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homestead - Re: [Homestead] Nuclear energy in an oil-poor world

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  • From: Kathyann Natkie <knat AT sprintmail.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Nuclear energy in an oil-poor world
  • Date: Mon, 06 Jun 2005 09:58:35 -0400

Wendy wrote:
It seems though,
that your RE plan is state funded. What state do you live in? What is a "bundler"? Is that the guy who collects green credits from conscious people and sells them to polluters so that they can legally continue to pollute?

We are NJ. Federal funds allocated to each state and must be returned if not spent. This year is the first time demand exceeded supply. Additionally the utilities have to fund clean development for 2 reasons public & private. Each tax break that goes thru for them to develop opens more opportunity to sell them "alternatively produced" electricity and the market demand is growing fast. Each unit I produce has 2 values. 1) The value of the electricity for resale- fluctuating market traded like a copmmodity exchange. 2) The value of "alternative production." As people become consciencious (corporations too) they require their supplier to supply them with alternatively produced power (ala Green Mountain.) So the sun source is also a commodity to exchange. A "bundler" aggregates from little folks like us and markets the cleanness to caring individuals and companies. So building costs get written off in the tax break for alternative development but the electricity itself also sells for a commodity value. Example- We sold ours like mineral rights. (Tvo helped me calculate if it was worth it.) What it produces over 16 years in exchange for installing, maintaining, replacing anything that breaks down (including transformers,) taking it down and up once if I need to reroof or down and pack if I move and want to take it, plus some$. I can end contract anytime if it becomes worth it to sell them myself.

We have had a problem with the school I built this year. People noticed the Fed/NJ rebate structure and the Green Building Fund for Schools could be combined so a school could have no cost PV electric installed. The alternative development funds were instantly grabbed up and they froze all schools to figure out how to fund anyone except schools when every school wanted to do it. They haven't figured it out yet but just unfroze our school because we are charter and not eligible for Green Building Fund. The regs have delayed us a year! All other schools are still frozen. The trick now is getting the panels. US production cannot handle demand so Germany is making most of US development money. Our school has chosen to queue for US made instead but they say we will be up by July.

Kathyann




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