Edmonton's newest solar installation company, Dandelion Renewables

My friend Mike has been working for the past year on a new business, and I think that his timing is perfect: there has never been a cheaper time to install solar electric modules on your house.

A mathematician and project feasability modeller by profession, Mike is passionate about making solar work for his clients. He is one of two people whom I've met who truly understands your electricity bill (Gordon Howell is the other one - how is it okay that only the best experts understand a freakin bill?), and he is looking to put that understanding to good use.

The solar electric industry is undergoing an upheaval. Although I don't care to know the details, the result is that the price of PV modules right now is roughly one quarter of what I paid just a few years ago.

Mike tells me that he can achieve rates of return between 3%-5% for his clients on solar installations. That investment is more secure than any stock (the equipment can be covered by home insurance), and it turns you into a green energy producer. How cool is that?

If I didn't already have every square inch of my house covered with PV modules, I would hire Mike of Dandelion Renewables to install solar panels on my house.

 This just in from resident Net Zero House expert and Edmonton green leader Bob Heath:

The latest issue of Home Power magazine has an article entitled "Blast From The Past" written by Martin Holladay. He tested a 33 watt PV module that he had bought in 1980 for $275.00 US. He found that the module was still performing at better than factory spec. A quote from the article - "A PV cell is a rock that makes electricity."
Another quote from the same issue of HP - "A PV module is the closest thing we have to perpetual motion [and] is the most reliable electric generator in the known universe." —Joel Davidson, SOLutions in Solar Electricity

Germany will install 6,000,000 kilowatts of PV modules this year. Shouldn’t we Albertans also be investing in these en masse in order to make our electricity supply more resilient (not to mention greener) in a future of declining fossil fuel availability?

This is the final installment in a three-part series about personal finance for the conscious green Edmontonian. It covers:

1. day to day finances
2. retirement
3. investments

The above picture is the world oil consumption curve. It is often displayed as just data, allowing what will happen on the down slope to our imaginations.

Peak oil is just one of many ways in which we are reaching the limits of our growth as a species. I find it highly absurd, then, that adults (you know, the ones who are all grow’ds up)  cannot rationally discuss the end of growth in polite company. And it’s virtually never discussed by anyone with any power. The fact of the matter is, infinite growth is impossible in a finite world. Let me repeat that:

Infinite growth is impossible in a finite world

Yes, it sucks. Yes, it’s inconvenient. But it’s true.

Maybe it’s a facet of denial, but it is easy to “understand” on one level about growth ending, and then turn around and invest our money in mutual funds and stock markets.

In my humble opinion, investing your money in stocks/mutual funds means one of two things:

1. The Unicorn Option - You believe that infinite growth is possible in our finite ecosystem. If this describes you, stop reading – the unicorns will deliver your fortune when the time is right.

   OR

2. The Playa Option - You recognize that growth will end, but you think that you’re smart and ruthless enough to get out of the stock market before all the suckers do (you know, your children and all those those other weaklings).

Option one speaks for itself, and I personally wouldn’t be counting on option two if my retirement was more than a couple of years away.  read more... »

This is Gordon Howell (www.hme.ca). He is Alberta's (Canada's!) leading guru on solar electricity.  He is my first choice for a series that I'm writing on Edmonton's Green Leaders. 

Gordon has been working tirelessly on the issue of solar electricity (among other solar-related topics) for as long as I've been paying attention. He lectures often in the city, and his talks are always full of topical, relevant information. The man is thorough, too. His information is always very accurate.

Gordon is a key member of the Riverdal NetZero Project, and he has worked on my own Mill Creek NetZero Home.

If you're interested in learning more about how to live greener in Edmonton, I highly recommend going to one of Gordon's talks. Better yet, email him (ghowell [at] hme [dot] ca) and find out when he'll next be teaching his multi-day solar energy course.

Like many of the true leaders in our city, Gordon has contributed countless unpaid hours. He has added tremendously to the public knowledge and discourse regarding solar energy. I for one am very grateful for his contribution.

To learn about renewable energy applications in our city and province, visit Gordon's website today.