Recent leaps in the number of fracking wells have resulted in a sharp drop in natural gas prices, resulting in lower utility bills in parts of the U.S where fracking is prevalent. The drop has caused some solar homeowners to see an increase in payback time before recouping their initial investment in the system. However, this short-term outlook forgets the inherent volatility of natural gas prices, which have risen quickly in the past.

At SunRun, we understand that part of the draw of solar is the promise of a locked-in rate for electricity. Since solar power rates are fixed, homeowners with solar panels are less subject to steep price fluctuations coming from the utility companies.

In addition to the persistent risk of price volatility, fracking utilizes a dangerous practice that, while cheap for now, may lead to heaping environmental costs in the future. Fracking is the process of injecting millions of gallons of sand and chemicals into the earth at extremely high pressures to break up rock formations and release the natural gas inside.  At the start of the New Year, small earthquakes in Ohio and Arkansas were confirmed to be a product of fracking in the area, and in New York, critics have condemned the drilling method for contaminating fresh water aquifers and poisoning drinking water.

Calls made to lift New York’s ban on fracking in favor of economic development have sparked waves of opposition from health, environmental and activist groups. The groups state that the natural gas industry has not properly assessed health risks even as more evidence of fracking’s detrimental effects is uncovered.

What do you think are the pros and cons of fracking? Do you think it means the comeback of fossil fuels in the U.S., or is it just a short-term solution? Join the conversation by sharing your comments below or on Facebook.

January 6, 2011

I love the festive feeling in the air this time of year.  Decorations and lights help me reminisce, but I also feel a bit guilty about how they can impact the environment.  While many of the special things we do this time of year have a dollar cost, they also have a carbon cost.  Think about how much energy it takes to travel home or away, turn on holiday lights, bake cookies and cakes, keep the malls open for longer hours, ship presents, and much more.  A single 7-foot inflatable Santa left with the fan running all month can add $60 to your electric bill!

The next photograph in our series raises this issue of the carbon cost of the holidays.

This is a photograph of three ordinary suburban homes, complete with cheery holiday decor.  These homeowners have outlined their eves with lights, and displayed holiday scenes on their lawns.  The source of power that keeps these decorations illuminated dominates the background of this composition.  An active coal plant, just a few blocks away, is so close that one can almost hear the hum of the hot steam as it hits the crisp winter air.

The stop sign adds to the complexity of the picture, and gives a unique symbolic message.  The coal plant in the background burns a finite material, and sourcing the material has a significant environmental toll.  When will it stop?

At SunRun, we have many customers who partake in holiday traditions like twinkling lights every year, but by installing home solar systems, their electricity is from a clean source – the sun.  Our customers don’t have to change their habits and lifestyles to make a big difference in the coming years.  They simply change where the power comes from.

This is the third post in our series of photographs documenting power generation in communities.  Today’s photo, a beautiful winter scene from Burnsville, Minnesota, gives viewers a glimpse of a sleepy cul-de-sac.

The snow banks pile up as high as the mailboxes on this street, begging for neighborhood kids to come play on this safe quiet block.  A picturesque web of leafless branches creates a woodland filagree that takes up most of the frame.

However, a tall industrial smokestack looms in the backdrop of this scene.  The scenic charm of this sweet all-American street is overshadowed by the fact that the coal-fired generation facility connected to this smokestack is only about 4,000 feet from where this photograph was taken.  Even worse, the playground of the Sioux Trail Elementary School is just a few steps down the street.

If you watched our Story of Coal video, you know that coal combustion is highly toxic.  Everyone within five miles of a coal plant is directly effected by its pollutants and waste, and this scene is less than a mile of a coal-fired plant.  Coal burning is tied to lung cancer, asthma, heart disease, and stroke.  It impacts lung development, among other health risks for growing kids and families.

While these photographs portray a sad snapshot of energy in our communities, solar can change this story.  By installing a residential solar system, you can cut greenhouse gas emissions and help fight global warming.  An average solar system on a 3-bedroom home can offset over 80,000 lbs of carbon dioxide over 15 years. This is the same as planting almost 200 trees, or not driving 100,000 miles in your car.

The more families there are who choose solar power, the lower the demand for additional coal fired generation plants like this one.

Last week, we started a photo series examining the impact of power generation on local communities. This Friday, we’ll continue to look at communities that are paying a price to have coal fired electricity.  Today’s photo was taken in the outskirts of New Orleans.

This photograph presents an interesting grouping of items connected in one vignette:

• a shotgun house
• a pick-up truck
• a trash bin
• a smokestack
• a power line

These are all tied together to tell a single story.

The small house and a big pick-up truck (ironically called a “Sierra”) show us an active neighborhood in the foreground.  But, in the background sits the defunct Market Street Power Plant, a 109-year-old structure perched along the Mississippi that once burned coal and in later years, natural gas. Now the structure is abandoned and in decay, covered in graffiti and surrounded by shattered glass.

The Power Plant’s isolated smokestack punctuates the horizon.  It is bracketed by a power line from above, and a waste bin below it. This juxtaposition creates an interesting statement about what the plant once meant (power and production), and what it means now (empty, polluted, and abandoned space).  Coal fired power plants impact our communities, and even when they are no longer active, such as the Market Street Power Plant, which ceased operations in 1973, they still change the landscape of a neighborhood for years.

There is some hope, though, for this story.  Investors are showing interest in redeveloping the building, which is in a great location for retail.  Perhaps the community can work together to change the story of coal this picture tells today.

Can you see where your electricity is generated from your yard?  If you’re one of our customers, the answer’s probably “yes.”  It’s a great feeling to know that if you look up, you can see your solar panels converting your roof into a source of clean power.  However, for a number of homeowners in the United States, the view’s not always as inspiring.

Sometimes we take electricity generation for granted.  If you don’t see a generation facility every day, it’s easy to only focus on the result (turning on the lights, cranking up the AC, grabbing a cold snack from the fridge) than the process of actually generating the power to meet your daily energy demands.  But, the electricity that keeps your home running comes from somewhere.  Almost half of the electricity in the U.S. actually comes from coal.

That’s why I’m setting out to document how power generation impacts communities through a series of photographs.  I’m starting with a series of coal-centered photographs, since we just launched our Story of Coal video.  Today’s image is a photograph by Robert Strovers, a fine art photographer from Pennsylvania.

Strovers’ image masterfully captures emerald green grass and a brilliant blue sky separated by a belt of steam, a coal plant, and upon closer inspection, a small yellow home sitting just a stone’s throw from this generation facility.  The photo presents the viewer with a strange dichotomy: a Norman Rockwell-esque home tucked behind trees with a lush green lawn, with low afternoon shadows cast across the yard filled with crisp fall leaves.  This is juxtaposed against an industrial backdrop of a coal generation facility emitting plumes of steam into the air.  It feels like two separate scenes cobbled together, but this is a real photo of a real place.

We want to hear from you.  How does this picture make you feel?  If you have an image you’d like to share, email us and we’ll consider it for our series.

November 9, 2010

Did you know that approximately 50% of the electricity in the U.S. is generated from coal?  Electricity powers our lights, refrigerators, and computers everyday, but many of us are not familiar with where the energy comes from.

Watch our new and latest video, “The Story of Coal” to learn more and tell us how you’ll change the story of coal.  You can share ideas, get tips, and spread the word!

October 6, 2010

For the U.S. military, using renewable energy means more than simply going green. It means keeping our troops safe.

According to the New York Times, the military recently began aggressively developing and testing renewable energy as a response to the increased number of attacks on its fuel supply convoys that transport fuel across the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. These convoys are seen as “sitting ducks” for enemy attacks.  According to one Army study, one soldier or civilian engaged in transporting fuel is killed for every 24 fuel convoys that set out, and in just the past 3 months, 6 Marines have been injured guarding fuel runs.

Just last week, a Marine company from California brought solar equipment with them into the Helmand Province in Afghanistan.  The equipment included portable solar panels that fold into boxes, solar tent shields that provide both shade and electricity, and solar chargers for computers and other equipment.

It’s heartening to see how seriously the military is taking the need to reduce our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. Warfare often takes place in remote areas of the world where access to fuel is limited and military leaders are increasingly turning to renewable energy as a possible solution.

The U.S. Navy Secretary, Ray Mabus, cites practical reasons for turning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy: “Fossil fuel is the No. 1 thing we import to Afghanistan and guarding that fuel is keeping the troops from doing what they were sent there to do.”  He has goals of 50% renewable energy for the Navy and Marines by 2020.

The importance of clean, solar power to national security doesn’t come as a surprise to us here at SunRun.  With 30% of our customers coming from a military background, we knew there was a connection.  We’re excited that the military is leading the way in developing and adopting clean, renewable solar power for its troops and transportation and we hope that the success of Company I’s equipment will pave the way for other troops to follow.

September 10, 2010

We here at SunRun want to extend our deepest condolences to the San Bruno community affected by last night’s fire.  Our thoughts and hearts go out to the families and homes in the San Bruno area, including our SunRun customers.

Please consider contributing to local donation and relief efforts.  The Silicon Valley Community Foundation has established an emergency San Bruno Fire Fund that will match every dollar donated up to $100,000.  Around 80 Safeway supermarket stores in the Bay Area are now collecting customer donations for the Red Cross relief effort and starting Saturday, Wells Fargo ATM machines in San Mateo County will be accepting donations for all San Bruno fire victims.

Thank you,

The SunRun Team

September 8, 2010

Last week, an oil platform owned by Mariner Energy Inc. burst into flames in the Gulf of Mexico, just 200 miles west of the BP oil spill site. Unlike the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion, no one was killed this time.  However, despite the absence of fatalities, we can’t dismiss that oil drilling is a dangerous and unhealthy way to obtain energy.

In a statement after the Mariner platform fire, New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg called the latest Gulf fire “further proof that offshore drilling is an inherently dangerous practice.”  Massachusetts Representative Edward Markey highlighted the risks of offshore drilling, stating “that “much is left to be done to keep America’s workers and waters safe from those risks.”

Whether and how this impacts the oil industry still remains uncertain.  If the oil industry proves that it has improved safety and containment for future possible oil spills, Oofficials from the Department of the Interior have said that the deepwater drilling ban may be lifted on the expected date of November 30^th.

Although the platform fire occurred in shallow water and all 13 crew members were rescued, it’s clear that drilling is dangerous and detrimental to human health and the environment. “How many accidents are needed and how much environmental and economic damage must we suffer before we act to contain and control the source of the danger: offshore drilling?” asked New Jersey Representative Frank Pallone.

While the future of the oil industry remains murky, that of clean, renewable energy is bright. Home solar is one of the cleanest and most affordable ways to power your home. It’s green, locally produced on your roof, and, best of all, safe. After all, what do they call a solar spill?  A sunny day.

August 17, 2010

Editor’s Note: In light of SunRun’s recent launch in Pennsylvania, we’ve decided to write a series of blog posts focusing on the energy situation in the keystone state. This is the first of the series, and it will focus on the widespread practice of fracking.

Can you light your tap water on fire? If you live in Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance that your water is about to combust. This is because of the dangerous and toxic practice of “fracking.”

What is fracking? Short for Hydraulic Fracturing, fracking is the process of injecting millions of gallons of sand and chemicals (many of them toxic) into the earth and extremely high temperatures to break up rock formations, and release the natural gas inside.

Why is fracking dangerous? The natural gas that’s released by fracking must be piped to compressor stations before they can be sent to power plants and other end consumers of energy. At these compressor stations, the volatile organic compounds and dangerous chemicals are burned off into the air. The remaining fracking fluid is stored on-site as wastewater; part of the wastewater evaporates into the air, and the rest stays underground. Toxic gases and chemicals can and have contaminated nearby water supplies.

Fracking can devastates communities. Earlier this year, Vanity Fair covered the dangers of fracking in the small Pennsylvanian town of Dimock. Over the last two years, Dimock’s fresh water aquifer became severely contaminated, turning the water brown and making residents sick. One woman’s water spontaneously burst into flames and animals began losing their fur. High levels of iron, aluminum, and methane were found in people’s water wells, causing dizziness, sores, tumors, neurological impediments, among other health problems.

In addition, fracking is extremely energy intensive. Three to eight millions of gallons of water are used for every shale-gas well and fleets of trucks used to ferry the fracking fluid.

Why all the fuss now? Fracking has been practiced for many decades and the impact can be seen all over the West, including Colorado and New Mexico.  But, talk of fracking in the Marcellus Shale has renewed interest, and fear, in the region. The Barnett Formation shales in Texas is currently the most prolific source of unconventional gas in the continental U.S. The Marcellus Shale covers several times more area than the Barnett, stretching 600 miles to Barnett’s 170.

Although many people promote the use of natural gas because it supposedly burns more cleanly than coal or oil, its supplies are finite, which means that much of that natural gas has to be accessed by fracking. 90% of all gas and oil wells currently use fracking.

In a 2004 study, the Environmental Protection Agency gave fracking a clean bill of health. This finding was immediately questioned and Weston Wilson, a former E.P.A official, immediately blew the whistle, calling the study “unsupportable.” The E.P.A is undertaking a new study, to begin in early 2011, and the response has already been overwhelming. According to a Huffington Post editorial by Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, a public hearing in Syracuse, NY was postponed because officials were concerned that the venue wouldn’t be able to hold the 8,000+ citizens expected to show up. Back in July, a ballroom set up for 800 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, overflowed with stakeholders both against and in support of fracking. And just last week, the New York Governor David Patterson stated that there would be no fracking in New York’s Marcellus shale region unless it could be proven that the water supplies would be safe.

Where does that leave Pennsylvania? The state’s fracking industry is pushing for the enactment of a law that would force Pennsylvania property owners to sell their natural gas rights to a drilling company, if their neighbors were doing it, too. This is called a pooling bill. Although no pooling bills have been introduced to Pennsylvania legislature yet, several bills are in the drafting stages.

According to a report by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, there have been 1,435 violations by 43 different Marcellus Shale drilling companies since January 2008. 952 of them were identified as impacting the environment. Another analysis by Clean Water Action reports 565 violations at Marcellus Shale gas drilling sites just between January 1^st and June 18^th of this year.

With the demand for energy growing exponentially, it’s important that we identify new and viable sources of energy. Brune says it best: “We need to reach a clean-energy future, but let’s do it without destroying communities and ecosystems along the way.” We here at SunRun wholeheartedly agree and are ready to get the nation there with clean, renewable home solar power.