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In The Press
Scotts Valley looks into adding third electric vehicle charging station at library
By KIMBERLY WHITE -- Santa Cruz Sentinel
COTTS VALLEY - The Scotts Valley library may be going even more high-tech. Soon, patrons could be playing a video game on its Wii gaming wall, or scanning community event listings in the media center, while waiting for their cars to charge.
At Wednesday's City Council meeting, city leaders directed staff to continue looking into the possibility of installing an electric vehicle charging station in the parking lot of the library on Kings Village Road.
If approved, it would be one of seven grant-funded projects scattered through Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties.
The city actually already has two other charging stations, one at Zero Motorcycles on Technology Circle, and another that recently opened at Walgreens on Mount Hermon Road. But Corrie Kates, the city's community development director and deputy city manager, did not have any data on how often those stations are being used.
After Kates's presentation, Vice Mayor Randy Johnson acknowledged that car battery technology "has not quite caught up with the hopes and aspirations of auto makers" or the government. But the city should prepare now for what he called a "paradigm of the future," since mass production will eventually make electric vehicles affordable to the average buyer.
"What we're trying to accomplish is to create the infrastructure that will support electrical vehicles, so if charging stations are out there, that'll give people more confidence" to buy them, Andy Hartmann - a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers who wrote the grant - said ahead of the meeting.
Read the full article at goo.gl/tzHRa
Monterey switches street lights to LED
By LARRY PARSONS
Herald Staff Writer
Monterey's nightscape is in the midst of a luminous makeover.
A city-hired contractor this week started replacing every street light and tunnel light in the city — about 1,900 lights in all — with new energy-saving fixtures.
The project, scheduled to be completed by March, is substituting new light emitting diode, or LED, fixtures for existing high-pressure sodium street lights.
The new lights consume about 40 percent less energy, and their installation will allow Monterey to comply with a state law requiring the reduction of municipal greenhouse gas emissions, city officials say.
The switchover started with lights along the Recreation Trail, and crews were working Friday in the Fisherman's Flats neighborhood.
"They are doing about 300 a day," said Richard Llantero, a city engineer.
Read the full article at goo.gl/Tb0Sa
GREEN EXAMPLE: Electricians' union hall gets LEED certification
By LANE WALLACE
Herald Staff Writer
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 234 doesn't just teach electricians about green building practices — the union has made its offices on Merritt Street in Castroville an example.
"We're the first IBEW building to get a LEED certification," said Andy Hartmann, the local's business representative.
LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — is the most recognized standard for green technology. The union went for, and qualified for gold status, the second highest rating possible.
Read the full article at bit.ly/gCZveL
Solar installation will offset tons of emissions, but local electricians take a hit.
By Robin Urevich
Abrand new array of solar panels designed to generate 1.7 million megawatts of power at the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Authority’s Marina headquarters is getting a less than sunny reception from local union electricians.
The project should generate enough energy to treat irrigation water for 12,000 nearby acres of strawberry, artichoke and broccoli fields. But union labor isn’t part of the specs.
That didn’t sit well with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 234, where unemployment hovers around 20 percent.
Read the full article at bit.ly/8YqOl7
Central Coast Public Radio - KUSP: Monterey Bay Electricians Go Solar
Local electricians plug into the sun.
By Kera Abraham
Eco-energy was electric in Castroville last weekend, when a labor union’s parking lot doubled as a solar tech training lab.
During the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Nov. 7-8 “Solar Power Road Show,” IBEW’s Los Angeles chapter taught more than 100 local electricians how to install rooftop photovoltaic systems, avoid hazards with solar wiring and use a hand-held “solar eye” to map a site’s sun exposure throughout the year, among other skills.
“Electrical is a huge and intricate part of the green movement,” says Paul Gutierrez, director of industry development for IBEW Local 234. “We’re taking a hit as much as everyone else in the construction industry, but if everyone were to take advantage of the sun’s energy and step back from foreign oil, it would create thousands of jobs.”
Read the full article at The Monterey County Weekly