We just got our smart meter

The other day, a representative from VSI Meter Services working on behalf of SDG&E came by our house early in the morning and installed a smart gas meter.

It took all but ten minutes. The installer was super-friendly and informative.

Unlike the electric smart meters, the new gas devices do not relay information in real time, he said. There is a lag of half an hour to an hour. What a bummer!

But it's still better than the old technology, which required the meter man to come by every month to record usage for billing purposes. In the past, if you weren't home for the meter man, the utility company would simply charge you the same amount as the prior month, regardless of your usage level.

Now, theoretically, consumers will get much more accurate bills. That is, if these so called smart meters live up to their name. There have been well-documented problems with the smart meters in this region.

San Diego-based Utility Consumers' Network, or UCAN, has started a section on its Web site to track complaints on smart meters. Consumers are encouraged to share the problems they have encountered. Some allege their bills have gone up substantially since the smart meters were installed.

In May, the San Diego Union-Tribune also had a story about a software glitch that afflicted SDG&E's smart electric meters. The glitch cut off power to some customers.

Our installer informed us that SDG&E workers will be coming back two times to check on the new smart meters to make sure they are working correctly.

He said some people have refused to let him install the smart meters. But ultimately, homeowners really don't have a choice in that matter because the gas equipment belongs to the utility. As part of buying a home, people have to agree to let SDG&E access to maintain its equipment.

If a homeowner refuses to have a smart meter installed, he might find his gas cut off. It's as simple as that, the installer said.

Who is paying for these meters? Your tax dollars. They are funded via the federal stimulus package, which included $4.2 billion for smart grid and smart metering projects.

So another way to look at this is, you the average homeowner is finally getting a piece of the stimulus pie, whether you want it or not.

Biomass energy: a hard sell

The New York Times recently had an interesting story on strong opposition building against a proposed biomass plant in northwestern Massachusetts that would burn wood waste as a way to generate electric power.

The May 2010 issue of Biomass Magazine also documents the trend of growing clashes between citizens and developers of biomass energy throughout the country from Florida to New Mexico to Wisconsin.

Opponents are primarily concerned with air pollution but some environmentalists fear that forests would be depleted to feed biomass plants. Air quality concerns are why residents in Shelton, Washington, are up in arms over a proposal to build a 60-megawatt plant that would burn 604,000 tons of wood per year.

But some biomass developers are having success, including a firm called Global Greensteam LLC, a subsidiary of Global Green Solutions, Inc., with offices in San Diego, Bakersfield, Vancouver, Brussels and Johannesburg.

On June 9, the company announced that it had completed construction of its demonstration plant near Bakersfield and is entering the testing phase. The $8-million facility will burn agricultural waste to generate industrial steam for use at the Belridge oil field, owned by Aera Energy LLC.

Global Greensteam said in a press statement that its plant uses "a highly efficient combustion process designed to produce renewable energy from biomass with minimal air pollution."

A new breed of titans: Eco Barons

In 19th century America, captains of industries who amassed huge fortunes using unfair business practices were denounced as "robber barons." John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, who are nowadays best known for their philanthropic legacy, once fell under that label for their dominance in steel, railroad and oil industries.

There is now a new twist on the term "robber baron." Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Edward Humes uses "eco baron" to describe environmental visionaries who use their wealth, expertise and passion to make a difference.

In his book, "Eco Barons: The Dreamers, Schemers, and Millionaires Who are Saving Our Planet," due for release March 3, Humes profiles a wide range of people who are at the environmental protection frontier, not just the wealthy with an environmental bent.

Featured in the book are people such as Douglas Tompkins, founder of the North Face outdoor clothing line, and Roxanne Quimby, who turned Burt's Bees into a national cosmetics brand. The two entrepreneurs have both used their wealth to buy land to create ecological reserves.

Tompkins and his wife, Kristin McDivitt, a former apparel executive with Patagonia, have acquired some 2 million acres of ecologically sensitive territories in Argentina and Chile, but not without having to overcome opposition. Quimby is using her money to preserve woods in Maine. Again, her effort is not without controversy. Elliotsville Plantation Inc., the nonprofit she created, owns about 90,000 acres of wildland in northern and coastal Maine.

Harry Hurt III, a columnist with the New York Times, criticized Humes' book for its "sprawling scope" in a Feb. 14 review but also said it carries a worthy message and inspires us all to become "eco barons" in our own right.

"Although Mr. Humes is an able reporter and a passionate writer, he tries to cover too many ecological crises and praise too many people. At times, the book reads like a roster of nominees for the environmentalist hall of fame."

Death Valley: A solar hotspot

It's not just the rock formations, salt flats and sand dunes that make Death Valley a fascinating place to visit. It also happens to be home to one of the largest private solar power plants in the tourism industry. So we learned when we vacationed there this past week.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts, which operates hotels and restaurants in national parks throughout the western United States, has a one-megawatt photovoltaic system in Furnace Creek Ranch inside Death Valley. That's where we stayed.

A sign inside the resort touts the solar plant. (In the picture above, it's hard to make out the words, "Zabriskie Park: Gateway to our 1 million watt solar facility). A walking path through the park dotted with date palms guides visitors to the facility, located pretty much out of sight in the very back of the property. Row after row of tilted solar panels cover an area the size of about seven football fields at the foot of mountains. A wooden deck offers a good view of the entire operation, which has been up and running since February 2008.

I came away rather impressed by Xanterra's commitment to renewable energy, even if it costs us an extra $2.50 per night in energy surcharge to stay at Furnace Creek Ranch. As it turns out, the company also uses solar power in four other locations where it runs concessions: Zion, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain and Crater Lake. At Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, Xanterra recycles used cooking grease into biodiesel.

As much as I like what Xanterra has done in Death Valley, I do find fault with its operations there. Xanterra operates a golf course at Furnace Creek Ranch right next to the solar plant. What an absurdity! Needless to say, grass does not do very well in the desert heat.

Sanders plugs cleantech

In his State of the City address Wednesday at the Balboa Theatre downtown, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders devoted some time to promoting the cleantech industry in the region.

He touted the city's role in creating Clean TECH San Diego, a trade group whose board chairman is James Waring who used to be a top deputy for Sanders.

The mayor highlighted his solar initiative, San Diego CleanGeneration, which is made possible by a new state law adopted in July. Under the initiative, local homeowners and small businesses can finance their solar panels through their property tax bills over 20 years. He first announced that initiative in December.

Here is Sanders in his own words, plugging cleantech:

Clean technology will add strength and diversity to our economy -- and create jobs for San Diegans.

It will leverage our prized assets – our workers, our world-renowned research institutions, and access to international ports. San Diego is unique in having all this to nourish an industry in its infancy.

And as President-elect Barack Obama promises to double production of renewable energy during his administration, San Diego has an additional advantage -- we are are a recognized leader in sunshine.

For years, our blue skies have been the centerpiece of our tourism industry, drawing millions of visitors and their credit cards here every year.

To read his speech or watch a video of ot, visit sandiego.gov. The part about cleantech starts on page 11.

Inspired by butterflies

Ever since I learned about biomimicry -- the science of studying nature and imitating its best ideas to solve problems --I've been on the lookout for human inventions inspired by nature.

The other day I read about mirasol Display Technology, which is modeled after the structures that make the butterfly's wings iridescent.

Developed by Qualcomm headquartered in San Diego, this innovation makes it possible for handheld devices to have bright display screens with vivid colors that sip, rather than gulp, battery power.

The ultra low-power screens work by reflecting ambiant light in a way that is similar to how a butterfly's wings shimmer. A mirasol screen has tiny mirrors embedded in it to reflect light back.

A device outfitted with the technology can be viewed in bright sunlight with no problems. No bleaching of colors. No glare. To me, that alone makes it a remarkable invention. How many times have you squinted to read a text message on your PDA?

G-CORE, a maker of handheld golf navigation products, has just entered into a deal to use mirasol in its GPS golf range finder. Qualcomm is showcasing a prototype of the G-CORE Mini Caddy this weekend at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Recycle Xmas cards and help a good cause

Hold it! Don't toss your Christmas cards into the trash or the recycling bin.

There is a place called St. Jude's Ranch for Children, a treatment facility for neglected, abused and abandoned children, that will take your Christmas cards, remake them and sell them as a way to raise money.

You mail in your cards, and the children and volunteers will cut out the fronts and attach them to a new back made of recycling paper. Greeting cards for all occasions are accepted until Feb. 28.

The cards should be sent to St. Jude's Ranch for Children, Card Recycling Program, 100 St. Jude's St., Boulder City, NV 89005.

Someone in my book club told me about this. It struck me as a good idea, because I've always thought it's a shame to toss out Christmas cards after the holidays are over.