Hi J and J,
Nice to talk with you recently.
Wow ... $2 - 3 million for a possible Cuttyhunk {solar} energy project.
What to invest this in?
Why not invest it in very basic computer control, transformer, and battery storage system that can be upgraded gradually over the decades ahead and prioritize planning to bring down the cost of electric from .56 kw/h to something like .12 kw/h over a few years (owned and run by the Town of Gosnold )? Why not also plan for Cuttyhunkers to be able to sell the solar and wind energy they generate back to the Town as battery storage improves.
Why not get three plans and bids from different companies in Falmouth, New Bedford, the Vineyard, Boston, etc.?
And I google searched on the web information about "installing solar PV in a rural community" and found these -
http://www.extension.org/pages/54905/solar-energy-in-agriculture-resources#.U87f741dVKo
http://energy.gov/public-services/homes/saving-electricity/buying-making-electricity
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy99osti/26242.pdf
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2014_06_24_native_energy_rural_electrification_on_tribal_lands
http://www.in.gov/oed/2412.htm
Some Massachusetts' resources:
http://www.environmentmassachusetts.org/reports/mae/massachusetts-solar-leaders
http://www.environmentamerica.org/news/mae/falmouth-cape-cod-leading-massachusetts-solar-development
http://www.environmentamerica.org/news/mae/falmouth-cape-cod-leading-massachusetts-solar-development
I've added much of this to World University and School's "Solar Energy" wiki page - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Engineering.
Three bids would help a lot with costing out the whole process, but people would have to talk with the town to see in what ways kilowatt per hour costs would come down.
Cheers,
Scott
Some Massachusetts' installers I found by googling -
http://www.bluesel.com/Cape-Cod-Solar-Panel-Installation-/
http://www.cotuitsolar.com/Solar-Installation-Crew
- Scott MacLeod - Founder & President
- http://worlduniversityandschool.org
- World University and School - like Wikipedia with MIT OpenCourseWare (not endorsed by MIT OCW) - incorporated as a nonprofit university and school in California, and is a U.S. 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt educational organization, both effective April 2010.
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