Quakers in Maine host a solar farm

I am a Quaker and was raised in England where the religion began.  We are properly called: "The Religious Society of Friends in Search of the Truth", or just Friends.  I am active member of the Midcoast Friends Meeting in rural Damariscotta, Maine and we recently decided to host a solar farm on our property.

The story begins in 2015 when Pope Francis released his encyclical entitled "Laudato Si".  The remarkable document is a call to action on climate change in which His Holiness lays out the issues clearly and concisely.  He talks knowledgeably about the science (he has a degree in science), but more importantly he chastises the world for placing capitalism ahead of the well being of humanity and all life on earth.  As he said once: “God always forgives; human beings sometimes forgive; but when nature is mistreated, she never forgives.” It is well worth reading and religious communities - Catholic and otherwise - have responded all over the world by taking action.  Some have divested their investments from fossil fuels, other have installed solar panels on their church roofs, and many other actions are being taken.

Friends found his message deeply moving and several of us formed a discussion group in late 2015 to explore his message and called it the "Climate Justice Group".  We met monthly and after talking about the encyclical for a while, we felt called to take action.

3 175W solar panels installed on Meeting House roof in 2008

Over the years we had already taken many steps to "green" the building by installing 3 solar panels on the roof (back when they were very pricey).  They offset a portion of the buildings needs. We also replaced all the lights with CFLs, and more recently LEDs as they burn out.  We switched the heating oil to a blend of bio-fuel and installed interior storm windows in the winter.  Many Friends drive hybrid or plug in hybrid vehicles and 3 of us have electric vehicles (Chevy Volts and Bolt).

We were aware of a solar farm that been installed nearby.  This consists of over 170 solar panels that produce up to 50kW.  9 co-op owners get to use that energy to offset their electric bill.  Each member purchases as many panels as they need to offset as much of their energy as they choose.  The co-op leases the land from a landowner with open property to spare.

After some discussion the Meeting approved the idea of hosting a solar farm on our property and approached ReVision Energy - the largest solar installer in Maine to let them know we had a site available.  ReVision staff were very enthusiastic and actively supported and promoted the solar farm.  By the winter of 2016 the farm was fully subscribed with 9 owners and we signed papers leasing the land at the bottom of our field.  The Meeting House will get over $600 per year for the lease.

On Thursday, June 22, 2017 I got approval to turn the whole solar farm on.  Here's a picture of me activating one of the 5 inverters:

The solar array was producing 44.6kW after it was all powered up!

Here is an article in the local paper about the farm in the local Lincoln County News.

A web page for the Midcoast Friends Community Solar Farm show performance metrics. 




Here are some images showing the ReVision Energy crew installing the equipment:

installing posts and racking

rails installed

sturdy steel post with aluminum brackets

half the panels installed

5 inverters and controls

completed Midcoast Friends Community Solar Farm

Utility connecting the farm to the grid

View from the Meeting House

A few Friends were dismayed by the impact of the sight lines as seen from the front porch of the building.  So we have planted 2 dozen shrubs and bushes along the back to form a screen so we won't see the less attractive back side of the solar array once they grow in.

planting miniature arbor vitae trees

Quakers have made this statement concerning our perspective:

"Our faith as Quakers is inseparable from our care for the health of our planet Earth. We see that our misuse of the Earth’s resources creates inequality, destroys community, affects health and well-being, leads to war and erodes our integrity. We are all responsible for stewardship of our natural world. We love this world as God’s gift to us all. Our hearts are crying for our beloved mother Earth, who is sick and in need of our care."

For the whole document, click below:

Living Sustainably and Sustaining Life on Earth – The Minute from the Plenary
February 20, 2016

Hopefully our small contribution in support of renewable energy will help slow the impact of climate change.

Replacing a failed solar microinverter

A few weeks ago I checked the Enphase Enlighten web portal (see it here on my web site) that shows the real-time performance of my solar power system and noticed that the top-left solar panel was not producing power.  The numbers showing Watts per panel are updated every 10 minutes, and you can play back data from previous days/weeks etc.

So I contacted Enphase and they confirmed that the M190 microinverter had failed and authorized an RMA for a warranty replacement.  These products are warrantied for 15 years and this is the 2nd one I have replaced so far.  (Microinverters convert DC solar power to 240VAC that feeds power into the building).  I received the replacement unit a week later and asked my friend John if he could come over and help replace it, John is a retired builder and enjoys climbing around on buildings!  We borrowed my other neighbor's ladders and climbed up to the roof.

It was a relatively simple matter to replace.  First I turned off the main breaker for the array, then climbed up and covered the panel with cardboard to prevent it from generating power while disconnecting and re-connecting it.  We unbolted the panel and moved it over to access the microinverter underneath.

It was quick work to remove and replace the new one which came with detailed instructions for safely performing the procedure:

I shot a time-lapse video of the process:

Once it was installed, I had to press a button on the Envoy web interface box so it could "find" the new inverter.  

Then a quick call to Enphase so they could update the web page that shows the array performance in real time.

This was a quick and painless process, and I'm grateful for good friends/neighbors and a great warranty on the products.

For more information about the process of installing my solar array, click here to see the detailed blog.

Solving mysteries with my new IR vision "super power"

Something has been bothering me recently.  When I drive home at night in my Chevy Volt and pull into my drive, the motion sensing lights come on.  Since I was driving in EV mode, the 1.4L gas engine/generator was not running - so there should not be sufficient heat signature for the IR motion sensors to "see".  (PIR - Passive Infrared Motion sensors have a white lens that focuses IR wavelength emissions onto a sensor that is able to distinguish warm moving objects moving against a cooler background).

Now that I have a "Super Power" - I can see in infrared thanks to my new FLIR One IR camera that I keep in my pocket.  (Click here to purchase the current model Amazon - As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

I just plug it into my phone and voila I can take still, video and time-lapse IR images.  It's so small - about the size of a keyfob that I now carry it everywhere in its protective case.

So I decided to "see" what was hot.  First I took a picture of the Volt in the 55F ambient weather:

Then I used the remote to turn on the vehicle and pre-warm the cabin to 76F - a luxury that I have always enjoyed in the Volt!  So here it is warmed up 10 minutes later:

You can see a little heat on the hood and driver side window but nothing really hot. (The camera scales the color palette to the whole image, so minor differences are accentuated).

So I drove into town and back, a round trip of about 14 miles in light drizzle. And here is an image taken right after I parked:

The noticeable difference is the tires!  They are 15-20F warmer than ambient now.  If it had not been a cool wet day, they might have been much warmer.  This is enough of a heat signature to trigger a motion sensor.  Mystery solved!

Here's a closer look at the tire:

Parts of the tire read over 75F which is 20F warmer than ambient!  Also the disk brake rotors were up above 85F

It's cool having this amazing IR camera in my pocket (along with my Moto Droid).