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Article 1 - Sacred Power Corporation Nears End of Renewable Energy Project...

Article 2 - SIPI Creates Renewable-Energy Curriculum

Article 3 - Solar Energy Company to Power Remote Reservations with Mobile Units...

Article 4 - Sacred Power Dismantles, Refurbishes & Reerects the llKw....

Article 5 - Bringing Renewable Energy Technology to Indian Country

Article 6 - Sacred Power Gets Electricity Grant

Sacred Power Corporation Nears End of Renewable Energy Project with Completion of New Solar Carport at SIPI

10kW Grid-Tied System to be used as training tool for students

    Albuquerque, NM -April 29, - 2003 Sacred Power Corporation, a native, American-owned and operated renewable energy manufacturing firm announced today it was nearing the end of the 2-year Department of Energy funded project, with the completion of its showcase project within the program. The 10-kilowatt photovoltaic, single-axis tracking, grid-tied solar carport will provide a learning example technology for the myriad of Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) students who are enrolled in the newly created Renewable Energy curriculum, which is the main focus of the program. This Solar Carport is the second largest scale photovoltaic array for Sacred Power Corporation; the first being at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Differences in the two systems include single axis tracking along a North-South Axis for the SIPI system as well as four separate inverters for each of the four (4) sub-arrays. This allows for modularity of manufacture and installation - experience learned from the installation of the first system. SIPI students will learn how photovoltaic systems are connected to the local utility grid, how to design systems that are electrically acceptable to be connected to the grid, and how to complete the documentation necessary to file with the Public Regulatory Commission, among other things. The Tracking Solar Carport is in the parking lot of SIPI's brand new $6M Science and Technology Center which is still under construction. SIPI administrators - Ron Hooks and Val Montoya chose the location because of the technology involved. Other renewable energy components in the program include a 1kW Wind Turbine, viewable from Paseo Del Norte, a stand-alone PV-hybrid system, two different types of photovoltaic water pumping systems, solar hot air system and a yet to be completed solar hot water system. This project has been showcased by Department of Energy's Sandia National Labs (SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) as a prime example of renewable energy application, with Native American cultural attributes. Sacred Power Corporation is national leader in renewable energy for industry and government. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through clean, free, renewable energy.

SIPI creates renewable-energy curriculum          

By Dan Mayfield
Tribune Reporter
Albuquerque Tribune

   Last year the U.S. Department of Energy put out a request for proposals for American Indian colleges to create a renewable-energy curriculum.
   Only one school qualified: Albuquerque's Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute.
    In October the school received a $550,000 DOE grant to start the program to teach installation, maintenance and techniques of renewable energy installations.
    The project, being installed by Sacred Power Corp. of Albuquerque, will incorporate a 1,200-watt photovoltaic array; a 40-foot, 1,500-watt wind turbine; and a wind tunnel to study wind power, says Dave Melton, president of Sacred Power.
    "The purpose is to train our students to install and maintain renewable sources of energy," says Val Montoya, special projects manager at SIPI. "We feel very fortunate," she says.
    The curriculum is broken into three parts: electronics, agriculture and environmental engineering. The school already has agricultural projects, such as a greenhouse and demonstration farm, and will use solar power for irrigation pumps, Montoya says.
    Electronics students at the school will work with Sacred Power in the spring and fall to install the systems as part of a class.
    The school also teaches civil planning and will introduce renewable energy planning in the courses.
    Melton credits the contract to SIPI's good proposal and to Sandia National Laboratories.
    "We always try to team with Sandia whenever possible," Melton says. "They have a mandate to work with the tribes, and we always like to work with them. They have the biggest and most advanced solar laboratory in the nation."

Solar energy company to power remote reservations with mobile units -

September 13, 2002 edition
Stephanie Hainsfuther NMBW Contributor
New Mexico Business Weekly

  A portable photovoltaic cell power system devised by Sacred Power Corp. of Albuquerque has won a $607,000 contract from the US Department of the Interior. The DOI has contracted for 16 of the units to be manufactured at Sacred Power's new facility and transported to tribal lands. The SP 1200 Stand-alone PV-Hybrid System collects solar energy for electricity and will provide power to remote reservation homes that have always been off-grid.
    The SP 1200 is the next generation of mobile solar system units developed by partners Odes Armijo-Caster and David S. Melton.
    "The tribes had been purchasing units similar to this in the past, but they always provided the homes or the tribal council with a small system," says Armijo-Caster. "They never had power before, so having lights and a TV was great, but it wasn't life-changing for them. Once they had that small power supply, they would buy microwaves and other appliances, and the system would crash because there wasn't enough capacity. We've provided the [larger system] solution for that house."
    The unit itself is approximately 14 feet long and 10 feet high, constructed on a skid that holds the solar panels with their photovoltaic cells, solar collection batteries and a back-up power system in the form of a propane-powered generator. The batteries are enclosed in a cool-cell battery box to keep them between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, even in the New Mexico sun. Components are maintenance-free. The SP 1200 is now made at the company's new 7,500-square-foot manufacturing quarters, located just a few short blocks from the All Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque.
     Sacred Power works with the U.S. Department of Energy, New Mexico State Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the All Indian Pueblo Council to bring its technology to remote tribal residences, schools and public buildings. "The only people who can afford us is the government, and that's who our contracts are with primarily," Melton points out. "We're trying to get the cost down; that's why we have our own manufacturing site now."
     The partners bristle at the question of whether solar power is an affordable alternative energy option. "In California, it is immediately economical right now," says Armijo-Caster, citing that state's high-cost energy woes. "They [generate so much solar energy that they] send that electricity back into the utility during the day. You can come home at nighttime and say, 'I want my electricity back now.'" He mentions that Sacred Power's solar installation at the Jemez Pueblo Library, through a contract it signed last year, actually returns power to the utility, sending the meter spinning backwards. Sacred Power's PV Array at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center powers up to 10 percent of the building's electricity from the Solar Carport, as it is called, and is the largest such array in the state. Most of that energy is consumed immediately. Both projects were helped along by support from the New Mexico State Energy Office.
     The photovoltaic cells in the solar panels themselves are expensive to produce because they are subject to the same manufacturing process as silicon chips. But Melton insists that a solar generator like the SP 1200 is such a good investment that he likens it to a stable 401 (k) plan. "The economics are here right now" he advises. "You're going to get a two- to three-year payback versus propane; a four- to five-year payback versus natural gas. When you retire on a fixed income, you're going to use the same amount of energy, but you're not going to pay any more for your electricity. The system will have paid for itself. What else can you buy that pays for itself?"
     Part of Sacred Power's mission is education and training. Last year, it won a $431,000 contract with Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) to design and build a solar power system to teach students about this alternative energy source. "It's not just about us making money," says Armijo-Caster. "It's about training other people to build and use this type of system.".
     A brand new $588,000 contract with the DOI will have 12 units of a different type rolling out of the manufacturing facility within the next few weeks. The new units are patented, solar-powered telecommunications shelters for remote locations.
    Sacred Power is about 18 months old, a hybrid itself of Melton's five-year-old Diversified Systems and Armijo-Caster's nine-year-old Luz Energy Corporation. They have four employees and subcontract some of their work.

© 2002 American City Business Journals Inc.

SP Dismantles, Refurbishes & Reerects the llKw

Sacred Power Corp. (SPC) was requested to remove the 11 kW Solar Carport to make room for expansion of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center new conference center. SPC then re-erected the system, after refurbishment, and it now stands 100 feet to the west of its former locatio. (see photos)

Bringing renewable energy technology to Indian Country

     
Story and photo by Melanie Grinnell
Pueblo Journal Managing Editor

  ALBUQUERQUE -- Even though he is co-owner of a high tech renewable energy manufacturing business, David Melton, a Laguna Pueblo co-owner of the Sacred Power Corporation, still thinks of his business in an elemental and traditional way.
    "We use the strengths of the father to protect the gifts of the mother," said Melton, of the Sacred Power Corporation. The "strengths of the father" refer to the attributes of the sky -- the sun, wind and other attributes that the father (Creator) provides.
    "We use these strengths to provide energy primarily at remote locations, a lot of which are on Indian reservations," Melton said.
    The company's goal is to provide renewable and distributive energy and telecommunications solutions in the form of photovoltaic's (PV) which are solar energy cells, wind turbines, solar hot water systems, solar hot air systems and other distributive energy systems.
    Melton has been in business since March of 2001. The administrative offices for Sacred Power are located near downtown Albuquerque in the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center while their manufacturing plant is just a few minutes away.
  The concept of renewable energy gained attention in the United States following the Gulf War, according to a book by Jennifer Carless, called Renewable Energy, A Concise Guide of Green Alternatives.
    Carless maintained that the United States became dependent on mid-eastern countries because of their abundance of fossil fuels. The concept of an energy source that was clean, environmentally safe and abundant in America appealed to people.
    She wrote that when renewable energy resources are compared to fossil fuels, the natural-clean energies surpass the latter in the areas of environmental concerns, abundancy, energy efficiency, affordability and would also give the United States control over an energy resource rather than rely on sources outside of the country. Renewable energies were at first thought to be incapable of being a reliable energy source. Carless claimed the truth is that the aid of modern technology, renewable energy had not only been deemed a reliable energy source, but the only remaining barrier preventing an energy reform, are political barriers.
     In her book she described solar power, biomass (the conversion of plant matter into energy), wind power, hydro power, geothermal energy and alternative motor fuels as being forms of renewable energy that are available or currently being developed at the present time.     Sacred Power produces solar, wind and hybrid power technologies currently being utilized around the country.
    "We've delivered a significant amount of products to the Dakotas, places such as Lower Brule, South Dakota. We have government contracts that have us delivering to Yankton, South Dakota, the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, Owyhee, Nevada, here in New Mexico, Windriver, Wyoming, the Northern Cheyennes, the Turtle Moutain Reservation, Anadarko, Oklahoma and Wellpinet, Washington," Melton said.
    Some of the technologies produced for these places include telecommunications shelters known as SP TEL-Sola. It is a "passively heated and cooled shelter which incorporates solar electric and solar thermal technologies", according to Melton.
    These units have been supplied to BIA law enforcement agencies on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona and are utilized by officers for radio transmission when they go into canyon areas. Because of the canyon walls, officers would lose radio contact with dispatch. The digital power provided by the units offers a greater range and clarity and is able to reach higher points and down deeper canyons.
    Melton said the renewable energy provided by the units increases the officers' response time. The Sacred Power's TEL-Sola is capable of powering, heating and cooling the equipment inside. The units are utilized in remote areas where access to utilities is limited. According to Melton, the units are maintenance free and are pre-assembled and delivered to the sites.
    The method in which the units monitor and control their own internal and external environment is through the use of Sacred Power's Cool Cella "passive cooling technology," which is by reducing and maintaining the temperature inside the unit.
    The water in the Cool Cella is heated by solar energy and released during the night and simultaneously absorbed cool air during the night in order to provide cooling effects for the shelter during the daytime.
    When the weather changes and is cold during the daytime, solar energy is collected and stored by the solar panels by transfer from the external solar collectors to a thermal storage tank inside the unit. The cooling and heating effect utilized very little, if any, electric power.
    Sacred Power's Solar Hybrid Power System Option, which can be added to the SP TEL-Sola package as an application for the remote telecommunication unit.
    The option is boasted to be equipped with "true sine-wave conditioning units" that converts the DC into AC and monitors the operating systems.   A dual-axis (sun) tracker is the defining difference between the unit and the option. The trackers contain more solar power due to a rotating PV module mount, which follows the sun's path during the day as opposed to a fixed mount or a seasonally adjusted PV module mount.
    The option is boasted to be equipped with "true sine-wave conditioning units" that converts the DC into AC and monitors the operating systems.   A dual-axis (sun) tracker is the defining difference between the unit and the option. The trackers contain more solar power due to a rotating PV module mount, which follows the sun's path during the day as opposed to a fixed mount or a seasonally adjusted PV module mount.
    A dual-axis (sun) tracker is the defining difference between the unit and the option. The trackers contain more solar power due to a rotating PV module mount, which follows the sun's path during the day as opposed to a fixed mount or a seasonally adjusted PV module mount.
    The trackers are included with Industrial Grade Deep-Cycle Maintenance Free Gel Batteries which eliminates the problem of servicing batteries.
     The SP hybrids also include high-powered generators with large propane tanks to back up the solar power system when the sky is overcast or if the sun did not shine for several days.
    The propane tanks are equipped with a 30-day supply and propane companies are scheduled to make regular deliveries. Like the SP TEL-Sola, the SP hybrid is delivered fully assembled and ready to operate.
    The unit itself stands 9'.5 feet in height and 10 feet with the added Ice Shield. It is eight feet wide and weighs about 5,300 pounds, depending on the options included within the unit.
    This example of a renewable energy source is the quintessence of engineering ingenuity that can serve as energy alternatives of an energy reform for the United States.
    Other products of renewable energy provided by Sacred Power are Home Electrification, which is solar energy for a private home that was recently instituted at Santa Ana Pueblo. The home at the pueblo went without electricity until Sacred Power provided solar energy for them.
    A large scaled solar array grid was manufactured for the new Science and Technology building at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) campus. The "Sacred Power Port" provides the electricity for the building and also doubles as a carport.
  Along with introducing SIPI to renewable energy, Melton's business partner, Odes Armijo-Caster, worked in collaboration with the school to develop a renewable energy curriculum for the SIPI students.
    The innovation had also opened doors for more science and engineering technology curriculum to be added in the near future.
    In Chickasaw, Okla., Sacred Power produced a large hydronic water heating system for the restroom and shower facilities located on federal parks. The system reduced the financial costs of the parks.
  More people are becoming aware of renewable energy. This is evident in Sacred Power's $1 million sales milestone accomplished earlier this year.
  Sacred Power was named "Top 25 Best Native American Business for 2002" by the New Mexico Business Weekly.

Sacred Power Gets Electricity Grant

  Sacred Power Corp. of Albuquerque has received a $825,108 federal grant to provide electricity to homes in Indian Country in northwest New Mexico.
    The grant comes through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to a news release issued by U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
    Sacred Power will use the funding to provide solar and wind hybrid power stations and energy-efficient upgrades for homes near the Ojo Encino and Torreon/Star Lake chapter houses.
    At least 50 households will for the first time have reliable electric service, Bingaman said. Sacred Power, a Native American-owned small business, will manufacture all the hybrid units.
    "It is a sad reality that many homes in Indian Country lack power, or are very expensive to connect to the electric grid, because of their remote location. This grant helps solve those problems by tapping into renewable energy technologies, which are ideally suited for more rural areas," he said.
    The cost of running small generators for household needs averages about 75 cents per kilowatt-hour. Use of the hybrid units reduces the cost by at least one-third.
    The Torreon and Ojo chapters are in Sandoval and mcKinley counties.