The South Australian Water Corporation will install rooftop solar PV and battery storage systems to offset increasing electricity prices.

In a request for tender launched last week, SA Water says it is seeking to build a grid-connected solar system of over 100 kW.

In addition, the tender calls for a 50 kWh battery storage system and smart controls.

SA Water manages more than 27,000 km of water mains, including 9,266 km in the Adelaide metropolitan area.

The corporation says installing solar and storage systems will manage periods of high electricity prices and guarantee sustainable water supply.

The proposed system shall be behind the meter, and designed to minimise electricity costs via the ability to dispatch stored energy as required, the tender request states.

SA Water is investing in rooftop solar PV and battery storage. Image: Pixabay

The system should have the ability to smooth grid supplied energy and also to use stored energy on site or export back to the grid.

Provision of system integration with remotely operated control and energy monitoring interfaces are to be included as part of the system design.

SA Water Corporation is just one of many water and waste management utilities around the country shifting to renewables.

In the Victorian city of Portland, a water and sewerage treatment plant will soon be powered by wind, with plans for an 800 kW wind turbine revealed in May.

And in March, also in regional Victoria, North East Water launched a tender to install 43 kW of solar panels and 40 kW of battery storage at its Yackandandah facility.

Meanwhile, the REC Peak Energy solar panels installed on many rooftops are so tough they can also be used in floating solar farms.

In Queensland, the City of Gold Coast is proposing to install a series of floating solar PV arrays on its network of wastewater ponds to offset energy costs.

In addition to preserving land, floating solar panel arrays help reduce the growth of algae in dams and minimise evaporation rates.

Tenders for SA Waters solar system close 2pm on Thursday, July 20, 2017.

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Solar PV to combat high electricity costs - Energy Matters

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After 10 years, a 182-acre project to collect and treat toxic wastewater from several abandoned gold mines in the Grass Valley area is finally in the works.

But despite the fact that the so-called North Star Water Treatment Facility is expected to clean up manganese, iron and arsenic-tainted water before it dumps into Wolf Creek as it is doing now some neighbors along Allison Ranch Road where Newmont Mining Corp. wants to build two 2-plus acres of water treatment ponds right next to Wolf Creek are not happy.

We couldnt agree more that the (North Star and Massachusetts Hill) mines toxic wastewater should be cleaned up, said 11-year resident Zora Biagini. We just dont think it should be at our expense, environmentally or financially.

Newmont spokesman Omar Jabara said Friday that the company worked for years to accommodate all the agencies and regulations in designing and siting the project. The companys staff last month met with neighbors to explain the project application, filed Dec. 31 with Nevada County. A public hearing before the countys Planning Commission is expected this summer.

Nonetheless, Biagini said she has many unanswered questions. Chiefly, Biagini said she doesnt understand why Newmont could not find another, more remote place for the ponds elsewhere on the 740 acres the firm owns in the area. On March 28 she sent a letter with her questions and grievances to Nevada County Senior Planner Tod Herman, who is processing Newmonts land use application.

Jabara, in response, said Newmont worked closely with city and state officials over the past 10 years to identify a viable location for the water treatment plant. Siting of the plant has been modified several times to accommodate various requirements from the city, state and others.

The current design was proposed to the Nevada County Planning Commission based on various physical, construction and regulatory constraints, Jabara added. Considerations were taken to site the facilities in locations which may be able to provide aesthetic screening. As discussed with residents during a recent field tour, we are open to suggestions that could provide further screening.

Herman, meanwhile, said the North Star Water Treatment Facility, as the county is calling the project, spans seven assessors parcels totaling 182 acres. Herman said the public will have ample opportunity for comment when the project comes before the Planning Commission.

He said he does not anticipate having to do a full environmental impact report.

We will likely be processing the application with a mitigated negative declaration, Herman said.

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Toxic mine water in Nevada County to be treated in proposed massive Newmont project

In spite of being well worn and empty for at least five years, 616 Eaton St.'s presence in Old Town is immense -- even at the peak of the Recession in 2009 it was for sale for more than $5 million. Some serious reductions in pricing and a couple of turnovers later, the property's future as a guesthouse is really big, too.

Of course, the stately old mansion set well behind a newly constructed wrought-iron fence will be no ordinary commercial guesthouse; it's in the early throes of becoming the private guesthouse for a new single-family estate.

"We have a collection of houses from Key West to Marathon that we've built from scratch, or renovated. We're selling them to go big at this location," said Kristina Serbinski, who bought last year with her husband Mark what was then a 2,427-square-foot, two-family structure. "We're still working out plans for the property's development."

Already, some permits have been issued, and Key West's Historic Architectural Review Commission has breathed a big sigh of relief because most of the add-ons are being removed. The redesigned two-story guesthouse will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. Downstairs, the two bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms will flow smoothly into and beneath the 14-foot-high ceilings of the living-dining and kitchen's open-floor plan.

But the renovation project is immense: Exploratory work from the ground up includes engineers, local architect Bill Horn, a contractor and builders.

Serbinski said the couple could "band-aid and make do" for 10 or so years, but instead they chose the high road to careful renovation because they want to return the historic house to its heyday from around the turn of the 20th century and, equally important, they want to create a private estate worthy of entertaining lots of friends and family members.

"The siding is holding up the balloon frame, which is in good shape," said Mitch Sammis of Infinity Builders. He was in charge of other Serbinski renovation projects and is overseeing everything here to shore up sagging floor joists, to install new footings and sills, to build a new interior staircase and salvage as much Dade County pine as possible.

"The floor is layer upon layer," Serbinski said. "We just can't save it all."

The big pile of rotten wood discarded in the soon-to-be-torn down dining-room addition at the back of the house goes away, and with it a bathroom addition on the west side.

Here, a new driveway will separate guesthouse and property line, ultimately leading to the new garage and new five-bedroom, seven-bathroom house. This is the primary residence being built behind the historic guesthouse, but connected to it by a skywalk from the garage.

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No ordinary guesthouse

Far Niente Winery in the Napa Valley pioneered the use of a floating solar array in 2008 by installing almost 1,000 panels on a 1.3 acre in Martin Stelling Vineyard. It produces 400 kilowatts at peak output. Similar applications of this innovative concept will be developed at six Sonoma County Water Agency holding ponds, making this the second-largest floating solar project in the world. (Far Niente Winery)

Sonoma County clean energy and water officials have set up talks with vineyard, farm, dairy and other landowners in Sonoma Valley and around Healdsburg about using their irrigation ponds for what is said to be the largest floating solar-electricity project in the U.S. and the second-largest in the world.

Sonoma Clean Power and Sonoma County Water Agency plan to hold additional information sessions throughout the county over the next three months to assess landowner interest in adopting a solar-over-water option. This comes after Sonoma Clean Power signed an agreement with San Francisco-based Pristine Sun in late February to install a 12.5-megawatt solar farm on pontoon docks at six holding ponds operated by the water agency in northwest Santa Rosa and Sonoma Valley. The power agency had reviewed bids from four solar providers.

The sunset of rooftop solar is not over the horizon, but the dawn of a new application for photovoltaic panels installed as floating arrays is an emerging trend in the industry. Some have already been placed above vineyard irrigation and frost prevention ponds as well as on fully treated wastewater reservoirs. The largest floating solar array in the world is a 13.4-megawatt installation by Kyocera TCL Solar on Yamakura Dam reservoir near Tokyo.

We took extra care to protect customers who will become involved in these floating solar installations with the risks being borne by the developer, said Geof Syphers, CEO of Sonoma Clean Power.

The risks mainly are over project location, he said. Since the project is not typical and is over water, there are potentially increased risks associated with construction and maintenance. As a result, the power agency took special care to ensure the developer carries all those risks.

About 25 percent of all vineyards in the county have holding ponds. One hundred of these vineyards have ponds that may be suitable for floating solar arrays, and 20 to 40 are near power transmission lines. A limiting factor for site selection is a pond within about a quarter-mile of a power-transmission line to save the cost of additional poles to reach the grid.

He said the power agency provides more solar power per capita than anywhere else in the country.

Closeup of the floating array (Far Niente Winery)

Customers have rates competitive with those of PG&E today with savings of from 6 percent to 9 percent on the entire monthly bill, Syphers said. Low-income customers, who qualify for a subsidy, can save as much as 10 percent to 14 percent. In the first year of operations, SCP customers saved $6 million over what they would have paid to PG&E.

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Potential seen in floating solar for wine, ag

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Landscape and Pond installation in Ann Arbor, Michigan

BLOOMINGTON While golfers putted on a nearby green, Frank Zimmerman and Guy Fraker had birdies of a different kind on their minds.

I used to caddy before, but never bird boxes, said retired attorney Guy Fraker as he carried supplies to Zimmerman to install the first of 10 special birdhouses at Prairie Vista Golf Course last week.

Fraker got the idea after buying a house at Prairie Vista.

The beauty of a golf course in today's disappearing habitat is that the golf course offers an opportunity to create wildlife habitat, Fraker said.

Zimmerman, a minister and amateur ecologist, explained that the open space, mowed grass, trees for perching and ponds of water on golf courses mimic a savannah, which is prime bluebird habitat.

While the goal is to attract bluebirds, other small, native species, such as house wrens, tree swallows and chickadees also might use the boxes.

However, house sparrows an abundant, non-native species are not welcome and will be evicted if they try to nest. Their aggressiveness in taking over nesting spaces is one of the threats to bluebirds, Zimmerman said.

Although they are commonly referred to as boxes, the project at Prairie Vista is using what is called the Gilbertson PVC pipe design. The boxes are painted to resemble birch trees and are the most house sparrow-resistant nesting box, Zimmerman said.

This started as a whim of mine, Fraker said. When he asked his neighbors if they would like to donate to such a project, more than $1,000 was raised.

The golf course means a lot to us living here, Fraker said.

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Welcome mat out for bluebirds at golf course

Wyoming may be in line for some new development. At the City Councils March 3 meeting, City Engineer Mark Erichson reported potential development at three sites in the city. A developer has recently submitted a sketch plan for a 38-unit complex on 257th Avenue across from Xccent. Preliminary plans are being developed.

A second location of possible development is between Wyoming Trail and Viking Boulevard, west of Glen Oak. The sketch plan is for 37 single-family homes. Erichson is provided information about utility infrastructure, design criteria for the area, and information about design criteria for the streets.

The third area being considered for development is north of Viking Boulevard (County Road 22) and west of Interstate 35. Erichson provided the citys surface water guidelines, specifications and detail plans to the developers engineer. An Environmental Assessment Worksheet is necessary because the size of the proposed project is around 300 units.

Other work nearing completion is the Greenway Avenue Improvement Project and the Liberty Ponds Development. This is related to finishing landscaping details and final asphalt on streets, which is tied to spring warm-up.

Fire pensions

Fire Capt. Matt Pikus presented a request from the Fire Relief Association to raise the pension benefit level for retirees. The FRA provides funds and services for retirement and benefits to all members of the association and their families. Benefits are regulated by federal and state laws, as well as bylaws of the organization.

There are two funds designated in the FRA. The general fund receives money from dues, fines, donations, fundraising (Stagecoach Days) and miscellaneous sources, not-mandated by law or the bylaws. This money may be used for the general welfare of the association and its members when authorized by the majority of members. The special fund, on the other hand, can only be released for members service pensions, some ancillary benefits and administrative expenses in accordance to state law. The majority is for pensions.

Sources of the money for the special fund were discussed. State fire aid money comes from a portion of fire insurance premiums returned to the city annually. The city also makes a contribution to the tune of $200 per year for each active firefighter. Other donations may be designated in support of the special fund. All this, plus accrued interest, helps fund this designated-pension portion of the plan.

Following guidelines recommended by the state auditor, the benefits were increased in 2013 to $1,150, with a funding level of 173 percent. The current funding level has grown to 213 percent. Pikus explained that using conservative estimated interest of 5 percent and the same expenses and income, an increase in benefits to $2,200 would still produce a funding level of 126 percent. State statute limits pension funds to $3,400 per year of active service. No major changes are being proposed, just to balance out the funds.

According to Pikus information from the consulting auditor, the special fund has benefited from good returns on investments. The investment plan and results are re-evaluated annually, with guidance provided by the State Board of Investments. Even with the increase in pension benefit, the association would be following the state auditors recommendation that the fund maintain a slight surplus.

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Wyoming discusses development

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Design a Pond | Learn how to build your own pond

stately motorcourt entry, front fountain spacious pool, outdoor cabana, koi pond, spa and expansive gardens and lawn.

is the name of the plants in the pond. I have a koi pond and would love to see these int them

koi pond came with house is in full sun and

Yes. This koi pond has a biological filter and pumps to help control the water quality. Thanks.

the pond looks beautiful can you please tell the names

stones around pond. Central water fountain.

necessarily mean rectangular. This perfectly round pond provides the same structured effect. No matter your pond style, adding a fountain or waterfall will help

recommend that you consult a pond professional, and that you view his or her work in other gardens, before you design and install your pond. A poorly designed water

Putting coy pond next to magnolia...Like the koi pond style but on

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Koi Pond Design Ideas, Pictures, Remodel and Decor