SUMMIT-MADE CONTROLS DRIVE ENERGY SOURCE OF THE FUTURE
October, 2006

Summit Electric Supply has always been "green" in terms of energy conservation, but now it's playing a role in the actual creation of usable energy.

Summit Industries, the custom-fabrication arm of Summit Electric, provided the control center for an 80-foot wind turbine unveiled last month and applauded by a U.S. senator and a New Mexico congresswoman.

The wind turbine is a device that creates electric current from its wind-driven spinning blades. The resulting power can be used directly by an end-user or sold to the local utility company.

Summit's involvement came by way of Account Manager Greg Carpenter at the Albuquerque Service Center. Greg says he caught wind through a Vendor that the turbine company needed some help, so he made the call and reeled in the business. Only, it wasn't that easy.

"It was a long process," Greg said. "We offered many different options for both their control and power schemes. It took about six months of dialogue and several quotations before finalizing their equipment list."

After the agreement was struck, Summit Industries Manager Eric Schultz visited the project engineer, who supplied plans for what could be the next generation of high-tech windmills.

Then Eric and Shop Foreman Rocky Wilson got to work on the cabinets. Eric, who has been filling such orders for Summit since 1980, said the project was anything but a breeze.

This one was very specialized," he said. "It was a tricky job getting it all to fit on the frame. There are three cabinets; two back-to-back and one on the side."

The three boxes were a main distribution panel, a motor-control panel and a cabinet for the programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and they all had to be wired together.

"You get one shot to punch the holes, and it had better be right," he said. Of course, the holes were punched right, and the turbine company was delighted with the finished product.

"Eric and Rocky are the reason we were able to pull this off," Greg said. "Our competitors just can't compete with the product, service and flexibility Summit Industries provides."

Receiving such glowing reviews is just part of the routine at Summit Industries, which is currently building 20 control panels for Positron's engineering facility in Albuquerque.

Eric and his team have worked on multiple projects for various Customers, including heavyweights like Sandia National Laboratories, who needed help with their building security systems.

"We built the controls for the plutonium furnaces at Los Alamos National Lab," Eric said. "They melt plutonium and mold it into whatever shape they need."

The wind turbine stands about 100 yards from Interstate 40 in the truck-stop town of Clines Corners, about 60 miles east of Albuquerque.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, who sits on the Senate Energy Committee, and Congresswoman Heather Wilson of the House Energy Committee, made separate appearances in August to see the turbine in action.

The turbine is a product of Vawtpower Management Inc. based in Placitas, N.M. Vawtpower is a manufacturer of vertical-axis wind turbines ("vawt") that hopes to market the devices to rural electric co-operatives and ranchers.

"Hopefully, there are more of these to come," Greg said. "If this prototype is a winner, they're planning to implement those wind turbines throughout New Mexico."

THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 2005
August, 2006

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed by President Bush in August 2005, and took effect on Jan. 1, 2006.

EPAct, as it's being called, is a thick package of federal legislation intended to establish a comprehensive, long-term energy policy for the United States. It addresses a multitude of the nation's energy issues, from the harnessing of ocean-wave power to establishing a new date for the start of Daylight Savings Time.

EPAct also contains a wide range of tax incentives and loan guarantees designed to spur the country toward broader energy savings.

Of great interest to the electrical industry is the provision that offers tax deductions for building upgrades or new construction that utilizes energy-efficient products and equipment.

The details are complex, and some are still waiting to be finalized, but in short: If the owners of a commercial building spend money that results in significant energy savings, such as a lighting upgrade, the owners of that building can write off that expense at tax time.

In other words, a lighting upgrade will not only slash a building's utility bill, it can also be installed for free, so to speak.

Naturally, this affords a tremendous opportunity. Building owners see the obvious benefits, contractors have a can't-miss sales pitch, and electrical distributors can get busy keeping those contractors stocked.

Taking full advantage of EPAct requires some study time. Contractors and distributors need to be fully aware of EPAct's details before they can make promises they're certain they can keep.

Here are some links to further your knowledge of EPAct and its provisions.

Osram Sylvania's 16-page booklet "The Impact of EPAct 2005"

This is a helpful, information handout that addresses specifics of how EPAct affects the lighting industry. It includes a summary of new lighting requirements and is packed with charts and graphics that explain how certain Sylvania products can meet or exceed EPAct's requirements.

Advance ballast and lighting EPAct information site

This site is loaded with background information about EPAct 2005 and includes a link to sign up for Advance's Lighting the Way newsletter, a monthly publication devoted to EPAct news and information.

U.S. Department of Energy's "What the Energy Bill Means to You"

This is a short overview of tax credits available to individual consumers who purchase energy-efficient doors, roofs, heaters, etc.

NEMA's assessment of EPAct

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association addresses the legislation's finer points in this 18-page handout that publicizes NEMA's official position on the Energy Policy Act.

Commercial Building Tax Deduction Coalition info page

The coalition worked with NEMA's Lighting Systems Division to create this useful site. Included is a question-and-answer page that cuts through EPAct's bureaucratic language to provide simple translations of complex regulations.

Full text of the Energy Policy Act of 2005

This is a PDF file that takes some time to download. The act "to ensure jobs for our future with secure, affordable, and reliable energy," as it says on the title page, contains 550 pages.

Deduction for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings, Notice 2006-52

Official Internal Revenue Service guidelines for claiming an EPAct tax deduction

TIAP

The IRS guidelines are summarized by the Tax Incentives Assistance Project, a coalition of nonprofit groups, government agencies and other efficient-energy organizations.

Web surfers' information collective

This is the Wikipedia entry on EPAct 2005. If you're not familiar with Wikipedia, it's an online encyclopedia compiled and updated by anyone who cares to make an entry. In general, it's an accurate, informative site that can be extremely useful when you're researching any topic imaginable. The downside is that "vandal" contributors have been known to post inaccurate information.