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The PE4RC Team has created this site to provide information resources about energy conservation and renewable energy technology to the residents of eastern Santa Cruz County.
New Announcements:
Sustainable Living in the Mountain Empire Expo scheduled for March 17
The first SLIME Expo is now less than two months away and one of the highlights will be the student Science Poster Contest. The Expo will happen and the posters will be on display at the Expo on Saturday, March, 17, 2012 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Sonoita.
Please visit the Announcements page for more information about the Expo. Recent Headlines
Sustainable Living in the Mountain Empire organization formed during Energy Summit II
PE4RC team members Wayne Porter and Linda Kennedy participated in the second Energy Expo Summit on June 14 in Sonoita. Summit participants were led by Karen LaFrance and primary result was the creation of a new, more broadly focused organization with the colorful acronym SLIME. For more information about the new organization, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/sustainablime/. Energy Expo IV highlights
 science teacher Kathleen Pasierb of the Little Red Middle School.
The Expo was
organized by PE4RC team members and presented by the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch and the Sonoita Crossroads Community Forum. Please check back later this week for more info and photo galleries about the poster contest winners and other Expo happenings. Santa Cruz County adopts Residential Green Building Program
On January 19, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution creating a Voluntary Residential Green Building Rating and Certification Program. PE4RC team members actively supported the adoption of the GBP and wish to recognize SCC Supervisor John Maynard for his leadership and Community Development Director Mary Dahl and Chief Building Official Bob Banzhof for their diligent work to make the new program a reality. For more information or to download the Green Building Standard, please visit our Resources page. Patagonia Town Council passes resolution to investigate renewable energy options On January 26, the Patagonia Town Council unanimously passed a resolution to begin the Discovery Phase of the Patagonia Power project. A group of area busimesspeople, led by Patagonia resident Deborah Fain of Monitor Construction, will now prepare a preliminary report that will answer a number of questions raised during a January 5 study session. The Patagonia Power team also includes Jim Rowley of Elgin Energy, Gail Getzwiller of Sonoita and Wayne Porter of PE4RC. The two-week long Discovery Phase will include public meetings on February 4th and 7th during which the project will be introduced to community members. The preliminary report will then be presented to the Town Council at their February 9 meeting. Please visit the Announcements page for more info about the public meetings.
 Walker Ranch PV Array is now online After several months of construction, inspections and testing, the 84-kW photovoltaic array (shown above, looking northeast toward the Whetstone Mountains) at the Walker Ranch in Sonoita is online. Jim Rowley of Elgin Energy reports that the array started feeding power into the grid on Friday, December 3. PE4RC case study is now available
The case study report that describes PE4RC's first year of operation and lays out a model for starting up an energy efficiency-focused organization in a rural community is now available. Please visit the Resources page for more information or to download the report.
Research Ranch PV arrays are online
The 5.16 kW photovoltaic array at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch bunkhouse and the 8.6 kW array at Ranch headquarters have been online for over a month now, and there are charts available that show the output for both systems on the Sunny Portal web site. Please browse to these links to see production data for the bunkhouse and headquarters arrays. Note, however, that the Sunny Portal site is, to put it kindly, less than robust when I use it over the Ranch's satellite connection. Candidates Forum held on October 9 at the Walker Ranch
A coalition of local organizations hosted the 2010 Cienega-Santa Cruz Candidate Forum at the Walker Ranch in Sonoita. Candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission, State Mine Inspector and Arizona Legislative District 30 attended the event. Please visit the Forum web site for photos and video captured during the 2010 Forum.
SSVEC hosted seminars on August 31 in Elgin and September 2 in Sierra Vista. At the Elgin forum, Jack Blair and David Bane presented information about the co-op's renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. Both speakers answered a number of questions about the SunWatts rebate program, and David announced that the "avoided cost of purchashing power," the wholesale rate at which SSVEC will purchase excess electricity from its members with solar or wind energy systems, dropped to 3.77 cents/kWh for the September 2010-August 2011 period. Two other elements of the SunWatts program that may be useful for SSVEC members in our area are the no-interest loans for energy efficiency upgrades and the 3% loans for up to 25% of the cost of a solar energy system.
Ceres report recommends changes for U.S. utilities
A report recently released by Ceres includes a set of conclusions and recommendations for both investor-owned and cooperative electric utilities. It states that successful 21st century utilities will need to:
The report was prepared for Ceres by Navigant Consulting, the same company that wrote the Independent Feasibility Study regarding SSVEC's plan to construct a transmission line across the Babacomari Ranch. Please visit our Sustainability page for more information or to download the report.
Ceres is a leading coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change.
Corporation Commission rules on SSVEC 69kV line case
On June 29, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted 3-1 to allow Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative to begin work on the 69kV transmission line that will pass across the Babocomari Ranch and through Sonoita. The project will also include construction of a substation and 750kW photovoltaic system in Sonoita. During the hearing, ACC Chairperson Kristin Mayes introduced a measure, which passed unanimously, that will require SSVEC to submit a new plan for their Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) program by July 31, 2010. The measure's passage should result in a substantially shorter backlog time for receiving rebates from the co-op for members' purchases of solar energy systems in its service area.
SSVEC is ranked #1 in the Solar Electric Power Association's 2009 Utility Solar Rankings report on the list of utilities with the highest solar Watts/customer installed in 2009. Please visit our SSVEC page for more details or to download the report.
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