Getting Ready for New Electrical Installations

Renewable Energy The One Bright Spot in Today’s Job Market..........Really?

2011-10-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

We would be cautiously optimistic and say maybe. Look what the New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) has been up to...New Green Jobs Program Targets Women and Minorities. All of this may seem like a small step, but isn't that how long journeys start, with one step at a time? Ok, once skill is acquired, what to do with it? It seems that a bipartisan SAVE Act was introduced in the Senate. This in and of itself is a milestone (we do like milestones) given the political climate in Washington these days, but even more astonishing is the bill supports energy efficiency and could therefore be called “green”. The idea is that the SAVE Act would provide lower rate mortgage financing for cost effective energy improvements; allow homebuilders and homeowners to recover the cost of efficiency investments; and enable better federal mortgage underwriting while lowering utility bills for American households. More benefits of the SAVE Act are listed here. Of course, components like exposure to opportunities, education and funding do not guarantee success, but without them success certainly is not likely to be achieved or sustained. Successful small businesses are started and operated by individuals with a little opportunity and a lot of initiative.

New Woman-Owned Business Small Business Program is just part of the equation

2011-03-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

Now that the Final Rule aimed at expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) is effective, can funding be appropriated? There are good reasons to reduce Federal spending and perhaps there is some positive movement to do so wisely by reducing duplicate federal programs.

So, if funding can be responsibly appropriated, will banks be open to lending to firms to keep the wheels turning? Commitment to Government projects does not come without significant operational costs. The January 2011 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices states that few banks reported changing or easing standards on commercial loans to small firms.

In addition to programs to get more under-represented firms in the game, additional action is required from lenders to keep small businesses on the playing field. Hopefully lending institutions, which hold the grease that oils the American economic engine of small business, will see the long term benefit of helping small business to put local talent to work, whether the business is owned by a woman or not. Pretty simple equation: access to meaningful projects plus access to capital equals increased payrolls, which translates into lots of financial transactions for the banking institutions.

Solar Power in Pennsylvania!

2010-08-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

P.A. is leading the way in renewable energy sources, check out this article.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/01/pennsylvania.pocono.raceway/index.html
"Several hundred thousand dollars a year is what our electric bill is," said Igdalsky, standing next to one of 39,690 solar panels on the farm. "We're spending almost $16 million to put this project in. We're not going to have an electric bill anymore, and we'll also be benefiting the grid when we're not drawing power and supplying energy to the grid that will go to our neighbors' homes ... almost close to a thousand homes with this project."

The Time for Solar Power is Now.

2010-06-14T09:13:00.001-07:00

Lately, it seems like a movement toward green energy sources is becoming mandatory, especially with the limited supply of fossil fuels dwindling now at an exponential rate (*thanks BP*). Headlines voice fears of a slow cleanup, a crippled economy, and devastating effects on our environment. The real question is, once the hole is plugged and the water is cleaned up, how are we going to provide electricity to households and corporations both here and overseas? Read on for an attached article from: http://solarpowerpanels.ws

The BP Oil Spill is spurring discussions on a number of levels – perhaps most importantly with respect to renewable energy. A new webite, www.solarspill.com is encouraging solar energy
alternatives in response to the gulf oil spill disaster.

Created by a group of Florida business people, solarspill.com aims to educate the public about the tremendous solar energy potential. As stated on the site:

The sun “spills” enough energy onto the Earth every 4 minutes to make electricity to meet the needs of the current world population. It is time for solar energy to play a leading role and stop being the under-funded and under-developed understudy.

Instead of continuing to feed our energy needs with dangerous, polluting oil, we could – and should – turn to abundant solar energy alternatives. Enough solar electricity could be generated by covering existing commercial rooftops in America with existing solar technology to address more than 1/3 of our energy demands. If we did so, we’d be ahead of the curve with respect to many states’ renewable portfolio standards that require a certain percentage of electricity to be generated by renewable energy by specified deadlines (for example, California’s renewable portfolio standard requires 33% of its energy to be from renewable sources by the year 2020).
Solar panels

When will solar panels on rooftops become the norm?

According to Yann Brandt of Advanced Green Technologies in Fort Lauderdale, even though its not realistic to expect that 100% of our energy could be from solar power,

“the premise that solar energy cannot play a large role is a falsehood. We could use today’s technology and cover 9,500 square miles of land with solar panels and produce the earth’s electric needs, this area represents about 8% of the New Mexico land and the size of the BP oil spill slick as of May 21st.”

Solar spill.com hopes to raise awareness about the possibilities of solar energy alternatives. I cannot imagine that anyone would believe we can afford another BP oil spill.

Visit www.solarspill.com or www.agt.com for current information, studies, and links concerning solar energy. The site will feature frequent updates of solar energy possibilities compared to the amount of oil spilled in the gulf from the BP disaster.

Engineered Drawings for your Solar Installation

2010-04-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Once you’ve selected your solar panel system and have committed to the installation, the installer will require an electrical permit for installation. In New Jersey, a licensed electrician with a business permit is required to install solar panels and to connect the system to the utility. Your certified solar technician cannot apply for a construction permit unless he or she possesses the proper electrical qualifications as defined by the State. The Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C 5:23-2.15(b)2) instructs that electrical work shall not be undertaken except by persons licensed to perform such work (except in the case of a single family homeowner on his or her own dwelling. Similar requirements exist in NY and PA as well.

Here is why:
Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) systems are inherently electrical work since they are a series of components that generate, transmit and utilizes electrical energy. Additionally, if your SPV system is for building structure Groups other than R-1 (single family residential), the Code enforcement official may require signed and sealed engineered drawings as part of the permit application to show how the system connects to the utility meter and the building electrical system. These drawings address different electrical issues from the SPV drawings that are prepared by solar system vendors.
If you require engineered sealed electrical drawings, contact us at info@milestoneseng.com or give us a call at 973.794.3445. Our engineers are licensed in NJ, NY and PA.

Doctor Computer

2010-03-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

If your computer is seeking the attention of a professional, we strongly recommend

Doctor Computer
www.doctorcomputer.com
(877)-HELP-MY-PC

Obama Says Safe Nuclear Power Plants are a Necessary Investment - Political Punch

2010-02-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

President Obama continues to steer us toward sustainable energy, and apparently clean, efficient nuclear power is in the cards. What do you think? Is nuclear energy the final answer when moving toward sustainable energy sources? Or is it more of a stop gap, to bridge us between where we are now, and something else (clean coal, wind, solar)?

Check out the full article below.

Obama Says Safe Nuclear Power Plants are a Necessary Investment - Political Punch

From Sunlen Miller:

President Obama today said that safe, new nuclear power plants are a "necessity" as he announced more than $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to build the first nuclear power plant in three decades.

“Investing in nuclear energy remains a necessary step,” the president said today at the IBEW Local Headquarters in Lanham, Maryland, “What I hope is that, with this announcement, we're underscoring both our seriousness in meeting the energy challenge and our willingness to look at this challenge, not as a partisan issue , but as a matter that's far more important than politics because the choices we make will affect not just the next generation but many generations to come.”

Mr. Obama’s announced plans to break ground on two new nuclear reactors at a Southern Company plant in Burke, Georgia – which he said will create thousands of construction jobs in the next year – with 800 permanent, well-paying jobs in years to come.

“And this is only the beginning,” he promised, referencing his budget tripling loan guarantees to finance nuclear facilities across America which would spur more job creation.

Acknowledging that there are some “serious drawbacks” with respect to nuclear power that still need to be addressed –like the storing and disposal of waste safety-- the president said the issue of safety would be an imperative going forward.

“That's why we've asked a bipartisan group of leaders and nuclear experts to examine this challenge. And these plants also have to be held to the highest and strictest safety standards to answer the legitimate concerns of Americans who live near and far from those facilities.”

America’s competitors, Mr. Obama said, are racing ahead on this issue and he said he will not accept falling behind.

“Japan and France have long invested heavily in this industry. Meanwhile, there are 56 nuclear reactors under construction around the world; 21 in China alone; six in South Korea; five in India,” the president said, “Whether it's nuclear energy or solar or wind energy, if we fail to invest in the technologies of tomorrow, then we're going to be importing those technologies instead of exporting them. We will fall behind. Jobs will be produced overseas instead of here in the United States of America. And that's not a future that I accept.”

Playing up the bipartisan appeal of his announcement, the president said that the announcement today is not welcome by all, but called for all to put the “same, old stale debates” behind them.

“Even when we have differences, we cannot allow those differences to prevent us from making progress,” he said, “On an issue that effects our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, we can't keep on being mired in the same, old stale debates between the left and the right and between environmentalists and entrepreneurs.”

Addressing the environmentalists that are opposed to nuclear power, the president said that the one plant in Georgia will cut carbon pollution by 16 million tons each year when compared to a similar coal plan, similarly to taking 3.5 million cars off the road he said.

“The fact is, even though we've not broken ground on a new power plant, new nuclear power plant in 30 years, nuclear energy remains our largest source of fuel that produces no carbon emissions. To meet our growing energy needs and prevent the worst consequences of climate change, we'll need to increase our supply the nuclear power. It's that simple.”

On the other side, the president said that there are those who have long advocated for nuclear power – like Republicans – and called on them to also recognize that there also has to be a system created of incentives to make clean energy profitable.

“Energy leaders and experts recognize that as long as producing carbon pollution carries no cost, traditional plants that use fossil fuels will be more cost effective than plants that use nuclear fuel. That's why we need comprehensive energy and climate legislation and why they legislation has drawn support from across the ideological spectrum.”

The president said that his administration will be working on “areas of agreement” to pass a bipartisan energy and climate bill in the Senate.

Before delivering remarks the president toured a training center at the IBEW Local 26 headquarters which includes application that are useful for clean energy and low carbon technologies - including the construction of nuclear power plants.

While inspecting a wall of alarms and indicators, the president was invited to push a button which set off an alarm.

"I need that whenever the press is around," he said, joking and later adding that it was the first time since junior high he’s gotten a chance to pull a fire alarm without getting in trouble.

-Sunlen Miller

IEEE event coming soon!

2010-02-08T10:00:00.001-08:00

Had an great experience at last year's event. Be sure to check it out this time around!

2010-01-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 2010! This is will be a great year to consider alternative power for your commercial building. Once you’ve selected your solar panel system and have committed to the installation, the installer will require an electrical permit for installation. In New Jersey, a licensed electrician with a business permit is required to install solar panels and to connect the system to the utility. Your certified solar technician cannot apply for a construction permit unless he or she possesses the proper electrical qualifications as defined by the State. The Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C 5:23-2.15(b)2) instructs that electrical work shall not be undertaken except by persons licensed to perform such work (except in the case of a single family homeowner on his or her own dwelling. Similar requirements exist in NY and PA as well.

Here is why: Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) systems are inherently electrical work since they are a series of components that generate, transmit and utilities electrical energy. Additionally, if your SPV system is for building structure Groups other than R-1 (single family residential), the Code enforcement official may require signed and sealed engineered drawings as part of the permit application to show how the system connects to the utility meter and the building electrical system. These drawings address different electrical issues from the SPV drawings that are prepared by solar system vendors.

If you require engineered sealed electrical drawings, contact us at info@milestoneseng.com or give us a call at 973.794.3445. Our engineers are licensed in NJ, NY and PA.

Happy Holidays from MEPC

2009-12-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

We wish you all the best during the Holiday Season!

Special thanks to freephoto.com

Engineered Drawings For Permit

2009-11-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Once you’ve selected your solar panel system and have committed to the installation, the installer will require an electrical permit for installation. In New Jersey, a licensed electrician with a business permit is required to install solar panels and to connect the system to the utility. Your certified solar technician cannot apply for a construction permit unless he or she possesses the proper electrical qualifications as defined by the State. The Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C 5:23-2.15(b)2) instructs that electrical work shall not be undertaken except by persons licensed to perform such work (except in the case of a single family homeowner on his or her own dwelling. Similar requirements exist in NY and PA as well.

Here is why: Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) systems are inherently electrical work since they are a series of components that generate, transmit and utilities electrical energy. Additionally, if your SPV system is for building structure Groups other than R-1 (single family residential), the Code enforcement official may require signed and sealed engineered drawings as part of the permit application to show how the system connects to the utility meter and the building electrical system. These drawings address different electrical issues from the SPV drawings that are prepared by solar system vendors.

If you require engineered sealed electrical drawings, contact us at info@milestoneseng.com or give us a call at 973.794.3445. Our engineers are licensed in NJ, NY and PA.

Reducing our battery use

2009-04-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

A great site to find solar powered units