OC Renewables is also a big fan of the Solar Energy Industries Association. Since 1974, SEIA works to expand the use of solar technologies, strengthen research and development, remove market barriers, and improve education and outreach for solar. They are also home to the Solar Bill of Rights.©
The California Center for Sustainable Energy is a non-profit organization dedicated to Greening Your World®. They are based in San Diego. They have a number of free workshops and are a handy resource for all things renewable.
Here in California, we have recently passed a law called AB 920. This law requires utility companies to pay households or businesses for any extra electricity produced by the customer's solar power array. Southern California Edison has some basic frequently asked questions available. The California Public Utilities Commission still has to determine the program's details before full implementation. OC Renewables would like to hear how this law has affected customers here in Orange County. Contact us with your thoughts.
The Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) has had numerous demonstration projects. For example, the Center includes ZEVNET, a demonstration project with the City of Irvine with electric cars (with company and community participation), a Distributed Technology Testing Facility, a combustion lab which can test different fuels as well as other testing and evaluation capabilities (the center has had a solar panel system on its building since the mid-90’s and has capability of testing connections of systems to the grid).
The Center for Solar Energy at UCI is doing research in
- Metal-Semiconductor Hybrid Nanowires Utilizing Plasmonics for Concentrating Solar Radiation
- Quantum Dot Solar Cells
- Molecular Machines for Solar-Powered Photochemistry
- Direct Solar Thermal-to-Electrical Energy Conversion using Thermoelectric Nanowires
- Developing Sustainable Materials for Solar Energy Conversion
UCI also has an active student environmental community, with 11 different student clubs. One of those in particular is the Sustainable Energy Technology Club (SETC). The Sustainable Energy Technology Club is a student organization that promotes the inspiration, education, and application of sustainable ideas to students, particularly in science and engineering related fields. With the common theme of energy, club members will explore how science and technology can be used as a driving factor behind making changes in society with respect to a cleaner environment and less wasteful lifestyles. SETC will accomplish its goals by means of SETC's Energy Sustainability Seminar Series, monthly field trips or activities, and through the support of engineering student senior design projects where students are able to come up with their own solutions and to physically build or model them.
Our fellow ASES chapters in San Diego and Northern California are on the web and doing great things in their local communities.