Renewable Energy News and Ideas from Oasis Montana Inc.
436 Red Fox Lane, Stevensville, MT, 59870, USA, 406-777-4321 or 4309 (406-777-2632  fax) www.oasismontana.com (web)

New Trace Inverters - SUN TIE
Solar Electric Inverter, connecting the sun to your
utility meter!  The units work interactively with the utility, without the use of batteries.  The model ST is available in four models with output capacity of 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 kVa.  Contact your local utility company for net metering details.  All units have 240VAC, 60HZ output.

ST1000    1kVa, 52-85VDC Input  $1700
ST1500    1.5kVa, 52-85VDC Input $2000
   (includes 6 circuit combiner board, PVGFP)
ST2000    2kVa, 52-85VDC Input  $2100
ST2500    2.5kVa, 52-85VDC Input $2500
    (includes 6 circuit combiner board, PVGFP)
STRS      Protective Rain Shield   $125
    Units are wall mounted, UL listed, with high frequency, PWM controlled grid-tie PV inverter, with maximum power point tracking (MPPT), LCD user display,  combined AC/DC surge protection, and AC/DC input/output breakers.  For PV grid tie only.

WHY we're not at the office sometimes….rarely but occasionally we're gone for a couple of days, as we're at a site visit or at a seminar.  This year, we KNOW we'll be gone to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association Fair near Amherst, WI (June 22nd through 24th).  You've got to keep your skills up in this business, ya' know!  So we appreciate your patience in our occasional absence.  Usually we're just slaves to the computer and phones--toll-free, 877-627-4768 or 4778.  Don't be afraid to leave a message, we'll call back ASAP!

QUOTABLE QUOTE from Todd Cory, technician & installer at Bald Mtn. Solar: I cannot believe there is a crisis when most people still have no clue as to what a compact fluorescent lamp is.  I also constantly see businesses leaving their parking lights on all day.  I say...raise the price way up, then maybe people will see energy as something to value and not mindlessly waste.... 

USED & SURPLUS RENEWABLE ENERGY GOODS are available on our web page.  The current deals include a solar module mount, , some 2V industrial battery cells, a submersible 12V hydro unit; new and reconditioned fuel generators….and more!  Do you have any renewable energy equipment you'd like to sell? Or looking for a sweet deal?  Check it out or place your free ad at http://www.oasismt.com/usedsolar.html

SMELTER PLANTS LOOKING AT R.E.

Several aluminum smelter plants in the northwest have shut down and are making a huge profit by doing so.  These plants had long term contracts with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for hydro power.  They are reselling this power into California instead of using it.  They are still paying their employees (even though they are laid off), making an increased profit by not running the plants--AND they are contributing a portion of the profits to a fund, overseen by the employees, for investing in renewable energy projects.  At this point they are looking at investing those funds into new local wind farms.

QUOTABLE QUOTE from Mr. Sharkey, who specializes in house buses and trucks (www.mrsharkey.com):  Don t cry for California, but do cry for endangered fish species.  Things are only going to get worse.  We here in the Pacific Northwest have had less than 30% of our normal seasonal rainfall.  The snow pack, the actual storage system for hydro, is zilch.  This means that there will be more pressure to drain down the reservoirs to run hydro plants to supply California and the local regions with this power.  This will devastate fish habitat, spawning beds and other wildlife dependant on those ecosystems.  Add to this the new (presidential) administration s policies on environment, and you can bet your a-- that there won t be anymore talk of breaching dams to save the salmon.  While waiting in a doctor s office this week, I read a Time magazine report on the power crisis, and yep, not one single word about renewable energy, decentralized power or conservation.  That was something we did only during the oil embargo of 1973 - 74.

This doesn't even begin to address the effects of increased oil, coal and natural gas emissions from power plants being run overtime to meet the demand.

I m rubbing my hands together thinking of the lesson that will be taught--and soon forgotten, I assume--but am saddened to think of the planetary destruction that will follow.

Air Powered Car Debuts in Johannesburg (November, 2000)
A car that could revolutionize the motor industry and which led to death threats against the designer was unveiled at the Auto Africa show in Johannesburg.  The e.Volution vehicle is powered by compressed air from high-pressure cylinders similar to those used by deep-sea divers. Made of feather-light material and weighing only 700 kg (1540 lbs), it is essentially a city run around but can reach a speed of about 130km/h (78mph!) on the open road (one mile equals 1.6 km). The e.Volution will be able to travel 200 km on one tank of compressed air at a cost of about 1c/km and can run for 10 hours in city traffic. The inventor is Guy Negre, a French motor vehicle engineer and former Formula One engine designer. He has apparently received death threats because of the invention, which could cripple the world's oil industry. (Well, Mr. Negre, we hope you survive, because the world certainly needs your technology!)

Oil-fired and coal utility plants released nine million pounds of toxic compounds and metals into the air--many of which are carcinogenic and neurotoxin.  Pollution from electrical power plants are a greater hazard than they claim, says a U.S. environmental group.  For the first time, utilities have reported toxic emissions to the EPA, and in 1998 discharged more than a billion pounds of toxic chemicals into the air--making utilities the #1 toxic air polluters in the US;  "the numbers are amazing", says one group.  Power plants downplay their emissions as having minimal or no impact. (something to think about…eh?)