Advanced FAQ

Why not? Beyond the initial investment, energy from the sun is free, it is clean, and it is renewable. The surface of the Earth receives 10,000 times more energy from the sun every day, than is consumed by all human activity over that same 24-hour period. Renewable energy systems capture this energy and reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.

Every kilowatt-hour or BTU of energy produced by a renewable energy system displaces the same amount of energy supplied by fossil fuels.

Renewable energy is all around us in the form of sunlight, solar heat, wind and flowing water. Everyone has the potential to access and use it for some or all of their energy needs.

Renewable energy technology is modular and highly scaleable. For example, a solar PV system can be quite small enough to recharge a single electric vehicle - or it can be easily scaled up to recharge an entire fleet of vehicles.

The scalability of renewable energy enables systems to be designed to suit any size house or commercial building application. Its modularity enables it to be easily rescaled to meet changing needs.

The interaction between renewable energy technology and the environment is a benign, and is therefore sustainable. The capture and conversion of energy into forms we can use electricity and heat - are clean.

Solar photovoltaics silently convert sunlight into electricity. The wind passes unharmed from the downwind side of a turbine, and except for the energy that was extracted, is unchanged. Flowing water is diverted from a stream to a turbine which extracts energy, then returns the water to its source intact. Solar thermal collectors simply absorb heat from the atmosphere. No chemical reactions take place. No greenhouse gases or particulates are generated or emitted.

Renewable energy technology simply extracts energy from our planet without harming it.

Except for hydropower from our nations dams, all of our energy comes from a limited and shrinking reserve of fossil fuels coal, oil, natural gas, and from uranium.

Just as these supplies are shrinking, demand is soaring not only here in the United States, but in countries like India and China. As their economies continue to grow, their energy needs puts them into head-on competition with the United States in world energy markets. We have already felt the impact as our energy costs respond to this supply-demand dynamic.

The use of fossil fuels releases CO2, SO2, NO2 and smog into the atmosphere. After 150 years of intense fossil fuel consumption, the planet is showing its inability to continue absorbing greenhouse gases at this rate without overheating. The ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1984.

In short, the era of fossil fuels is necessarily a finite one. We have the opportunity to transition into a new era where human activity is powered by an energy source that is perpetually refreshed and that leaves a clean wake.

Fossil fuel-based energy is far more costly than most people believe, for at least two reasons.

First, fossil fuels are heavily subsidized. Early in the 20th century, our government correctly recognized that a healthy and growing economy required abundant and inexpensive energy. Programs to subsidize the coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear industries were put into effect over the years that currently stand at billions of dollars annually. Those dollars are tax dollars - largely invisible to the average American, but a very real cost that each of us ultimately bear.

Second, energy accounting has historically included only the costs of fossil fuel extraction (mining and drilling), transportation to processing and generation facilities, and the capital and operating costs of the generation facilities themselves.

A newer energy accounting method has emerged that considers the collateral impact of fossil fuel use on the health of our planet and its inhabitants. It has gained widespread acceptance among scientists, politicians, and even some utility company executives. Updated estimates of the true costs of our century-long consumption of fossil fuel range from eye-opening to staggering.

State and federal lawmakers are currently working on legislation to enact a Carbon Tax on fossil fuels. Some or all of the funds earmarked as fossil fuel subsidies may be re-channeled into alternative energy research and deployment.

The map below, from the U.S. Department of Energy, shows that the state of North Carolina (purple) is just one level away from the highest rate band for electricity costs in the nation.

The rate of global warming is still being debated and ranges considerably. But even on the low side, its effects demand our attention.

Projected 21st century impact of global warming on North Carolinas human health, water resources, agriculture, forests, and indigenous species of plants and animals can be found at the Environmental Protections Agency website: Climate Change and North Carolina.

The economics of renewable energy are the opposite of fossil fuel-based economics.

Fossil-fuel energy plants have low fixed-cost, high variable cost economics.
After 150 years of burning fossil fuels, weve gotten pretty good at building relatively inexpensive coal, oil and natural gas power plants. Their initial construction costs for each watt of energy produced is seductively low.

Their operating costs, however, are highly variable are increasingly dominated by the cost of fuel. For the average utility plant, more than 90 percent of annual costs result from the purchase of fuel. Passage of a carbon-tax and the enactment of a state or federal Renewable Portfolio Standard will significantly drive up the annual operating costs over their expected service life.

Renewable energy has higher fixed-cost, near-zero variable cost economics.
A renewable energy system has a higher up-front cost for each watt of energy generated. State and federal incentive programs for renewable energy have dramatically reduced the initial costs, and will likely stimulate the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies.

Over its expected service life of 25 to 40 years, there are no fuel costs. Sunlight, wind and flowing water are free.

Of all the renewable energy technologies, the manufacture of photovoltaic (solar PV) panels is the most energy-intensive.

Here are the facts: a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S. Department of Energy) determined that PV modules require from one to four years to generate the total energy consumed in their manufacture, depending on the type of module.

Over its expected life, a photovoltaic panel will thus return anywhere from 6 to 40 times the energy consumed in its manufacture. Like all renewable energy technologies, solar PV is clearly a net energy producer.

Current solar photovoltaics have an efficiency of less than 20%. The technology is constantly improving and some PV panels currently in the laboratory have twice that efficiency they may be on the market within the next 5 to 10 years.

Wind turbine efficiency is considerably higher, but has a theoretical limit of 59 percent.

Micro hydro system efficiency is somewhat higher than wind power and considerably higher than photovoltaics.

The efficiency of solar thermal technology varies widely based on the design of the total system, but is significantly higher than solar photovoltaics.

For a more balanced perspective on efficiency

Coal-fired power plants have an efficiency of 36-38%.

A combined-cycle gas turbine plant can achieve an efficiency of nearly 60%.

The electric grid itself, the network of overhead transmission lines and towers, has an inherent inefficiency. Transmission and distribution losses from Joule heating alone are estimated at 7.2%.

Nuclear power plant efficiency currently stands at about 33%.

Only 5% the energy consumed by an incandescent light bulb is actually converted into light. The rest 95% - is wasted as heat. A fluorescent lamp at 7%-15% efficiency, is significantly better but still alarmingly low.

Only about 15% of the energy from the fuel you put in your gas tank gets used to move your car down the road or to run accessories such as air conditioning. The rest of the energy is lost to engine and driveline inefficiencies. An average car weighs about 3,000 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds, then 1/15th of the gasoline that actually moves your car, is actually being used to transport you thats about one percent efficiency. Almost 99 percent of each gallon of gas you put into your tank is either wasted in mechanical inefficiency, or is used to move the car itself.

Its worth remembering that conversion efficiency is most important when the fuel being converted has a cost. Coal, oil, natural gas, uranium, gasoline are all high-cost fuels and a higher efficiency allows them to do more useful work with less waste.

Since renewable energy fuel the sun, the wind and water are all free, efficiency is not as important. The critical measure is cost-per-watt or cost-per-BTU captured. After the up-front cost of a renewable energy system is recovered, its ongoing costs are essentially zero.

Sundance will visit your home and conduct an assessment of your site. We will suggest the best location and orientation of solar PV or solar thermal collectors. Equipment may be ground or roof-mounted.

Solar equipment can be mounted on virtually any type of roof - the added weight will fall well below its structural capacity.

Averaged over a year, a south-facing roof will provide the greatest energy production potential. A southwest or west-facing roof will produce more power later in the day as the sun sinks into the west this corresponds nicely to the peak demand times for your local electric company.

Sundance will use a combination of wind maps and on-site measurements to determine the wind potential of your site. In general, the higher a wind turbine is placed, the greater the wind energy that can be captured. Wind turbines are mounted on masts that can be quite high, so what you may experience on the ground is not an accurate indicator of a sites true wind potential.

Site attributes such as terrain, the presence of building, trees, rock outcroppings, and other potential wind barriers or sources of wind turbulence all impact the placement of a wind turbine and its potential to generate power.

Earlier generation wind farms did kill birds. They were poorly sited directly in the migratory paths and the raptor feeding grounds of some species. The turbine speeds were far higher than subsequent science has indicated that they needed to be.

Wind turbines are now sited well out of the paths of migration routes. They rotate at significantly slower speeds. Wind towers and turbine housings are now designed to minimize or eliminate the features that birds once found attractive for nesting.

For perspective, it is worth noting the following causes of bird fatalities in the U.S. annually:

1. Glass Windows: 100 900+ million
2. Electric Transmission Line Collisions: 174 million
3. House Cats: 100 million
4. Automobiles/Trucks: 50 100 million
5. Agriculture: 67 million
6. Oil and Gas Development: 1 2 million

Every bird death is a loss, but wind turbines are at the very bottom of the list of causes. A 15 year study of turbine-related bird fatalities by state may be found here.

The Audubon Society enthusiastically supports wind energy.

A good site requires either a high-flowing stream (high flow) or a significant drop in elevation between the systems intake and discharge (high head). An excellent site will enjoy both. Most good hydro sites have some combination of the two.

If you believe you have a potential micro hydro site, call Sundance for an over-the-phone assessment we can tell you how to guesstimate the energy production. There is no obligation or cost for this. If it sounds promising, Sundance can visit your site and measure the actual head and flow, and provide a better estimate of the energy production potential and the cost to install a micro hydro system.

RFH is a highly efficient way to heat your home. It warms your home or business from the floor up without blowing air or dust. For details on how it works, see Radiant Floor Heating.

RFH can use water heated by conventional means alone (natural gas, electric, oil), but it really shines when it is paired with a solar thermal renewable energy system. Thermal collectors efficiently absorb the heat of the sun which is then used to preheat the water in your hot water system. Now a significant portion of your home can be heated with radiant floor heating powered by the sun. Your home becomes the storage for your solar thermal system.

Renewable energy systems are modular and scalable. A system can be designed to meet any portion or all of your energy needs.

Sundance collaborates with each client to design a system that best meets their individual energy needs, their budget and tax-efficiency needs, and the scheduled allowances of applicable renewable energy incentives.

As you might imagine, prices vary significantly based on the following:

1. Application (residential, commercial, municipal or large-scale developer)
2. Technology (solar PV, wind, micro hydro, solar hot water, solar heat)
3. Type (on-grid, on-grid with back-up, off-grid)
4. Size (amount of energy generated per year)

For commercial applications, Sundance will provide a comprehensive financial analysis that illustrates key financial ratios (i.e. ROI, Simple Payback, etc.) for your accountant or CFO, and for your Board of Directors.

For municipal, large-scale developer, and utility-scale renewable energy systems, Sundance will assist in structuring multi-party financing strategies that may include private investors and the local utility. Additionally, we will provide baseline analyses for ownership transfer schedules optimal financial benefit over the life of the project.

For each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by a fossil-fuel power plant, an undesirable second product is produced: CO2 and other harmful greenhouse gases.

Two products are also produced by each kilowatt of electricity produced by a renewable energy system: the energy itself, and the absence of harmful emissions. This clean energy attribute or credit (REC) has a market value and it may be sold to a number of different buyers, including your local utility.

In North Carolina, NC GreenPower has had a powerful influence on many residential and commercial buyers of renewable energy systems. For smaller solar PV systems, NC GreenPower will pay $0.18 for each kilowatt-hour of green electricity produced. Combined with the revenue from the sale of electricity itself, RECs can provide an annual income to further offset the cost of your renewable energy system.

It is important to note that the value of both the RECs and the energy you produce are based on current market values and may be subject to change with:

1. The price of energy in general
2. The imposition of a carbon tax on fossil fuel generating plants
3. The impending passage of a state Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
4. Overall market demand for clean energy and its associated green attributes.

Electricity from your renewable energy system must be sold locally, usually to your utility through a grid interconnect. RECs may be sold anywhere in the world where demand exists.

Sundance will partner with your utility company to install the proper grid interconnect and metering components, and will complete and file all necessary paperwork.