The fifth annual Solar Energy Week, Sept. 27 – Oct. 3, celebrated San Diego as California’s No. 1 Solar City and served as the kick-off event to California’s Solar Energy Month (October). Activities focused on bringing together residents and business owners with solar experts, suppliers and installers to explore the benefits of using sunlight for electricity and water heating.
Events took place at various locations around San Diego beginning with Family Solar Day at Liberty Station on Sunday, Sept. 27. The San Diego Solar Conference was held at the Marriott Mission Valley on Tuesday, Sept. 29. On Thursday, Oct. 1, three businesses were showcased during the Commercial Solar Tour, and on Saturday, Oct. 3, more than 50 homes county-wide were opened to the public for the Solar Homes Tour.
Solar Energy Week would not be possible without the generous support of our partners and sponsors in the San Diego business community. Special appreciation goes to Qualcomm, Walmart and Cox Conserves for joining us in putting on these public events.
There was fun in the sun with a mild ocean breeze at Family Solar Day as hundreds of visitors checked out the 30+ companies and organizations that exhibited solar-related products and services, marveled at foods prepared by the Solar Cooking Club and enjoyed the San Diego girl-band Pink Army.
Speakers included Andrew McAllister, CCSE director of programs, and Gail Welch, manager of sustainability for Qualcomm, co-presenter and sponsor of Solar Energy Week. Highlights for the kids were rides on solar-powered mini-cars and face painting.
Nearly 500 attendees participated in the San Diego Solar Conference, which featured solar experts and policymakers speaking about the latest policies, trends, technologies and markets for solar energy and what it all means for solar in San Diego.
The all-day conference started off with CCSE Executive Director Irene Stillings welcoming attendees and sharing some observations about the solar marketplace in China gleaned from her recent trip. Other keynote speakers were San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob and CCSE’s Andrew McAllister. A wealth of speakers presented talks on subjects ranging from legislative and workforce development to residential solar financing and new solar technologies.
Two large buses carrying more than 75 “solar tourists” set out from CCSE on the Commercial Solar Tour early Thursday morning. The trip provided participants with a unique opportunity to see inside a solar PV manufacturing plant, visit two large-scale rooftop solar installations and hear directly from the system’s owners and installers about solar technologies and system performance.
First stop on the tour was Siliken Renewable Energies’ PV solar panel production facility in Otay Mesa, which opened in 2008 and currently has a 24 MW capacity. Two semi-automated production lines put out 205 W and 240 W poly-crystalline modules that, when completed, are tested for power production in radiation simulators.
Next, the tour went to Santee Lakes, where the Padre Dam Municipal Water District operates a large recreational and camping facility. In February, they activated an 862 kilowatt PV system built through a partnership with Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. and SunEdison. More than 14,000 thin film PV modules cover three large parking structures, providing 300 shaded spaces for RV storage.
The final tour stop was Point Loma Nazarene University, a 90-acre campus on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where four PV systems mounted on four buildings provide a combined 302 kW. The system utilizes Kyocera panels installed by SPG Solar, Inc. and owned by Solar Power Partners through a power purchase agreement.
More than 50 residents throughout the county, from Chula Vista to Oceanside and out to Julian, opened their homes to their neighbors and others during the San Diego Solar Homes Tour. CCSE joined with the American Solar Energy Society to sponsor the tenth annual tour that showcased local homes with solar PV, water heating and pool heating systems.
The tour was self-guided, with homes open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., during which time visitors spoke with homeowners and installers about their experiences in going solar, including system performance and energy savings.
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