Register to attend the November 11th Member’s Meeting

Enter your email address in the blue form below and join the directors of Show Me Solar for a semi-annual members meeting online, November 11th from 7-8 pm CST.  This meeting is designed for us to receive feedback for planning next year’s event calendar and, oh, by the way we will be generating the winning raffle ticket number as well! The odds are still good with only 72 chances sold so while you are here consider purchasing a few chances – click here to read more about the fundraiser and to buy as many chances as you like using our PayPal account.

Show Me Solar – RETI Announce Partnership for 2011

November 1st, 2010 – Show Me Solar SunBeams – ShowMeSolar.org 

    Show Me Solar is pleased to announce the recent addition of The Renewable Training Institute (RETI) of St. Louis, Missouri to it’s list of sponsors for the 2011 calendar year.  Based out of it’s Owen Ridge Campus in Webster Groves Missouri, the nonprofit training institute launched it’s first six month training course in solar photovoltaics this past July.  Plans exist to expand the training courses offered by RETI to include solar thermal, geothermal and wind technologies as well.  Offering priority status to veterans, active duty members of the military and their spouses, RETI has recently received a grant which originated from the Federal Department of Labor to commence training 20 veterans from a waiting list of over 40 students this December in partnership with St. Louis Community College.  Stay tuned for a follow-up article in next week’s Show Me Solar SunBeams profiling a top student at RETI whose personal solar energy project will be the highlight of an upcoming Department of Labor career fair on November, 11th.  

   Ever since the directors and instructors of RETI first attended a Show Me Solar workshop in May of this year, (see the previously published SunBeams article "Saturday Solar Workshop a Smashing Success"), the partnership between RETI and Show Me Solar has steadily grown through participation in several additional Show Me Solar events including  the recent Energy Raiser at Terra Bella farm (see “Energy Raiser Provides Valuable Hands-On Experience”) as well as this year’s Show Me Solar Tour in St. Louis (see “Sunny Saturday for St. Louis Solar Tour”).  Now an official sponsor of Show Me Solar for 2011, RETI and Show Me Solar have already begun to plan for the upcoming calendar year of events.  Plans which include scheduling an Energy Raiser event to help with the installation of a 2 kW solar electric array at the home of a disabled veteran who lives in Jennings, Missouri – part of the Green Homes for Heroes Program funded by the Master Sergeant Frank L. Green Heritage Foundation.  Show Me Solar looks forward to collaborating with the students, instructors and directors of RETI on this project and at many more solar energy training events in the upcoming year.

For more information on RETI, it’s training program and mission please visit their website at http://retimo.org

About RETI

The Renewable Energy Training Institute (RETI) of St. Louis, Missouri is a non-profit organization adopting as its mission to educate, train, and prepare qualified, competent, and competitive individuals for positions within the green energy industry.  During May 2010 RETI launches its six-month program in Solar Photovoltaics whereby graduates are being prepared, and positioned, to take the NABCEP certification examination, the most widely established and respected national certification for the solar PV profession.

Energy Raiser Provides Valuable Hands On Experience

Updated November 9th, 2010 – Work on the Terra Bella off-grid solar array has been completed and after meeting with the owner of Terra Bella farm, the system was commissioned on Sunday, November 7th by Kevin Allemann of Show Me Solar.  The photo on the right shows the finished solar closet and yes, the light bulb in the ceiling is solar powered!  So far all systems have been working perfectly and the system has completed several discharge and recharge cycles successfully.  When the construction crew learned the system was on they quickly shut off their generator and plugged in their power tools.  The owner and farm crew also learned a valuable lesson in energy conservation after having first installed 600 Watts of incandescent light bulbs in the building.  After replacing the incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents the inverter read 160 Watts output, almost 75% less power consumption, leaving the conserved power for other uses such as ceiling fans and power tools.  Plans remain to monitor the performance of the system through the winter into next year.  Thanks again to Robert Nix professional member of Show Me Solar and resident of Columbia, Missouri for his attention to detail and dedication in constructing a vented battery box (as seen in the photo) to house the eight flooded lead acid batteries that provide storage for the solar energy produced by the system. 

  Marking the fifth Energy Raiser event of 2010 and the second system designed and installed by Kevin Allemann and Jeffrey Owens of Show Me Solar, plans turn now to next year calendar of events.  If you are a property owner interested in supporting Show Me Solar’s mission to provide access to educational and training opportunities in solar energy technologies and would like to consider turning your solar project into an Energy Raiser event please contact Jeffrey Owens, Executive Director of Show Me Solar at jowens@showmesolar.org.

For further details on the project continue on to read the original blog post covering the Energy Raiser event that took place Saturday, October 16th.  The system was also shown at an open house event hosted by Terra Bella farm on Halloween (for more details on Terra Bella and contact information and a list of events at the farm see the bottom paragraph of this post).

Saturday, October 16th, Auxvasse, Missouri – Last Saturday witnessed Show Me Solar’s latest Solar Energy Raiser event at Terra Bella farm near Auxasse, Missouri.  Kevin Allemann, director of Show Me Solar and lead installer for the project had prepped the roof of the building by installing Iron Ridge rack mount rails on boot flanged stand-offs.  The building is an historic carriage house circa 1900-1910 and had just been relocated to set it back according to code from the nearby county highway.  The composition roof was removed and replaced by a cedar shake roof.  The scaffolding used by the roofer came in handy to mount three Canadian Solar 180W crystallized silicon modules on the roof.  A small group of seven worked diligently and by the end of the day had all three modules mounted and the wires terminated in a combiner box inside the roof.  A separate crew under the lead of carpenter and handyman extraordinaire, Rob Nix, came close to completing the battery box designed to hold eight 6 Volt, flooded lead acid batteries that will serve as storage for this small off-grid solar array.  The energy demand of the farm hands who will be using the building is light and in keeping with the sustainability mission of the farm, the system was designed to match the electricity requirements as closely as possible in order to keep the overall carbon footprint of the installation as small as possible.  Show Me Solar plans to monitor the performance of the system over the upcoming year and if necessary, adjustments will be made according to any changes in the energy usage profile of the building.  Plenty of space remains on the south facing portion of the roof for expansion of the array.

  This marks the fifth solar Energy Raiser  project for Show Me Solar so far since initiating the program earlier this year.  The projects have ranged from documenting a system as it was installed by a local solar company (see Show Me Solar Member Walks the Talk) to last weekend’s Energy Raiser in which case the entire project from site evaluation to commissioning of the system was completely handled by members of Show Me Solar.  Similar to Habitat for Humanity projects or old fashion Amish barn raisers, Show Me Solar Energy Raisers are a great way for our members to pool resources and share experience installing solar systems first hand not to mention helping a fellow member go solar all at the same time.  Show Me Solar plans to document the performance of the Energy Raiser systems and include them on the fall solar tours in upcoming years whenever possible.  Great training opportunities for those seeking entry into the field of solar energy, Energy Raisers are often coupled with educational workshops.  In fact, for the upcoming year, Show Me Solar hopes to engage experienced solar instructors more and more as we continue to provide solar education workshops in conjunction with Energy Raiser projects. 

For more information on Show Me Solar and our Energy Raiser events please visit the Show Me Solar website page – www.ShowMeSolar.org/energyraiser.htm 

For more information on our solar training partners please visit www.ShowMeSolar.org/training.htm

About Terra Bella Farm:

Located about twenty minutes from Columbia, Missouri and just under a hundred miles from St. Louis, Terra Bella Farm is 160 acres of mixed pasture, creek, and woods, with 12 acres of produce, herbs, and flowers. We strive to provide high quality food to fuel our local communities, our hard working apprentices, our extended families, and ourselves. We operate a thriving Communited Supported Agriculture program, and sell directly at area Farmers’ Markets, natural food stores, and restaurants. Community outreach such as leading educational farm tours, donating seedlings to community gardens, and finding homes for our surplus produce at local food pantries is vital to our long-term farming goals and our commitment to being a socially-responsible business.

About Show Me Solar:

Grass roots organized in 2007, Show Me Solar is a non-profit public benefit organization incorporated and based in the state of Missouri. We are board operated and member supported. Our mission is to educate the general public about the benefits of solar living and to advocate for the increased use of solar energy in the United States. To that end we host free and low cost presentations, workshops, classes, and seminars and participate in fairs, festivals and events related to renewable energy throughout the nation and it’s territories. Show Me Solar organizes installations of solar systems for demonstration and training purposes – events referred to as Energy Raisers. Show Me Solar also partners with the American Solar Energy Society to sponsor annual tours of solar systems as part of the ASES national solar tour event.

Learn about the latest developments in the solar energy industry, find the information you need to go solar and make the contacts you need to be part of the solar energy revolution. Attend a meeting or workshop online or in person, join our email list, become a member and help support our mission through donations and by volunteering your time at an upcoming event. We provide for-profit entities with access to our membership through sponsorship channels and non-profits with overlapping missions are also welcome to contact us to establish partnerships.

www.ShowMeSolar.org

Show Me Solar Hosts Jason Ramsey of the Missouri State Treasurer’s Office

Join Show Me Solar Online, Tuesday, October 26th, from 7-8 pm CST as we host Jason Ramsey of the Missouri State Treasurer’s office.  Jason will discuss the portion of the Missouri Linked Deposit low interest loan program designed to help Missourians finance renewable energy projects at their home or business.  Questions from the audience are welcomed.

To register please submit your email address in the form below:

About the Missouri Linked Deposit Program

The Missouri Linked Deposit Program partners with lenders to provide low-interest loans to help create and retain Missouri jobs, expand the economy and strengthen communities statewide.

The Missouri Linked Deposit Program for Alternative Energy provides low-interest loans to stimulate alternative energy growth and development. Eligibility guidelines have expanded to make loans available to:

1. Businesses producing energy or fuel for sale or for their own use.
2. Consumers purchasing, installing or constructing equipment that produces alternative energy, such as solar panels or wind facilities.

Download Jason’s presentation (Microsoft Powerpoint, 600kb) – click here.

For more information on the program visit the webpage:

http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/AlternativeEnergy.aspx

To contact Jason please send email to:

Jason.Ramsey@treasurer.mo.gov

Or call:

(573) 751-2372

About Show Me Solar

Grass roots organized in 2007, Show Me Solar is a non-profit public benefit organization incorporated and based in the state of Missouri. We are board operated and member supported. Our mission is to educate the general public about the benefits of solar living and to advocate for the increased use of solar energy in the United States. To that end we host free and low cost presentations, workshops, classes, and seminars and participate in fairs, festivals and events related to renewable energy throughout the nation and it’s territories. Show Me Solar organizes installations of solar systems for demonstration and training purposes – events referred to as Energy Raisers. Show Me Solar also partners with the American Solar Energy Society to sponsor annual tours of solar systems as part of the ASES national solar tour event.

Learn about the latest developments in the solar energy industry, find the information you need to go solar and make the contacts you need to be part of the solar energy revolution. Attend a meeting or workshop online or in person, join our email list, become a member and help support our mission through donations and by volunteering your time at an upcoming event. We provide for-profit entities with access to our membership through sponsorship channels and non-profits with overlapping missions are also welcome to contact us to establish partnerships.

SMS Hosts John Ervin of Midwest Solar Distributors

October 12th, 2010 – ShowMeSolar.org As part of our fall webinar series, on Tuesday October 19th, from 7-8 PM CST, Show Me Solar will be hosting John Ervin of Midwest Solar Distributors for a live presentation entitled “Closed Loop Solar Thermal Systems”.  Once again this presentation will serve a dual purpose as we also highlight John’s company which is based in Hermann, Missouri.   To register for John’s presentation please enter your email in the form below.  You will receive a confirmation email prior to the meeting with a link to join.  For a complete listing of the fall SMS webinars and for links to join the meeting anytime, please visit www.ShowMeSolar.org/webinar.htm

About Midwest Solar Distributors

Midwest Solar Distributors is located in Hermann, Missouri.  We are a stocking wholesaler for Heliodyne Solar Water Heating Systems and Equipment.  We supply plumbing contractors, home builders and general contractors with solar water heating solutions.   We also offer consulting for both residential and commercial solar projects.  If you need immediate assistance call us at  (573)778-7044 or email john@midwestsolardistributors.com.

About Show Me Solar

Grass roots organized in 2007, Show Me Solar is a non-profit public benefit organization incorporated and based in the state of Missouri. We are board operated and member supported. Our mission is to educate the general public about the benefits of solar living and to advocate for the increased use of solar energy in the United States. To that end we host free and low cost presentations, workshops, classes, and seminars and participate in fairs, festivals and events related to renewable energy throughout the nation and it’s territories. Show Me Solar organizes installations of solar systems for demonstration and training purposes – events referred to as Energy Raisers. Show Me Solar also partners with the American Solar Energy Society to sponsor annual tours of solar systems as part of the ASES national solar tour event.

Learn about the latest developments in the solar energy industry, find the information you need to go solar and make the contacts you need to be part of the solar energy revolution. Attend a meeting or workshop online or in person, join our email list, become a member and help support our mission through donations and by volunteering your time at an upcoming event. We provide for-profit entities with access to our membership through sponsorship channels and non-profits with overlapping missions are also welcome to contact us to establish partnerships.

Sunny Saturday for St. Louis Solar Tour

Saturday, October 9th, 2010 – St. Louis, Missouri  Early last Saturday morning a small but dedicated group interested in solar energy began to gather in the parking lot of Maplewood-Richmond Heights high school.  A mixture of homeowners, students and instructors of renewable energy, the tour proceeded to visit four local solar homes in the St. Louis metro area.  With the assistance of Show Me Solar volunteers the tour group carpooled in passenger vans and had a chance to meet each other and network.  With plenty of sun, the solar panels on display were producing a lot of electricity.  Steve Owen of The Energy Savings Store and Gary Steps of Butterfly Energy Works were present to help explain technical details of the solar systems and the installation process.  This year marked the second annual Show Me Solar tour, an official American Solar Energy Society  National Solar Tour event.  For more information on Show Me Solar, a solar cooperative based in Missouri focused on educational and training opportunities in solar please visit www.ShowMeSolar.org

The 2010 Show Me Solar was proud to be part of the ASES National Solar Tour event. 

For more info please visit www.NationalSolarTour.org

Show Me Solar to Host Jim Oakley of O2Geothermal Systems

27 September 2010 – ShowMeSolar.org Join Show Me Solar online once again for another live presentation from guest speaker Jim Oakley of O2Geothermal Systems, Tuesday evening October 5th from 7-8 pm CST.  This time Jim will be speaking on Ground Source Heat pump applications.  His talk comes in a timely fashion as Show Me Solar recently hosted a tour of Terra Nova urban commune in Columbia, Missouri where Jim’s company installed a geothermal system in 2009.  The webinar is free and open to the general public thanks to the generous support of members of Show Me Solar.  To register please submit your email to the registration widget below and in the meantime consider making a charitable donation in support of Show Me Solar’s mission to educate and advocate for increased solar living in the Midwest by clicking on www.ShowMeSolar.org/donate.htm.

About O2Geothermal
http://www.o2geo.com/

Our Mission is to develop an accurate understanding of your interests in alternative energy opportunities. Additionally, we will understand the building details of your commercial or residential application. We will help identify and quantify investment choices related to energy efficiencies, energy savings, and ground source energy.

O2Geothermal is dedicated to providing accurate information, innovative, and highly-efficient ground source heat pump recommendations that will meet client expectations. Our client customers should expect cost effective heating and cooling results for both residential and commercial applications that will save them utility costs immediately, and perform as a hedge against the upward spiral of energy costs tomorrow. Our mission is to apply developing ground source heat pump technology to improve performance and comfort levels while minimizing our fossil fuel footprint on our environment.

For further information on the services offered by O2Geothermal please contact Jim Oakley by phone at 573-442-7042 or email at jim@o2geo.com

About Show Me Solar

Grass roots organized in 2007, Show Me Solar is a non-profit public benefit organization incorporated and based in the state of Missouri. We are board operated and member supported. Our mission is to educate the general public about the benefits of solar living and to advocate for the increased use of solar energy in the United States. To that end we host free and low cost presentations, workshops, classes, and seminars and participate in fairs, festivals and events related to renewable energy throughout the nation and it’s territories. Show Me Solar organizes installations of solar systems for demonstration and training purposes – events referred to as Energy Raisers. Show Me Solar also partners with the American Solar Energy Society to sponsor annual tours of solar systems as part of the ASES national solar tour event.

Learn about the latest developments in the solar energy industry, find the information you need to go solar and make the contacts you need to be part of the solar energy revolution. Attend a meeting or workshop online or in person, join our email list, become a member and help support our mission through donations and by volunteering your time at an upcoming event. We provide for-profit entities with access to our membership through sponsorship channels and non-profits with overlapping missions are also welcome to contact us to establish partnerships.

Registration Now Open for the October 16th, Terra Bella Energy Raiser

September, 20th, ShowMeSolar.org – Once again, members of Show  Me Solar are banding together to help a fellow member go solar.  This time Show Me Solar will be installing a small off-grid solar electric array at Terra Bella farm near Hatton, Missouri and holding an Energy Raiser from 9am-5pm on Saturday, October 16th (IMPORTANT: Google directions are not correct; please see registration details below).  This is the second small system to be installed in support of this  pioneering farm project that is slowly but surely going green including using solar to take farm building completely off-grid one by one.  View the article we posted here at Show Me Solar SunBeams documenting the first building we took off-grid at Terra Bella Farm by clicking on the following link – Small Off-Grid Installation adds Appeal to the Latest Show Me Solar Workshop 

The system to be installed on Saturday, October 16th will power lights, fans and few outlets for charging appliances in an historic 100 year old carriage house (photo above).  Plans are to keep the carbon footprint small by matching the system size as close as possible to the actual power requirements of the farm hands who will be using the building to prep and store produce.  Although small (rated 540 Watts), the system will be complete from 3 solar modules mounted on the roof to a charge controlled battery bank outfitted in a special storage closet inside the barn.  Attendees will benefit from the knowledge and experience of Kevin Allemann, director of Show Me Solar and lead installer for this project. 

Registration is limited to 10, first come first serve.  Current membership in Show Me Solar is required (please visit www.ShowMeSolar.org/join.htm for details on registering your membership if you are not currently a member).  Previous experience installing solar is not an absolute must but some familiarity with solar energy systems will be of benefit.  Consider enrolling in a solar energy workshop sponsored by Show Me Solar’s training partner The Evergreen Institute (for details visit www.ShowMeSolar.org/training.htm).

To register contact Kevin at kallemann@showmesolar.org.  Provide your full name, membership status, phone number and email where you can be reached.  Details including directions will be forwarded upon registration.  Terra Bella Farm has generously offered to provide a picnic lunch to the Energy Raiser.  Those with special dietary concerns should plan on packing and bringing their own lunch.

Terra Bella Energy Raiser #2
Near Hatton, Missouri
9 am – 5 pm, Saturday October 16th, 2010
Registration Contact: Kevin Allemann,
kallemann@showmesolar.org

About Terra Bella Farm:

Located about twenty minutes from Columbia, Missouri and just under a hundred miles from St. Louis, Terra Bella Farm is 160 acres of mixed pasture, creek, and woods, with 12 acres of produce, herbs, and flowers. We strive to provide high quality food to fuel our local communities, our hard working apprentices, our extended families, and ourselves. We operate a thriving Communited Supported Agriculture program, and sell directly at area Farmers’ Markets, natural food stores, and restaurants. Community outreach such as leading educational farm tours, donating seedlings to community gardens, and finding homes for our surplus produce at local food pantries is vital to our long-term farming goals and our commitment to being a socially-responsible business.

“Solar and Wind Installations Across Missouri – How you can do it too!”

September 20th, 2010, ShowMeSolar.org – On Tuesday evening from 7-8 pm CST, Show Me Solar will host Susan Brown, VP for Sales and Marketing, The Energy Savings Store (TESS), online as she presents “Solar and Wind Installations Across Missouri – How you can do it too!” to a live audience .  This marks Susan’s second appearance as a guest speaker on a Show Me Solar webinar series.  In February of this year Susan shared photos and details regarding a wide variety of solar and wind systems installed by TESS in Missouri and Kansas over the last decade.  In fact, click here to go to the associated SMS SunBeams news blog release from her last appearance.

This fall we expect an updated version of her last presentation along with another opportunity to meet a representative of local Missouri solar company.  Two homes with solar systems installed by TESS will be showcased on this year’s St. Louis Show Me Solar Tour (for details and to register for the fall solar tour in St. Louis on October 9th please click here).

This webinar is free and open to the general public thanks to the generosity of members of Show Me Solar.  Registration is required.  Please use the form below. 

For more information on The Energy Savings Store please visit their website at http://www.ewindandsolar.com/

For more information on Show Me Solar please visit www.ShowMeSolar.org. 

To see the complete Fall webinar schedule, please visit www.ShowMeSolar.org/webinar.htm 

While there please consider making a charitable contribution and/or becoming a member of the Show Me Solar Cooperative by clicking on www.ShowMeSolar.org/join.htm.

Missouri Solar Tours make National News

September, 14th, St. Louis, Missouri – Once again, the Missouri Show Me Solar Tours have been selected from among hundreds of local events to be featured nationally.  With current events focused on troops returning home from Iraq, Show Me Solar and the Show Me Solar Tours in Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri have entered the national spotlight via the story of Show Me Solar founder and current executive director of Show Me Solar, Jeffrey Owens.  Chosen from over 600 local tour events registered with ASES for the 2010 National Solar Tour event, Missourians can take pride in the great strides they have taken in recent years to make the switch to solar living.  The 2010 National Solar Tour Event, which is in it’s 15th year this year, is shaping up to be the largest such event yet with local tours taking place across the nation this fall.  Last year over 150,000 attended a solar open house as part of the ASES National Solar Tour event and this year early estimates indicate triple that number will be participating.

Find a copy of Jeff’s story on the National Solar Tour website at http://nationalsolartour.org/articles/iraqi-war-veteran-leaves-war-for-oil-fight-renewable-energy-revolution

Learn more about the ASES National Solar Tour event visit the National Solar Tour website at http://nationalsolartour.org

If you are new to Show Me Solar consider attending one of the two local events. 

In St. Louis, registration is now available for a guided tour that will take place on Saturday, October 9th from 9:30 am to approximately 4:30 pm.  Each stop on the guided tour will feature a different aspect of the process of evaluating, designing and installing solar systems. Tour attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions of the owners and representatives of companies who installed the systems. A free preview of the tour will take place at the EarthWays Center during the Green Homes Festival on Saturday, September 25th.  For more information and to register for the St. Louis Show Me Solar Tour event please visit the Show Me Solar website at http://www.showmesolar.org/registration.htm

In Columbia, Show Me Solar has partnered with the Sustainable Living Fair to showcase three solar homes each featuring a different solar strategy including passive solar, solar thermal and solar electricity on Sunday, September 26th, beginning at 9:30 am.  The Columbia Sustainable Living fair will be held at Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri and is a free event open to the general public.  For more details on the Columbia Show Me Solar Tour please visit the schedule of events on the Sustainable Living Fair’s website at http://www.slfcolumbia.org/schedule.php

The 2010 Show Me Solar are proud to be part of the ASES National Solar Tour event.  For more info please visit www.NationalSolarTour.org