After obtaining a degree in computer science, and spending 14 years in the computer industry in Denver, Pagosan David Conrad was burned out with both the corporate world and the big city. A rapid series of life changes then prompted a deep soul searching on what to do next, and he began to consider getting into the solar energy industry, something he'd been drawn to for some time. He attended industry recognized solar certification courses, and upon seeing what he'd make working for someone else, he quickly decided to start his own business. After an initial thought to relocate to Taos in 1998, once he visited there he decided it wasn't where he wanted to live. Traveling onward to pay a visit to Mesa Verde, Conrad immediately fell in love with Pagosa en route and decided to move here.

Conrad was lucky when he relocated here, because there was no one else at the time that worked with solar installations, repairs or troubleshooting, although it's easy for anyone to proclaim themselves a professional in the field. "There is currently no licensing for solar," he explained. "Basically anybody can open up shop and say they are a 'solar person"." But, he added that he could only do installations that run on DC (direct current) power; AC (alternate current) must be handled by a licensed electrician.

Conrad named his company Millennium Renewables right at the time of Y2K, and admits that scare helped him sell a lot of systems to folks that were going "off grid" —meaning off the major electrical power hookup grid. But times since then have not always been rosy, and 2003 was a difficult year for him. As he did not wish to return to the corporate world, he knew he had to make it here somehow, and luckily his business has steadily improved.

Most projects begin when someone calls Conrad and says they are interested in a solar system for their home. He first asks potential clients to make a list of everything they use electricity for. "This is really the hardest part," he said, "as most people don't really know what they do in terms of consumption and usually miscalculate their daily needs." Once they hand over their list, they are often looking at a $100,000 - $200,000 solar system. Conrad tells them to "not get too excited" when he breaks the news to them, and has them sit down and go through everything again until they come down to a reasonable amount of money it will cost them. This is generally anywhere from $15,000 - $50,000, with many being in the $15,000 - $20,000 range.

A Pagosa Country home where Conrad installed a solar electrical system Photo by David Conrad

I asked Conrad what you get for that average price range. "Basically, you get solar panels, which create electricity and you get a charge controller which regulates the amount of power going from the solar panels into your batteries so that you don't overcharge your batteries. Then you get your batteries, which store DC electricity.”

"From your batteries, we go to your inverter, which changes DC electricity into AC electricity. Your inverter goes into the AC power center or sub panel in your house, where some electricity may be obtained by the grid, which here is La Plata Electric." All of these individual items can vary widely in price according to quality and capabilities.

Conrad admits the initial cost may sound high, and that prices really have not come down significantly. "The thing that is happening right now is people in Europe are going crazy over this stuff, so it's gotten harder to get the panels and components here. Inverter prices have dropped somewhat due to competition and improved technology though."

I commented that for a lot of people, solar power is simply not within their construction budget, and the impression is that it is something for the wealthy. "That depends on where you live," replied Conrad. He agreed that for someone who lives in town and is already hooked up to the power grid, considering buying a $25,000 – $35,000 solar system may not financially viable, and "yes, it comes down to the size of your pocketbook."

But then he asked me to consider someone who lives in the Unit 6 area of Aspen Springs where there is little to no power. "It used to be that La Plata would come and hook you up anywhere you were. You might have to pay them eight—ten—twelve thousand dollars, but once you hooked up the power they would give you that money back once they established you as a paying customer. There are two power lines that run between Pagosa and Durango. One of them is completely full, and the other one is close to being full. It will be a huge expense to bring more power over here, so nowadays if there is not power on your property, they are not being as generous. You still have to put that same money up front down, but now they aren't giving that back to you, plus you have to pay to have any trenches in place."

"So all of a sudden, here's eight to ten thousand dollars that people are having to spend to get power, and for another five to ten thousand more they can get a solar system and be self-sufficient," he concluded. Several of Conrad's clients found that it would actually have cost them $30,00 to $40,000 to bring power in, and he could get them a system for half to two thirds the price.

"The big, hot thing right now in the nation is something called 'grid tie,'" Conrad states. "That's where you put solar panels on your roof, and you go straight to the inverter and the inverter goes straight to the grid. You don't have batteries or a charge controller, so you are feeding power right to the grid. You don't have any independence or back-up, but it's a cost-avoidance situation, so hopefully you're producing enough electricity to sell to the power companies to offset what you're using."

I asked him to explain the difference between passive and active solar. "Passive means solar power is passing through your building as the sun shines, heating up your floors and walls." Obviously, your home has to be correctly oriented on your property to derive the most benefit. The other big key is the eaves on your roof, because the sun is close to the horizon now, so you want that sun coming in your living room. In July and August you want to have an eave that shades you since you don't want that sun coming in during that time. Where people have goofed up here in the 70s and 80s is they had these big sunrooms and they just burned themselves up with all that sun coming in. It's kind of tricky to get the right angle so you're getting sun in the morning and evening, but in mid-day when it's hot you're shading yourself.

"With active, say for solar hot water, you have the sun hitting solar collectors and heating either glycol or water, and you are pumping that water into a storage tank and pumping through your house. For what I do—which is solar electricity—I have solar electric panels. When the sun hits them, they create electricity, and you store it in batteries."

Conrad then asked me if he could go on a "rampage" for a moment.
"Here in Colorado, we get about 8—10 hours of sun a day, but we get the most power from the sun from about ten in the morning to two to three in the afternoon. We are about the best in the United States—you might get a little more in New Mexico, but we are close to the best here. New Jersey gets a horrible amount of sun, as well as several other states that don't have as much sun as us, but they have incentives for people to go solar. In California, people are given great financial incentives for incorporating wind or solar on their house, because they want people creating their own power as it offsets the huge demands in the summertime with air conditioning and such. In Colorado, we're just barely getting there, which is kind of sad considering the resources we have. But now with Amendment 37 being passed, that will help.”

A solar panel lies in wait of the sun in Pagosa Country Photo by David Conrad

"And then you drive around here and look at the trophy homes, and one of the first things you need with even a passive solar house is to have as few windows as possible, but the one big window you do want to have is on the south, with minimal windows on the north. Well, guess where all of our great views are here? In essence, people are trading views for energy efficiency.”

"We need to be moving more towards renewable energy. We've got to get away from oil. We've got to get away from polluting the planet. But that said, it looks like the majority don't give a hoot.”

"On the other hand, some people are waking up; the electric companies are waking up. There are huge monopolies that want to stay in control, and they realize we are running out of oil. Two of the big solar panel companies I buy product from recently got bought out by Shell Oil and British Petroleum. What's really interesting is all these big oil companies are getting involved. The good thing about that is they aren't buying them up and shutting them down, they are buying them up because they know that's where the future is."

Colorado voters passed Amendment 37, commonly referred to as the "renewable energy bill" during the November 2004 elections, the first state to pass a statewide renewable energy requirement. Amendment 37 will require Colorado’s top utility companies to provide a percentage of their retail electricity sales from renewable resources beginning with three percent by 2007, six percent by 2011 and increasing to 10 percent by 2015.

You may contact David Conrad at Millennium Renewables: 970-264-6880.

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