Solar Technology Today

I came across a couple of links that I thought I would share.

CH2M Hill is a global company that is involved in engineering, construction, and operations. They have embarked on a project to identify the potential of using solar energy in 25 cities across the country.

There was an article on Marketwatch over the weekend explaining what CH2M Hill was doing and how they were doing it. Here is a quick excerpt from that article:

Punching an address into the city's search engine pulls up data on the estimated amount of solar photovoltaic energy that could be installed on a specific roof, potential electricity cost reduction, and potential carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas reduction.

Imagine being able to do that for every city in the Country and then specifically for your own home. That is where this is going. San Francisco, CA already has employed the technology. Check out this link http://sf.solarmap.org . I brought up my old address 2375 35th Ave and it pulled up a ton of information on the potential for using solar energy.

Another excerpt from the article:

"Right now, to get a solar assessment on a roof, you have to call up the solar installer, they bring their ladder, a guy wonders around on your roof, and two or three weeks later you get a report," Herrmann said. "With this technology, you could do it accurately and quickly without having to roll a truck."

Here is CH2M Hill's factsheet on the S.A.F.E technology

Think about how much money is going to be saved with this initiative. No longer will it require man-hours to do a site survey for study of the viability of solar energy at every site. For the first time in a long time I am excited about the possibility of large numbers of energy neutral homes coming on line in the next five years.

CH2M Hill has offices out by the airport. Here's hoping Pittsburgh is one of the next cities to be evaluated.

Thanks for reading.

James

Economic Woes Getting Closer to Home

There was an interesting article in the Tribune Review yesterday. The State now has to trim $2.5 billion from its budget that was just passed in July.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/search/s_592198.html

It will be interesting to see from where they cut.

Thanks for reading.

James

Construction Manager Selected

Last night the Board held a special meeting to select a construction manager for the project. Our construction manager will be PJ Dick. You can visit their website here.

My reasoning for voting for awarding the contract to PJ Dick are as follows:
1) Very positive references from other Western Pennsylvania school districts
2) Willingness to listen to the District and be helpful in completing a project that meets a certain, specified budget number
3) Willingness to evaluate ALL options on the table with regards to the project
4) Very experienced team of local professionals that have worked on local school projects

The final companies that were up for selection were both well qualified and capable. The costs for each CM were also very similar. In the end I voted for the team that I think can bring the best value to the District.

Email questions and concerns to james.fraasch@gmail.com

James

Special Meeting Tonight

The Board has called a special meeting for tonight at 7pm in the high school library to vote on the construction manager for the high school project.

Please see the agenda here.

I look forward to reviewing the proposals in executive session prior to the meeting.

James

Pennsylvania Department of Education Pre-K Findings

Pennsylvania Department of Education has released a report that shows the "Positive Impact in Children's Lives Made By Pre-K Counts". Excerpt below:

According to the report:
• 94 percent of Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts children finished the school year with age-appropriate skills and behavior or emerging age-appropriate skills and behavior.
• 95 percent of children in Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts are affected by at least one risk factor for school failure; 75 percent are affected by two or more risk factors.
• 63 percent of lead teachers have obtained, or are working towards, teacher certification in early childhood education.
• Average class size of 16 children per lead teacher and teacher aides surpasses best practices in the field.
• Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts is serving three- and four-year-olds in every region of the state in school- and community-based programs.
• When compared to the National Institute for Early Education Research’s benchmarks for quality early education program, Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts meets or exceeds nearly every quality benchmark.

This information goes to what I said in a previous post about the strong possibility that PDE mandates full-day kindergarten for all school districts in the State. They are continually pushing this information out there in hopes of finding broad-based support for the change. I have no idea on the time-frame but I would guess it would happen before Rendell leaves office.

James