SustainableCreekside.org

Last Wednesday (Jun 9,2010) Advanced Energy Systems finished the physical installation of the first solar PV system in Salem’s Creekside neighborhood. Click here or on the photo above to see a video that shows before and after shots and clips taken during the installation.

Next steps are inspection by the City of Salem and PGE. Once these steps take place, the net meter will be installed and electrons will start to flow. Congratulations Burt and Louise!

Click here or on the image above to view this story. From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

The City of Salem and Marion County will soon be considering expanding what can go into the current green yard waste cart. If approved by city and county leaders in upcoming public hearings, the yard cart will soon become the Mixed Organics Cart.

Every year, tons of what otherwise can be turned into useful compost ends up in our ever-growing landfill. The Mid-Valley Garbage and Recycling Association is proposing that Salem customers be allowed to expand the types of waste that can go into the current green cart. The Association projects that 6,000 tons of waste could be recovered each year under the new service! Continue Reading »

Today’s (5/13/2010), USA Today ran an article by Tracy Loew on page 3 that reports, “It’s a scene that’s being played out across the country. As homeowners increasingly seek to turn to green practices such as using clotheslines instead of dryers or moving to solar or wind power, they are finding those plans in conflict with the rules of homeowners associations that encourage conformity in order to maintain property values.” Continue Reading »

I just talked to Burt and he said:

“I attended the meeting tonight (4/22) of the Creekside Architectural Review Committee and am happy to report that my 2.5 kW photovoltaic solar energy project was approved.  I will provide updates as the project progresses.

I hope this news will prompt others in Creekside who are interested in pursuing solar energy projects to do so, and will be happy to be of assistance.”

I wonder if the ARC realize they made this decision on earth day?

Today the Statesman Journal ran a follow up article to their coverage on April 12 of our fight for solar rights. They were responding to Creekside resident Barbara Husseini’s questions, “do homeowner associations pose significant obstacles to resident trying to reduce their impact on the environment?”

After Statesman Journal reporter, Beth Casper researched the issue she found that:

1. HOAs do not need to register with any government agency.
2. HOAs don’t have consistent enforcement policies.
3. No one even knows how many HOAs there are in Salem.

On Monday April 12 the Statesman Journal ran a front page article, by Beth Casper, on our efforts to provide a process in Creekside for the approval of solar installations. The article was syndicated to the Associated Press and picked up by many AP affiliates. The subject seems to be extremely popular since as of this writing the article is either on or referenced by 1,310 web sites world wide.

Despite the positive media coverage of the new Creekside installation guidelines and Burt’s upcoming solar installation the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) has run over their allotted 30 days for review. Burt is ready to start his solar installation but there’s approval yet from the ARC.

Well, not you…..let beneficial parasites eat the grubs.

Each summer we see those giant “mosquitoes” flying around our yards. These are crane flies. They don’t bite–but are an annoyance–and the grubs they hatch from can cause lawn damage.

Crane flies lay eggs in your lawn that eventually become grubs. These grubs, which come to the surface in the spring, munch on lawn roots before turning into crane flies and starting the process all over again. Here is a good calendar of the crane fly life-cycle in your lawn.

If your yard becomes overly infested with crane fly grubs, you might note brown patches in your lawn. But be aware that many other pests and lawn diseases can cause the same conditions. Don’t overreact. Continue Reading »

Tags: nematodes, organic lawn care

Today (Wed 3/10) the Creekside HOA board unanimously voted to approve these solar guidelines.

So after 8 months of working the problem of getting the Creekside HOA to create a process for allowing and approving solar panel installations, the Creekside Architectural Review Committee is now prepared to accept and review installation plans for solar installations in Creekside.

I would like to publicly thank Creekside HOA President Suzanne Towery, past ARC chairman Rich Fry and current ARC chairman Don Wildfang for their cooperation in getting this important Creekside HOA process changed.

Eight months may seem like a long time to get something like this fixed but a little research on the Internet will quickly show that there are many cases all over the US where HOA boards resist these kind of changes for years and end up backing down and doing the right thing only when threatened with litigation. Our previous post on this subject is just one example.

On January 22, 2010 the Ad Hoc committee for Solar Guidelines met and agreed on a set of solar guidelines (click here to view the guidelines). The general process for approval of the guidelines is as follows:

1. Guidelines will be reviewed by the HOA legal council (complete).
2. Guidelines will be presented to the board at the 2/10/2010 meeting (at 4PM).
3. Guidelines will be mailed to all Creekside residents.
4. There will be a special meeting of the board for the purpose hearing input from residents on the subject of solar guidelines.

In early January we sent out a mailer to all Creekside residents to let them know about the this web site and encourage participation and feedback. The mailer resulted in a bunch of votes on the solar poll (on the left side-bar) and many new e-mail subscriptions to the site and e-mail feedback. Here is a summary of what we learned from the resident feedback:

1. Creekside residents are supportive of solar power: Granted that not everyone in Creekside has voted in the poll but we feel that we have a significant sampling of Creekside residents voting.
2. Request for the Creekside mailing list: Our mailing list was developed from public tax records available at the Marion County Assessors web site. Since the Creekside HOA does not share the Creekside Mailing list we will be making the public version available on this website.
3. Issues other than solar power: Creekside residents tell us they have other issues they are concerned about in addition to solar power such as: Wind power, grass requirements, Wacky fence aesthetic priorities which encourages chain-link fences but prohibits wood no matter how elegant the wood fence is.
4. Many would prefer to remain anonymous. As a result we’ve added the Discussion page that allows feedback and discussion on any subject where the commenter can remain anonymous.

A recent article in the Eugene Register Guard described the growth of the solar power industry in the Willamette Valley.

There are currently seven facilities, from Portland to Eugene, producing everything from silicon ingots and wafers to solar cells to inverters.

These facilities employ about 700 people, with plans to expand to over 2700 in the period 2010-2011.  This means at least 2000 Valley residents currently work in or serve/supply this industry and  within two years that figure will jump to over 8000.

In addition, the article indicates the (disclosed) investments made, or to be made, in these plants and facilities exceeds $700 million.

Another way to look at how green solar power can make our valley is the home owner’s investment when installing a photovoltaic system.  We recently received a proposal to install a 2.5kW PV system for $17,500.  After figuring in the Energy Trust cash incentive and the federal and state tax credits which can be taken, the net investment in this system will be only $3188.  Our estimated savings in electricity costs results in a payback of a bit over 14 years.  In addition, data is beginning to come in indicating that solar power installed on a home increases its value and resale price (more on this in another article).  Put together, that’s a lot of green to get by being green!

A report from renewable energy advocates says Oregon is among the best states for regulations that encourage distributed renewable energy, like residential solar panels.

Read the whole article at: http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/11/report_gives_oregon_high_marks.html

Dow Chemical Company, Oct. 5, 2009

Solar shingle are just that: shingles similar to roofing shingles on most homes. Except these shingles are photovoltaic and produce electricity, like solar panels.

While solar shingles (versus panels) have been around for awhile, there does not appear to be many if any big-name manufacturers producing them.

Enter Dow Chemical.

In October of this year, Dow unveiled its “Powerhouse” Solar Shingles, which can be integrated into a home’s array of asphalt roofing shingles. Dow anticipates having a limited supply available in 2010, with a larger supply coming in 2011.

Dow has invested $50 million in a photovoltaic facility at the company’s 1,900-acre complex in Michigan, a sign that big players like Dow recognize that solar is here to stay….. and is a good business move from an industry’s perspective.

So what does this mean for consumers? Continue Reading »

In early 2009 my wife and I decided that we wanted to start moving towards the use of renewable energy. These days there are more and more motivations to take renewable seriously. At the time our biggest motivation was to support the use of clean, renewable energy.

So, after attending the Solar Expo in Portland in May I found a solar installer and started moving towards the installation of a 3000 watt solar photo voltaic installation. Since our HOA (Creekside in Salem) requires approval for all home modification projects I submitted the plan to the HOA for approval. Much to my surprise the HOA said, “no, the CC&Rs don’t allow solar panels”. Continue Reading »