As owner of a Virginia clean enrgy firm for the last 18 years, a Virginia resident for 45 years, and an Adjunct Professor who teaches three interdisciplinary courses at The George Washingon University, of which one has been in Virginia for the last 7 years - I urge the State to develop a strategic plan for distributed renewable energy generation, energy storage, high-value energy efficiency with athe prime purpose for sustaining critical energy functions within the State.
On-site energy generation either atop or around buildings and infrastructure, combined with energy sorage will allow our state's first reponders - police, fire, ambulence sustain opertation, will allow interseecton signal lights andrailay crossings and lights to function in times of outages, Will incure our pipleines for water, sewage and fuels stay functioning. Will keep our cellular towers and networks operating along with our datacenters. Such emphasis will allow hospitals and nursing homes to operate, as well as businesses to continue operations and homeowners to be safe.
When the grid is working an emphasis on roof-top or ner-function to save money. When the electric grid is not completly functioning will allow continuity of operations, which tody is partially supported by on-site diesel electric generators which need ongoing operations and maintenance, ongoing regular testing, and rely on deliveries of fuel during unexpected evets to keep operating. This is not true with the entire portfolio of renewable energy, storage, CHP applications.
More and more people operate businesses out of their home, and even more people have at-home medical devices which need electricity from dialysis, ventillators, wheel chairs, and a host of other devices. Electricity has become even more central to our health safety, economy, and well being than ever before. Alsmot all these on-site energy options can leverage private capital investment, not public investent - becaise it makes solid economic sense.
The Virginia energy plan must drive the energy economy to be more resilient, agile, interoperable, reliable with much higher elcetric power quality (eliminating electric surges, sags and transients which ruin digital equipment).
The time to act is now, before some unplanned event severaly dmages our electric, water, communication and transportation networks.
Respectfully, submitted, Scott Sklar
Scott Sklar
President
The Stella Group, Ltd.
706 North Ivy Street
Arlington, VA 22201
DC Phone: 202-347-2214
VA Phone: 703-522-1195
E-mail: solarsklar@aol.com
Website: www.TheStellaGroupLtd.com
The Stella Group, Ltd.. is a strategic technology optimization and policy firm for clean energy users and companies, with a focus on system standardization, modularity, and web-enabled diagnostics. Scott Sklar is an Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University teaching two unique interdisciplinary sustainable energy courses, and an Affiliated Professor with CATIE, an international graduate university in Costa Rica offering graduate degrees on sustainability. Sklar is also part-time Executive Director of the non-profit Center for Small Business and the Environment, and Chairs the Steering Committee of the Sustainable Energy Coalition. On June 19, 2014, Scott Sklar was awarded the prestigious The Charles Greely Abbot Award by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and on April 26, 2014 was awarded the Green Patriot Award by George Mason University in Virginia.
His peer-reviewed paper on zero-energy buildings was published on zero energy buildings in 2013, “Perspective on multi-scale assets for clean energy technologies in buildings” and is available as 'Online First' on SpringerLink:http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s10669-013-9475-0
"The Future of Personal Energy Use “ presented by Scott Sklar ... - TEDxTalkstedxtalks.ted.com/video/The-Future-of-Personal-Energy-U?Apr 7, 2015 ... The convergence of personal power with personal security, personal transportation, personal communication, and personal networking.
Coauthor of The George Washington University (GWU) Community Solar Handbook, October 2017
https://sustainabilitycollaborative.gwu.edu/sites/sustainabilitycollaborative.gwu.edu/files/image/Community%20Solar%20Handbook%20for%20Municipalities%20-%20Oct%202017.pdf
Resiliency, the Electric Grid & Renewable Energy. Solar Today. (pg 14) April 2018
http://www.omagdigital.com/publication/?i=486221#{%22issue_id%22:486221,%22page%22:14}