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Monastery throws switch on green initiatives
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer
Deer Park expects to supply all its electricity with solar panels | ∞
Buddhist monk Ven Phuoc Tinh, Ven meaning elder brother, sprinkles water on a new array of solar panels during a ceremony to clense the panels and to ask the land's plants, animals, and ancestors permission to use the sun for energy before switching the panels on at the Deer Park Monastery north of Escondido on Sunday. The monastery installed three arrays of solar panels that will supply 100 percent of the electricity used there.
HAYNE PALMOUR IV Staff Photographer
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ESCONDIDO ---- With the flip of a switch Sunday, a secluded monastery tucked away in the brush-and-oak-covered canyons north of this city's downtown began producing its own energy.
Deer Park Monastery's new 66-kilowatt, sun-powered electricity system will provide virtually all the electricity required to keep the lights on and air conditioners humming in its living quarters, meditation hall, dining hall and offices.
The solar panels are just one of many environmental efforts under way at the Buddhist monastery.
In the past year, the monks and nuns have retrofitted three 1980s-era, diesel-powered Mercedes cars to run on 100-percent vegetable oil. They voluntarily park all their vehicles on Tuesdays. And they have installed a system they call Earth Tub that slowly breaks down the monastery's food scraps and turns it into compost, which later is used to fertilize the monastery's lush gardens.
Brother Stream, a 32-year-old monk from Connecticut whose given name is Douglas Bachman, said the residents do not view any of the green initiatives as painful, obligatory sacrifices.
"That is exactly not what we are doing," said Brother Stream, wearing a traditional Vietnamese straw hat. "The earth is a beautiful place, and it's a joy to make the Earth a more beautiful place."
Off the grid
Only on the hottest days will the Buddhist monks and nuns who live on the quiet, 440-acre campus have to supplement the power generated by their three sets of solar panels with electricity from San Diego Gas & Electric Co., residents say.
The few times they need extra power, they should be able to obtain it, in essence, for free. That's because utilities credit solar-powered customers for the surplus electricity they put into the regional system, and Deer Park plans to send a lot of it back to the San Diego County grid.
On the other hand, there won't be any rebates coming. Under California law, utilities do not have to reimburse customers if, say, at the end of a year, they return more power to the grid than they take out.
Extraordinary example
Bob Noble, chairman of the California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego, praised the initiative.
"The level of commitment is extraordinary," Noble said. He founded Envision Solar, a La Jolla company specializing in shaded solar panels for parking lots.
Noble said the monastery's solar system would generate enough electricity to power 15 North County homes, while keeping "many hundreds of tons" of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
"That's not just for them," Noble said. "That's for the community, that's for the state and that's for the world."
A large majority of climate scientists believe that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are warming the planet by trapping heat, similar to the way heat is trapped in a greenhouse.
Electricity generation produces a quarter of the state total's carbon dioxide emissions, according to the California Air Resources Board.
Dennis Howard, a lay Buddhist practitioner who lives at the rural retreat and helped launch the green initiative, said the monastery had planned initially to build a larger solar system, on the order of 78 kilowatts. But Deer Park curbed its energy appetite by replacing light bulbs in its buildings with modern, efficient ones and scaled back the project.
"We discovered that we could conserve an extraordinary amount of energy," Howard said. "We had numerous archaic light fixtures in our dorms and in our kitchens."
Saving green by going green
Howard said the cost for the solar project came to $700,000. He said the monastery didn't have to foot the entire bill, as it received a state grant of about $180,000 to offset a portion of the cost.
"If we didn't have that contribution from the state, it would have been a really difficult decision to make," Howard said, adding the monastery will pay off its investment in 6 to 13 years in savings on electric bills.
But saving money wasn't the driving force behind the project, he said.
"Our purpose is to clean up our global footprint," said Noble. "We also want to be a motivator for others in the community."
Brother Bernard Ziegler, 37, a German monk said, "We're doing it because we think it is the right thing to do environmentally."
Deer Park monks stressed that living in harmony with nature is something its founder, the prominent Buddhist teacher and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, promotes.
"We are not separate," Brother Bernard said. "We all connected with everyone and everything. If we take care of the environment, we take care of ourselves."
Aromatic emissions
Every day but Tuesday ---- a day when Deer Park residents only take the wheel in emergencies ---- the exhaust out of their biodiesel-retrofitted car tailpipes smells like French fries.
"Instead of smelling like diesel fumes, they smell like a kitchen cooking," Howard said.
The Mercedes cars ---- a sedan and two station wagons ---- take a while to warm up. And they are a tad on the noisy side, with their rhythmic knocking.
But they work fine, Howard said.
"It feels good not to be using oil or coal," said Brother Bernard.
"And we like buying used cars because that is another form of recycling," Howard added.
As for the Earth Tub, it is sort of the final product of much trial and error going back five years.
"We have tried and tried and tried to do composting here," Howard said. "And we have had all kinds of practical difficulties with it."
More to come
In the early days, the monastery residents put kitchen garbage directly on the ground to dry up and decompose in the sun. That didn't go so well. Howard said the piles put out an awful smell and were magnets for rodents. And with the rodents came rattlesnakes.
Eventually, though, Deer Park solved the problems. San Diego County recycling officials loaned the monastery an enclosed, 3-cubic-yard-capacity tub several months ago. And it effectively ---- without a stinging, unpleasant odor ---- breaks down the scraps.
In the future, the monastery plans to launch still more green initiatives.
One project already is in the works. The monks and nuns are preparing to replace the thirsty ice plants that line a steep hill behind a dining hall and the exotic tropical trees planted around a reflective pool with drought-resistant native vegetation.
For more information about the monastery's environmental efforts, go to
http://www.deerparkmonastery.org/no_car_day/greener_deerpark.html.
Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com.
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Laura wrote on Feb 11, 2008 7:34 AM:Such a wonderful story and effort. Survival of the planet, of humans and other species may ultimately rely on spiritual communities to taking actions like this one. Thanks to Deer Park for showing us the path. Let's hope more individuals and governments will join them.
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 11, 2008 7:50 AM: This article about the monastery installing photovoltaic solar electric panels was truly a breath of fresh (CLEAN!) air. Having just installed a photovoltaic electric system at our home in December, also producing more than we can use with the excess going back to SDG&E, I could really relate to this.
We have now begun receiving electric bills from SDG&E with no payment due, and for January, despite the short hours of sunlight at the beginning of winter and the sun at a low angle in the sky (resulting in greater diffusion of solar energy), plus quite a few days of clouds and rain, we produced 67 kilowatt hours more than we consumed.
We can store these credits for use during the summer air conditioning season (when the longer hours, sunnier skies and higher solar angle will also generate much greater production), but as the article stated, if we get to the end of our calendar year and have produced a net excess over our consumption, SDG&E just gets to keep the extra free energy we have produced. In addition, they can charge us a $5.00 per month connection fee to which the credits do not apply.
It seems grossly unfair that SDG&E can simply keep all the extra free electricity we produce and not pay anything for it, and even still charge a connection access charge! Even if they were allowed to deduct a wholesale discount or transmission fee, and only reimburse at a rate of 75% or even 60%, it would be better than simply ripping off the free electricity we produce.
I would suggest that all SDG&E customers write to their legislators and to the CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) and demand that this gouging of consumer-producers be stopped. Even if you don't have solar at your house, the day may come when costs drop even further and you decide you want to eliminate your electric bill by installing solar, and you won't want to be ripped off as we are now. Every other commercial producer of electricity is entitled to payment for the product they produce. Why is it only the individual -- the little guy -- who is allowed to be ripped off by the corporate masters?
San Marcos resident wrote on Feb 11, 2008 8:01 AM:Thank you for this story. Such a ray of hope...Would they be willing to give student tours? This is what our future should look like...
Burt wrote on Feb 11, 2008 9:25 AM:I keep saying California has sun like other places have oil. This is a great way to use it!
Concerned-1 wrote on Feb 11, 2008 9:29 AM:I love this approach! An excellent model. Al Gore and his ilk could learn a few things from these folks. Peace!
Illgotten Gains for SHAME wrote on Feb 11, 2008 10:03 AM:Once again, corporations rape the consumer by any means possible. Both the article and comments by DDWIZ indicate how unfairly SDGE treats customers who produce more than they use with their solar systems. They should not be able to steal electricity from those consumers. If it is illegal to hook up to the electricity without paying, it should also be illegal to steal electricity from the monks and others who are producing more than they consume. It is almost as if SDGE really doesn't want consumers to be self-sufficient and will eek out a profit by any means even if it means stealing electricity by not compensating the producers.
Jim in Oceanside wrote on Feb 11, 2008 10:34 AM:I've often considered this option and have researched it thoroughly. However, the out of pocket cost, SDG&E connection fee and end of year ripoff has kept me from taking the final step. Cudos to the Monastery! I agree with DD Wiz, only pressure from our Legislators and the PUC may be able to change SDG&E's ripoff. I would be happy with zero connection fee and 50% rebate on electricity "sold" to them.
It is not off the grid wrote on Feb 11, 2008 1:44 PM:Off-grid means that you are never connected to the grid. This is properly called net metering. You draw from the grid at night or during high demand, the rest of the time your meter runs backwards. If someone wants to intall this themselves it is easy to do, buy your components in AZ, no sales tax. For a 3kw system I was out of pocket about 11,000 dollars
Truth about SDGE wrote on Feb 11, 2008 2:46 PM:They do not want net metering on everyones house because they make little money off it. They do charge a small distribution fee for being attached to the system. They are not a municipal utiity so the public good is not their concern, they only care about returns on investment for shareholders. They are pursuing the Sunrise Powerlink in order to cement their monopoly on power. It is disgusting that a private company is trying to destroy the back country for corporate profit.
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 11, 2008 3:29 PM:The post from "Conerned-1" (9:29am) shows he is not satisfied just to respect this achievement by these peace loving people trying to live in harmony with the environment. No, he has to make a snide dig at Al Gore. Obviously "Concerned-1" in his bitter hatefulness hasn't had time to keep up with the news. Al Gore recently unveiled the new rennovations to his estate, making it an environmental showcase, including solar, and many other environmental amenities that make it an example and a model. In any case, this was a local article about a local achievement. It did not have to be made into anything else.
JP wrote on Feb 11, 2008 4:59 PM:Nice job for self-reliance. Just out of curiosity, how long for payback on the $520K investment? And where's Alf?
DD Wiz wrote on Feb 11, 2008 10:15 PM: The post from "JP" (4:59pm) asks "how long for payback." That was covered in the article, under the heading "saving green by going green." The estimate was 6 - 13 years. Yes, the upfront cost is high, but this project is about 13 times the size of ours, so the electric bill it was designed to replace is also much, much larger. My wife was a corporate cost accountant for many years, and she figured out payback for our residential system to be much shorter, based on CURRENT electric rates (does anyone really expect rates will stay the same?).
And on a side note, even if you don't stay in your home long enough, the capital improvement adds tremendous immediate market value to your house. Who wouldn't want to be able to advertise that the house being sold comes with free electricity?
JP wrote on Feb 12, 2008 9:44 AM:Thanks, DD Wiz. I missed it in the first read. I agree that with cost escalation, it will likely be the low end of the estimate for payback.
John wrote on Feb 13, 2008 9:28 PM:Realistically, the part where they say "it will pay for itself" is important. The financial benefit makes it a very intelligent investment. Now if they can figure out a way to stay off the grid on the hottest days,they will have achieved energy independence.
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