|
Fresno City Collage Weatherization Class |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by John Richau
|
|
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 05:35 |
|
On July 20, 2010 I was asked to speak at FCC's first-ever weatherization class. The slides from the class are located here. We covered a wide range of topics mostly about opportunities and challenges with current energy efficiency programs and emerging standards for weatherization and energy efficiency in California. . |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 July 2010 05:39 )
|
|
|
Written by John Richau
|
|
Saturday, 17 July 2010 08:49 |
Grid Alternatives Installation in Madera, CA. My students participated and Martin and Julio helped John N. on the roof. Jose helped mount the inverter, install the conduit, and pull the wire. The high for the day was about 105 degrees. We got off the roof about 11:30 am.
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 17 July 2010 10:30 )
|
|
Written by John Richau
|
|
Tuesday, 13 July 2010 03:59 |
|
I’ve been working at a non-profit organization, Proteus, as a solar instructor since March 2010. It’s been a challenge but it’s my students that keep me going. So far I have had 16 individuals take my 6-week, 210 hour class. When I first started developing curriculum and labs for the class I wasn’t sure how to structure it. Diane Vessels, who herself developed energy efficiency curriculum, told me that” if you expect a lot from your students, they’ll rise to the occasion”. The program is evolving. I’ve taken Diane’s advice and so far, it’s been true.
One of my former students, Francisco Navarro, is one that has risen to the occasion overcoming familiar obstacles that are all too common for young people, especially for those that live on the west side of Fresno County. But he has talent that few at my school realized and it deserves to be recognized.
Francisco was born in Mexico and lives in Huron. He took my 6-week solar class and then continued on with Peter Tapia’s weatherization training here in Kerman. He is now working in an unrelated industry but the Kerman team is working hard to get him a good paying job in what he was trained in; either solar or weatherization.
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 July 2010 04:53 )
|
|
Read more: Francisco Navarro
|
|
Written by John Richau
|
|
Saturday, 03 July 2010 05:49 |
Pâté is passé. Unicorn - the new white meat. From ThinkGeek.com
Excellent source of sparkles!
 Unicorns, as we all know, frolic all over the world, pooping rainbows and marshmallows wherever they go. What you don't know is that when unicorns reach the end of their lifespan, they are drawn to County Meath, Ireland. The Sisters at Radiant Farms have dedicated their lives to nursing these elegant creatures through their final days. Taking a cue from the Kobe beef industry, they massage each unicorn's coat with Guinness daily and fatten them on a diet comprised entirely of candy corn.
As the unicorn ages, its meat becomes fatty and marbled and the living bone in the horn loses density in a process much like osteoporosis. The horn's outer layer of keratin begins to develop a flavor very similar to candied almonds. Blending the crushed unicorn horn into the meat adds delightful, crispy flavor notes in each bite. We are confident you will find a world of bewilderment in every mouthful of scrumptious unicorn meat.
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 03 July 2010 05:52 )
|
|
Read more: Canned Unicorn Meat
|
|
Written by John Richau
|
|
Friday, 18 June 2010 05:11 |
 As part of the Photovoltaics for Utility Scale Applications Applications (PVUSA) Project Pacific Gas Electric Company (PG&E) built the Kerman 500-kW photovoltaic power plant. Located near the end of a distribution feeder in a rural section of Fresno County, the plant was not built so much to demonstrate PV technology, but to evaluate its interaction with the local distribution grid and quantify available nontraditional grid-support benefits (those other than energy and capacity). As demand for new generation began to languish in the 1980s, and siting and permitting of power plants and transmission lines became more involved, utilities began considering smaller, distributed power sources. Potential benefits include shorter construction lead time, less capital outlay, and better utilization of existing assets. The results of a PG&E study in 1990/1991 of the benefits from a PV system to the distribution grid prompted the PVUSA Project to construct a plant at Kerman. Completed in 1993, the plant is believed to be the first one specifically built to evaluate the multiple benefits to the grid of a strategically sited plant. Each of nine discrete benefits were evaluated in detail by first establishing the technical impact, then translating the results into present economic value. Benefits span the entire system from distribution feeder to the generation fleet. This work breaks new ground in evaluation of distributed resources, and suggests that resource planning practices be expanded to account for these non-traditional benefits. |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 5 |
