Friday, July 22, 2016

A Shining Light

"
Umass  three solar parking canopies will save $45K annually

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, a tireless workhorse for Western Mass in general and UMass/Amherst in particular, joined forces with Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, outgoing State Rep Ellen Story and Judith Judson, commissioner of the state Department of Energy Resources (DOER), to officially welcome/unveil the first parking canopy solar arrays to our area.

 Good crowd on hand for the 10:30 AM ceremony

Over the next year the University will install two more of these parking lot canopy solar arrays as well as placing arrays on six buildings, a total of 15,576 panels, which will provide 5.5 megawatts of energy and save $6.2 million over the next 20 years.


 Vira Douangmany Cage, Amilcar Shabazz and Stan Rosenberg
Ellen Story:  "This is great advertising for UMass"
Stan Rosenberg:  "Emblematic installation highlighting the green future we desperately need"
Judith Judson:"Partners like UMass help us establish our goal of clean energy"

Chancellor Subbaswamy

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

it makes me sick to see vira appearing at event sliek this. also, sporting her button is amlicar, lap dog that he is. uggg.. not to sling mud, but she is despicable. also, why don't these people have jobs???

Anonymous said...

Larry, can you say "instead of five more fighters"?

There is a NET LOSS with solar -- There is a lot of State, Federal, and/or UMass money in this, money way beyond the alleged "savings."

Ant umASS has a what, 7% student cost increase concurrent with program reductions -- it's not like umASS can afford this stuff.

But Larry, is this "feel good" largess worth five firefighters?

Anonymous said...

Larry, this can't be good news because Ed says solar is no good. Saving millions in electricity costs? Hooray, er. I mean that's a shame.

Dr. Ed said...

If UMass were to replace steam heat with electric heat, they'd save on the Gas& Oil bill, at the cost of a far larger electric bill.Solar Panels cost money to make and more money to install, and when that cost is included, there is a net loss.

Anon 3:49, if you give me $100 per day, I'll give you $350/week.

Anonymous said...

Technically it is just for show when you do solar like this, on grid, typically.

They even said, great advertising because that is what it is.

If it is practical, you don't stop until you hit 100% or 100% of 90% of use. What % of UMASS power will this produce and why on earth would you stop at this point if it was saving money? Those that just want it regardless or are unwilling or inexperienced in doing solar calcs, should consider this basic concept and then ask why they stopped? Then consider if all the people that fluff up such projects, like the event covered here, spent that time and their advanced minds doing more good stuff in stead of reaching around and patting them selves on the back for a puppet project.

The tell tale should be the very small annual savings relative to the project cost. This is not tough to talk about unless you avoid basic solar facts.

This from someone who gets their power from solar, off grid, where it is practical to do so. The math on these projects only add up if you ignore physics, math and economics.

You could likely of had one slight policy change and saved more energy, you could have educated about how much more effective conservation is, etc. you know - facts vs. feelings. A few people in Amherst could have not had the kids they could not afford anyway and saved more energy.

But cool, do it, it makes people feel good, real costs and benefits be damned - it is about placating the ignorant.

Anonymous said...

/the other issue with grid solar is that the grid needs electricity at night and hence, as you can't simply turn steam boilers on & off, they gotta keep the turbines turning anyway.

Dr. Ed said...

How much is it going to cost umASS to sweep those panels off after each snowstorm?

umASS would never remain in business in a competitive marketplace.

Anonymous said...

In fact it IS a competitive marketplace, and all is proceeding as has been foreseen:

https://www.amazon.com/Education-Apocalypse-How-Happened-Survive/dp/1594037914?ie=UTF8&creativeASIN=1594037914&linkCode=w00&linkId=UN5PUJELVLK237TM&ref_=as_sl_pc_tf_til&tag=insta0c-20

Anonymous said...

Ed, properly installed panels are positioned at almost vertical in winter in mass or you loose over 30 %. Thus properly installed panels shed snow once sun is really on them. Improperly placed panels that cannot be adjusted still shed most snow...but still get alumni to donate real money.

This is the main reason roof mounted is also for show, it is like having a car with no steering wheel, you will only get a fraction of the input.

Anonymous said...

Ed, properly installed panels are positioned at almost vertical in winter in mass or you loose over 30 %. Thus properly installed panels shed snow once sun is really on them. Improperly placed panels that cannot be adjusted still shed most snow...but still get alumni to donate real money.

This is the main reason roof mounted is also for show, it is like having a car with no steering wheel, you will only get a fraction of the input.

Of course umass cannot compete. Everyone knows this. It is welfare for stupid kids of mass and stupid adults of Amherst.

Anonymous said...

How can someone with so much education be so dumb????
Come-on Ed, will ya'

Dr. Ed said...

I will so enjoy watching umASS implode.

Dr. Ed said...

1: Larry, YOU are paying for this -- yes, LARRY KELLEY IS PAYING FOR UMASS!!!

From UM Press Release:
The grant program is funded from Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) funds. ACP funds are paid by electric retail suppliers if they have insufficient Renewable or Alternative Energy Certificates to meet their compliance obligations under the Renewable and Alternative Portfolio Standard programs.
See: http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/state-department-energy-resources-awards

2: The lot used to be lined like Lot 32 -- "bumper-to-bumper" -- no sidewalk. In putting in the four concrete sidewalks, they lost at least 50 spaces from what they had -- I'm guessing closer to 100. All hell would break loose if they eliminated 50-100 employee spaces, but no one cares when student spaces disappear.

3: It appears that there are 32 lights under the canopy, replacing maybe 8 pole-mounted "gooseneck" lights, which are inherently more efficient because they point downward. So how much MORE electricity will it take to light this area?

Remember you have 18 posts behind which a rapist could hide -- and perception is reality. Hence even more light is needed...

Just sayin....

Anonymous said...

We are all paying for it just like we all payed for ed's useless education.

Anonymous said...

I find it disrespectful for a candidate to wear "flip-flops" on one's feet at a formal ceremony featuring our state representative and the senate president.

Does this mean Vira will wear flip-flops at the state house if she is elected? Frightening thought.

Larry Kelley said...

It was pretty hot that day.

Anonymous said...

C'mon Larry, how much do you really pay Ed to come up with his insane ideas?
We know he's on the payroll to build up hits.

Larry Kelley said...

I'm not even on the payroll.