What is the COVID19 Message on 50th Anniversary of EARTHDAY?

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The health crisis brought home the message that human life is precious is the Country took extra ordinary measure to protect our lives at a huge cost to our economy. Trillions of Dollars spent and lot more to come in future. All of the Weapons to protect our nations proved worthless against this invisible enemy.

Warning by scientists were ignored for just 4 weeks and we all experienced the outcomes that no one imagined to cover many countries. Ignoring science was DEADLY.

I am reminded of the saying- Do not fool with mother nature! Is it possible that we did it  by ignoring all the Climate change warnings for last 10 years and the impact of environmental changes resulted in creation of new species or modifications of viruses as their fight for survival?

Once the current crisis is controlled then we will have some choices to make not to repeat this outcome. With this Crisis comes an Opportunity as the Chinese saying goes and they are now proving it by becoming the supplier of systems to fight the problem that originated at China. They are setting a smart example for seeking Prosperity.

What could Climate Smart Communities do on this  50th anniversary of Earth Day? Resolve to become Independent.

Let us think hard about all of the Infrastructure needs and select those items that generate long term savings by implementing efficiency and shifting to clean renewable energy sources. Recycle and reuse rainwater and food waste and plant as many trees as we can to convert the atmospheric CO2 to biomass for GHG reduction.

The independence concept can move us to growing locally and seek distributed generation to keep the money circulated locally to be resilient from economic losses when critical materials from imported sources are not able to reach us like we experienced recently.

It is time to use this Earth Day to celebrate 50th year with new resolve to seek economic independence and be resilient to fight future problems. Prosperity from Opportunity created by Crisis is the Key message. Do you agree?

Climate Change Solutions?

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I am preparing for a presentation to our Brighton Rotary Club on Monday Feb. 17th 2020.
The topic is about Climate Change and what to do about it.

I am aware that some folks just think it may not be caused by us humans. If you were drowning in a flood or be in the middle of a fire, would spent one second thinking about who is causing it? Probably not.

Well same applies to our home called earth. Living in Rochester NY for last 50 years I have seen the change and feel that the it is time to take actions that improve our world and make it safer for everyone.

Think about giving a gift of Nature to your community. It will be the legacy that can live forever.
There is no better way then creating small gardens with Trees and plants to cover the areas that have barren land or replace paved areas that remain idle with no traffic.

With Rotary help we are planning to build a Peace Garden at Rochester school 58 as a demonstration project. When completed during Summer of 2020, it will be a place where Teachers will take a small group of students and teach them about respecting nature, share thoughts about how Trees play a very important role to improve air quality and help create clouds by evapotranspiration.

We are happy to note that some Nations are now deciding to plant Millions of trees to fight Climate Change. As the planet warms ir would be essential to have shaded areas and Trillions of trees planted across the Globe.

This year on Earth Day take a pledge to do your part.

Thank you.

Ram Shrivastava

Good News! Climate Change Awareness has achieved control of CO2 emmissions

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Thank you to all the scientists that have been warning about Climate change and global warning while the world ignored it for many decades. Inconvenient truth movie brought this issue to the forefront and for last 10 years debates started in USA.

Rest of the world noticed the risks resulting from this problem and cost of repairing natural disaster events. Technology solutions were developed as the world found new sources of clean energy to serve our need.

Solar power technology using the PV cells witnessed huge reduction of 90% over a decade which made it possible to make power for much lower costs. One watt of PV cell went from $8.00 per watt to now 40 cents cost. So one can imagine why we can now make power for lower cost then power purchased from the Utility, with some incentives from Federal or State.

This is probably the biggest reason why solar power growth has been at a scale of over 30,000% over a decade. Politics may sway some Leaders to say that global warming or Climate change is not reality. International Energy Agency just released a report that C)2 emissions are now flat and no longer going up. This is victory for mankind and assures us that as more people adopt clean solar power and switch their cars to Electric Vehicles the world would experience a reduction in atmospheric C)2 levels. It no longer matters what our elected Leaders say, the marketplace is irreversible and will lead us to more Green power and reductions in Green House Gasses.

The truth about affordable solar energy is known to all and with lower cost solar programs, some Climate smart communities have taken the lead and become energy independent.

In New York State any Municipality can now fix the cost of power with solar power installation and make it possible to achieve less than 6 cents per kwh power after the system capital is recovered in about 10 years. The power cost today is about 10 cents per Kwh so imagine paying 6 cents per Kwh after 10 years and keeping it at that level for another 20 years. These could be the Years of prosperity when money saved in enerrgy cost will help local economy.

Let us take advantage of this reality and achieve triple bottom line- Save money, save the environment and help build our communities.

Earth Day 2017 A time for Celebration and expressing Gratitude to Science

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This is a special day to celebrate accomplishments and progress made in renewable energy field.
Who would have thought 5 years ago that Clean power could be made at the same cost as Coal? Technology advancements by scientists have given us efficient solar panels, smaller invertors, high capacity wind turbines for off shore application and compact battery storage.

There is no reason to doubt about progress in renewable energy field, because technology will lead us to better future. Corporations such as Apple, Walmart and Google would lead the world in showing  Green pathways and leave the polluting old technology behind.

As some experts  have said, the market place will decide the future and not wait for our Government to control what happens in this renewable energy field. It is time to train the coal miners to operate Solar and Wind farms or manufacture these system in America under Make in America plans.

It is not too far away when off shore wind turbines make 40% of the future renewable energy in New York and large commercial solar farm cover our landscape. Our goal of 50% renewable energy shall be met by 2030.

Our communities can now have community solar farms serving their residents and make power at same cost as the Utility. This energy independence goal is now achievable. Smart communities will demonstrate this as more examples are visible in America.

It is time to pray for good wisdom to be given to our leaders so a cleaner greener future awaits the next generation with efforts made by our generation.

Climate change adaptation with Energy Independence

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There is change in the air as we go through the final days before elections. It happens to be the same time where scientists are discovering that our Glaciers are melting faster than original projections. Unfortunately, some people still believe that it is not happening and ignoring all the photos and videos that clearly make the point. Their minds are made up for some political reason and facts may not mean anything.

We hope that our Leaders who are elected this November hang their party affiliation out side the door of the Congress, Senate and White house and deal with reality and listen to professionals who have spent lifetime doing what they do and care about our earth and future of the planet.

Fortunately in New York, we have a progressive goals and vision to be 30 -50% renewable energy users for all Government facilities using the available solar and renewable energy incentives. Under NYSERDA grant program, NY based communities  can become certified as Clean Energy Communities and seek 100% grant to implement programs that will enable them to meet the goals of reducing GHG emissions. This will allow them to plan the strategy to reduce energy consumption and shift to cleaner fuels and promote Green sustainable solutions.

Communities making all of their power at large community shared solar farms is here now and this will allow them to become energy Independent and be part of the Climate change solution. Now it is up to the leaders of these communities to decide and take a positive step toward making them energy smart and efficient users of Clean power.

Good Luck!

New York State DEC Agency Honors Town of Williamson in Upstate NY as Energy Independent Sustainable Community

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Looking for a small Town reaching the goal of Energy Independence in America?
Well! Town of Williamson in Wayne County New York achieved it in 2014 and was honored with Environmental Excellence Award on November 17, 2015 by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Check out this award at the following link;

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-recognizes-seven-innovative-programs-resulting-healthier-environment-and
Larsen Engineers was also recognized for assisting the Town of Williamson in providing guidance and engineering services to build 1.5 MW solar power system at their closed landfill which produces as much power as the Town owned facilities consumes per year.

For Power Consumers - We have the choice to Achieve Energy Freedom!

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Can 2015 be the beginning of new consumer movement that allows them to be free from the Utility? In New York State the Policies under review will take us closer to realizing this dream. Elon Musk and his vision to provide and promote lower cost energy storage was announced on April 30th. Combined with Solar power and smart controls this enables the customer to buy power at night and use it in the day powered by storage system in the garage.

The old paradigm is that we need the power company to sell us power at whatever cost and we have no choice. It worked when other options were beyond consumers reach. Now it is time to have distributed generation with storage and let them be paid for the service, connectivity and backup power.

With Solar PV system now at below $2.00 per watt and storage around $400 per KW, we are closer to Energy Freedom. This message would soon reach more people and the time to take bold action could happen starting in 2015.

After 45 years of celebrating Earth Day, the time has come when one can imagine the dream coming true.What makes this timely is the fact that Climate change is getting the national attention and people realize that resiliency of power is important when the power grid goes down. The peace of mid that it does not matter when power goes down because now you have your own power plant and storage system that can be activated automatically with smart control and keep you home or business running. This is safety, comfort and economic issue.

Smart consumer living ins sustainable Green communities will realize this and take advantage of financial incentives, long term low interest financing and become secure and seek their Energy Freedom.

What are we waiting for?  Energy Independence is around the corner.

Go for it!

Town of Williamson,NY Leads with Solar PV for achieving Energy Independence

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http://www.13wham.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/solar-panels-power-unused-landfill-18717.shtml

The above TV news story covered the news about a large scale solar system that was installed to serve the Town of Williamson electrical energy needs. Larsen Engineers assisted the Town to competitively select SED to provide the 1.5 MW solar system, as part of their sustainable energy strategy.

This project is a great example of how communities can seek energy independence and adapt to Climate change.

New York State offers the grants and with Federal tax incentives any consumer can go Solar and save money during the life of the system, expected to be 30-40 years. This Green Energy solution can help reduce our dependence on oil and control the price of petroleum products with lowered demand.

Small Communities need solar power to come out of economic difficulties and become energy independent

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Who need to reduce cost of government operations most? These are small communities at their debt limit and are not in a position or permitted by State laws to borrow capital dollars to build solar PV systems.

They have the opportunity to make their own power and pay off the debt from energy savings.
Their challenge is to raise the construction loan to build the system and long term low interest financing to pay ti back. The State and Federal Govt. has significant amount of pension funds that could be used to create a green funding mechanism to help such communities.

The federal USDA rural utility program may be able to help. Only time will tell as we watch the policies for Green project support.  Private capital looks for higher rate of return and larger dollar value projects which does not match with small community needs.

If this can be achieved then these communities can control their energy future and make solar power for the same price as they pay now. After 20 years the systems could be all paid and only O&M costs will remain for next 20 years when the power cost would be less that 6 cents per kWh as compared to Utility cost of over 20 cents /kWh. Energy independence by making same amount of power as they consume they will not be affected by future cost of energy. Fortunately this is possible as Government policy empowers the consumer to become solar power producer.

Green Construction Loans are Essential for Building Green Energy Projects

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Imagine getting a Reimbursable grant of  93% of the Capital cost and still unable to build the farm Anaerobic Digester system to treat waste and make green power. Unfortunately this is a reality in New York State.

Most of the lenders do not understand Digesters and have no risk tolerance for such technology when the grant is offered as collateral. So how do you get a construction loan? Where to go? These are the challenges why so many farmers who have the manure disposal problems can not take advantage of the Grants.

It looks like the Federal USDA is listening to these issues and establishing a large loan fund that can be used for building the system with 70% loan amount against 30% local loan and equity. This potential "USDA - REAP renewable energy funding assistance program"  could be extremely beneficial and capable of creating a wave of economic development across Rural America.

Let us hope this succeeds and soon rural communities and small businesses will be able to gain Energy Independence by building their own Green power generation systems.

Infrastructure investments by the federal Govt. in our communities are essential to replace war funding and create jobs back home so returning Vets can have a job making green energy.

Better days may be ahead for energy Independence at the rural Farms and communities.

Taming the Increasing Cost of Energy with Solar PV by Sustainable Communities

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Municipal leaders in Upstate NY face challenges of increasing cost of operations and reducing tax base. Fewer tax payers need to support these cost increases. Energy is one of the operational cost elements that can now be reduced by conservation efforts. However as the unit cost of power goes up from 12 cents to 24 cents in next 20 years, what can be done at the present?

Fortunately the cost of Solar PV has come down significantly and Federal and State tax credits or grants help reduce the capital cost to make it affordable. These cost factors have created an opportunity to work with third party developers who can finance the project based on a long term power purchase agreement with the Municipality.

This concept of public private partnership offers a Win Win proposition where the cost of power can be fixed and depends on the level of risks taken by the investors. If the Municipality wishes to take zero risk then they would end up paying more for the cost of power sold to the Municipality.

Some communities can see the benefit of Solar Power and are willing to make some capital contribution as Advance payment toward future purchase of the system after the private party has taken all of the tax benefits including faster depreciation. At this time the system can be purchased at fair market value. Communities willing to invest about 20% of the capital cost at the beginning of the project are finding that they can bring the cost of electricity down to 6-8 cents now and expect to reduce it further to 5-6 cents per kwh after 10 years and lasting for another 25 years for the life of the solar PV system. This is a smart way to control the cost of power for a very long term with small investment at the beginning. Energy Independence is now possible and some leading communities are on their way to achieve it. This approach can make all of their public buildings achieve  Net-Zero electric energy goal.

Good financial planning and consideration of risks should be done as the communities develop a strategy for their energy future. What ever path you take, do start the process and join the fast growing solar power trend based on available incentives in New York.

Good Luck!

Financing is key to Sustainable Green CommunityDevelopment

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As the new year 2014 starts, we must review what occurred in 2013 and plan strategies that can avoid the hurdles to faster implementation of Green energy programs in New York and other States in America. While we wait for a National investment plan, each State can do what is appropriate for them.

New York has many innovative funding  initiatives but the rate of implementation is still slow because of lack of affordable capital funding to start the projects. Many of these initiatives are justified based on future savings to payback the investment made on the project and ability to achieve energy independence. Unfortunately the traditional financing institutions are reluctant to take risks on new green technologies and private investments are seeking much higher interest rate which raises the costs to the community. So what can be done to help and make better progress?

The publicly funded  Green Bonds offer a great ray of hope to encourage the implementation of Green energy technologies. Funds can be loaned with 5-10 year term at low interest rate and the risk covered by the borrower who has the expertise in new technologies and willing to use these funds to build the systems and payback the loans from the revenues generated by the savings or generation of green energy.

Fortunately, New York has initiated a $ 1 Billion Green Bank to help meet this funding need for Green projects. This initiative results from the Green Vision promoted by our Governor.
We hope it succeeds in making New York lead this transformation to green and clean technology.
Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving to New Year 2014 - a time for Sustainable Green Celebrations

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Thanksgiving is now over and we quickly move to Christmas Holidays and Welcoming the New Year 2014.
 when you look back we are thankful that the Hurricane season spared the worst for people living along the Ocean front communities.

We are thankful for the largest growth in Solar PV Renewable energy installations in America and rest of the World. New York State plans to install $500 million dollars worth of solar PV in 2014.

We are excited about the prospects of New York leading the Green Projects as the State supports the use of Green fuels such as BioCNG or RNG in transportation sector.

We look forward to communities partnering with Farm businesses to convert cow manure and food waste into bio-gas and converting this gas in to Compressed natural gas for use on Trucks and fleets with huge savings by replacing diesel fuel and cleaning the air.

The holiday lighting will see lot more use of LED lights that saves money and lasts a lot longer.

Well! Green is now more accepted as we point out the monetary savings and mention environmental benefits as frosting on the cake for the conservative thinkers.

Better days are ahead. Let us celebrate what has been achieved and seek higher levels of success in building sustainable Green Communities and gain Energy Independence.

Happy Holidays!

Sun Powered Sustainable Green Communities

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What would happen if a Town could claim to be 100% /green energy producer for their own Town facilities?
This is exactly what the Town of Williamson hopes to achieve before July 4th 2014.
How?
This Town  in Wayne County NY has partnered with a Solar Developer and signed a Power Purchase Agreement in September to buy power generated by Solar PV system to be installed at the Old closed landfill.
Next year in summer of 2014 they expect this solar system to produce enough electricity to be equal to their total Town facility consumption per year. This will set them free from future increases in power cost and produce low cost power for next 40 years.
So how much capital cost the Town will pay for this project?
Zero!
This is only possible because the State Incentives and Federal tax credits make the investment by third party very attractive and a power consumer can reap the benefit by simply agreeing to buy power from the private party,
If you are a New York State community and want to be energy independent- what are you waiting for?

Green Energy from Biomass? What would be a fair Definition?

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New York State is eager to grow the green energy generation and has many incentives to encourage new solar, wind and biomass to energy programs.

When it comes to organic waste to energy using anaerobic digester, the definition of green energy is only restricted to 50% or more cow manure used for making bio-gas. This is unfair to other projects that use human waste or food processing waste as raw material for digestion.

Hopefully this narrow definition will change soon so many other projects can benefit from the incentives and improve their returns on investment. The time is now if we want to see progress and develop sustainable green communities.

The goal of net-zero energy and energy independence can be reached with broader definition when waste materials are sources as feed to the digesters.

Where are the examples of new Sustainable Green housing Developments?

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As the climate change is understood by more people in the Country and Government policies encourage funding the counter measures, then it's adaptation becomes a vital step. 
What to do for adaptation are common questions.
Some visionary developers have thought beyond the box and set their goals higher to achieve net-zero energy goals to start their journey toward Energy Independence. Where are these examples to learn from and help others to do the same?
Please respond if you know such housing development projects completed anywhere in USA?
We will continue this search and report as we find them. Fortunately, New York State has some new financial incentive programs to help such projects developments. We hope to seek this help so that the extra cost of implementing the Green measures is kept to an affordable levels.

Climate Smart Communities Planning for Sustainability in New York

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New York State has an ambitious plan to direct their investments in economic growth of communities while achieving Green energy goals to reduce our carbon foot print.

Under third round of consolidated funding application program in 2013, $750 Million Dollars are available for projects in many categories. This funding program also includes planning funds for communities that wish to plan and implement Green Energy Options to help deal with climate change and reduce dependence on nonrenewable energy sources.

New York's solar rising funding program and remote net metering offers a unique combination  of opportunity to communities that wish to control their energy costs and help create an environment for economic development.

The online grant applications for NY State projects are due starting on June 17th with a deadline of August 12, 2013. Municipalities that join the climate smart program of NYSDEC and adopt the policy of installing Sustainable green technologies are expected to have a better chance of getting the funding approved.

This is the time for forwarding thinking leaders to undertake the strategic plans to review their existing costs and find ways to reduce operating costs and invest in renewable energy generation and conservation projects.

Better future awaits New York with such programs and we hope that it can lead with economic growth and become an example for other states to follow.
It is time for renewal of the Empire States with such innovative programs.

Energy Independence is the pathway to Economic Growth

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This is a follow up report on the Sustainable Planning workshop held at Town of Williamson, N.Y.

It was my pleasure to be a part of this group session and the group interacted exceptionally well. The experience was very encouraging and many folks left inspired by the possibility of change in the community.

The ideas developed at this meeting will help to implement new renewable energy based initiatives to encourage economic development.

This is an example of sustainable green planning helping us go toward Energy Independence and economic development. Hopefully this EPA funded study will be a good example for others so more communities can do the same. This is an excellent program to bring local community leaders to come together and create a sustainable green vision for their hometown.

EPA supports Sustainable Green Communities Smart & Growth at Town of Williamson, N.Y.

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Last night I took part in a workshop for Town of Williamson in Wayne County NY. EPA had given a grant to this community to hold a workshop and review the potential tools to help in economic development and prepare a strategy to achieve their goals.
Today there is going to be a whole day session with community leaders to review their options and develop their plan to become a sustainable community. I hope to share some ideas with the group and offer to help them to achieve this dream over time.
With large scale solar system planned to make them a net-zero community Town of Williamson has already taken a bold step toward energy independence. Many other communities should follow the Town of Williamson example and do the same.

Gas Prices were supposed to go down. What happened?

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Have you seen the prices at the gas pump in last month? Gone up by more than 20 cents in Rochester NY and in most other places. The projections were that it will continue to go down over the year since we have developed more domestic resources and  the demand is down.

What went wrong?

Middle East and some concerns for their impact on oil supply interruption could be reason. Iran defies the world and Syria has a civil war. Korea wants to build more missile launching capability and Palestinian crisis remains unsolved. So how can we get out of this dependence on importing oil from such places which is affected by what happens in these countries?

We are lucky to have Oil and Gas resources of our own and we have the technology to invent smart solutions for transforming how we use energy.
We should go full blast with developing our own petroleum resources now so we can Stop importing oil from foreign countries. As a condition for developing these resources by drilling for oil and natural gases we should impose an " energy Independence " Tax on developers to invest in renewable energy technology. These dedicated funds should be protected and be only used for renewable energy grants, tax incentives, and creation of low interest revolving loan funds.

Imagine our hybrid cars giving 50 miles per gallon, all of our homes using LED lights, Wind mills installed away from the shores to avoid visibility, solar PV  farms powering our communities.. this dream can come true in 10 years.

We need our National leaders to decide to act and take advantage of our natural resources to enable our Energy Independence. Write to them and ask to do what is right for our economy and global environment.