Happy Kansas Day! Kansas (a.k.a. the “sunflower state”) became the 34th state of the Union on January 29, 1861. As I celebrate the birthday of my beloved, native state, I’ve chosen to examine how Kansas is fairing on something also important and dear to me, solar energy.

Current State of Affairs
As Kansas was born in a time of struggle on the eve of civil war, the state’s solar industry is struggling yet steadily gaining ground. An American Council on Renewable Energy report clearly show solar photovoltaic (PV) installed capacity lagging far behind wind, biomass and hydro in the state at the end of 2012. There were only 0.5 MW of solar PV compared to over 2,700 MW of wind electric generating capacity. However, from 2010 to 2012 the growth, or change in installed PV capacity was more than +100% each year according to solar market trend data. This rapid growth is fueled by the fairly typical suite of renewable energy incentives. For solar and other renewable energy systems, Kansas offers net metering and property tax exemptions plus the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) mandates 20% of generation capacity be renewable energy by 2020.

Potential for Growth
Kansas has plenty of potential. When compared to Germany, the “Top Solar Power Country” in the world, this potential is very evident. Germany has only 40% more land area than Kansas. Germany has about 300,000 watts/person of solar PV capacity, while Kansas has less than 0.2 watts/person! However, Kansas can get more out of solar energy systems because of its location closer to the equator than Germany. And, after all the state song, “Home on the Range” does declare “. . . the skies are not cloudy all day.”

The frequent winds keep the skies clear for solar, but utility scale wind energy growth may be hindered by lack of transmission lines. However, the growth potential for distributed renewables like rooftop solar looks good. The state has set limits on renewable energy installations connected to individually-owned utilities, but they leave plenty of possible room for expansion. Residential installations can be as large as 25 kW and non-residential can have up to 200 kW. Overall renewable systems capacity must not exceed 1% of peak demand though. Additionally installers are pretty widely available. According to the Kansas Energy Information Network there are currently around 25 dealers/installers of solar energy in the state. Not bad for a state with less than 3 million people.

Though it looks like it could be a long road to Kansas really utilizing its solar resources, I’d like to think Kansans are up to the task. The state motto, “ad astra per aspera,” I’ve always heard translated as “to the stars through difficulties.” Statehood was a challenge, spreading solar is also, but both are worth the effort.

My mission in life is making SHERA (Sustainable H2O,  Energy and Resources for All) reality. Solar energy absolutely aligns with my mission. I support solar as a PV (photovoltaic) solar panel owner and my constant presence at Solar Austin and CleanTX Foundation events. On this National “Shout Out For Solar” Day, let me tell you why I LOVE solar:

1. Sustainable: “Sustain” means to support and allow something/someone to carry on. Both the sun and the equipment we use to harvest its energy carry on functioning for quite a while. Astrophysicists estimate the sun will continue shining for another 5 billion years. The solar panels on my roof have a 30-year warranty, so the manufacturer is pretty confident the panels will be making electricity from sunlight for at least that long. That sounds pretty sustainable to me.
2. H2O: More solar means a more sustainable water supply. The panels and peripheral equipment require water to manufacture, but require almost no water for operation, or maintenance. We have hosed down our panels only once in the seven years they’ve set on our roof. Conventional power plants that combust fuel to make steam to drive turbines require massive amounts of water to operate.
3. Energy: Solar is energy that’s environmentally and economically sustainable. The “fuel” is free. You don’t have to pay to turn on the sun. According to my contacts in the industry, PV environmental impacts aren’t too bad. For one thing, it takes about one year for a PV system to generate the energy required to make all of its components. Also, solar is versatile. Beyond electricity, the sun is great for various heating applications like water heating and greenhouse operations.
4. Resource for All: The sun shines on everyone at some point in the day, or time of year everywhere on the planet. Access and availability of technology for harvesting solar energy is ever increasing. If you aren’t in a position to buy/lease a PV system and you r electric utility doesn’t have a solar array yet, you can still fund a piece of the action through investment platforms like Solar Mosaic. There’s even PV technology (Solar Orbs) so efficient it can even harvest reflected sunlight (i.e. moonlight).

Solar PV systems are pretty good now, and there’s so much potential for its future growth. The big question I ponder is this: How do we make solar even more sustainable? From my perspective, the ultimate sustainable PV system will mimic and integrate with the natural world. Green plant cells were the first to convert solar energy to materials and energy sources we can use. What can they teach us about creating new ways to harvest the sun’s energy?

Now that the holiday frenzy is over and there’s time to breathe again, come on over for a virtual tour of my house.

Over the holidays, I visited my family in Kansas. While there, I noticed that the origins of my life’s work in resource conservation lies in my family. My grandparents grew up in the Great Depression, which was also a time of severe drought in the Midwest. My parents were often on a tight budget in the 1970s/’80s and experienced the effects of oil embargo. Through their lives and stories, they taught me my earliest lessons in the wise use of our planet’s resources.

My maternal grandmother’s early life taught me about transportation and water use. Growing up her family of 15 didn’t have a car. They walked and carpooled with friends, or neighbors. She took the train to Kansas City for those extra-special shopping trip and events. I carpool, or use public transit every week. Due to extreme drought in the 1930s, she used to bathe with just one-inch-deep water in the tub. Though I usually shower, I turn off the water to apply soap, shampoo, etc.

My dad’s parents have never been big on throwing stuff out. They still use the same Christmas decorations they did when I was a kid. Much of their current dining/living furniture belonged to my uncle who died nearly 24 years ago. My son had a great time at their house playing with picture tiles my dad played with in the 1950′s! At my house, our dining/living furniture dates back to when my husband moved to Austin almost 13 years ago. My son sleeps on the same bed I did as a child.

At my parents’ home growing up, reuse/recycling and gardening were always a part of life. Our kitchen cabinets always harbored a healthy collection of butter tubs, cottage cheese/yogurt/ice cream containers for reuse in storing other stuff. In the garage, you’d always find certain corners, or large cardboard boxes for sorting recyclables: newspaper, magazines, glass (separated by color), aluminum/steel cans and so on. I currently keep our single-stream recycling and compost collection bins right at the center of all the action in our house – the kitchen. My dad’s backyard garden produced an abundant crop each spring and summer of a various fruits and vegetables like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, sweet peas, tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, onions carrots, asparagus, cucumbers, zucchini . . . It was so much we gave some away, or froze/canned it. Now my home, of course, has a couple of organic herb and veggie garden beds in the backyard.

From these roots, I’ve grown a life and career around pollution prevention and resource conservation. I’ve now spent about 13 years in the profession. I’ve assisted many businesses and industries in becoming wiser in their use of our planet’s resources. I’ve branched out to include solar energy and an electric vehicle in my life.

I honestly hadn’t realized how deeply sustainable attitudes towards living ran in my family until recently. Perhaps all of us have that in our history. Have you looked at your family history to discover where the roots of our modern green living might lie?