This issue features the story of a dramatic solar system installation. It's not only technologically advanced, but smack dab in the middle of an FAA-controlled airport. We'd have to interface with "land-side" and "air side" operations before it was done, maintaining strict adherence to FAA and TSA security, and maintaining the safety of the public at the nearby baggage claims. This meant a lot of "owl hour work," 10 pm - 6 am.

EcoMotion's mission was two-fold. First we designed a demonstration solar system for EcoMedia, an environmental marketing firm in New York that has mastered public/private partnerships. Led by Paul Polizzotto, pictured with me above, EcoMedia aligns corporate sponsors that invest in "Ecozone" projects in partner cities. The second aspect of EcoMotion's work for EcoMedia is demonstration project management. EcoMotion is concurrently responsible for a combined solar/lighting project in Miami at its historic City Hall. Stay tuned!

For Long Beach, EcoMotion recommended dual-axis solar trackers as a high-tech and captivating solar technology. Like sunflowers, they follow the sun throughout the day and adjust for seasons. Trackers also increase output by 25 - 40%. We recommended "bi-facial panels" that collect both direct and reflected sunlight. And you can see through them. Even if you're north of the panels, they provide a vivid solar impression.

Our job was to recruit a qualified installation company and to get the job done, and despite a "near impossible" permitting and construction window, to get it done on time. We chose SunTrek Industries of Irvine to engineer and install the project. They did back-flips for us. And by 2:15 on the day before the press arrived, we got our final electrical inspection from the City and our interconnection agreement from Southern California Edison. Distinguished with interpretive signage, the system was ready for the next day's press event.

The project began with positioning the trees to form a "solar lane," balancing aesthetics, unobstructed sunlight, and functionality on site. This began the change orders. Originally, we'd scoped the poles on the edge of the security parking lot. They were shifted onto the curb, requiring concrete cutting and repair. Their height was then raised for a minimum clearance of 10 feet to be out of harm's way. This required 25-foot, 10-inch round steel poles encased in concrete poured into 3-foot diameter holes eight feet into the ground.

Long Beach Airport has a long and colorful aviation history. We'd strategically chosen the spot for the solar trees with the airport director, right in the midst of passenger arrival and pick-up area. The site would maximize visibility, but we'd have to work with security and service vehicles, a coffee kiosk, and smoking area. Below ground was equally "active" with electric, water, natural gas, and jet fuel lines, plus FAA conduits. Crude drawings and dig-alerts were insufficient; ultimately an x-ray was used to check the spots where we wanted to plant the trees.

One of the first steps was to excavate runs for the conduit that would lead from the inverter to each tree. This required 18-inch trenches, inspected empty and then with conduit before backfilling. As soon as we got the trenches open, it rained. The City required all the water be pumped and removed to a certified disposal center. SunTrek had intended to backfill soil, but the City required use of a cement slurry. And then we needed to cart off the soil to a certified disposal center.A geotechnic analysis determined the type of cement required. I literally carried a recipe from vendor to City. During construction cement cylinders (samples) were taken during the pouring of caissons to a lab for continual strength testing. We needed 3500 PSI before the temporary supports could be removed and the poles loaded with trackers and panels.

Then another requirement based on the soil type: Each hole for each pole had to be drilled, and backfilled with cement within a 12-hour period. This meant drilling the hole, setting the pole using a crane, using a certified welder to weld the temporary supports in place, having an accredited welding inspector on hand to assure this work, running electrical conduits, paying an electrical inspector to check the wiring, then pouring the cement taking samples as required. All at night! (Thanks to photographer Jeff Honea.)

"Bizarre" was what the manufacturer called it. "Quite cautious" observed a city official. The fact was that the WattSun tracker we'd specified was not UL listed. The manufacturer claimed that its power supply acts as the barrier between high and low-voltage components. The electric official for the City of Long Beach was not moved. The City insisted on system certification since non-UL listed components were being used. This could be done by UL or an acceptable third party test lab.

Wait! There is a deadline. Oh yeah, that's our problem. Like Monopoly, we were temporarily off to project management jail and had to pay $200 to get out. Actually it cost $3,400. Now the system is adorned with special stickers to prove its safety and we have a report to back it up.

	"Trackers" being calibrated

I'd invited Bob Botkin, Edison's CSI Administrator to the ribbon-cutting. He was shocked to see the completed system. "Wow, you guys work fast." And we had. Thanks to SunTrek Industries' capabilities - both in product procurement, project management, and in fielding a particularly able, on-site construction manager -- the state-of-the-art project was completed in a matter of weeks, and on time.

The Long Beach Airport system balances "sizzle with substance;" it scores high on EcoMotion's Polizzotto Factor for Sustainable Projects. With hundreds of thousands of passengers and their families along Solar Lane each year, dramatic yellow interpretive signage, the project is raising awareness of the solar future while offsetting a half million pounds of carbon dioxide.

	A new generation

In Eugene, Oregon, the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company is drawing attention. The facility features daylighting as well as a "bioswale" to capture water running off the roof. The company has converted its 27-tractor trailer truck fleet to biodiesel, and most recently added 1,260 Sharp 200 watt photovoltaic panels covering more than an acre of its roof.

Pepsi's 252 kW photovoltaic system is the second largest solar system in Oregon. Its power is sold directly to Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) at a fixed rate of $0.15/kWh for the next ten years. This is about three times the price Pepsi pays today for its electricity. Pepsi is among a half dozen local companies that sell solar-generated power to EWEB thanks to its feed-in tariff. (See EcoMotion Network News V11#1.)

Pepsi spent $2,068,000 on the solar installation and will receive a $620,400 solar energy credit. It also will apply for a state tax credit worth 10% of the project cost each year for five years. The system will be paid off after five years; it's featured in PepsiCo's annual report.

	Water and electricity do mix.

Swedish utility Vattenfall has announced a partnership with Irish company Wavebob to develop wave generators. The partnership will scale up Wavebob's technology for commercial applications, aiming at citing and bringing a 250 MW demonstration project to fruition. Vattenfall is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030.

British Columbia Finance Minister Taylor claims that all money collected through the carbon tax will be returned through tax cuts and credits. Incentives will be available for purchases of efficient appliances and vehicles. To help citizens adjust, consumers will get a $100 check in June. Lower income consumers will also get annual "climate action tax credits" in the amount of $100 for adults and $30 for children each year.

Within weeks of the tax plastic bag use dropped 94%. Within a year, almost everyone had cloth, reusable bags. Reportedly, the use of plastic bags became socially unacceptable, on a social par with not cleaning up after one's dog.