Solar action in the San Francisco Bay Area

What is more suitable to use than solar energy in our cities?

California has a great potential to benefit from solar power due to high levels of sunlight. Small, incremental steps that use renewable energy technologies make a difference in reducing greenhouse gases.

In late 2008, San Francisco’s KGO-AM 810 Radio, with a weekly reach of 700,000 listeners, became the first major broadcast media company in California to transmit via solar power. Broadcasting via solar allowed KGO to reduce its impact on the power grid, as well as to increase public awareness.
The large solar panels are mounted in front of KGO’s building and can be seen by the nearly 81,000 cars that cross the Dumbarton Bridge daily.
The solar layout was custom developed for KGO and contains concentrated photovoltaic cells, which maximize energy generation. The panels are not mounted in a typical fixed structure, but are configured on dual-axis trackers that allow them to follow the sun’s direction across the sky. This setup enables the panels to be positioned for the best possible energy generation during all daylight hours.

Solar in Menlo Park, CA crosswalks
If you cross the street at Ravenswood Avenue and Alma Street in Menlo Park, you will come across a solar-lighted crosswalk. Each of the lights in the crosswalk has a small solar panel that provides its own power through a small battery. During day-light, the batteries store energy, which allows the lights to continuously function at night time, and of course, on overcast days.
The model is an improvement of traditional lighted crosswalks, which require a power source. The lights are connected to a wire that runs under the asphalt to the button the pedestrians press on the pole. Once a person activates the button, the signal is sent to each light through the connecting wire, and the lights begin to flash along the edges of the crosswalk. At the same time, the crosswalk sign on the pole also flashes.
The same idea is maintained in the new system. Here, a wireless signal is used to activate the lights, which are energized by the sun.

GoSolar San Francisco
In March 2008, San Francisco Mayor, Gavin Newsom announced the implementation of a solar incentive program in the city, making installations of solar panels more affordable for residents, multi-housing properties, businesses and non-profits.
In July 2008, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission launched the GoSolarSF program.

GoSolarSF rebates, combined with the rebate program of the California Solar Initiative (a program sponsored by the State of California), along with incentives in federal tax, could save up to half the cost a solar system. Low-income residents can qualify for more. 

Furthermore, the city encourages installations to be completed by installers with offices in San Francisco in support of local green jobs.

Since the implementation 12 months ago, San Francisco has witnessed a 450% increase in applications for solar installations over the previous year. A report issued this month by Environment California ranks Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco as the urban leaders in roof-top solar installations in the state.

  Crossroad image from green.sympatico.msn.ca    

For solar jobs leads, check these companies:

      EnerNOC www.enernoc.com/index.php helps organizations use energy more efficiently and utilities to deliver clean, cost effective and reliable energy solutions. EnerNOC offers technology-enabled energy management solutions and has offices across the US and Canada, with a location in San Francisco.
The company helps commercial and industrial organizations use energy more intelligently and pay less for it. By offering a full suite of energy management, they help their customers meet the needs of utilities and grid operations, reduce their energy usage during periods of peak demand, enable access to clean, reliable capacity, and reduce their energy costs and emissions.
Click for EnerNOC job listings.

      Green Volts in San Francisco offers scalable, reliable, high performance solar solutions. The company’s mission is to provide technology that delivers solar energy at the price and the scale of fossil-fuel alternatives.
GreenVolts’ concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solution is designed to achieve the highest solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency through an innovative integration of optics and solar tracking. According to GreenVolts, their CPV system is the most advanced and efficient solar technology available.
Click for careers at Green Volts.

      The job site Get Environmental Engineer Jobs lists several solar openings in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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