View the bid Here

As an Island Fellow my projects include working towards solutions for sustainable, year-round housing and developing support for a community telemedicine facility. I will also be working with the Power Company to implement the solar project and increase access to energy saving opportunities such as weatherization.

Since October, I’ve been teaching music class at the school. We’ve been learning ukulele as well as working on singing and rhythm skills. The kids have had a blast learning this new instrument and are ready to share their talents with the community!

The housing committee has met regularly since November to develop a strategy to address the affordable housing shortage on the island. I’d like to thank the housing committee and those I have interviewed for sharing their honest feedback and thinking creatively to solve this problem. We are currently working on developing a shortlist of housing solutions and gathering feedback from the community on which ideas to pursue.

I maintain a Google Site called Island Fellow Notes. There you can find recent updates and meeting notes under the Blog tab, and links to examples of innovative housing solutions under the Research tab. You can submit comments or questions about my projects here as well.https://sites.google.com/view/islandfellownotes/home?authuser=0

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with questions or comments. I’d love to hear from you!

asiegel@islandinstitute.org

Solar Project Update –– February 20, 2019

1. Last week we concluded an agreement to purchase 1 megawatt hour (1,000 kWh) of super capacitors (batteries) from Kilowatt Labs (KWL). [1,000 kWh is the equivalent of nearly 2,000 marine batteries.] The first 500 kWh, other equipment and software will be purchased for $371,000. We will purchase the second half within four years or when the cable fails, whichever comes first, for ~$180,000.  Total project cost – solar panels, super capacitors, etc. – is estimated at ~$1,560,000.
2. Our plan is to install the system late this spring. When the system is fully installed, the island will have 300 kW of solar panels and 1,000 kWh of super capacitors. 90%-92% of the island’s electrical power will come from solar and 8% to 10% from a diesel generator. The diesel will require about 2,500 gallons of fuel. But, installing 6 to 8 heat pumps in public buildings and homes will eliminate 4,000 to 6,000 gallons of fuel used to heat these buildings. The heat pumps will use ‘excess’, otherwise wasted, electricity that is generated when the super capacitors are full. Consequently, the net fossil fuel energy used by the project makes it ‘better than 100% renewable’ and much cheaper than our alternatives.
3. We will probably convert the company to a standard non-profit, electric utility co-operative with equally distributed ownership. This will convey significant tax advantages, saving us the equivalent of 6% to 8% of our annual revenues; and it will make the search for investors much easier.  The conversion decision will be discussed by the board and, ultimately, will be subject to a vote of our membership.
4. In addition to the co-op conversion, we will form a new company, an LLC; the LLC will purchase and own the solar project equipment for five years. The co-op will pay the LLC for the electricity produced by the solar project. In the sixth-year ownership will transfer to the co-op and the co-op will assume the obligations of the LLC. The LLC will obtain investment funds from several sources:

• Passive income investors a – total of ~$750,000.
• ’Island investors’ who will be asked to loan the co-op ~$700,000 at an annual rate of ~5%. We expect these individuals will come mostly from the island summer community.
• The power company will expend ~$250,000 of our reserves on the project.
• We will increase our monthly fee by ~$16 to a total of ~$32, or about $200/yr. (Compared with a fee that is proportionate to kWh use, a meter fee reduces the costs to year around residents.) These fees and our normal revenues will be used to pay off the loan from island investors. Other rates will remain the same.
• Reduced meter fees are the target of our effort at this time. This spring we will apply for a USDA grant which, if successful, will contribute $100,000 — $200,000 to the project and significantly reduce the monthly contribution from each meter. We will pursue other funding possibilities.
• Total project costs, including the costs of financing, will be around $1,700,000. We will be able to reduce these costs somewhat through the Federal tax credit for investments in renewables and accelerated depreciation.

For a more detailed update, please see the full announcement on the town website (under the community resources tab) and/or on the Iah Electric Power Company Facebook page.

Jim Wilson, President (with thanks to Molly Siegel for her significant editorial contributions)

Solar Status Report November

The linked document below summarizes the two days.
Maine Broadband Coalition Conference

Our Action Steps:

1. Continue the dialog started with TDS at the conference regarding the remaining contracted FairPoint work needed to complete the 2016 system upgrades.  Since there were representatives from both companies present at the meeting, we took the opportunity to elevate the issue and to request monthly follow-up until it’s resolved
2. Identify what is needed to improve speeds for all Island homes.  TDS has indicated that some proposal work on accomplishing this is ongoing.  We have requested details when available.
3. Define what we want/need as a community going forward.  A thought is that we should advocate for a download speed of 25 MBPS (the national minimum to qualify as “broadband”), and an upload speed of 10 MBPS (the Maine minimum standard).  These speeds should allow for adequate capacity for important uses like store order placing, credit card processing, or videoconferencing.

The Island Reader Volume 11, Summer 2017

This change in the law means that we can reduce the cost of power on the island by slowing our transition to solar. The technology of battery storage is evolving very rapidly and prices for both solar panels and batteries are falling. This means the longer we wait the less expensive the system will be, but it doesn’t change our basic strategy. We are still faced with the problem of preparing for a sudden failure of the cable.

Consequently, we expect to invest less in the initial system but will design it so that it (1) puts us in a position to rapidly build out to a fully independent system in the event of a cable failure, and (2) gives us the experience we need operating the technology.

In short, we will start the project at about the same time as before. We will not invest as much initially and will put the emphasis on preparation for a quick build-out after a cable failure. And we will hope the cable holds on for a few more years!

For more information, “Like” the IAH Power Company’s Facebook page here.