Campbell Energy Blog

2011-12-27T16:01:00.001-08:00

Year-end VW deals are amazing: loyalty bonuses, lease deals, discounts on diesel Jettas. All from a trusted community - minded salesperson.

2011-12-21T14:40:00.001-08:00

VW Chattanooga factory earns LEED PLATINUM certification! Buy a Passat from me this month: I'll throw in a 12v Solar Battery charger!

2011-12-18T15:04:00.001-08:00

OMG. Certified Pre-Owned TDI Jetta for sale!
8,000 miles= better than new warranty. AND IT'S A DIESEL. Call me for details 206-510-6910

2011-12-14T16:29:00.001-08:00

Buy a car with me this month, get a free Solar Battery Charger AND a great deal on a new or used VW, Audi, or even a Pre-owned trade in!

2010-11-27T11:23:00.001-08:00

LOTS of diesel cars @ Carter: Mileage SmorgasborgrUven!

2010-11-27T11:22:00.001-08:00

2 weeks working at Carter VW Subaru...I'm the master of pre-owned Subaru Foresters!

2010-09-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

Giving my updated Energy Auditor presentation @ 6pm here at Meadowbrook Community Center. Expect pyrotechnics ;) FREE!

2010-09-13T05:31:00.001-07:00

Seattle Energy Farmers' Markets = World Center EcoBuilding Tech, Passive House, Arch2030, Dist2030 @ Code, Cost, Invest, Audit, Work Plan.

2010-09-13T05:19:00.001-07:00

As it turns out, I'm still a professional energy auditor, and my dreams just might come true.

2010-09-13T05:18:00.001-07:00

Seattle Plan 4.2 ready. It will be unveiled on Tuesday 9/14, 5:55pm to 8:08pm @ new City Hall. Observe then participate in history.

2010-07-08T10:48:00.001-07:00

What do my communities value? I value authenticity. I don't always succeed, but I try to be as authentic and transparent as possible.

2010-05-21T12:54:00.001-07:00

Sorry for all the three-peats! I am trying to correct the malfunctions...:)

Selected Community Energy Dots I'm Trying to Connect

2010-05-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

(The following email was sent out to community energy thought leaders in Washington and Colorado)

Dear distributed / community / district / municipal / and neighborhood energy thought leaders:

Here is a collection of my current thoughts on community solar/energy adoption. I am doggedly trying to connect these dots in a financially sustainable way, but I need other minds like yours on the issues. SolarGardens and SolarPanelHosting seem very much to be on the right track. This is a followup to my SWOT analysis of Community Energy Projects written a few months back. The Solar Gardens FAQ is another good summary as well. Skip to the bottom for some admittedly self-interested ways to solve our collective conundrum. Here are the aforementioned thought dots I'm passionately trying to connect (in no particular order):

1. People overwhelmingly want some kind of renewable energy, and in particular solar PV, for their homes, schools and businesses.

2. There are solar installers and integrators that want to connect with that demand, and provide a trusted source for solar contracting services.

3. There is money from ARRA, USDA, DOE, and other govt and non-govt entities to innovate with solar power. Clean and Green stock funds are proliferating to serve an increasingly strong demand for equity investment opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

4. There is a disconnect between people's desire to use solar power in the long term and their desire/ability to spend real money on it in the short term.

5. There is a disconnect between our current cultural trend toward the need for energy independence and our public policy.

6. There are disparate and surprisingly disconnected independent solar installers out there looking for work or trying to get trained to do this work, but their efforts are being replicated and wheels are being vigorously reinvented due to the illusion of needing to "Do it all myself" rather than "work for someone else".

7. Community solar is not a well-described idea for folks outside the solar or progressive renewable energy non-profit world.

8. Energy resources in the form of negawatts (units of energy conservation) are abundant and easily captured but rarely end up being captured in conjunction with energy production.

9. Solar power remains on some level a form of wishful thinking, science fiction, or even outright financial waste to a certain vocal population of Americans.

10. Solar thermal applications are a far better fit for many homes and businesses on financial and energy efficiency terms, but seemingly lack the "bling" or "Prius effect" of solar PV.

11. Many people who talk about and promote solar power do not themselves invest in it, even if they have good insolation profiles. Ditto for energy efficiency professionals.

12. Many citizen groups that focus on the environment spend hundreds of hours of time meeting and discussing Peak Oil, Energy Independence, Green Lifestyles, Wal-Mart and other seemingly vital topics, but don't actually invest in the existing technology that will overcome some or all of the issues they ostensibly care passionately about. They also drive to these meetings in inefficient cars, nyah nyah.

13. The technologies that are necessary for huge sea changes in energy production, conservation, deployment, storage, and wise consumption are already here, waiting for implementation en masse.

14. There are many examples of existing community sustainability projects that are funded entirely by communities, but they are relegated to "pilot", "future" or "experimental" status by an uninformed mainstream press or lazy public bloggers.

15. There are hundreds of community projects that get funding from small and large donations that are essentially depreciating assets like playgrounds, monuments, and outdoor public art works.

16. Lots of smart, dedicated people are out of work and are looking for meaningful careers that can pay the bills, even if this means they need to cut back on things they used to take as necessities.

17. Corporate sustainability programs are being implemented globally, but the small businesses that might be able to easily handle the consulting and implementation work are not getting noticed in the shuffle. Non-sustainably oriented building maintenance companies that have no real vested interest in improving anything beyond their financial bottom line are getting this very lucrative work despite obvious gaps in knowledge and implementation success.

18. Community solar projects when described verbally or written without simple diagrams and pictures regularly cause the dreaded "information overload and skepticism eye-roll" which can doom these otherwise great ideas.

19. Publicity and marketing for sustainble businesses are mostly still stuck on old ideas, old methodologies, and worn-out practices.

20. Amory Lovins has not been cloned and upgraded with Ashton Kutcher's DNA and Bill Gate's net worth.

21. There is not as yet existing a region, area or dense group of businesses similar to "Silicon Valley" that is dedicated to the rapid acceleration of the adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency, here in the USA.

22. Copenhagen is kicking our collective butt in community energy adoption and implementation, while China is kicking our butt in renewable energy technology proliferation, funding, and business creation. We have sore butts.

23. In local and state government where community energy policy in most effectively lobbied for and/or created, it's usually a single person, entity, or small dedicated team that does the lion's share of educating governance on the wisdom of distributed energy and independent energy production. This work is too infrequently coordinated or shared with similar entities/groups across the country.

24. Community energy policy seems to target subsidies, grants, temporary financial incentives and other similar "flash and fade" schemas to try and kick-start the infrastructure for community energy implementation. Folks outside and even some inside the renewable energy field consider this a form of wrong-headed civic bribery that only works short-term and might actually work against its own ends in the long term.

25. The cost of grid-provided electricity in many sustainably-minded communities is extremely inexpensive.

26. Greenhouse gasses are not yet a trade-able commodity, polluters continue to be able to cheaply pay off their environmental damage and then keep doing it. The federal government continues to directly subsidize private and public energy companies that continue to directly pollute the environment.

27. Community Energy appears to many people as a hippie pipe dream. It's regularly associated with extreme austerity measures, "Earth Ships", untested and unwise building practices, overcomplicated hyper-technical smart grid dreams, unrealistic energy demands, and programs that only work in Sweden or Germany.

28. New "housing communities" (i.e. giant housing developments in the suburbs) are rarely sustainably built or intentionally incorporate possible future implementation of renewable energy into construction. Speed and low cost are the only targets for many developers.

29. Schools that teach sustainability, environmental responsibility, "green job force training" and the like are not themselves implementing substantial renewable energy systems on their own buildings.

30. Progressive political thought blames conservatives for the lack of accessible community energy programs and funding.

31. Conservative political thought blames progressives for wasteful government expenses based on supposedly unproven climate change science.

32. Independent political thought blames either/or thinking for time and energy wasting when we already have the tools to get this community/district/

municipality/neighborhood energy paradigm shift moving rapidly forward in a fiscally responsible way.

33. People like me are periodically jaded and sad about the state of community energy, but find that if they honestly assess the true state of things, they see that progress toward full-scale adoption of energy independent municipality programs is inevitable, and a mouthful.

34. Community Energy laws (like the well-intended ESSB #6658) remain difficult to implement and/or take advantage of in the short or long term. A split emerges between folks looking to "invest in solar" and folks looking to "protect the environment". 6658 is a good first (originated in 2005!) attempt at community energy policy, but until it's much more clear and user-friendly, we're going to have to continue to take distributed energy projects on ourselves (with the full support of our local utilities, of course).

Question:
How can we connect these dots in specific actionable ways that protect ecological stability, ensure heterogeneous political support, create a local budgetary financial bedrock, bring stable long-term jobs and careers to our region, and make it fun to go to work every day as community energy advocates?

Answer #1:
Create and fund a clean tech start-up incubator much like the one proposed in a recent DOE Grant opportunity. Similar to the Mckinstry Innovation Center, but with more of a focus on neighborhood-scale energy production and distribution solutions combined with energy efficient building. This hub would be housed in a retrofitted building completed by the companies and individuals that wanted to be included in the incubation process. The hub could be located in an economically depressed area, rather than Seattle downtown core. Trainings, classes, and hands-on demonstrations would be focal activities, and participating companies and individuals would be able to cross-train among themselves to co-create other spin-offs.

Answer #2:
Find a way to pay Aaron Campbell to be a state-wide roving community energy champion like a mobile version of Gary Nystedt, Leslie Moynihan, Joe & Tammy Deets, and Stanley Florek. I'll show people how to gather up their communities, groups, and passionate leaders to implement a customized, reproducible, systematic method for developing community energy programs that already work. I'll drive my new Nissan Leaf, recharge it with solar panels and at charging stations, share best practices among committed communities, and multimedia blog the entire process for maximum public exposure.

Answer #3:
Do both #1 and #2, with Aaron Campbell promoting both concepts as he visits communities in the state and region.
Comments? Suggestions? Points of contention? Kudos? Bring it on!

Energetically,

Aaron Campbell
Community Energy Director
SunergySystems.com
206-898-8337
aaron@campbell-energy.com

2010-05-14T17:58:00.001-07:00

I hereby confess to stumbling @ StumbleUpon.com. I am known as "AlphaBeta". Behold, the thousands of websites I like and dislike. {∞}

2010-05-02T14:32:00.001-07:00

I need your brains and hearts. No, not for my nano-tissue experiments. I need your ideas on overcoming cultural inertia. Bring it.

2010-04-29T10:37:00.001-07:00

Re: Message from Cosmos: keep going, seek out Universal Truth, collaborate & put the pedal down. Fun ahead!

2010-04-15T22:32:00.001-07:00

Chocolate meme will never die.

2010-04-15T22:17:00.001-07:00

Wondering about memes

2010-04-15T14:48:00.001-07:00

Spent $13 for 4GB SD card today. First computer @ Cornell U: 1976 IBM 370/168 2.3 MIPS, 4 entire walls of computing, 256k?

2010-04-11T16:15:00.001-07:00

Even on surf day, I'm looking hungrily at South-facing municipal rooftops for solar access...

2010-04-05T08:54:00.001-07:00

You Already Have A Customer Base! - Marketing & Sales - Biznik http://ping.fm/ulSFr

2010-04-02T12:02:00.001-07:00

Solar Space Needle meets up today, RSVP:
http://ping.fm/5XfaT
Come and be a part of the solution!

2010-04-01T08:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's ribbon cutting for Shoreline's community solar installation was great, but cold roasted veggies? Ew!

2010-03-30T14:06:00.001-07:00

Space Needle, Lego, and Aaron = 12Seconds of bliss:
http://tiny12.tv/B4YQA

2010-03-22T13:41:00.001-07:00

Join me to solarize the Space Needle on April 2nd from 3-5pm!
http://ping.fm/Je02j

2010-03-17T15:46:00.001-07:00

Space Needle Solar Gathering on April 3: A few design options...
http://ping.fm/BMOR4

2010-02-13T08:30:00.001-08:00

My first official Wikipedia edit!
http://ping.fm/Dkp2e

Community Energy SWOT analysis

2010-02-12T08:49:00.000-08:00

After attending this year's Harvesting Clean Energy conference in Kennewick, WA, I realized that I needed to collect my thoughts about Community Energy in a living document. The following is a S.W.O.T (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) analysis of community energy. Please feel free (even obligated!) to edit, re-phrase, add or subtract in the form of comments. I'll modify as needed.

STRENGTHS:

Community-scale Energy production an ideal solution to the energy and climate challenges we face now and will continue to face in the future. Here's why:

1. Community-scale energy production makes maximum use of the power generated due to the proximity to its subsequent use. Much lower line losses, much less power lost to heat, lower install costs due to lack of need for BLM permits and other land use issues.

2. Community groups exert effective and positive peer pressure to combine energy efficiency analysis and retrofits with energy production, multiplying the impact of installations. Adoption of new technology is smoother and faster when members of a group do it together.

3. Community groups are more accountable and cognizant of their responsibility to "do it right", making the connections to the grid reliable, ensuring proper contractor vetting, and providing a single point of contact for many people thereby reducing utility oversight requirements compared to multiple individual installations.

4. Pride in collective ownership engenders ongoing care and maintenance, reducing downtime due to neglect and vandalism.

5. Educational opportunities are enhanced due to proximity. It's easier to take a field trip that you can walk to rather than chartering a bus to Ellensburg. Kids need to see the systems in person to absorb the full impact of the changes we're making (and that they will be improving upon in the future).

6. Public displays of consciousness are viral: This is akin to the famed "Prius Effect" where one community installation can lead to many more in a positive feedback loop. The Pemco building downtown is a great example.

7. Energy Security and Disaster Preparation: Every community-municipality has a vital requirement and obligation to provide emergency services in case of disaster. Haiti and Katrina are not the exception, they are the rule. Here in the Northwest, we are subject to regular, major, natural and atmospheric disasters. We will continue to experience earthquakes (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/washington/history.php), heat waves (103 degrees last summer, with little respite due to a lack commonplace air-conditioning), wind storms (Inaugural storm), flooding (Nisqually Valley, 1-5 at Chehalis/Centralia), snow storms (last years' 2-week storm with sub-freezing temps), and volcanic eruptions (St. Helens, possibly Rainier). Without independently produced emergency power, emergency services and shelter are much harder to provide and rely upon.

8. Homeland and National Security: massively deployed community energy production can greatly insulate us from global energy vulnerability. Reducing our current reliance upon the importation of 2/3 of our total energy (oil and natural gas) from other countries can ensure a more stable geopolitical stance for the USA. Energy independent communities lead to an energy independent country.

9. Electric grid reliability is increased as efficiency increases (lowering loads) and generation is distributed. Much like the robustness of the distributed Internet, a distributed electrical grid is less fragile and susceptible to massive cascading failures such as occurred on the East Coast during 2003 affecting 10 million people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Blackout_of_2003). The so-called "smart grid" is one attempt to mitigate grid unreliability, but simply distributing power production itself (when done properly and effectively) has the potential to greatly increase grid robustness and reliability.

10. Reducing carbon-derived energy production proportionately reduces our contribution to global climate change and its various negative downstream effects. It's also a far more healthy solution in terms of local and global air quality.

11. Community-scale energy production keeps money, taxes and decision-making leverage within our municipalities. Energy independent communities keep jobs, money, and influence under our control and oversight. We still need the grid, but we can reduce our dependence upon it and decrease vulnerability to grid anomalies or outages with more local production/infrastructure/protections. Community power can even be a source of reliable long term income and investment generation, based on incentives, overproduction payback, conservation schema (sales of green tags, carbon offsets), and tax credits.

WEAKNESSES

Community Energy is not a panacea, and can potentially create dangerous "island" thinking while underestimating complexity and vulnerability.

1. There is solid evidence that shows when people produce their own power, they proportionately waste it. If communities overestimate their energy security, they are more likely to waste power and behave irresponsibly regarding efficiency and conservation. Proper efficiency analysis and retrofits are essential. Ongoing meetings to assess energy use and waste are essential to long term reduction of consumption, which I refer to as "consumption creep". The downside of the "Prius Effect" is shown by the evidence that many electric and hybrid drivers over time end up driving more rather than less than they did before owning their fuel-efficient vehicle. (http://www.qualityplanning.com/index.cfm?event=showNews&newsId=46&displayType=page) This can even make these ostensibly carbon-conscious folks inadvertently more environmentally destructive. What makes many people drive more efficiently? A real-time display of MPG. With homes, it's even more important to remain vigilant: without an energy dashboard or other real time feedback mechanism, building occupants can end up using more energy than they did before the community power project was begun.

2. Community energy projects are subject to the downsides of over-consensus decision making: Too many people with too little expertise making too many decisions that can have quite serious negative consequences, especially regarding complex issues like electricity production and use. I would not want the community itself doing the community energy project. I would want the community to choose a reliable and trustworthy project coordinator and installer.

3. Reliability issues: In the PNW, we are subject to very spotty direct solar radiation patterns, and over-reliance on any one power source can make it more vulnerable to issues. The grid is still the best source of baseline (lights almost always on) power. Wind power on the smaller scale is expensive and also unreliable. Biofuel generation is reliable, but difficult to use in an urban setting, and batteries are expensive. If a community is targeting full or even partial off-grid power production, it's important to reiterate that the sun shines during the day and wind is inconsistent in most regions. Proper power baseline load calculations are required, and spike curves must be accounted for. Community power is not a simple game to play, it requires long term thinking and planning alongside substantial financial backing. Without proper planning, the already complex reliability issues can become dangerous and costly.

4. Political issues and potential conflict: while it's increasingly becoming acceptable to promote, community power is nevertheless still associated with left-right politicism and internal conflict. Poor communication during the planning stages can derail even the most basic installations. Personalities within different interest groups can present significant roadblocks to smooth project management. Just as debilitating, the current debate between environmentalists in their own communities can often pit animal rights activists against solar and wind proponents as evidenced in the Mojave projects in California and the more local wind projects in Eastern Washington. Significant research into the environmental impacts of any kind of energy production must be done and documented thoroughly, with as much scientific data as can be found. Objectivism is essential for all involved, but equally important is the act of inclusion and real listening as issues are raised from the beginning. Without integrated design procedures that include shareholder input at appropriate points, projects can fail miserably and in a very costly way for all.

5. Contractors are a key (or even the key) to success or failure of a community scale energy project. It can be difficult to find local contractors with the proper qualifications and skills to do a project at this scale. Getting a utility-scale contractor on the job may be costly, and using a residential-scale installer can prove to be a mistake as well. Community power is a complex mix of large and small scale power, with the associated risks and issues of both. Contractors (and installers) must be ready and able to provide certifications, proof of prior similar scale installations, city/state/county licenses, and proper insurance and liability coverage before they should be given the bid. Bidding for contractors can be an exceedingly long and painful process.

6. Single point of momentum: If a project is promoted and championed solely by a small group or worse, a single entity, its success is less assured than if the project is taken up by a large proportion of the entire community. Although these projects certainly require someone (or some group) with passion and commitment to initially organize and gather enthusiasm, it's incumbent upon that individual or group to bring the whole community together and create the momentum and collective drive to bring that project to fruition. "Going it alone" can be extremely inefficient and costly in the end. Many forces must be gathered and many resources must be applied to overcome the natural inertia that stands in front of any community project. Should the sole instigator of the project burn out, lose their nerve, become hospitalized or worse, the entire project could fail.

7. Long term ownership and maintenance: Solar modules are often warrantied for decades. Some modules have a 25 year warranty. This means that quite often the community that bought the modules are not the ones who will be fixing them later on. People move, families grow, weather patterns change, political leverage shifts back and forth. Without a properly set-up maintenance and repair schedule, modules that are installed this year can become liabilities five years later. If your community opts for biofuel production, generators require regular ongoing maintenance and repair. Wind projects require very skilled maintenance and upkeep. Overlooking the complex care required to keep your generation equipment in top shape can be disastrous.

8. Job creation over-estimation: With certain installations such as solar and wind generation, there is an initial spike of job creation and employment. However, since both of these technologies require relatively low maintenance, the ongoing employment profile will certainly suffer. Solar modules typically last for 20-25 years with very little upkeep required. It's unlikely that these installations will provide stable long-term employment for a single community. Biodigesters and micro-hydro generators can require more maintenance due to more moving parts that can wear out with time and use.

9. Over-estimation of reduction in carbon footprint due to ignored or overlooked total end to end carbon footprint analysis. It takes energy to create energy production devices. Paybacks of both money and energy savings are typically not short-term.

10. High Initial Cost and complication: perhaps the biggest weakness in community energy adoption. It simply costs more money than folks can often afford. While there are benefits to diversified risks, the truth is that renewable community power generation is costly to install. It often requires multiple sources of money that can be time consuming and hair-pulling often ensues. Federal grants, angel investment, private capital, public works funds, utility investment, tax-equity financing, bank loans, carbon credits, PPA's, REC's, and credit status can all come into play within a single generator installation. Poor planning again can complicate or even eliminate long term payback scenarios. This is one important reason why many grand community energy dreams are dashed in short order.

11. This one is sticky: Policy hold-ups on multiple levels. Utilities and city/county/state/federal governments haven't fully embraced community-scale power generation yet. There are still many entities that consider community based energy independence to be a nuisance, or worse, a danger to the smooth delivery of power. It has taken much effort to get the powers that be to allow net-metering, and it will likely take that same effort to allow community energy production and subsequent metering to become feasible. Washington state is currently slogging through their own laws on the subject, while CA, OR, NY, MA, and NJ have bills/laws pending as well.

OPPORTUNITIES

Energy science and engineering professionals are steadily building a wide array of power generating possibilities for community scale energy installations.

1. First, Second and Third generation biofuels and biomass schema are getting much more attention in the R&D world. Although we still have plenty of fossil fuel sources for combustion energy production out there, substantial investment is being steadily pumped into biomass and waste-to-fuel innovation.

2. Solar modules are becoming cheaper and more widely available. Thin film solar is being deployed across the globe. Efficiencies of modules are regularly being improved. On-module inverters are further reducing losses.

3. Improvements in reducing line losses and inverter conversion losses (from DC to AC) are being made on a regular basis.

4. Battery and other storage technologies are improving rapidly, with air-compression, gravity-water generation, liquid salt storage, water cracking and hydrogen storage, thermal mass storage, and others.

5. Co-generation (heat and power) facilities are coming online all around the world. Efficient transfer of heat waste and subsequent delivery to local homes is rapidly becoming a baseline implementation.

6. Improved building codes are making passive-house designs more prevalent, making it increasingly easier to save energy without taking drastic and potentially costly retrofit actions. Energy efficient communities are cheaper to power.

7. Wind-based generators are being re-designed and improved for smaller wind speed capture using lower tower designs. While small scale wind is still somewhat costly on a dollar per watt basis, constant design improvement is increasingly paying off in higher efficiencies.

8. Micro-hydro generators are becoming more commonplace. Small streams, irrigation canals, and even roof water and storm water runoff generation is increasingly more feasible as motors become more efficient and reliable under smaller water volume and speed profiles. New technologies and engineering designs are also making micro-hydro substantially less harmful to the water environments (and their habitat) that they are installed into.

9. For larger municipal installations, wave power has received a fair amount of R&D investment and may be coming on-line in the near future. While smaller scale installations remain cost-prohibitive, wave power is becoming more attractive as designs are improved and environmental impacts are increasingly mitigated.

10. Fuel cells and hydrogen-based generators are coming down in price and up in availability.

11. Plug-in hybrid vehicles could potentially create a steady resource of battery-backup power, depending on adoption levels.

12. Community energy policies are receiving increasingly positive press and attention. While some policies have been setbacks, most are trending toward creating a more viable regime for community energy development. New policies are currently being drawn up to allow Washington State citizens to create viable investment opportunities in community solar, geothermal, and wind projects.

13. World innovation and competition in the renewable energy field leads to increased efficiencies in motors, conductors, designs, and overall energy technology improvements. In particular although people might consider China as a "threat" in this analysis, I prefer to categorize China's recent decision to greatly increase its investment in renewable energy technology as an opportunity to bring our local, regional, and national innovation game to the highest levels possible.

THREATS

It would be irresponsible to ignore the potential threats to a community energy project. Here then, are a few of the major issues that could sink even the best project:

1. I think ignorance of present day (and historic) energy and climate reality is the biggest threat to community energy production and subsequent independence. If we remain unaware of our effect on climate change (local, regional and global), we will not act with enough resolve. If we ignore the weather/energy disasters of Katrina and Haiti and their impact on populations, we will not act with enough resolve. If we ignore the current fragility of the national, regional, and local power grids as well as the instability of fossil--based energy production, we will not act with enough resolve.

2. Cheap fuel remains a huge barrier to ROI in the renewable energy sector, including the community and municipal scales. In the Pacific Northwest, we have some of the cheapest fuel and energy costs in the country (and the world). With the abundance (current!) of hydro power from our dams, we tend to ignore the direct relationship of energy cost supply to energy consumption demand. When gas prices went above $3.00/gallon, we bought proportionately more energy efficient engines and vehicles. When it went back down, we went back to more energy-consumptive behaviors. Cheap fuel is incredibly expensive...

3. One-size-fits-all thinking is a huge threat. By over-simplifying energy production realities, we tend to rely on single-source energy production, especially on a regional scale. When communities rely on a single source for employment, we have seen some disastrous results. From boom-and-bust oil towns in the Southwest to the relatively recent employment collapses in Detroit and Pennsylvania, we must be ever-vigilant in our quest to provide a healthy mix of employment, food varieties, business opportunities, and energy production for our neighborhoods, towns, municipalities and regions.

4. Over-reliance on single-resource energy is also correlated to an over-reliance on particular raw material resources. As the global computer memory (RAM) reliance on single sources of production created a dangerous scarcity during the Kobe, Japan earthquake disaster, so can a reliance upon silicon-based solar panels (for instance) become a potentially crippling posture for a local community. If we don't have redundant and varied sources of power, we'll be again subject to the same power supply fragility that we were trying to insulate ourselves from in the first place!

5. Likewise, having no backup system in place can make all our renewable energy investments a huge waste of money and energy. If we put an expensive and complex solar PV system of some sort in a local community center, for instance, and we fail to create a fail-safe battery or back up power regime, we'll have perhaps done our community a worse turn than had we not done anything at all. Again, over-reliance on any one source of power creates unnecessary vulnerabilities. Purchasing a system that does not include an inverter that can switch from grid-tied power production to battery backup or even direct power is often much cheaper, but also much more fragile and unreliable.

6. Lack of wise planning is a huge threat to community energy installation adoption. It's not just bad for the community itself, bad planning hurts other communities that are considering renewable energy production and energy security measures. Bad planning gives NIMBY-driven naysayers and fear-based citizenry even more ammunition to fight community scale energy production. It's essential to bring all the stakeholders together, skeptics and adherents alike, to get commitment and long term buy-in on community energy. It's a community, after all, and everyone in that community needs to at least be given a chance to have their voice heard on matters of such importance. Poor planning and project management can be costly on a number of levels. The great thing is that you can turn this threat into an asset with wise long term planning.

In conclusion, I think that we can take heart in the fact that community energy is increasingly becoming more viable, less expensive, less politically unfeasible, and even income-producing. The truth, however, is that although it seems to be a "no brainer" to a large percentage of folks, it's by no means a "slam dunk" as this SWOT analysis attempts to show. Science and logic must be applied with the same rigor as emotion and desire. While many of us from all walks of life think it's a good idea to empower communities with their own energy production, the path to project completion is often quite complicated and confusing. If you are aware of the issues and complexity that you will likely encounter on that path, you and your community will be far better prepared to tackle and eventually overcome them. Given the current state of national and global energy volatility, however, community energy production is a path well-worth embarking upon for many communities.

2010-01-25T22:12:00.001-08:00

2010-01-19T22:35:00.001-08:00

NWEEA forum in PDX. Science, policy, energy, community and ...SUSHI! Give a shout if you're in PDX!

2010-01-03T19:13:00.001-08:00

watch this: future = here.
http://ping.fm/V0Oqf

2009-12-29T22:41:00.001-08:00

My dad wants you to watch this:
http://ping.fm/W7Lfp

2009-12-27T19:23:00.001-08:00

Amazing and short animation: International Space Station being built. http://ping.fm/gIZQN

2009-12-17T11:51:00.001-08:00

Rediscovering the joys of soldering, made cheap clunky solar charger, works on cloudy days. Thanks Dad.

2009-12-02T14:04:00.001-08:00

StumbleUpon | Discover Your Web.
Discover
http://ping.fm/jWi3t

Favorites
http://ping.fm/FXHLh

Stumblers
http://ping.fm/wu0KI

Hi,

Power Making Pavements, believe it.

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- Aaron

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2009-11-20T08:36:00.001-08:00

The Home Energy Bible: Residential Energy by Krigger and Dorsi. It can save the planet, folks.

2009-11-18T03:31:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's 3:27am. Yes, I'm on FB/Twitter. Yes, I'm reading solar / energy efficiency news articles. What's it to ya?

2009-11-15T09:20:00.001-08:00

In 5 years or less, neighborhoods will have the option of generating all their own power. Integrated Design will enable this.

2009-11-12T15:53:00.001-08:00

RE/EE Integrated Design + Spiritual Core = Peace Profit. Ask me how!

2009-11-11T09:05:00.001-08:00

Confession: I'm a total lefty who has always wanted to be in the Army. Heroism? Bloodlust? Marketing? Why?

2009-11-08T20:51:00.001-08:00

Reggie Watts just broke my music neck. Also, I did a 5 second energy audit of Le Pichet. Are these related?

2009-11-08T19:27:00.001-08:00

"Freedom of choice is what you've got, Freedom FROM choice is what you want" -Mothersbaugh

2009-10-31T14:52:00.001-07:00

Does anyone own a steadicam I can rent/borrow?

2009-10-28T15:28:00.001-07:00

continuing to offer cost-effective energy efficiency consulting services, audits, and support. Free 30 min consultations. Questions?

2009-10-26T16:57:00.001-07:00

I play co-ed over-30 soccer on Monday nights. I freaking love it. Except the injuries.

2009-10-24T13:01:00.001-07:00

If you parent, you must iPhone. Sitting in the car I read my mail, did an hour of work, updated FB, while Piper slept for 2hrs.

2009-10-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

Who is planning on buying an electric car when they "get it right"? What would it have, and at what optimal cost?

2009-10-08T14:24:00.001-07:00

Life or Death: US Healthcare Reform. http://ping.fm/JPKJA

2009-10-08T09:32:00.001-07:00

Goal Setting KILLS: http://ping.fm/atC0w

2009-10-01T17:34:00.001-07:00

Turns out my daughter Piper's energy is also infinitely renewable !!

2009-09-30T08:55:00.001-07:00

Here at REFF West, San Fran. Turns out, we were right about community solar / energy efficiency!

2009-09-24T09:55:00.001-07:00

FB/Twit posts fascinate me. What am I doing or thinking right now? Why read this or post that? To combat loss/lonliness with Connection.

2009-09-23T08:49:00.001-07:00

Truth: I love Lucky Charms, but I don't want to buy them and share with Piper. Cruel?

2009-09-19T11:39:00.001-07:00

Anyone recently buy an efficient chest freezer? Suggestions?

2009-09-16T13:42:00.001-07:00

Artists: I need some help putting my microprint portfolio together. Trade for a 2hr energy audit.

2009-09-14T16:39:00.001-07:00

Officially exploring secondary career path. Suggestions welcome, preferably in the energy/conservation field.

2009-09-09T15:30:00.001-07:00

just read the ADD quiz in "Delivered from Distraction". Score? 120/128. I WIN! Wanna ride bikes??

2009-09-05T21:18:00.001-07:00

StumbleUpon: targeted yet random net zeitgeist...I Stumbled "bug-out bag" then "utopia/dystopia" and then "When technology Fails". Weird.

2009-09-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

another reason to love both Bobby McFerrin and the pentatonic scale:
http://ping.fm/JxdpZ

2009-09-01T10:35:00.001-07:00

I'm beyond the triple bottom line: planet and people MAKE the profits possible.

2009-08-27T12:37:00.001-07:00

I'm a traffic unclogger, check it:
http://ping.fm/m4n3j

2009-08-26T09:18:00.001-07:00

Debating waiting for the infamous Apple Tablet instead of going Macbook...

2009-08-25T10:57:00.001-07:00

Classic: "row3 your boat" = Piper asleep. Aquarium @ 12:00 instead.

2009-08-25T10:21:00.001-07:00

Join Piper and ABC at the Seattle aquarium today! 11:00-1:00pm.

2009-08-24T19:49:00.001-07:00

refining my credo: Prosperity and Peace through Community Energy Independence.

2009-08-24T16:59:00.001-07:00

Peace, prosperity and progress

2009-08-23T11:18:00.001-07:00

Piper slept the WHOLE ride back from Anacortes. Apologizing for 2 sleepless nights?

2009-08-20T22:19:00.001-07:00

My dream is helping others pursue their dreams

2009-08-15T09:02:00.001-07:00

Recalling my first big hike in N Cascades. Lucky to be here, fo shizzle

2009-08-15T08:25:00.001-07:00

check that: Pineapple Pass via Alpental parking lot. Rock.

2009-08-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

Hiking snow lake, razzamatazzberry!

2009-08-14T14:52:00.001-07:00

Progress through energy independence.

2009-08-07T11:21:00.001-07:00

Taking my technofreedom 4 granted.

More Campbell Energy Media Exposure

2009-05-04T21:53:00.001-07:00

Just a note, I'll be on web radio again tomorrow May 5th and 9am, PST:
http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=38188

I'll be talking with Mike Broili on Terry Phelan's "Living Shelter Cafe" radio show. Tune in to hear it, send me an email if you'd like me to answer a question online that's pertinent to energy auditing or water auditing.

If you think you've got a web-radio-worthy idea or interviewee, let me know as well!

The Self-Actualized Home

2009-04-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

Can you think about the water runoff of a home and ignore the foundation? Can you think about the foundation and ignore the ground? Can you think about the ground and ignore the plants? Can you think about the plants and ignore the people? Can you think about the people and ignore how they interact with each other; their dwellings and environment? What kind of thinking integrates these questions and their components? I think the anwer is self-actualized thinking. Self-actualized thinking is done by self-actualized people.

I've just read a pretty succinct article on BrainMeta that outlines the characteristics of a few so-called "self actualized" people.

In it, the German word "gemeinschaftsgefuhl" meaning "community feeling" or "social interest", was described as one of the traits self-actualized people had. I got to this page via StumbleUpon while winding down after a very intense walk/talk around Greenlake with a couple of wise men in the building/environment/design field.

Non-coincidentally since this was likely building for a while, the conversation I had with Mike Broili and Wayne Apostolik was centered around the burgeoning field of holistic dwellings, high-performance homes, and residential energy/resource conservation. (Wayne runs a firm called NorthWest HomeCrafters Inc, and Mike Broili runs a firm called Living Systems Design).

What we discovered (likely again) was the truth about how the building trades (most all of them) need to truly integrate their services for both new and retrofit/remodel homes. In particular, we agreed that there is really no way to do this right without doing it entirely, thoroughly, holistically. From the site, to the design, to the materials, to the methodologies, to the workmanship, to the vegetation, to the integration of the people in their homes and beyond.

For new homes, the USGBC's highest LEED standards are getting very good at this holistic integration approach, but the retrofit/remodel world is not yet on board. Perhaps it's because there is no single (or even usable multiple) methodology or terminology for bringing tradespeople into this systems-based model.

I posit the possibility that the direction is towards an ideal that works in the the social sciences and psychological world: that of "self-actualization".

If human dwellings and human beings are to improve, we need some serious goals to strive towards. "The self-actualized home" is where the self-actualized human should live. Some do so already, but this idea must be brought to the population as a whole, and not be limited to people who have spare time or spare money to pursue this seemingly lofty endeavor for themselves, their families, and their community.

Self-actualization is not self-ishness. In fact, quite the contrary, it's about the capacity to move beyond one's self and into the work of sharing our gifts with others in a healthy and progressive fashion. Full integration is what we're looking for, and it must consider the outside and the inside in a holistic (sorry to bludgeon you with the term) way. All the outsides and all the insides.

That's what's meant by the social term "gemeinschaftsgefuhl", and if we could add the environmental bridge between humans/communities and their dwelling spaces (outside and inside kinds of dwelling spaces), we'd have a really solid target to hit in the field of residential energy conservation.

At Campbell Energy, we are in the process of shooting at that goal, the full integration and self-actualization of people and their dwelling spaces. While doing so myself, I am promoting the idea itself and pushing this mountain of humanity in that direction. If we are to survive as a species, this is the way it must be done.

What do these self-actualized dwellings look like? They consider the entire ecosystem all at once, and integrate themselves with it and their inhabitants. The dwelling space is the conduit between the animals we are and the land we live on. This three-way integration is not new at all, look at a cave and you'll see the ancient evidence of it.

I'm actually hoping not to define the self-actualized dwelling myself, but to offer the idea up to my readers and get their feedback on it. If you feel compelled to describe the characteristics of a self-actualized dwelling, please leave a comment.

Deep Green Love,

Aaron

Green Festival thoughts

2009-03-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

Lots of folks show up again at Seattle's Green Festival, despite a seemingly "down" economy. Could it be that sustainability helps business keep an even keel despite fluctuations in the stock market? Methinks so.

Regarding "getting customers" at trade shows: I don't subscribe to the idea. It's too stressful to think in those terms for me. I like "make relationships". This opens it all up, and lets you think about every single person you see as a relationship, from the folks that clean the floors of "soy-product" when we've all packed up, to the people who sign up for our services.

Just connect to people and have fun. Let that be the purpose of the trade show and do the business-y stuff another day. ( That is, unless, you really do get lots of real work from the shows due to your particular revenue model. For the business-to-business folks who specifically cater to the trade show folks, it's all nitty gritty business all day, and the "relationship building + fun" stuff might not be your best bet. Try it toward the end of the day after you've done all the heavy lifting...)

Deep Green Public Speaking

2009-03-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

As Campbell Energy evolves, we have been asked to speak on a number of occasions to a wide variety of audiences. After a few gigs, it became clear that this was something we are good and happen to love. I am personally very comfortable speaking in front of small or large audiences, and it really is the best way to communicate with as many people as possible. I like the web, don't get me wrong, but public speaking jazzes both the speaker and the audience in a way that is hard to quantify. We have been doing gigs for free for the most part, but when we add the in-depth Q&A the value of the engagement intensifies and becomes much more value-added. Interestingly, I like doing the Q&A so much that I would be very excited to do a 15 minute talk with 45 minutes of discussion afterward. It lets the group and each individual member really get something directly applicable to them, without the speaker being able to push some sort of agenda. I have priced my deep green public speaking at $500 for smaller audiences, and up to $1500 for larger audiences, but the Q&A component size really makes these opportunities invaluable to groups who take full advantage to ask questions that drill down deeply and personally. We'll see where this takes us, but I suspect we'll be adding more venues and different formats to this offering in the future, with anticipation of growing and evolving alongside the discussions. For Questions, email aaron at campbell dash energy dot com.

collaboration over competition

2009-02-19T15:26:00.000-08:00

Something that has been happening recently that's really indicative of the wave of New Change sweeping through: people are confused about whether they should work together or put up walls and work alone. On many different levels this is happening. What I am discovering is something I had always imagined was true:

Collaboration wins out over competition.

This is the case between people, families, tribes, cities, counties, regions, nations, and hemispheres. It's not just touchy-feely (though it's that as well...), it's a competitive edge. Yes, I just almost contradicted myself with the word "competitive". What I'm saying here is that although there are somewhat limited resources that in the end are being somewhat competed for (clients, energy, money), the way to "win" those resources is to collectively gather and distribute them. There is more room than you think, and more resources that can be gathered/saved if we collectivize in a targeted way.

This is not just an Obama thing, but his presidency certainly tips toward the collaboration end of the spectrum. This is a survival thing. We are not going to make it out unless we gather up, in all kinds of ways.

We are in the middle of a very strong but very slow hurricane, and we need more people to put sand in bags and fewer people looting.

This is not a "sky-is-falling" plan, this is a "we're in this together" plan.

In my business here in Seattle, there are lots of newly-minted energy auditors and consultants. I entered this field late by my own admission, but I entered it based on collaboration from the outset. I saw lots of people trying to make a living on their own in this new field of residential and commercial energy auditing, and they were struggling. They still struggle. They ask me "how do you get new clients?", and I tell them that I have to do three distinctly different things at once: collaboration, education and sales.

When I sold cars, I didn't need to do as much education; people knew they needed/wanted a car. What they didn't know was which one. They need to be collaborated with, listened to, and finally helped into buying their car.

In the conservation world, they aren't really sure they need an energy audit, or aren't even sure what one is. My own close friends and family are dragging their heels on getting an audit from me, not because they don't trust me, but because they don't know what's at stake. It's harder to collaborate when you have to educate so much, then they think they have to let it sink in over time before they get an audit. I am managing to make a modest living because I can connect with people no matter where they are. This is essential if they don't already "get it" right off the bat.

When the price of fuel rises again (and it most assuredly will), there will be yet another spike of desire for energy savings, electric cars, and energy efficient appliances. When the price of fuel dips a bit, people will slack off again on the idea. People need to realize once and for all that energy efficiency and conservation works no matter what the price of fuel/power/energy/resource is. The very life we live is at stake, and we need to act. The trick is now that we have such massively connected hubs of people, we need to act collectively.

This doesn't mean I think we should abolish the market. I just think it's a market advantage to work together. At least at the baseline. We all have particular skills and intelligence in particular fields and that will continue to be valued, but the constant clamoring to be the best at the expense of the rest is a horrible waste of energy.

That's the bottom line: it's patently inefficient to spend so much energy on competing when we need to collectively act in so many arenas. Those that grok that point are going to succeed in this new economy/world. Those that don't will likely find their success fleeting and constantly at risk...

Training Energy Auditors, Doing Energy Audits

2009-02-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

Community connections occurring left and right for us now. Phinney Home Remodel Fair was a success, thanks in no small part to HomePerformanceWashington.org. We spent the day talking with people, connecting, and learning. One thing I learned is that I have been getting more requests for information about becoming an energy auditor than for information about getting an energy audit. This is exciting for Campbell Energy, since we are positioning ourselves to provide this valuable training, but it's also strange.

Why strange? Because I can almost guarantee that the people who have been looking to become an auditor have not themselves done all they can in their own dwellings and lives to reduce their energy and resource losses.

So here's the big advice:

If you want to become an energy consultant, you must first and foremost become the master of your own energy profile and carbon footprint. You must walk before you talk.

That's a cardinal rule. And while I'm doling out the unsolicited advice, anyone else in the "sustainability" world should also do the same. It's why I spend a chunk of time during my seminars and workshops preaching directly to the choir. They need it, because they are the first line of energy defense and they are getting caught reloading their muskets. Who are we to tell people to change their incandescents to CFLs if we ourselves didn't do all we could to reduce air leakage and wattage waste in our own homes?

For new energy auditors and energy consultants, the proof is in the carbon pudding...

Re-alignment

2009-02-09T18:16:00.000-08:00

Today was a great turning point. We've been at this place before in the past, and not been able to see our way around it. We've had to confront the fact that money and values are not easily sitting together at the lunch table.

But today we realized that instead of choosing a side, we have to creatively figure out how they CAN sit together. Because just because they haven't been together in the past, doesn't mean they can't be together now. We just have to see it from another angle.

In talking about the "green economy" I fear that society is simply replacing blue with green, that we're simply taking the folks who made cars and thrusting them into solar panel factories, with no other change. But that's not the green economy to me. At least, it's not the sustainable green economy. The green economy I am working toward is one that diversifies our skills, capitalizes on both our innovation and our education, and supports us in putting our values before our wallets.

This is a whole new ballgame. Our friends and family are not just downsizing, they are reevaluating what matters MOST to them and focusing on that. They aren't just selling their expensive cars, but looking to see if they need a car at all, or even just thinking about sharing a car with others. They aren't just sending more forwarded emails to relatives, but getting together in person and taking care of each other. They are looking at what they eat, what they breathe, what they wear, and what they say and MAKING SURE that it is who they are, IN THEIR INTEGRITY. This is not just a lovely trend, it's a paradigm shift that will only benefit each individual who makes these fundamental personal changes and also every person that touches them.

There is a sharp curve to bringing this about. Doubt exists, as it always has. Fear exists, as it always has. But hope exists, perseverance exists, and success exists as THEY always have. We are now aware of the choices we can make and we are finally making them.

This day is different because we see who we are and where we can go (and have been going). We see that the light of the world is not far off, it is right above us.

THIS is Campbell Energy!

Vision

2009-01-23T12:44:00.001-08:00

Vision is a broad stroke, taking into consideration the ideal. What does Campbell Energy want? What are we REALLY going for? What gets us up in the morning, or better yet, what can we magically find energy for when we think we're tapped?

Energy is a great word because it's not just about electrons, but also about LIFE FORCE. Where is Campbell Energy's life force? What is the source of our life force?

As we open up to the education aspect of our business, what are we focusing on? What gives US energy?

Gathering

2008-12-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

What is it that makes people gather? Why would they gather around me? What do they expect when they do so? How can I use this to their advantage, and thus, mine? How can helping them gather make action possible?

Creating a Vision

2008-11-25T12:36:00.000-08:00

I'd like to see Campbell Energy do a vision board/book that clearly maps out what we want for the world. The more we put it down on paper, the easier it will come to us.

Here are some links: mindjet.com (comprehensive mindmapping software that steps it up with task lists, spreadsheets, able to be edited, worth a look)

CE Field Trip Brainstorm

2008-11-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Premise: Lots of groups get together and talk about green things, have green speakers, and spend green money. I want to do all that at once, on site, in situ, as a community of interested and active people. Take public transport, walk, bike, and carpool to a quarterly Field Trip to take direct action, meet people, learn something, and make a direct difference. You pay small fee for organization, and match with a donation to good green cause.

Possible Trips:

Kavu
Theo Chocolates
34th St. Transfer Station
Ballard Locks
Fare Start
Green Bean
Boeing
5 star Built Green housing developments
Mini-solar tour
Insulation companies
HVAC companies
recycled steel companies (NUCOR?)
Waste Management
A solar manufacturer
A biodiesel manufacturer
A wind farm
An off-grid and/or grid tied home
An organic farm
A decidedly NON-environmentally responsible location/company
individual households in various states of green
Electric Bike store tour
Electric Car store tour
a day-trip eco-tourism thing
an herb walk with Jake

CE State of the Union

2008-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

I've got around $1500 in the bank, generated from 5 clients. I've got a logo, cards, a web designer, a blog (now!), a design company, and mounting debt to the finances of my family. I have already spent around $3,000 give or take on getting the company up and running.

The company is actually up and running, but I do want to get cracking on some more basics: I want an accounting system and a bookkeeper. I want my website up within a month. I want to train more, and yet have more clients. I want my office separate from my home. I want to charge the same amount for each audit less than 3,000 square feet. I want one client per day. Is that going to be unprofitable? I want to ensure that I can work at my own pace and still make a family wage.

My desk is currently piled with stuff, personal and business related. I have a scanner that sits unused, a lamp without a bulb, the shells of 4 unfinished projects and at least 3 books I have bought but haven't read. I have cards that I have not either entered as contacts or recycled, piled up. I have gewgaws and knickknacks and a hand cranked radio. It's like my mind, cluttered but creative. I like it and it slows me down.

I have 10 to do items in my homework bin online that I am slowly hacking away at. I have people on my side, and time that isn't. I have a new president and a good governor and Van Jones to help me out there in the noosphere. I have a lot of knowledge and a passion for conservation.

I've had a successful seminar with 16 people which generated perhaps one interested customer who has yet to decide to get an audit.

Overall, lots of pluses, but still need to either get a stronger flow of clients, or somehow write my book and sell millions overnight....

--Aaron

What is Campbell Energy?

2008-11-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

Campbell Energy LLC is a company founded in memory of Richard S. Campbell by Aaron B. Campbell in order to continue RSC's work with energy efficiency, reduced global impact, and innovation.

The thrust of Campbell Energy's work focuses on conservation, specifically, in buildings. The buildings I am most familiar with are largely residential, so that's where Campbell Energy's energy is currently being focused.

In the future, we may expand into commercial energy conservation, but I am not interested in diluting my skills or knowledge in expansion when there is so much to do with residential energy conservation.

This blog is a landing pad for ideas and progress relating to ongoing work at Campbell Energy. I will post as I feel compelled, but as we evolve it may end up being incorporated into our website, or become a strictly internal blog to track our own progress.

Subscribe at your own risk: it may not be witty or even useful to most people. I find that I write with less flair than I speak. So be it. It's not about me, and it's not about entertainment. I have been spending far too much energy worrying about how others see me, and I'm tired of wasting energy in all aspects. Onward.

Who is Richard Campbell?

2008-11-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

Richard Scott Campbell was my father. He was also an inventor. I love him dearly and dedicate my company, Campbell Energy, to him.