It was the culmination of eight years of hard work.
It was the culmination of eight yeas of hard work.
That is how Jason Edens, Rural Renewable Energy Alliance, described the recent unveiling of the company's newly developed solar air-heating collector.
RREAL introduced the new solar panels at an Oct. 11 open house to celebrate the nonprofit organization's Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) certification submission. SRCC certification is required in order to begin installing the collectors at other locations.
The open house and a tour were held at RREAL's facility on the Hunt Utilities Group campus in Pine River in conjunction with the quarterly meeting of the Central Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS).
"The design was a collaborative effort," Edens said. RREAL's design team included Sarah Hayden, BJ Allen, Graham Wright and Tim Ollhoff. Wright and Ollhoff are both AmeriCorps Vista volunteers who left their jobs at Kodak and Lutheran Social Services, respectively, to work on this yearlong research and development project.
"We already install other systems," said Hayden, "so we are familiar with some of their shortfalls." With that in mind, Edens mentioned several factors that were important to the design team in developing the collector panels.
* Aesthetics - It was important to the designers that the panels look nice regardless of the style of home on which they might be installed.
* Durable - To ensure durability, the panels were designed to last 50 years.
* Compatible - Making them compatible with existing duct work was important for retrofitting homes with other heating systems already in place.
* Affordable - The RREAL objective of making solar power accessible to people of all income levels - including the "fuel poor" - necessitated keeping costs as low as possible.
Outside, Project Manager Ryan Hunt of HUG took visitors to see the panels already installed on the building.
The SRCC certification process will cost the nonprofit about $30,000. As part of that certification, RREAL must send five 4-by-10 foot, 170-pound collectors to Canada. Once the submission is sent, Edens expects it will take from six months to one year before the organization learns whether or not the collectors received the certification.
RREAL solar panels
RREAL was awarded a large-scale research contract that will demonstrate the capacity of the solar air-heating collectors being developed by RREAL. RREAL will provide 67 solar air-heating collectors to HUG. HUG will purchase the collectors to provide a substantial portion of their winter heating for their new research building in Pine River.
At 2,500 square feet, the finished solar array will be one of the largest solar air heating systems in the nation. Expected to provide 150 to 200 million Btus per winter heating season, the heat will be delivered to an underground storage system designed by HUG.
Source: CERTS monthly update newsletter, June 2007
What is "fuel poverty"?
RREAL is a private nonprofit organization working to make solar energy accessible to people of all income levels - especially those living in fuel poverty.
A fuel poor household is one that cannot afford to keep adequately warm at reasonable cost.
Energy assistance is important help, however, with fuel costs continually on the rise, many of these families rely on fuel assistance year after year.
According to RREAL, their Solar Assistance Program provides a lasting solution to fuel poverty with clean energy technology. The organization intends to install 150 systems in fuel poor households within the year.
Low income heating assistance in Minnesota 2006-2007 facts
MinnesotaÕs Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps low-income customers pay their heating bills through grant money paid directly to the utility company on behalf of the customer. Last year in Minnesota:
* Customers with less than 50 percent of the state median income ($38,697 for a family of four) may qualify.
* About 800,000 families qualified economically for fuel assistance.
* About 250,000 Minnesota households applied.
* About 120,000 households were served through 38 local service providers around the state.
* Assistance was funded with $78 million in federal funds.
* The average grant was about $500 per household.
* Households with seniors, disabled and children are especially encouraged to apply.
* Funding is always limited and is administered on a first-come, first-served basis.
More information about the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program can be found on the Minnesota Department of Commerce Web site at www.commerce.state.mn.us, click on Heating Assistance.
Source: Minnesota Department of Commerce and Jason Edens, RREAL
