Green Energy - Democratic Economics - Locally Based http://www.vrec.ca As part of our mandate to help make renewable energy systems more affordable, the Vancouver Renewable Energy Cooperative (VREC) is offering a solar hot water installation workshop. This workshop is designed for homeowners and others who are interested in installing one of these systems on their own home, or in understanding the installation process. This workshop will help you save installation costs and be better informed about a technology that saves money and reduces greenhouse gasses. The workshop is hands-on and will be held Sunday, September 23rd in North Vancouver during the day (exact time and location to be announced). It will be taught by an experienced installer. Together, workshop participants will install a type of system that is the simplest to install, a three season batch solar heater. http://www.vrec.ca/Bright%20News.htm "Partly Cloudy - Totally Solar". The grid-intertied photovoltaic system designed and installed for client Doug Horn, the first of it's kind in North Vancouver, BC, was featured on the July/August 2007 cover of Home Power Magazine Link to Home Power http://www.vrec.ca/Bright%20News.htm This March 2007, VREC is in process of installing a solar hot air system to heat the basement of the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation using the sun's heat. The rather chilly basement area is home to the office of several local non-profit organizations and has needed supplemental electric heat till now. "On the last sunny day we had, the heater came on by 11:00 am and continued to run all day, until it lost the sun. The air felt quite warm coming out of it." said Karen Wristen, Executive director of SPEC. http://www.vrec.ca/Bright%20News.htm The first solar photovoltaic (PV) grid-tie system in the city of North Vancouver was installed July 23rd, 2006. The system produces clean electrical power from sunlight, and was installed on the roof of a house. This grid-tie system (where the household is able to sell electricity to the main electrical grid) is made possible under a net-metering program introduced two years ago by BC Hydro. Customers can produce their own power and sell any surplus generated to the BC Hydro grid. Power can also be drawn from the grid when needed. VREC installed the first grid-tied photovoltaic system in Vancouver and is proud to install the first in North Vancouver. More information at: http://www.vrec.ca/Bright%20News.htm or check out our photogallery: http://www.vrec.ca/photo_gallery.htm http://www.vrec.ca/Bright%20News.htm The streets were packed as people on foot took over 8 block length of Vancouver's Commercial Drive to listen to musicians, dance in the street, watch parades of everything from chopper bicycles to Brazilian soccer fans and to see exhibits from local cooperatives, organizations and businesses. The Vancouver Renewable Energy Coop was there with our solar panel display, talking to people about renewable energy, in an area called 'the Cooperaive Way', designed to highlight the cooperative movement. The festival also boasted a Fair Trade Zone focussing on fairly traded products. More information on the Commercial Drive Festival is at http://www.commercialdrivefestival.org/ http://www.commercialdrivefestival.org Are you interested in learning about renewable energy hands-on? Are you in the Vancouver area? The join our volunteer listserv and keep up to date on what's happening at VREC. http://www.recov.org/Bright%20News.htm The new net-metering program from BC Hydro has created an unprecedented opportunity for ordinary people to become producers of clean environmentally friendly power. This course introduces participants to the different types of systems that can be installed under the net-metering program. http://www.recov.org/Bright%20News.htm 15-year limit set for switch to renewable energy; Biofuels favoured over further nuclear power. http://www.recov.org/Bright%20News.htm The Vancouver Renewable Energy Cooperative (VREC) and CCEC Credit Union are pleased to announce the availabililty of prime plus one financing for people buying renewable energy systems from VREC. http://www.recov.org/Bright%20News.htm#VREC%20Gets%20Prime%20Plus%20One the Vancouver Renewable Energy Coop (VREC) launched own brand of Renewable Energy Certificates also known as Carbon Offset Credits. These are the first and only RECs to support local renewable energy projects in the Vancouver area. http://www.recov.org/Catalog/CarbonOffsets.htm BCSEA Report says 400,000 new jobs and 84,250 Gigawatt Hours of electricity could be generated in BC from sustainable, renewable energy. http://www.recov.org/Bright%20News.htm#BCSEAReport Mounted on a sunny south-facing side of your house, this inexpensive panel provides free heat from the sun to warm up your winter and save on heating costs. http://www.recov.org/Catalog/SolarSpaceHeating.htm Incentives in the legislation would make solar electricity systems for homeowners pay for themselves, and encourage WA production of renewable energy equipment. If BC doesn't follow suit, we may lose our renewable energy companies to the neighbours. The measure is self financing - with micro price increases to all rate payers paying for higher rates to renewable energy producers. http://www.recov.org/Catalog/SolarSpaceHeating.htm