prices down and government subsidies make systems more affordable.

A typical household system provides about 3,000 to 5,000 watts at peak production. Its size is determined by how much power a household uses in a month, with the goal being to replace the most expensive electricity.

Residential systems typically cost $7 to $9 per watt, said Irene Stillings, executive director of the Center for Sustainable Energy, which tracks state rebates for such installations.