Island residents learn about alternative energy

With summer almost here, many people in the Laguna Madre area are bracing themselves for higher electric bills as air conditioners work harder to keep temperatures bearable.

Not too long ago people in a given area or town were tied to the power company with the franchise for that city. In turn, a state utilities board that established maximum charges limited the power company's rates.

Then the state did away with that system of regulation, and decided to allow the various power companies to compete for their customers. The idea was to use competition to keep prices low.

Rates, however, increased instead. Two factors were mostly responsible-increasing fuel costs and the lack of enforceable price limits.

But technology has not been sitting still over the past 20 years, according to Gianluca Ferrario of SPI Go Green, a company invested totally in renewable energy sources.

Ferrario led an information meeting Wednesday on wind and solar generation of electricity for some 18 people gathered in the meeting room at the South Padre Island Visitors Center. The Chamber of Commerce sponsored the presentation.

Since SPI Go Green is a commercial Island company, chamber member Darrell Mangham emphasized that this was not a sales presentation, but an educational meeting. Ferrario just happens to be the Island's expert on the subject, he said.

Ferrario highlighted the differences between solar panels and wind turbine generators. One difference is that electricity from solar panels is about 20 percent cheaper than that generated by windmills. Another is that solar panels cost less to maintain, having no moving parts.

A third difference, which would weigh heavily in an urban area, is that wind generators cannot operate without a certain amount of noise.

People are already familiar with the reliability of solar generation, Ferrario said, displaying a hand calculator powered by a solar cell.

There are two types of solar panel installation, he said. The least expensive is on rooftops, where the panels are anchored to the existing rafters. Ground installation also works, but is more expensive because racks must be constructed. The solar panels are then attached to the racks.

He emphasized that electricity needed to run a home or most commercial applications can be generated with solar panels.

There are three types of installations for solar panels,Ferrario explained.The local power company grid can be utilized as a backup, thus eliminating the need of an expensive storage battery. This is the most economical way to handle those days with no sun.

This comes with a drawback, however. If the power grid shuts down, then your house will be as dark as your neighbor's, he said.

That's because when the grid shuts down, so does your system, in order to protect the grid and any workmen that may be involved in repairing the breakdown.

This inconvenience,he said,can be overcome in either of two ways. Install a battery and run your system independent of the electric company grid.

In fact, this is the only way to have dependable solar power electricity in a remote location not served by any electric utility company.

The other way is to utilize both a battery and the power company grid, Ferrario said. This way your first backup is the grid. If the grid goes down your system switches to battery power and you still have power while your neighbors are left in the dark.

Wind is the oldest green energy around. It has been used to drive windmills to grind flour, to drive other machinery, to pump water and, of course, to generate electricity.

There are several types and sizes of windmills and turbines suitable for powering electric motors and appliances, he said.

The windmill itself must be installed high enough to be above turbulence caused by trees, buildings, or other obstacles. Some windmills have blades with adjustable pitch, like an airplane propeller.

Some models simply shut down if the wind velocity is too high, others adjust their pitch to operate efficiently even in winds that are not optimum.

Most of the southeastern United States, Ferrario said, is unsuited for windmill generation simply because the wind velocity is not reliable enough to be certain the system will work.