Dan Weeks - Revision Energy, Co-owner and Director of Market Development. ReVision has offices in Enfield and Brentwood, NH.
Dan Weeks
Dan Weeks said he is a 12th generation Granite Stater. His wife is from South Africa and they have 3 children. He and his family live in Nashua as a mid-way point between where Dan works and his wife’s job in Boston.
ReVision has just completed 6 solar projects for the City of Lebanon. Their most recent project was just completed at Mascoma Meadows: a “ground mount” installation saving each family in the mobile home park about $300/year in energy.
Dan used a slide show and a rapidly-paced narrative to present a waterfall of information bearing on how “New Hampshire’s Energy Future” should and must include a strong reliance on solar and wind power. Dan said that the “275 co-owners of ReVision want to preserve the beauty of NH.”
Here are some highlights of Dan’s comprehensive talk:
PAST: NH’s energy past was about local distributed, and renewable sources
- Hydropower in Manchester powered the Amoskeag Mills.
- Biomass
- Wood heating in homes
- Horsepower
PRESENT: At present, NH’s power is mostly centralized and non-renewable, going toward transportation and residential uses (each about 32%), commercial (22%) and industrial (14.5%). Renewables constitute 19% of the mix; 81% from non-renewables like petroleum 44%, nuclear 33% and natural gas 17%.
Within the renewable sources as of 2019: biomass 73% (diminishing today because of plant shutdowns), hydro 20%, wind and solar following.
Costs of energy non-renewables has been going up – gasoline at the pump and electric rates have been going up about 3%/year on average.
There are many indirect costs of the current energy system with its carbon emissions. Surface temperatures around the world have increased about 2 degrees F since 1900. Staying on the current trajectory would have temperatures rising as much as 6-12 degrees F depending on how we deal with fossil fuel consumption.
Also, average winter high temperatures have risen faster than overall temperatures. We have also seen an increase of 71% in intensive rainfall events (4” in 24 hours) from 1958-2012.
NH’s summer climate has shifted to what New York City used to experience. Sea level rise for MA and NH means less land can be utilized. Human health impacts also have worsened. Add in Hampton Beach street flooding, moose tick infestations, maple heat stress, and declining snow fall.
FUTURE: Dan sees a return to local, distributed, and clean energy sources as the pathway toward slowing global warming’s ill effects.Power potential available on earth from the Sun is a huge 23,000 terawatt hours/year; wind could produce 70-120 TW/year.
NH is on the same latitude as the French Riviera on the Mediterranean. Onshore and offshore wind, plus utility scale solar, plus rooftop solar all will help us get where we need to be.
Dan told us about the “Stanford Analysis” pathway to New Hampshire’s NH 100% clean energy transition. It says that onshore and offshore wind will produce 60% of our power with solar at 30%. We will need to transition how we build buildings and what we use for transportation
Q: Paul T asked about impediments to this future.
Dan — primarily government policy. Right now, less than 1% of our energy in NH comes from solar; Maine has passed us. We need laws to revise NH’s “renewable portfolio standard” (“… a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal. Other common names for the same concept include Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) at the United States federal level and Renewables Obligation in the UK” – Wikipedia)
Dan sees the commitment of NH’s Public Service Company to net zero emissions by 2030 to be a help.
Solar costs
Lebanon has 830 KW of capacity installed across 6 sites. Costs are coming down: there are today dozens of solar-powered schools in NH.
At Dartmouth, installations #17, 18, and 19 are being completed. Cities and towns are getting on board as well.
Transportation is a huge source of warming gases. Dan drives a Chevy Volt as part of his own commitment. Efficiency in battery storage is improving. Clif Below is leading the effort to make battery use more affordable and widespread.
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Questions and Comments
Cindy Jerome — ReVision did an array atop the Woodlands and we’re feeling good about our cost savings.
Solar Array at the Woodlands
Steve Christy: You did a project for Lebanon and recently merged with a company?
Dan Affeldt — about 1.5 years ago we brought Energy Emporium into our fold. Added jobs in Enfield and moved to a larger space.
Steve C asked about ReVision helping with Steve’s fountain project at the Glenwood cemetery, asking if Dan knew Patrick McCarthy.
Dan said he wasn’t aware of the project and would be happy to talk about donating a panel. Email address: Dweeks@revisionenergy.com
Steve Whitman: What about nuclear energy? How significant could nuclear energy be?
Dan — ReVision hasn’t taken a position. I think we should continue producing safe nuclear with appropriate regulations. But given regulations and apart from the opposition to nuclear power, it is today so expensive to build new nuclear capacity that it looks like the writing is on the wall for generation from other sources. Solar will decrease in cost to less than 2 cents per KWH for new construction.
Paul Tierney: Financing?
Dan — It makes most sense for a business to take advantage of the 36% tax credit and depreciate. Not-for-profits and public entities: best solution is usually a power purchase agreement whereby instead of coming up with cash to build, they buy the power from an array at a cost less than from the grid. After 5 years, they would have the option to purchase back from the investment partners; the investors are families and businesses willing to provide capital for a below-market return in order to support solar power.
Bill Secord: 2.5% is a sizable amount of land to use for solar and wind power generation. How do you approach siting issues and gobbling up such acreage?
Dan — I differ from the Stanford analysis. They project 2.5% total because they proposed that nearly half come from onshore wind – that is just NOT going to happen. We are too protective of our ridge lines. Offshore wind studies have shown that in the Gulf of Maine we have 200,000 KWH potential, six times the total energy production of all 6 NE states. The continental shelf allows siting far from shore and the ability to connect into existing coastal population distribution. When we do use land, we try to manage it for vegetation and animal use.
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Bio for Dan Weeks, Director of Market Development
Dan got his start in clean energy as a teen member of the award-winning ConVal Solar Race Car Team in Peterborough, NH. Although solar-powered racing wasn’t breaking any records in the 1990s, the cars were early proof that solar could be a convincing alternative to fossil fuels. Two decades later, he proudly powers his well-insulated home with a 5.5-kilowatt rooftop solar array and drives a speedy Chevy Bolt, charged by the sun.
As ReVision Energy’s Director of Market Development, Dan combines his love of people and the place where he was raised, with a strong desire to see business become a force for good in society. Dan’s responsibilities include developing large-scale solar projects with commercial and institutional partners, promoting policy change to accelerate the clean energy transition, and providing strategic direction in marketing and sales. He is especially committed to expanding access to cost-saving clean energy for low-income communities by partnering with nonprofits and municipalities