SIKORSKY
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. activated a solar panel array designed to furnish 1 percent of the power used at its Stratford headquarters.
Sikorsky is the largest employer in Fairfield County and a subsidiary of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp.
Soltage L.L.C. owns and operates the Sikorsky system, which consists of 450 roof-mounted solar modules capable of generating more than 100,000-kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The installation was funded in part by a $250,000 grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund that covered 40 percent of Soltage”™s equipment costs.
Based in Jersey City, N.J. and operating a satellite office in Hartford, Soltage was founded by a pair of Yale University graduates.
“This was an easy decision for us because the environmental and financial benefits are so compelling,” Jeffrey Pino, president of Sikorsky, said in a statement. “For the same reasons, we are constructing a co-generation plant on-site that will power our facility here while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These projects demonstrate how environmental responsibility and sound business management go hand in hand.”
ISO NEW ENGLAND
Despite a weeklong heat wave, the region”™s electricity use did not top the record set in August 2006, according to ISO New England, a Holyoke, Mass., organization that oversees New England”™s energy markets.
Electricity consumption peaked at 27,154 megawatts on July 6, the fourth highest total ever but well below the 28,130 megawatt total recorded August 2, 2006, which resulted in extended power outages in Fairfield County and other parts of the Northeast. In the latest heat wave, a Stamford substation operated by Connecticut Light & Power failed resulting in a blackout to about 15,000 CL&P customers, but few other customers lost power.
ENERGY FUND
The Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund is sponsoring a new Zero Energy Challenge competition for designers and builders of new homes in Connecticut, even as the 2009-10 challenge is still going strong.
Builders are competing for a $10,000 prize by achieving the lowest possible energy use in the homes they construct, as measured by a building”™s home energy rating system index, cost and projected annual operating cost among other criteria.
Homes in the current challenge incorporate advanced design and construction techniques including superior insulation; high-efficiency HVAC systems including inverter-driven or geothermal heat pump technology; solar thermal water and photovoltaic systems; and advanced construction.
Homes must be built in the service territory of one of five participating utilities and must be a customer of that utility. Participating utilities include Connecticut Light & Power Co., United Illuminating Co., Connecticut Natural Gas Corp., Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and Yankee Gas Services Co.
“The response to the current challenge has been very exciting,” said Richard Steeves, CEEF chairman. “Several of the homes are complete ”“ or nearly so ”“ and a number of them are operating at near or below zero energy. We are confident that the next group of participating new homes will also rise to the challenge and be a model for home builders across the state.”
Applications are due by July 31. Participants will then be announced and their building progress will be documented on the Zero Energy Challenge website.
